New CW380,dissapointed.

[DavidR]

I have the same problem with my CW380. I bought it in July and have had return to battery problems from day 1. It seemed to get better after I did some internal polishing but it started up again last week. I have about 500 rounds through it. Never had an FTF or an FTE. Battery failures have occurred with Aguila FMJ, Blazer Brass FMJ, Federal Hydra Shok and Lehigh XP. Never had a battery failure with Hornady Critical Defense and one of my three mags seems to work fine.

I called Kahr Tuesday, spoke with Gino. He sent me a shipping label. I shipped it Wednesday and it arrived at Kahr Friday morning. I hope whatever they do to fix it won't screw up the fact that it has never jammed.

[DavidR]

OK just tore it down did a good cleaning and noticed the hood of the barrel has been contacting the inside of the slide,it happens in the last portion of slide travel as the barrel moves into lock up,there are marks on the inside of the slide and the very edge of the barrel hood is now deformed from hitting.
It explains why it needed that little nudge to send it home.
I will get ahold of customer service and find out how to send it back for thier examination.

Mine had what you described but I don't think that's abnormal. I polished the barrel and the slide in that area but, as posted above, still had battery failures.

[gun papa]

This is what we were experiencing, corrected, 500+ rounds in April. No response to my E mail. Fixed it with new springs.




If this barrel hood to slide mating deformity is what you are referring to, it is not the cause of your issue and is normal mating wear, IMO.

[timboy]

Here are some pics,its the best I can do with my tablet.
In the first picture the pick is resting on the damaged area in the second pic its hard to see due to the grainy pictures but there are lines where the barrel has been dragging down the slide.
[IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG]

[timboy]

That first picture is exactly what is happening with mine and the marking on the barrel hood is very similar!
To me that is not normal part wear in that is piss poor fit and finish,they really should do better than that.
Did the new springs look the same as the springs you replaced,is length etc?

This is what we were experiencing, corrected, 500+ rounds in April. No response to my E mail. Fixed it with new springs.




If this barrel hood to slide mating deformity is what you are referring to, it is not the cause of your issue and is normal mating wear, IMO.

[gun papa]

Springs looked different. I will post when I get back.

[timboy]

Springs looked different. I will post when I get back.

OK thanks,was the gun new when you got it?

[gun papa]

OK thanks,was the gun new when you got it?

Please direct your attention to the picture. The springs are clearly different. To answer your question, yes, the gun was new when we purchased it.

Let me state my opinion that I do not believe there was much, if any spring degradation of the original springs from use. The original springs were weak since new out of the box, and the issue of not returning to full battery shown in my prior picture was apparent from onboxing.

In this picture are original recoil springs, (right), and new replacements from Kahr, (left). While the inner springs appear to be the same length, the new spring is thicker gauge, and with firmer tension.

The original outer spring is clearly shorter. Replacing the springs, both of them, solved the problem with my Wife's gun failing to return to battery. I had NO issues with the failing to return to battery with my CW380, and its factory springs resemble the newly purchased springs shown in the image.

[gun papa]

To me that is not normal part wear in that is piss poor fit and finish,they really should do better than that.

In my opinion, in any moving device where two pieces have contact, the meshing of those parts is understandable, especially where tolerances are extremely close. The peening of the contact point of the barrel hood is not unusual, I do not think. Rather, preferable. A manufacturer can only fit parts so well, the rest meshes upon use. In both of the Kahr 380 guns we own, the barrel to slide lock up is so tight, you can not move it at all by pressing down on it. this lock up has a distinct effect on the accuracy potential of the gun, and our guns are damn accurate. I will wait until I have another 500+ rounds before I consider polishing the peened area.

The alternative to the peening is to have a loosey-goosey put together gun. I have no complaints based on the accuracy which I am getting from the piece, which I stated before is exceptional.

[yqtszhj]

Fyi, ive had bad luck with UMC ammo in kahrs, a beretta 92, and other guns due to low power ammo. Always had good results with American eagle, blazer brass, PMC, seller and bellot. Also had bad results in a LCP with independence ammo.

[timboy]

Gun Papa,thank you very much for the pics and help,that is a pretty big difference.
P380 slides are a little shorter from what I understand,I wonder if a batch of cw380 pistols left the factory with the wrong springs,may bee from a p380?

[gun papa]

If that were the case, the spring should have worked fine as the gun pictured is a P380.

[timboy]

Well I got a shipping label today,I am planning to send it out Thurs or Fridayafter I take some better pictures for my own record.
I really hope they make this thing right,I want this gun to be a keeper.

[AFDoc]

You may want to consider shipping it early in the week so it is not sitting in a truck or warehouse over the weekend. just a thought for peace of mind...

[gun papa]

I continue to believe that the Kahr 380 line gives me just what I want in a micro gun platform. Micro, locked breach, accurate, and reliable. I say this overall. It is asking for it all. I do not mind the minor kinks, overall the guns are amazing, especially in the value line. This weekend, I carried the CW in a front pocket, condition 3 in what is popularly termed, a non permissive environment, where I could not have carried another gun . I was thankful to have it and felt in no way that the gun would be discovered.