Quest for the Perfect AOM 130 - Part I

[fteter]

Like the title says, I'm on a quest for the perfect AOM 130. Mine was given as a Christmas present and I've been working with it ever since. Stripped, cleaned and lightly lubricated. A little boiled linseed oil applied to the stock. Rubbed some molly paste into the bolt. Cycled the bolt about 300 times. Ordered a sling and oiler, along with some additional 15 round mags - both KCI and some generic mags from keep shooting.com. And, because my 61-year-old eyes are not what they used to be, switched out the flip peep sight for a red dot sight with a dove tail mount. So I had high hopes for the first trip to the range today.

But, sadly, those hopes were dashed. Constant failure-to-feed issues, regardless of whether I used the factory mag, the KCI mags, or the keepshooting mags. And I'm talking about one shot followed by a jam. Sometimes two or three consecutive jams. So I plan to contact AO when their offices open tomorrow. It's back to the factory for some warranty work on this rifle as soon as I return it to it's out-of-the-box configuration. Can't say I'm really surprised, considering the many negative reviews I've read regarding quality control on the AOM 130. I was hoping my prep work would make things better, but thing did not work out that way.

I'll post follow-ups on my quest for the perfect AOM 130 as things change.

[Bawanna]

I've had no experience with the newer AOM 130's. Hasn't been a lot of discussion about them here.
Maybe this will get some started.
Hopefully they will figure out the issue and get it back to running good.

Do look forward to a positive report.

[fteter]

I've had no experience with the newer AOM 130's. Hasn't been a lot of discussion about them here.
Maybe this will get some started.
Hopefully they will figure out the issue and get it back to running good.

Do look forward to a positive report.

Let's hope. In the meantime, getting this thing shipped back to Kahr has been an extremely frustrating experience. Both UPS and FedEx are proving to be extremely difficult to work with in shipping a rifle back to the manufacturer. A sign of the times, I suppose.

[yqtszhj]

Let's hope. In the meantime, getting this thing shipped back to Kahr has been an extremely frustrating experience. Both UPS and FedEx are proving to be extremely difficult to work with in shipping a rifle back to the manufacturer. A sign of the times, I suppose.

Well, I generally won't tell them what it is other than saying "speciality power tools" or something like that. Then send it second day air so it doesn't sit around. A rifle should be easier than a handgun. As long as I'm obeying the law I wouldn't think that there would be an issue.

Just a thought.

[Bawanna]

I think it's required to go second day air.
The easiest way to ship is to take it to your dealer and let them ship it. Dealer to dealer is easier (and cheaper to them) than private folks.

If you bought it at a local dealer they might even ship it for you for free. One more reason to support local shops.

Also might be worth calling for a call tag if you haven't already tried. They may or may not send you one, I have no idea.

[fteter]

Well, I generally won't tell them what it is other than saying "speciality power tools" or something like that. Then send it second day air so it doesn't sit around. A rifle should be easier than a handgun. As long as I'm obeying the law I wouldn't think that there would be an issue.

Just a thought.

Good thought, but shipping to "Kahr Arms - Service Dept." kind of gives it away. At least the UPS people seemed to pick up on it.

[Bobshouse]

I think 2 day shipping is required on a handgun, no requirement on a long gun. Would still be nice if Kahr would pick up shipping.

[gb6491]

Let's hope. In the meantime, getting this thing shipped back to Kahr has been an extremely frustrating experience. Both UPS and FedEx are proving to be extremely difficult to work with in shipping a rifle back to the manufacturer. A sign of the times, I suppose.

fteter,
Are you going to a hub/shipping center/customer center or to one of the UPS stores or Kinko FedEx Stores?
I've found UPS stores won't accept firearms. The Kinko FedEx store here has shipped for me before, but only after getting the manager involved. I've had no issues at all with FedEx or UPS hub/shipping centers/customer centers local to me.
Regards,
Greg

[yqtszhj]

Good thought, but shipping to "Kahr Arms - Service Dept." kind of gives it away. At least the UPS people seemed to pick up on it.

I think their return labels say "KAI" which I guess is Kahr Arms Inc. That may work.... anyway bawanna recommending a local shop or Greg's recommendation are good ones too.

[fteter]

So I finally took the easiest path. Took it back to the LGS where I made the original purchase. I supplied the box and the packing material, and they agreed to ship it back to Kahr at no cost to me: no shipping costs, no fees, no nothing.

[fteter]

So, continuing this little saga, I asked Kahr for an update on fixing my rifle. They indicating a 10 to 12 week turnaround time...seems they're overwhelmed with returns. They received my rifle on March 5, so I'm figuring they'll ship it back sometime in the first part of June.

[Bawanna]

Well to put it mildly that sucks really really bad. Wish I had a magic button to push to cut that time down to a week or so but alas, I'm powerless.

I feel your pain though, patience is far from my strong suit.

[fteter]

AN UPDATE: Today, about 10 weeks after shipping the AO130 back to Kahr, I finally received a phone call. Nice guy working in the repair shop. The upshot: "we shot 2 mags worth of rounds through the rifle and checked the headspace. Other than a rough looking barrel band screw, which we're replacing, we can't find anything wrong with the rifle and we're sending it back to you." I asked them to try firing a few mags rapid fire to see if they can find anything when it warms up. And they agreed to do that. But I suspect I'm gonna have to find a good gunsmith.

This story just keeps getting better and better.

[CCHGN]

Johnny come lately here, but I'm curious, when you say jam, what kind of jam?

[fteter]

CCHGN, better late than never. Glad to have ya here.

Failures to feed in a few cases. Many, many cases of the bolt failing to go into battery - far enough to lock, just not far enough for the firing pin to hit the primer. Between the two, not a single shot without an issue.