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Here are some helpful suggestions to set your new kahr up before heading to the range as compiled by Jocko, with the help of the forum members.
Proper prep of a new Kahr
Here are some helpful suggestions to set your new Kahr up before heading to the range, as compiled by Jocko, with the help of the forum members.
#1. Read and then reread your owner’s manual. There are some real MUST DO's in there that if you don't you will have issues.
#2. Clean your new gun; don’t assume Kahr did it. They don't and there could be crud in places where it should not be. Take that slide off and look for the little hole in the bottom of the slide. That is your striker channel clean out hole. Insert your spray cleaner nozzle in there and spray away. Fluids will come out both ends.
Now, with one finger, pull back on the striker at the back of the slide and continue to spray in that hole and also spray clean from that breech hole also. You have now cleaned that striker channel without disassembly. DO NOT OIL THE STRIKER CHANNEL. Refer to the Kahr Tech section. Look for the sticky marked KAHR LUBE DIAGRAM. Point #9 shows the clean out hole and this is the best lube chart for any semi auto to.
#3. Grease the slide rails, or if you prefer a particular gun oil, fine. Just lube the slide, or, better yet, go to the Kahr Tech section and hit on the Kahr lube section. This will save a lot of explaining. If you have a Dremel, I would suggest a good polishing of the already smooth feed ramp, and inside the chamber also. You can't hurt anything with a nice polish job. The lube chart is the 2nd sticky on this KAHR TECH thread. It is simply the best.
#4. Now, with an empty gun and no magazine, rack the slide numerous times, this will help recoil spring set without the bang thing happening. Hand racking never replaces the actual "bang" thing but it does not hurt a thing either.
#5 Take your magazines apart and recheck to see that they are properly put together right, too. If the spring is in backward the angle of the spring will mess up the magazine follower and u will have issues. Then, if you have some 600+ grit auto sand paper, just roll it up like a pencil and polish the under side of the feed lips on your magazines. Do not oil the magazines, wipe with a silicone cloth at most. Alittle tip to take you magazine apart. Insert a nail in the last hole and then you can slide the floor plate off easier, To install the floor plate, push the magazine spring in as far as u can with your finger and then insert that nail through the last hole. It will then hold the spring in place and you can slide on the magazine floor place easily UPDATE Sept 20, forum member HOGHUNTER just got 3 kahr mags from kahr and all 3 had the springs in backwards.. CHECK ur magazines
The spring angle should point upward towards the front of the mag tube
#6 To check to see if you have any issues with the slide lock lever hitting the rounds in the magazine, take the slide off and insert the slide lock lever, then reinsert a loaded magazine. Check to see if the top round is hitting the slide lock lever and moving it upward. That is a NO-NO.
#7. Break in the gun with FMJ ammo. Forget about the defense stuff until it is running right. Practice close, stay 7 yards and under, get a good grip on the gun, and watch your thumb to see that it is not accidentally hitting the slide lock lever and causing premature slide lock-back. Inadvertently hitting the slide lock lever while shooting is a known cause of premature slide-lock back.If ur having issues of premature slide locking open, try shooting it left handed. If the issue goes away, u know ur thumb is the culprit
#8. Don't worry about the accuracy of the pistol until you have the gun running reliably with both types of ammo. Sometimes the 200 round break-in is necessary, but most of the time, if the gun is properly prepped, it is not.
#9. Be aware that you can limp wrist these little guns far easier than the bigger ones. Keep your shooting at 7 yards and under.
#10 Kahrs have a long but totally smooth trigger system. GET USED TO IT. The more rounds down range the better your groups will be to. Remember you and the gun have to mate up correctly for all things to work right. A very good test of your shooting skills with a Kahr is to buy a half dozen Snap Caps and throw them in with 30 rounds of FMJ range fodder. Let someone load your magazine for you, so you don't know if any Snap Caps are in that magazine. I can assure you, it will show your shooting errors BIG TIME.
#11. Use a good gun cleaner spray. Gunscrubber is good stuff, but very expensive. I will tell you what works for me and harms nothing on the gun, polymer included.
