Recoil spring guide rod taking a beating

[Exiledviking]

Hi,

New guy here. Glad to have found this forum and all the great info available here.
I have a P9 that is about a month old (bought it new) and I've put around 350 rounds thru it. I followed the great instructions on setting up a new Kahr and the P9 has ran 100% from the very beginning. I'm REALLY liking this pistol a lot and I'm planning on picking up either a K9 or T9, in addition to the P9, to use for practice.

Yesterday I took it apart to clean it and found that the recoil spring guide rod looked like it had been chewed on. The black finish, as expected, was wearing off but there were divots in the rod itself.
I'm trying to figure out what is causing the divots and if it's considered "normal" here on this forum.

Any info would be appreciated.

[Bawanna]

I've seen some guide rods that looked terrible with the black finish all messed up but don't recall ever seeing one with actual divots or gouges. I can't see what the heck would be causing that.

You have to have 30 post to post a picture but you can post a link to like photobucket and such or you can email me a photo if it can show us pretty much what it's looking like.

I suspect it's not gonna effect performance but without seeing it, can't say for sure.

Glad its running trouble free regardless. Not really surprised, they usually just run fine.

[Exiledviking]

Thanks for your reply. I will take some pictures and get a link to them on PhotoBucket.

[yqtszhj]

My cw9 i had before was pretty much as you described. I had over 1000 rounds through it when i traded it for a cm9 but never had one problem ouf of it. id say dont worry too much about it.

[Exiledviking]

Good to know. I'm tempted to work it over with a file and then put it in the drill and have at it with 4 grades of sandpaper. We'll see what you guys think of the pics first and take it from there.
I'll try to get pictures up tomorrow.

[Exiledviking]

Finally got a pic of the recoil spring guide. See what you guys think.

[muggsy]

You might check the ends of the recoil springs and smooth them up with a little sand paper. Then clean up the scratches and polish the guide rod. Should be just fine.

[marshal kane]

Did you remember to install the recoil spring with the closed end up against the guide rod flange?

[wyntrout]

I've noticed several problems on the forum lately that make me wonder if some of the problems are for lack of the "notch" that allows the recoil assembly freedom to tilt with the barrel during firing.



The recoil spring assembly batters the rear top inside of the receptacle for the forward part of the RSA and throws the action off... also battering the RSA.

The notch can be added with a round file or careful "machining" with a Dremel or like tool.

The P380 seemed to not require one, but I noticed my 1997/1988 vintage K9 was developing fractures there and I added the notch.

There are more posts on the subject and it is ANOTHER thing to check, as with the beveling of the stripper part of the slide. The PM9 did not need the beveling, as there was plenty of room behind the top cartridge in the magazine for the "stripper" to get behind it.

Wynn

[Redstate]

Interesting, Wynn. What pistol is the slide in the photo from?

[wyntrout]

I believe that's a CW45 from a sticky here:

http://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.p...sues-and-fixes

Most of the Kahrs need that notch. I haven't noticed any battering on my 5-year-old P380.

Here's page 2 of the above thread with an annotated picture:

http://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.p...nd-fixes/page2

Wynn

[Redstate]

Thanks, Wynn.

[Scrambler]

K40.jpg
The recoil spring and rod move downward with the barrel during recoil, opposite the notch shown. The wear pattern looks to coincide with the distance the rod travels past the end of the spring during recoil. Wondering if the position of the end of the spring in the slide has something to do with the wear on the rod. 12 o'clock versus 6 o'clock. I put mine at 12 o'clock, closest to the front sight. Haven't had any problem. Probably wouldn't hurt to check the end of the spring and break any sharp edges. Good shooting.

[cobrasjp]

Wyn,

Are you really sure that the recoil spring assembly tilts downward with the barrel?

I always thought that the rear of the recoil spring rod rests against the frame when the pistol is assembled. Hooking it in the front side of the barrel lug is just a way of holding the recoil spring assembly in place as the gun is assembled.

[wyntrout]

The recoil rod is seated in the shelf on the underside of the barrel and moves up and down with the barrel. On most Kahrs, if the notch is not there the rod tries to make its own as I observed on my un-notched K9 from '97/'98. The polymer frame would probably deform over time if it was the support on the rear of the recoil spring assembly. The RSA provides rearward pressure to keep the barrel against the breechface of the slide.



The above picture is not mine, but another member's post, shown for a good photo of what can happen as the RSA beats against the forward RSA receptacle.

Wynn