Hello, and new to me CW45 problems

[imarangemaster]

Hello. New member here, hoping for some help from the knowledge base here. Here is a copy of the text of an email I sent to Kahr customer service. Soliciting ideas on this forum, also: It is like this CW45 is an absolute lemon! In 20 years of being a firearms instructor and rangemaster, having evaluated many firearms for possible LEO use, I have NEVER had a pistol perform so poorly! Thanks in advance

"I recently purchased a mint condition, but used, CW45 from a local gunshop. I took it to the range to try it, as I am a retired LEO and planned to use it as my main carry weapon, replacing my glock.

1) Using Kahr mags, the magazine falls out about every other shot I take. Either the catch is defective, or the spring is too week.


2) Using standard velocity 230 grain hollow points (not +P), the slide stop engages about once every magazine under recoil. That spring also feels very soft.


3) Using Kahr magazines and standard 230 grain FMJs, it did not feed reliably (about 1 out of 10 it failed to chamber fully). I tried three different brands of Hollow points (Speer, Winchester, and Hornady) and only the Hornady feed almost reliably. It is almost as if the recoil spring is too soft.


Three of the magazines I tried are new out of the package.


To say I am disappointed, is an understatement.


I have carried a Glock 19 for 20 years, and thought this would finally replace it. I have NEVER had a malfunction in the Glock. Not hardly the case with this. I fired about 35 rounds and had 14 malfunctions: mag drops, FTF, and involuntary slide stop engagement.


I am not a novice shooter, with 7 years military and 22 years law enforcement, many as a firearms instructor and rangemaster."

[getsome]

Hello imarangemaster and welcome to the site....Sorry you are having issues with the CW45....I had a CW40 that had the magazine dropping problem and that's how I found this place and several members talked me through fixing it....In your case I would call Kahr and don't tell them you bought it used and explain the problems you are having and ask for a new recoil spring and an improved magazine catch spring which is what fixed mine...It's easy to change out and all you need is a long thin screwdriver to pry out the old one and push in the new stronger one....

The slide locking back problem is one I had as well because I bent the little slide release spring when I put the gun back together after the first range trip....Pull the gun apart and look at the spring and be sure its straight both horizontally and vertically...If its bent you can tweak it with a pair of needle nose pliers to get it back in shape and when you push the slide stop lever in be sure it's in the 3 o clock position and it should snick back in...A little grease on the part of the lever that contacts the spring is good.....

Take your magazines apart and clean them well and be sure the mag springs are installed in the correct way, some have found springs installed upside down from the factory....Another trick while you have the follower out is to take some 1000 grit wet/dry paper and smooth up the part of the plastic that slides inside the mag tube, it should not catch on the inside at all and a little light spray of silicone won't hurt a thing just don't over do it and wipe off all excess....

These three things should get her back up and running but if not you can always call Kahr and ask for a return shipping label and let the mother ship have a look at it.... The CW45 is a real nice weapon and several folks here have one and report they are 100%....Some Kahrs need a little fluff and buff to get to perfection and are fine from then on.....One thing I forgot was while you have it apart why not mirror polish the feed ramp and chamber to help with the feeding problems you experienced...Kahrs have a real tight champer and benefit from a good polish job....Try these things and give it another go at the range....It's unknown how many rounds have been through your pistol since you bought it used but even the manual says to give it 200 rounds to break in all the moving parts.....That is a nice pistol you have and once it's working right you will soon come to love it....Work with it and don't give up just yet...There are lots of real nice knowledgeable folks here more than willing to help a fellow out....Once again welcome aboard and let us know how it goes....

[yqtszhj]

Welcome to the forum. Dont get disgruntled but check out the thread below:
http://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.p...sues-and-fixes

Hang in there and get it working. It probably wont be too difficult and I promise you'll love it when you get it running right. I put 1000+ rounds through my first one then sent it back for a frame problem that they fixed for free. Got it back and put a couple of hundred rounds through the new one with no issues. Its a soft shooter.

[imarangemaster]

THANKS FOR THE INPUT AND ENCOURAGEMENT! I am a Glock armorer, so the catch spring is no problem As an interim, I tweeked it a tad to increase pressure on the catch. I'll try trimming the edge of the follower, as I believe it is helping disengage the catch. A new recoil spring is a must. I will try calling Kahr and see if I can get a new recoil and mag catch spring, and a new improved mag catch. I love the feel of the weapon, and it shoots well to point of aim for me (when it is not jamming!). I also put a slight downward tweek in the slide stop spring tail down to give a little more downward tension on the slide stop. Also, this time I shot it without the Pachmyer grip sleeve, and in recoil, it was moving around in my grip much more than when I first fired it with ball ammo as a test. I mag have been bumping the mag catch with the already too weak spring. We will see. I'll do some more rounds with the sleeve back on and the spring tweeked increasing pressure on the catch.

[yqtszhj]

It shoots point of aim for me too. The cw45 fit my hands perfect. I actually really like the sights too. Just dot the I and you're on target.

[imarangemaster]

The magazine that came with the weapon has an awful spring (compressed). Does the CW45 take Wolff Officer's model springs? I modified the followers on the factory mags. The plastic follower would push the mag catch half way open it is so tight in the magazine body. I relieved it as in the linked post, and it doesn't touch it now. I also tightened the screw for the slide catch. It was REALLY loose. Also put a slight down turn in it to increase the pressure to stay un-engaged. I will try it tomorrow. I still need to get a new recoil spring. I actually wonder if this one wasn't trimmed for soft reloads....

