Found solution to FTF and failure to return to battery on CW 380

[dsk]

Find me a reliable 9mm or .45 pistol that drops right into the front pocket of my summer shorts without leaving a telltale bulge or droop and you've got a deal.

I know what you're saying though.

[King Rat]

It also might be a good time to up the caliber, and quit beating an already dead horse. Anyone reading this stuff would, if they had half a brain, never fool with a .380 period. Who has this kind of time and money to fool with these guns. They're small, and that's all. Purchase a firearm that actually works all of the time. They are out there you know. This .380 crap takes up the whole site. Thankfully, there are 9mm, .40 cal. and .45 cal. that run like Swiss watches. Also thankfully, there are other topics besides "my .380 works like s#!t", or "my .380 doesn't like any ammo."

Lol, we get the fact that you do not want or like a 380. We get it. I carry both a 380 and 9mm. It would be ridiculous to argue the merits of the 380. Obviously it is a ongoing debate that has no end. Maybe you should get with the admin. and suggest they drop all 380 related threads. Sorry you were so offended by my post wishing to find compatible ammo for a pistol that I like and invested hard earned dollars on. You obviously are a senior member so I will bow out of the forum and no longer be a member. So in essence you win. And for the Record there have been many post of 380's that run great. I think you just like to pick and choose. Your name calling of all that enjoy the 380 is not only childish, but rude. Enjoy your 45 Sir.
Admin. please delete all my post. Thank you.

[Bawanna]

No need for all that. Equally opposing thoughts and ideas don't make neither one wrong or right.

Its more a simple case of if it works for you your golden.

I personally have no use for pocket carry or the 380 caliber, really not overly fond of the 9mm but as my hands degenerate it certainly might be in my future and I own a few. Don't mean it isn't a good fit for other people.

Lets not get personal or overwrought. This is an oasis not a cage fighting ring. I do enjoy a good internet fisticuff from time to time but nobody lets me play anymore so we try to avoid them whenever possible.

[berettabone]

Find me a reliable 9mm or .45 pistol that drops right into the front pocket of my summer shorts without leaving a telltale bulge or droop and you've got a deal.

I know what you're saying though.

I have one, and been carrying it for about 7 years now. It's called an MK9. I also don't worry about telltale bulges. The sheeple don't notice a thing.

[berettabone]

Lol, we get the fact that you do not want or like a 380. We get it. I carry both a 380 and 9mm. It would be ridiculous to argue the merits of the 380. Obviously it is a ongoing debate that has no end. Maybe you should get with the admin. and suggest they drop all 380 related threads. Sorry you were so offended by my post wishing to find compatible ammo for a pistol that I like and invested hard earned dollars on. You obviously are a senior member so I will bow out of the forum and no longer be a member. So in essence you win. And for the Record there have been many post of 380's that run great. I think you just like to pick and choose. Your name calling of all that enjoy the 380 is not only childish, but rude. Enjoy your 45 Sir.
Admin. please delete all my post. Thank you.

You are correct.........the Admin. is well aware of what gets posted on this forum. I wasn't offended by your post at all. I didn't know I did any name calling. I have owned a .380, and got rid of it because of just the issues that are being hashed out over and over. In my opinion, NONE, and I repeat, NONE of the .380's out there are 100% reliable, and will never be. As far as being a senior member, believe me, it matters little in this world. Childish? OK, rude, nah. No reason to leave so soon. Nobody likes a quitter. This is a Kahr forum, and you will get opinions on what you post. Crying towels are not included with your subscription.

[DavidR]

I own 2 LCPs. At least 500 rounds through each and they have functioned fine from the first round. I recently picked up an RM380 and so far, through 225 rounds, it has been flawless with 3 types of FMJ and 2 different Lehigh Defense rounds.

My son owns an LCP. It's been reliable from day 1.

My CW380 on the other hand was a disaster.

There are reliable pocket 380s out there that function from day 1 and aren't ammo finicky but Kahr isn't one of them.



Dave

[Bawanna]

I'm not totally on board with none of them being reliable. A few years ago I would have totally agreed with you.

But while we seem to hear about nothing lately but 380's I think there are many that run fine that we don't hear about.

Historically we always hear more about the bad ones than we do the good ones.

I grant thee they apparently can be troublesome, I don't dispute that.

[DavidR]

True. There are certainly Kahr 380s that have run reliably as there are LCPs that have had issues and it's really hard to gauge how pervasive a problem is from Internet forums.


Dave

[dsk]

I've got a Glock 42 that just runs and runs and runs. At the same time I've seen posts from people on the Glock forums who were about ready to throw theirs into the nearest river. The smaller you go with a semi-auto handgun the more critical everything is regarding ammo, recoil springs, and overall condition and cleanliness of the firearm. There is simply no margin of error like there usually is with a full-sized handgun.

I guess at this point it's worth mentioning that I often carry an even smaller handgun... a Kel-Tec .32ACP. With that we're even further down the power scale, but it actually is the most reliable of all my pocket pistols (I don't count my G42 as a pocket gun because it still creates a noticeable bulge) so it gets carried when the situation warrants it. Puny as it is, it's still a powerful weapon compared to being caught completely unarmed.