#12. If ur new gun gives some shooting issues, let another good shooter try your gun out, if he can duplicate your issues, then you can assume the issues are gun related and not shooter related. We call that eliminating the POSSABILITIES. Kahr can fix their guns but they cannot fix the SHOOTER.. Do not panic in the first 200 rounds of shooting your new kahr. Give the gun and the shooter both time and rounds down range for both to mate up properly. If u follow the above tips, your kahr will perform perfect, or for that matter any semi you own
Go to Napa and look for NAPA brand BRAKLEEN CRC non cholorinated brake cleaner # 091314CA. or my preference is 3M brand part # 08180 . Good stuff, won't harm anything on your kahr or polymer guns. If u like the gun brand spray cleaners, that is fine. they will all do the same job, some are just alot lower in price.
I would suggest wearing rubber gloves or just use common sense. If it gets on your skin, it will dry your skin out, as this stuff takes the oil out of everything it comes in contact with. Gunscrubber will also be hard on your skin, so use common sense. This stuff will clean in places that you might think needs to be taken apart, but not on a Kahr. Everything is right there in front of you, just spray away, then re-oil where parts were originally oiled.
We will continue to update this section in hopes that later on down the road we can just direct a new owner to this thread and not have to keep repeating ourselves.
Good luck and just shoot it like you stole it, and many thanks to those who have contributed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information on the slide lock lever and the slide lock spring that should be helpful to all the Polymer kahr shooters... submitted by WYNTROUT
That slide stop spring shouldn't move. The screw is a T-5 Torx (In the P380) and needs tightening. Use the correct screwdriver and tighten the screw just until you feel resistance. Remember the screw is metal and the frame you're screwing it into is polymer... PLASTIC. Don't overtighten... you'll strip the screw and then you need a NEW FRAME. That little screw never actually tightens, so lightly snugged is best. Best thing is to not mess with that little screw at all. If you strip the threads out of the polymer frame, you have some options. Send it back to kahr and they will fix it somehow. OR take some super glue or finger nail polish and coat those threads on that little screw and reset it in the polymer fram. SNUGGED. andyou willbe good to go. This is a fix that will work.
The torx screw in the Polymer kahrs EXCEPT the P380 is a size T6 The P380 is a size 5 torx. obtainable at sears.. or harbor freight even.
When you insert the slide lock, have the release lever at about 4 o'clock and tilted to the right so that you get the pin just to the left of the spring and push it ASIDE, not bend it inward, as you insert the pin. When it's about halfway in (and going into the peanut-shaped hole on the barrel lug) orient the lever up to go through the cutout in the slide. The slide lock should click into place and the lever should rebound back up when you depress it. If the spring is secure, there should be downward pressure by the free end of the spring on the little shelf for it on the inside of the slide lock lever. This should stop all of your random early slide locks.
MAGAZINE FIX: some have reported that their 2nd or 3rd round tends to nose dive in their kahrs. Here is what is happeing, as the magazine follower is moving upward when it hits that area where about round 2 or 3 is still in the magazine, that follower is now in that magazine slot hole where the magazine button locks into it. That magazine button is actually stopping that follower from sliding past it without any hindrance. Now I can tell you the fix but if you will just go to the sticky by GB6491 on CW fixes, and scroll down, u will see in with a great photo tutorial how to fix this issues. It is a peace of cake. A quick test to see if u have this issue, is unload the magazine, take the floor plate off the magazine and pull the spring and follower out of the magazine. Now insert the empty magazine in the gun until it locks in place. Now with the spring still under the follower insert it slowly in the magazine upward and feel for a stoppage before the follower gets to the top of the magazine. If u feel stoppage, then go to GB 6491 sticky and see how easy this fix is. OR pull the follower out and sand the right side of the follower back alittle where it comes into view in that magazine slot opening, smooth it with 600+ grit paper and retest, It will not take much to get clearance.. I would even recommend one to pre-test this out before going to the range. will take 5 minutes to test out. Get ur gun prepped right and all the little tid bits of information that this forum can supply before that first range trip and it will be a big success... This magazine fix is usually the culprit in 90% of all NOSEDIVE ISSUES.
