Chambering the first round, a slingshot modification

[Thunder71]

Thanks for the clarification... Any idea if this works for the 6 round magazine as well, it seems your first video shows the 6 round failing followed by samples using a 7 round magazine.

[G3709]

I have no problem feeding a live round with my K9 by racking the slide even when brand new. Just make sure to pull the slide all the way back until it can go back no further. You can hear the noise of the barrel hit the cam surface. One of the easiest ways to rack it is to grasp the slide with the thumb and forefinger of the nonshooting hand. Push the shooting hand forward as far as possible and release the slide to chamber a cartridge. Because of the heavy recoil spring, it is easier to work the slide by pushing forward on the frame than by pulling back on the slide.
BTW, my K9 no longer has issue with premature slide lock and the recoil is softer with new slide stop, and recoil spring that Kahr sent me.

[gb6491]

Thanks folks!

Thanks for the clarification... Any idea if this works for the 6 round magazine as well, it seems your first video shows the 6 round failing followed by samples using a 7 round magazine.

I see no reason that it should not work for the 6 round magazine. In regards to the video, the first magazine in the sequence is a 7 rounder with a metal base plate. It is also unmodified. I included it to show what the issue is. Sorry for any confusion that caused.

In the little bit I've carried these magazines with modified followers, I've not had any issues with the top round dislodging. While I don't have enough experience with them to be convinced they will solve the lost round issue some have experienced, I'm convinced they hold the round better than the stock follower does.
Regards,
Greg

[Thunder71]

Sorry for all the questions, but in your honest opinion - which option do you think is best, the modified Kahr follower or using the ProMag parts?

[gb6491]

Sorry for all the questions, but in your honest opinion - which option do you think is best, the modified Kahr follower or using the ProMag parts?

I'm not enamored with the ProMag spring and I like that the Kahr follower has a metal insert on the slide stop shelf. There is risk to modifying the Kahr follower (you could ruin it) and you can avoid that by using the ProMag parts.
All that said, I've went with the modified Kahr follower and all Kahr parts for my magazines. That's not meant to discount the ProMag /Kahr setup as it did function without issue.
Regards,
Greg

[Thunder71]

Great, and thanks again for all of the info!

Now to work on convincing you to modify one for me for a small fee

[OldLincoln]

"Whawl, if it was sposed to be that way, Mr. Browning would have made it that way!" Oops, wrong forum!

Good for you Greg. I know I must be missing something here, so please explain to the dummy in me how the follower mod affects the top round as it apparently does. Also, please let us know how it works out after a few hundred rounds

[gb6491]

I have no problem feeding a live round with my K9 by racking the slide even when brand new. Just make sure to pull the slide all the way back until it can go back no further. You can hear the noise of the barrel hit the cam surface. One of the easiest ways to rack it is to grasp the slide with the thumb and forefinger of the nonshooting hand. Push the shooting hand forward as far as possible and release the slide to chamber a cartridge. Because of the heavy recoil spring, it is easier to work the slide by pushing forward on the frame than by pulling back on the slide.
BTW, my K9 no longer has issue with premature slide lock and the recoil is softer with new slide stop, and recoil spring that Kahr sent me.

G3709,
Thanks for the input; as I mentioned earlier in this thread, "I can rack rounds into my CW9 and CW45 without issue using the magazines as they come from the factory. The CW45 can be done in almost any manner. The CW9 requires strict attention to technique and is not tolerant of sloppiness. I believe this is enough of a problem that Kahr rewrote their manual to advise only using the slide stop to chamber a round." This mod just makes the pistol much more tolerant of how it is charged and does so without changing any other aspect of the pistol's functionality. It's good that you are satisfied with the operation of your pistol as it is and I wish you continued satisfaction with it.
Regards,
Greg

[Thunder71]

Yeah, I can repeat the lock up about 90% of the time with ease... even sometimes when I try my darndest it will lock up, and sometimes complete the cycle a moment later. If I could get it to reliably rack a round using the slingshot method I'd be one happy camper - will be trying it this weekend since I never use my 7 round magazine anyway.

[gb6491]

"Whawl, if it was sposed to be that way, Mr. Browning would have made it that way!" Oops, wrong forum!

Good for you Greg. I know I must be missing something here, so please explain to the dummy in me how the follower mod affects the top round as it apparently does. Also, please let us know how it works out after a few hundred rounds

Thanks,
As to how it works, I believe it limits, to greater degree than the factory follower does, how far the top round nosedives when chambering. That seems to give the round a slightly nose higher aspect when it hit's the ramp minimizing the probability of it jamming. It could also be that it just causes the round to hit the ramp higher (regardless of attitude) which would also (IMO) minimize the chance of a nose dive failure. Anyway, those thoughts are what I based my modification on. I could be far off the mark with them, but I'm happy with the results.

I've about 60 rounds through the first magazine I modified without any failures and will update as I shoot more.

Regards,
Greg

[gb6491]

Hey Greg! Thanks for your tireless and well documented efforts to improve the "Kahr experience". Although hand racking my PM40 and CW40 is easy, I am going to try your modification to see if it helps make the occasional nose dive I have experienced with 180 grain Winchester Ranger JHP ammo. I would love to have the cheaper, slightly more potent, 180 grain stuff work as well as its 135 grain sibling, which is 100% reliable (knock wood). Your modification may be the key. That would make you a hero in my book. Thanks again.

By the way, what is the purpose of the round "dimple" in your modified follower? Is it important?

Hey, thanks TucsonMTB. I look forward to hearing if this helps with feeding 180 gr. pills in your pistols.

That round "dimple" is just a result of sanding down the follower. There is some irregularity in that area to start with. My other magazine has it as well (though not as defined).

Regards,
Greg

Whoa, I had this reply typed and had to step away from the computer for a moment. I just posted and saw that you've done the mod.
I now look forward to the range report. Thanks!

[Thunder71]

Ok I did this mod today over lunch hour but only did part of it and it works great!

I only flattened the top of the follower, not the angle - I can ride the slide all the way in and it chambers great.

I haven't tried it at the range yet, so fingers crossed for another 600+ flawless rounds. Worst case I take the one out of my 7 round magazine and replace it.

LOVE this mod, thank you.

[gb6491]

Ok I did this mod today over lunch hour but only did part of it and it works great!

I only flattened the top of the follower, not the angle - I can ride the slide all the way in and it chambers great.

I haven't tried it at the range yet, so fingers crossed for another 600+ flawless rounds. Worst case I take the one out of my 7 round magazine and replace it.

LOVE this mod, thank you.

Excellent post Thunder71
I'm going to edit my earlier post to include your info about only needing to flatten the top of the follower. That makes the mod that much easier to do and falls in line with my results wherein doing just the pencil sanding didn't fix the issue completely. With your input, it would seem that the combination of sanded surfaces may not be necessary
I look forward to reading your range report.
Regards,
Greg

[Denny M]

How much would you say you took off the top? I am having a tough time reading your calipers. If I decide to only sand the top how much would you suggest i take off.

By the way, good stuff. Must have taken some b*lls to do it on a pig in a poke.

[Thunder71]

I used the 600 grit sandpaper, didn't take off much at all - enough to flatten the top and a couple swipes more. Now I wonder if I could have sanded even less, so easy and quick.

All you need is for the round to be ever so slightly higher in the magazine and bam, works wonders!