? about plating coming off feed ramp and chamber on PM9.

[duesenberg1]

I just picked up my nib mk40 with night sights today. Went out and shot 50rnds. I inspected the barrel and there was flaking of the plating in the bore of the barrel. I am somewhat frustrated and am not looking foward to spending more money on shipping to fix my new gun that I paid so much for.

[getsome]

Ah oh, thats not good...so far its only been the 9mm barrels but looks like the problem might also include .40 cal barrels...I think I'll have a good look at my CW40 when I get home....Hope this is an isolated incident...

[deadhead1971]

Everytime I see this thread rear its ugly head and manifest itself, I think, "Oh no, not again."

Dues--It's not that expensive to mail back the barrel. I think I paid about 5 to $8 which included $160 insurance to cover it. It is a pain, and it was a 2 week turn around. Kahr mailed me a new barrel.

[xzhync]

As noted in my post above, my second barrel is flaking as bad or worse that the first barrel. It only took 100 rounds to cause the flaking. On January 18th I called the customer service to report the problem with the second barrel. At that time, the rep said they were out but were expecting more barrels by that Friday (Jan 22nd). He told me to call him that Friday if I didn't hear anything. Well, I ended up calling and was told that the barrels did not come in. I asked about a revised expected delivery and he said he didn't know. It has now been 2 weeks since the "expected" delivery of the barrels...still no barrels. I have called a few times to check on status, but I keep getting their scripted response which is "the problem is cosmetic, but because you paid good money you should have a firearm that is free from the flaking. You can continue to shoot your firearm as much as you want...the flaking should not cause a problem". I have called several times in the last few weeks and I get the same speech (nearly word for word the same). They also won't give any info on when the new barrels will come in. I may be crazy, but in my line of work, if I can't meet a customer expectation, I am behind the scenes doing what I can to expedite the solution. The last time I called...this last Tuesday, I asked for the same rep that I have been talking to. He wouldn't take my call. He told the other person to say that the barrels are not in, that he knows who I am, and will send a new barrel once they arrive. This person also indicated that the "production line" gets first priority for any barrels that arrive. They act like they are at the mercy of whatever entity ships them barrels. Maybe they are helpless, but I bet they could make some phone calls and apply some level of pressure. Everytime I have asked, they deny that this is a large problem. They told me that it was very odd that I have had 2 barrels do the same flaking. I explained that I have seen this problem on this blog, but they down-played it. I mean, come on, what are the odds that there have only been two (or a very small handful) of bad barrels and I just happened to get both of them. I am not stupid. Obviously, this is a bigger problem. They will tell you that it is just cosmetic, though. They say the pistol is perfectly fine. How do they know that? Have they done extensive testing with flaking barrels...don't think so. I am hoping that this current delay has something to do with correcting the flaking problem. I am hoping that they are rejecting batches that aren't plated correctly. I would like to think that the next barrel they send will absolutely not have this problem. I am not very encouraged though. Can anyone here provide me with the name of a supervisor at Kahr? I want to talk to someone that will stop giving the canned speech and start getting results.

[jocko]

xzhync

PM sent...

[rock]

Good morning to everyone, In am new to the forum, but not new to kahr pistols. i own about 25 kahr pistols, they are my favoriT handguns. i have been buying kahr arms pistols and longuns for 20 yrs. plus. I been a gunsmith for almost 50 yrs. Jocko got it rite, polish bbl. and it will be good as new, it may be a bbl. that was added . in any case a highly polished bbl. will do as well as any other process. like any other tool or firearm keep it well cleaned and lubricated. TALK TO YOU MEMBERS SOON. ziggy

Err, I don't believe Kahr has been making pistols for 20 years.

[jocko]

ur right

Err, I don't believe Kahr has been making pistols for 20 years.

17 years, I think the members here knew that fella's post was pure B.S . He has never come back either,

[xzhync]

Got the new barrel yesterday. It is a little different. Doesn't appear to be as much nickel plating. The only area that appears to be plated is the feed ramp. At least this is the only area that is shiny on this barrel. If the other areas are plated then they are now a matte finish. I'll try and test it out today or tomorrow. The only concern, is that there is a fine scratch on the feed ramp. Hopefully, that won't lead to flaking. I'll give a report after I shoot 100 rounds or so.

[deadhead1971]

XZ--my replacement barrel was the same--dull finish but feed ramp was smooth mirror shiny. I don't have a scratch but I have a small crater on the outside of the barrel.

One thing I noticed with the "new" barrel was how hard it is to clean--the black carbon-powder-soot does not want to come off with any bore cleaner. Please see how yours cleans and let me know. Seriously, this barrel is much harder to get clean than the first and even after cleaning, it is not totally clean.