I hope this will get your P380 and any other Polymer kahr, back into action and stop those early slide locks.
Proper prep of a new Kahr
Here are some helpful suggestions to set your new Kahr up before heading to the range, as compiled by Jocko, with the help of the forum members.
#1. Read and then reread your owner’s manual. There are some real MUST DO's in there that if you don't you will have issues.
#2. Clean your new gun; don’t assume Kahr did it. They don't and there could be crud in places where it should not be. Take that slide off and look for the little hole in the bottom of the slide. That is your striker channel clean out hole. Insert your spray cleaner nozzle in there and spray away. Fluids will come out both ends.
Now, with one finger, pull back on the striker at the back of the slide and continue to spray in that hole and also spray clean from that breech hole also. You have now cleaned that striker channel without disassembly. DO NOT OIL THE STRIKER CHANNEL. Refer to the Kahr Tech section. Look for the sticky marked KAHR LUBE DIAGRAM. Point #9 shows the clean out hole and this is the best lube chart for any semi auto to.
#3. Grease the slide rails, or if you prefer a particular gun oil, fine. Just lube the slide, or, better yet, go to the Kahr Tech section and hit on the Kahr lube section. This will save a lot of explaining. If you have a Dremel, I would suggest a good polishing of the already smooth feed ramp, and inside the chamber also. You can't hurt anything with a nice polish job. The lube chart is the 2nd sticky on this KAHR TECH thread. It is simply the best.
#4. Now, with an empty gun and no magazine, rack the slide numerous times, this will help recoil spring set without the bang thing happening. Hand racking never replaces the actual "bang" thing but it does not hurt a thing either.
#5 Take your magazines apart and recheck to see that they are properly put together right, too. If the spring is in backward the angle of the spring will mess up the magazine follower and u will have issues. Then, if you have some 600+ grit auto sand paper, just roll it up like a pencil and polish the under side of the feed lips on your magazines. Do not oil the magazines, wipe with a silicone cloth at most. Alittle tip to take you magazine apart. Insert a nail in the last hole and then you can slide the floor plate off easier, To install the floor plate, push the magazine spring in as far as u can with your finger and then insert that nail through the last hole. It will then hold the spring in place and you can slide on the magazine floor place easily UPDATE Sept 20, forum member HOGHUNTER just got 3 kahr mags from kahr and all 3 had the springs in backwards.. CHECK ur magazines
The spring angle should point upward towards the front of the mag tube
#6 To check to see if you have any issues with the slide lock lever hitting the rounds in the magazine, take the slide off and insert the slide lock lever, then reinsert a loaded magazine. Check to see if the top round is hitting the slide lock lever and moving it upward. That is a NO-NO.
#7. Break in the gun with FMJ ammo. Forget about the defense stuff until it is running right. Practice close, stay 7 yards and under, get a good grip on the gun, and watch your thumb to see that it is not accidentally hitting the slide lock lever and causing premature slide lock-back. Inadvertently hitting the slide lock lever while shooting is a known cause of premature slide-lock back.If ur having issues of premature slide locking open, try shooting it left handed. If the issue goes away, u know ur thumb is the culprit
#8. Don't worry about the accuracy of the pistol until you have the gun running reliably with both types of ammo. Sometimes the 200 round break-in is necessary, but most of the time, if the gun is properly prepped, it is not.
#9. Be aware that you can limp wrist these little guns far easier than the bigger ones. Keep your shooting at 7 yards and under.
#10 Kahrs have a long but totally smooth trigger system. GET USED TO IT. The more rounds down range the better your groups will be to. Remember you and the gun have to mate up correctly for all things to work right. A very good test of your shooting skills with a Kahr is to buy a half dozen Snap Caps and throw them in with 30 rounds of FMJ range fodder. Let someone load your magazine for you, so you don't know if any Snap Caps are in that magazine. I can assure you, it will show your shooting errors BIG TIME.
#11. Use a good gun cleaner spray. Gunscrubber is good stuff, but very expensive. I will tell you what works for me and harms nothing on the gun, polymer included.
