CW45 (and other poly Kahr pistols): issues and fixes

[Bawanna]

At Jocko's request I took the liberty of exercising my relatively new moderator skills and gave this sticky status. I wasn't sure I had that power but apparently I do. Who knows what other magical powers this Missouri farm boy wields and don't even know about.
No doubt in my mind this thread surely deserves it and GB6491 is possibly the smartest man alive and a dang good photographer too.

[jocko]

good man Bawanna, now see if u can make yourself dissapear?


Just kiddin this forum would be boring without your input. but I do thank you as I think the GB 6491 thread is one of the best..

[Bawanna]

Hmm, I don't see a disappear button, there is a delete button, reckon that would work?

[Bawanna]

I know, I'll ask Mr. Surveyor. He's figured out how to make himself invisible!
That would work.

[gb6491]

Dawson Precision front sight installation:
http://www.dawsonprecision.com/image...%20Insert2.pdf


BTW - Thanks Bawanna

[garyb]

GREAT analysis and descriptions of the mods. I have not experienced any issues with my PM40, but if I do, I will refer back to this info to look at any of your solutions that may help resolve the issue. Great work. You put alot of time and detail into this. Should be a sticky. Thanks for sharing.

[OldLincoln]

Shoot, don't know that I've ever seen this before. Makes me want to go buy a CW/PM45 just to work on (yeah, in my dreams). Do we have one for PM9 mods?

[gb6491]

Trigger not resetting:
The problem (http://kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?t=6057):

Haven't seen this one before. Went shooting today with a friend. We ran a couple of mags through the gun and then the problem started. I shoot the gun, it ejects the cartridge, loads a new round but doesn't reset the trigger. So I have a unspent round in the chamber, I pull the trigger and and there is no resistance. I clear the chamber pull back the slide and load the same round and then the gun shoots. But then the same problem occurs again. I can only shoot one round. Has anyone ran into this before? I was shooting Federal ammo, 230 gr FMJ RN. If I had different ammo, I would have tried to see if that was the problem. On the last mag, I did shoot 2 in a row before the problem started again.

A fix as posted by Cash.45:

Hi guys. Just joined the forum as I was looking for a fix for this exact problem. Well, I didn't find it here so I dug into it myself and here's what I found.

1) The trigger would reset all day long manually racking the slide, but if I pulled upwards on the slide while racking it the trigger would not reset.

2) I took the slide off and while manually pushing down on the trigger bar tab (that sticks up for the slide to engage, push down and reset the trigger) I noticed it was reseting the trigger below the level that the slide could depress it.

3) Upon further inspection I noticed the tab (red arrow in attached picture) that engages the cocking cam (blue arrow in attached picture) was bent up at enough of an angle that it required the trigger bar to be pushed down below the level that the slide could depress it.

4) I manually bent the tab down about 5-10 degrees and reassembled the pistol (CW 45).

5) While pulling upward on the slide and racking it the trigger now reset every time.

I just got back from the range and I put 120 rounds through it with 0 malfunctions.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope this helps someone (it sure was frustrating for me!).

How it was accomplished:

Actually, and gunsmiths are going to cringe at this, I removed the trigger bar spring, lower the trigger bar down and manually bent the tab with a screwdriver. I knew it didn't need much of an adjustment and didn't want to disassemble the trigger if I didn't have to.

Nicely done Cash.45!

The trigger bar tab Cash.45 bent is just above the arrow labeled "Trigger bar in contact with cocking cam" in this photo:

[Bawanna]

Thanks Cash45 and Greg for posting it. Good stuff as usual.

[Cash.45]

Hi guys. I stumbled across this thread while exploring the forum and discovered a problem I didn't even know I had (the missing slide notch). This thread is a gold mine! Great fixes, photos and descriptions. You guys rock! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience with us Kahr newbies. And thanks to gb6491 for assembling this info and Bawanna45cal for making it a sticky.