[SlowBurn]

I've had 4 CW and P 380s. 3 had no significant issues. The newest CW380 was very difficult out of the box and has required some breaking in. I'm no gunsmith. My solution is to clean it, lube it liberally with Balisol and a little silicon grease, including the magazine, shoot a box, rinse & repeat. With just over 100 rounds through it, I can now break it down without using any tools to poke the slide lock out, though I still need to use a table top to get the recoil springs/guide rod assembly back in place. Problem free using the old mag with standard round head fmj. With the new mag it failed to return to battery last time out about once per mag, but no jams like first time out. Pretty confident it will be fine with a little more breaking in.

[berettabone]

If you take in to account all of the complaints on the .380, and all of the........this ammo works and this ammo doesn't, it's all over the map. One person says Perfecta works, another says no. One says Remington works, another says no. Some people can only find one brand that works. There is no consistency with any of it. You also have to take in to account all of the owners who don't know about this site, or don't read about any internet issues. These poor people just unload the firearm on to the next person. Let's get down to basics. There is no reason why you should have to go through all of this with a new firearm. Most people are not gunsmiths, engineers, etc.. Purchase at your own risk people. You should not have to go through hundreds of dollars in ammo, to try and find one that works consistently. You end up spending more time and money than you paid for the firearm in the first place. To put it in perspective, I've been a shooter for over 45+ years, and besides my MK, I have never had ANY of these issues with ANY firearm or manufacturer. I guess you have to ask yourself, is a .380 really worth all of this trouble? Apparently some think so................................................ .....

[b4uqzme]

If you take in to account all of the complaints on the .380, and all of the........this ammo works and this ammo doesn't, it's all over the map. One person says Perfecta works, another says no. One says Remington works, another says no. Some people can only find one brand that works. There is no consistency with any of it. You also have to take in to account all of the owners who don't know about this site, or don't read about any internet issues. These poor people just unload the firearm on to the next person. Let's get down to basics. There is no reason why you should have to go through all of this with a new firearm. Most people are not gunsmiths, engineers, etc.. Purchase at your own risk people. You should not have to go through hundreds of dollars in ammo, to try and find one that works consistently. You end up spending more time and money than you paid for the firearm in the first place. To put it in perspective, I've been a shooter for over 45+ years, and besides my MK, I have never had ANY of these issues with ANY firearm or manufacturer. I guess you have to ask yourself, is a .380 really worth all of this trouble? Apparently some think so................................................ .....

^^^ I haven't personally experienced the .380 woes. Yet I came to the decision that 9mm is small and light enough for me. PM9 or CM9 is pert near perfect IMHO. YMMV.

[dsk]

I guess you have to ask yourself, is a .380 really worth all of this trouble?

Just a FYI, besides my Glock 42 I also have a 1929-vintage Colt Pocket Hammerless .380, and although it's an antique that I hardly shoot anymore it has always been flawlessly reliable no matter what ammo I put in it. I also used to own a Bersa Thunder and a couple of CZ-83s, and all of them were 100% reliable. The issue here isn't with the .380 cartridge in general, but what happens when you try to shoehorn it into a tiny handgun the size of yesterday's .25 and .32 autos. You have to accept the limitations of such tiny guns and the fact that they're not going to be as reliable or long-term durable as a full-sized handgun. They are going to be ammo-sensitive and require a lot more maintenance. If you're not willing to put up with that then stick with a larger handgun made for shooting instead of pocket carry. I'm not expecting my P380 or LCP to run several thousand rounds or fire all brands of ammo without issue. I just want them to work well enough that, given the required TLC I can still expect them to work if they're desperately needed.

[DavidR]

In my opinion:

Buy an LCP or an
RM380 and you most likely will have no problems with any ammo. Buy a Kahr 380 and you roll the dice. Even if you do get one that runs smoothly on some ammo, there's a good chance that down the road the striker will break.

There are pocket 380 designs that are as reliable and ammo friendly as the typical bigger 9mm. Kahr just isn't one of them.




Dave

[finpro]

Just a FYI, besides my Glock 42 I also have a 1929-vintage Colt Pocket Hammerless .380, and although it's an antique that I hardly shoot anymore it has always been flawlessly reliable no matter what ammo I put in it. I also used to own a Bersa Thunder and a couple of CZ-83s, and all of them were 100% reliable. The issue here isn't with the .380 cartridge in general, but what happens when you try to shoehorn it into a tiny handgun the size of yesterday's .25 and .32 autos. You have to accept the limitations of such tiny guns and the fact that they're not going to be as reliable or long-term durable as a full-sized handgun. They are going to be ammo-sensitive and require a lot more maintenance. If you're not willing to put up with that then stick with a larger handgun made for shooting instead of pocket carry. I'm not expecting my P380 or LCP to run several thousand rounds or fire all brands of ammo without issue. I just want them to work well enough that, given the required TLC I can still expect them to work if they're desperately needed.

I was going to make this same point, but dsk beat me to it and likely did a better job than I would have. John Browning invented the .380 and it served for a long time in serious police and military contexts. I have two .380 SIG P230s, once SIG's smallest pistol. My all stainless P230 weighs a bit less than a K9 and is roughly the same size. My alloy P230 weighs considerably less. I haven't shot them in some time, but when I did, they were very accurate and I do not remember ever having a failure. Modern defensive .380s in such pistols perform at roughly the same power levels as short barrel .38 Specials, carry more rounds and can shoot faster with great accuracy.
As to today's really tiny .380 pistols, I think they would work better if they were slightly larger than the smallest sizes as in the CT380.