I have 560 rounds through the new barrel with no flaking.

[jocko]

not really

Got the new barrel yesterday. It is a little different. Doesn't appear to be as much nickel plating. The only area that appears to be plated is the feed ramp. At least this is the only area that is shiny on this barrel. If the other areas are plated then they are now a matte finish. I'll try and test it out today or tomorrow. The only concern, is that there is a fine scratch on the feed ramp. Hopefully, that won't lead to flaking. I'll give a report after I shoot 100 rounds or so.

they just polished the feed ramp, the entire barrel inside and out is nickel plated. You shold be good to go. I serioulsy doubt if that fine scratch on the feed ramp will do anything. the Nickel finish is harder than the steel in the barrel. Just shoot it like you stole it..

[xzhync]

XZ--my replacement barrel was the same--dull finish but feed ramp was smooth mirror shiny. I don't have a scratch but I have a small crater on the outside of the barrel.

One thing I noticed with the "new" barrel was how hard it is to clean--the black carbon-powder-soot does not want to come off with any bore cleaner. Please see how yours cleans and let me know. Seriously, this barrel is much harder to get clean than the first and even after cleaning, it is not totally clean.

I have 560 rounds through the new barrel with no flaking.

Well, I went to the range the other night and shot 100 rounds through my new (less shiny barrel). After cleaning it, I didn't notice any flaking. Hopefully, this barrel has the problem solved. I won't breath completely easy until I shoot another 200 rounds or so, but I am encouraged. As far as difficulty cleaning, it seemed that the new barrel was a little harder to clean, but after using a good gel bore cleaner, it came clean fairly easily.

On a slightly different note, at the end of my range session, I put approx 20 rounds of Cor-Bon 115 grain +P. This is the round that is supposed to be the most powerful 9mm defensive round. All I can say is "wow". The kick is significantly more noticeable. These rounds seemed pretty accurate, but the additional recoil got my attention. I wouldn't mind finding a good, reliable 9mm defensive round with less kick and close to the same performance specs. The Cor-bon says something like 1366 ft/sec. and 466 ft./lbs. of energy. Even if I could find something around 400 ft./lbs., if it had less kick, would probably still be effective. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[deadhead1971]

Well, my 6 round mag and the one in the chamber is 124 Speer Gold Dots, and the 7 round back-up mag has federal 124 Hydra-shock. All are standard pressure.

The Gold Dots come in a black box like this and say "law enforcement" on the box--Speer Gold Dot® Pistol Ammunition : Cabela's

One thing that makes the Gold Dots stand out from the others (I am told) is its ability to go through a windshield and continue in a staight path (trajectory?). This is important to me so that's why I have them.

The extreme shock air freedom round is by far the nastiest ammo out there, ouch!

Extreme Shock Tungsten Nytrilium Air Freedom Round Ammunition 9MM85AFR20, 9 MM, 85 GR, 1531 fps, 20

Extreme Shock - The World's Most Advanced Ammunition

[deadhead1971]

I put another 200 rounds through the new PM9 barrel---764 rounds to date-- and no flaking

I have 1189 rounds through the slide amd frame

[B18C5 Tom]

So is this barrel issue limited to the PM9?

Are there any cases of it happening in the P45, PM40, P380, etc????

WOW I just stumbled across this topic.

I just purchased a PM40 (I already own a PM9 too) and the PM40 being brand new, never fired by me I already see barrel flaking. I noticed it when I took the pistol apart to clean the grease and lube the pistol to my liking. A co-worker and fellow Kahr owner who already sent his CW40 back for a new barrel (flaking) pointed out me flaking PM40 barrel.

I'm debating now whether to just go ahead and send them the brand new, flaking barrel before I even run any ammo through it. I've read numerous times that it's "just cosmetic" but a few things don't sit well with me in regards to this:

1. It would make resale difficult/next to impossible

2. If it's cosmetic only then why even have the coating in the first place?

I've already sent my PM9 back for a malfunction with ammo, and that customer service experience was top-notch taking just 6 calendar days to complete the service - just 4 business days.

I really want to be a positive spokesperson for Kahr, and I really want to know that their pistol will do its part in saving my life so long as I do my part.

I skipped the last 4 pages so if I'm rehashing an old point that other models are affected I apologize.

[wagon]

... and in the case of my replacement barrel.. total 406 rounds to date, so far so good.

I put another 200 rounds through the new PM9 barrel---764 rounds to date-- and no flaking

I have 1189 rounds through the slide amd frame