[Cornel]

Maybe I missed it in here but here is a previous post about how to work the receiver of some Kahrs.

http://kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?t=4454

[gb6491]

Magazine dropping (random round count):
This was happening to jhertzler:
"Well, I've read about this problem, and sure enough, I have one now and it's dropping its magazine every three or four rounds."( http://glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?p=17243654)
He tried some of the fixes described earlier in this thread with little joy, but was able to resolve the issue with his own fix.
Posted with his permission:
"Given this discussion about somewhat loose mag well tolerances, I put a small piece of Velcro tape (about 3/8 by 2 inches) (the "little hooks" side of the Velcro arrangement) in the side of the well opposite the latch. I also "shaved" a little of the little hooks off a bit with some small scissors as it didn't need to be that thick. The result is that the magazine is held more tightly against the latch side of the well (more to the right).

The result also is that the magazine no longer drops when firing. The magazines fit too snugly in the well to drop freely when released, but that's OK with me. The tape stays put really well, as it has very strong adhesive and the tape is basically made of plastic. It would be easy to replace with a new piece of Velcro tape if it ever gets worn or loose in there (gun cleaner on it or something).

I guess you could put Velcro or any other (strong) adhesive tape on the magazines, too, rather than inside the magazine well. I think it's less noticeable in the well and you don't have to use so much tape. It works no matter which magazine you put in.

The gun shoots great now -- feeds and cycles all ammo with no problem -- shoots very accurately and point of aim. I guess I'm good to go. Thanks for the correspondence about it." http://glocktalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17231851&postcount=11

"Here's a couple of pictures, of the gun and of the tape fix, referenced above. Just for fun, note the shooting results last week at 10 yds. Not too bad for an amateur. Joe"

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

Thanks for sharing this innovative fix with us Joe; well done.

[cblambert1645]

from one of my other posts...
1911 mags will run in a Kahr 45, better actually than the Kahr mags that are what 45 bucks? I started with inexpensive Springfield factory compact mags that I bought for around $20, (let me know if you need some) just standard Metalform style officer stuff, then removed the follower, trimmed an 1/8" off the tail so I could barely stuff the 7th round in with the slide open to make it easier for 6+1 carry....and take a belt sander or file to the little bump. The nose of the follower needs tweeked slightly down as to not hang up the slide.
next around .100" of the feed lip at the most forward highest edge needs removed on the right side to clear the ejector...on the left side .030" needs to be removed to clear the slide rail. strip & remove the barrel the re install the slide, & mag & you'll see instantly what I mean. I can literally modify these mags in in minutes. The result will be a better functioning mag, steel flush mag floor plate that will except a proper bump if need be thats not finicky (I cant get mine to stop running now) that can still inter chance with a officer 1911 & no cheap plastic mag floor plate that would break if hit right on a hard floor & be USELESS. After alot of measuring & checking cw45 has a really tight chamber with steep sharp leade. This prevents the use of some (Hornady 200grn XTP- my favorite load) from chambering fully- and locks 'er up tight if tried. So Im using Winchester 185 silvertips & Federal 185 JHC with good results as the bullets ogive is seated closer to the case mouth. Lastly, the extension tail on the bottom of the slide that strips rounds from the mag, needs re-contoured & polished smooth, the dang thing is so sharp that it will plow brass from the top cartridge in the mag- especially with the overly strong spring of the Kahr Mag- if you keep it do yourself a favor & trim a coil off the spring.

[gb6491]

cblambert1645,
Welcome to the forums
That's excellent info you posted above. thanks!
I've quoted you and pasted the info into an ongoing thread in the "P and CW Series Pistols forum" about modifying Officer's/Compact magazines: http://kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?t=3317
Regards,
Greg

[oso1964]

i just got my pm45 back from kahr yesterday,they fixed many problems.have'nt shot the pistol yet to see if it runs. after seeing photo i checked the clearance of the stripper on bottom of slide when inserting mag. there is no clearance. i have to insert cartridges about .005" short of back of mag. to clear stripper. now if slide is closed and i insert loaded mag. and rack the slide by hand the pistol chambers rd. ever time. in photo that was cw45 that was beveled. my pm45 has no bevel at all. i read that was kahrs fix was to bevel the stripper.was that on just cw45,or was that for both cw and pm45? i dont really feel like sending the pistol right back to kahr when i can bevel the stripper myself. that was one of many issues i had with my pm45,that it would not chamber a rd. by releasing slide stop. i informed kahr of this problem.