#12. If ur new gun gives some shooting issues, let another good shooter try your gun out, if he can duplicate your issues, then you can assume the issues are gun related and not shooter related. We call that eliminating the POSSABILITIES. Kahr can fix their guns but they cannot fix the SHOOTER.. Do not panic in the first 200 rounds of shooting your new kahr. Give the gun and the shooter both time and rounds down range for both to mate up properly. If u follow the above tips, your kahr will perform perfect, or for that matter any semi you own
Go to Napa and look for NAPA brand BRAKLEEN CRC non cholorinated brake cleaner # 091314CA. or my preference is 3M brand part # 08180 . Good stuff, won't harm anything on your kahr or polymer guns. If u like the gun brand spray cleaners, that is fine. they will all do the same job, some are just alot lower in price.
I would suggest wearing rubber gloves or just use common sense. If it gets on your skin, it will dry your skin out, as this stuff takes the oil out of everything it comes in contact with. Gunscrubber will also be hard on your skin, so use common sense. This stuff will clean in places that you might think needs to be taken apart, but not on a Kahr. Everything is right there in front of you, just spray away, then re-oil where parts were originally oiled.
We will continue to update this section in hopes that later on down the road we can just direct a new owner to this thread and not have to keep repeating ourselves.
Good luck and just shoot it like you stole it, and many thanks to those who have contributed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information on the slide lock lever and the slide lock spring that should be helpful to all the Polymer kahr shooters... submitted by WYNTROUT
That slide stop spring shouldn't move. The screw is a T-5 Torx (In the P380) and needs tightening. Use the correct screwdriver and tighten the screw just until you feel resistance. Remember the screw is metal and the frame you're screwing it into is polymer... PLASTIC. Don't overtighten... you'll strip the screw and then you need a NEW FRAME. That little screw never actually tightens, so lightly snugged is best. Best thing is to not mess with that little screw at all. If you strip the threads out of the polymer frame, you have some options. Send it back to kahr and they will fix it somehow. OR take some super glue or finger nail polish and coat those threads on that little screw and reset it in the polymer fram. SNUGGED. andyou willbe good to go. This is a fix that will work.
The torx screw in the Polymer kahrs EXCEPT the P380 is a size T6 The P380 is a size 5 torx. obtainable at sears.. or harbor freight even.
When you insert the slide lock, have the release lever at about 4 o'clock and tilted to the right so that you get the pin just to the left of the spring and push it ASIDE, not bend it inward, as you insert the pin. When it's about halfway in (and going into the peanut-shaped hole on the barrel lug) orient the lever up to go through the cutout in the slide. The slide lock should click into place and the lever should rebound back up when you depress it. If the spring is secure, there should be downward pressure by the free end of the spring on the little shelf for it on the inside of the slide lock lever. This should stop all of your random early slide locks.
MAGAZINE FIX: some have reported that their 2nd or 3rd round tends to nose dive in their kahrs. Here is what is happeing, as the magazine follower is moving upward when it hits that area where about round 2 or 3 is still in the magazine, that follower is now in that magazine slot hole where the magazine button locks into it. That magazine button is actually stopping that follower from sliding past it without any hindrance. Now I can tell you the fix but if you will just go to the sticky by GB6491 on CW fixes, and scroll down, u will see in with a great photo tutorial how to fix this issues. It is a peace of cake. A quick test to see if u have this issue, is unload the magazine, take the floor plate off the magazine and pull the spring and follower out of the magazine. Now insert the empty magazine in the gun until it locks in place. Now with the spring still under the follower insert it slowly in the magazine upward and feel for a stoppage before the follower gets to the top of the magazine. If u feel stoppage, then go to GB 6491 sticky and see how easy this fix is. OR pull the follower out and sand the right side of the follower back alittle where it comes into view in that magazine slot opening, smooth it with 600+ grit paper and retest, It will not take much to get clearance.. I would even recommend one to pre-test this out before going to the range. will take 5 minutes to test out. Get ur gun prepped right and all the little tid bits of information that this forum can supply before that first range trip and it will be a big success... This magazine fix is usually the culprit in 90% of all NOSEDIVE ISSUES.
I hope this will get your P380 and any other Polymer kahr, back into action and stop those early slide locks.
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