[yqtszhj]

I still have my original mag spring. As a matter of fact i only have 1 kahr mag for my cw45 but i do use actmag 7 round magazines that I have for an officers model 1911. They worked from day one and hold the slide back on the last round.

I never had any feeding or mag problems after relieving the follower as you just did. I think wolff might make a kahr mag spring but I'm not sure. I know they make some of the other springs. You may have fixed your problems now.

I never replaced my recoil spring before i sent it back for the frame issue and it seemed light but worked fine. After a few hundred rounds the action got really smooth on my cw45 and I could slow ride the slide forward and still chamber a round. Never could do that on my 9mm's.

[CJB]

The common thread to your problem is the magazine retention.

If the magazine isn't staying put, then how can you expect hold open, proper feeding, etc? You can't.

Do the (very) easy fix. Hey treat yourself to a new catch too, just in case its been bubba'd a little by the previous owner.

Could be too.... the pistol came with the catch not quite right, and owner number one traded that pistol in before it was good and limbered up. Sayin' that since you might be looking at a minor problem, and the need to still break in your Kahr a bit. You'll find that the recoil spring will loosen up a good bit, and things will smooth out considerably when that happens. And, a NEW recoil spring will require a bit of shooting to loosen up too, since its new. Its a matter of being a short spring coupled with a tiny pistol, and the way spring metal works - they make 'em a little stronger than they ought to be, and they become what they ought to be with a little use.

You might find your "standard" velocity 230's are actually a bit slow - ie, WWB is on the slow side, and don't function as well in new Kahr pistols. I used to shoot "the regular stuff" for breakin, but... my mind is changed on that. I shoot the hottest stuff I can find, the stronger the better for breaking in the pistol. Thats exactly what it needs for best (and most rapid) break in.

Finally.... my two PM45's both run as close to 100 percent as I could expect. The one that I carry daily, rides in my pocket for six months at a time, and about twice a year, I'll get pissed off at a possum or **** in the back yard, and go unload (shooting low on purpuse just to get the critter gone). Then I clean the pistol and reload it, and back in the pocket it goes. Lint and grit and crap... all that pocket goo, mung, qweeb and such, don't seem to effect it at all. Runs whenever I want it to. Range time, not so much lately, but it can be counted on to go bang all the time.

[imarangemaster]

Thanks for the great advice. I am a factory trained Glock and Beretta Law Enforcement Armorer. Rather than get lathered, I figure out what is wrong and fix it! That's why I came here to tap into this knowledge base. I contacted Kahr, and they wanted me to get an RMA and go through the hassle (I live in Kalifornistan) and expense of sending it back, and MAYBE considering it warranty covered. I explained I was an armorer, and I requested new recoil, mag catch and slide stop springs from them, as well as a new catch. The shelf on this catch is very flat, not canted up like the improved ones. For now, I tweeked the catch spring in the middle, giving it a little more force in the direction of retention. I also put a slight downward tweek in the slide stop spring. I'll try it again today with the interim fixes.

I really love this little pistol, even with the grief it gave me yesterday. Oh, BTW, I put the Pachmayr grip sleeve back on. The little bugger is like a hand cannon shooting 230 +Ps!

I have Winchester Ranger 230 +P T series HPS, Speer Gold Dot 230 HPs, and Some Hornady Critical Defense. Maybe the recoil spring will work with the other issued handled.

[hardluk1]

Are you loading the mag loaded and slide closed . If so give the mag a hard rap to set it or rack the slide back . I don't even use my kahr mags in my 45 . Officers recoil spring does not work with out some bending . If you can find some check-mate 1911 mags they need one thing done to them to be reliable and have an extra round , bend the front of the feed lip down level to run reliably . You tube video covers 1911 mags in cw45 . Some won't do use them cause they not made for the kahr . 1911 have there own problems with mags .

Used handguns - You just never know what some one has done . Could be your pushing the slide hold open up and not realizing it ? That's has been an issues for some .

I prefer mid weight bullets and some +P loads on no or low round count kahr and run them wet when new .

[imarangemaster]

Kahr responded. They will be happy to send me the parts...as long as I pay for them first! LOL! What heck happened to all of that wonderful Kaht warranty and customer service I keep reading about?????? I guess because I told them it was used, I don't count.

[Bawanna]

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

If you haven't already read this thread it's a good one. There's a post in there specifically addressing that slide stop spring, how it should be oriented and how it actually acts as two separate springs.

Do be durn careful with the screw on that unit, steel screw into tupperware frame is a weak spot to me, easy to strip.

[imarangemaster]

They advised me the warranty only applies to the original owner. It is void once it is sold. I guess honesty isn't the best policy all the time.

[Bawanna]

I think honesty is still the best policy, descretion with the release of unnecessay information is advised?

The main thing is we want to get that gun up and running 110%.

[RonW]

They advised me the warranty only applies to the original owner. It is void once it is sold. I guess honesty isn't the best policy all the time.

I'm going to go ahead & chime in.... Yeah their warranty is not transferable unfortunately however the good thing is, except the frame itself, you can order any part for your pistol & have it sent to your home. I have ordered from Kahr arms website & it was painless & the standard shipping was quick, within a week after ordering. And the prices are very reasonable. The pistol is simple in design and pretty much anyone can change out the parts themselves.

Since you bought your CW45 used... I would have to assume that it's still going to need a good breaking in still..... The mag popping out is unacceptable however... I would suggest giving the pistol a good cleaning & lube... inspect the plastic follower on your mags for defects/cracks & order a replacement recoil spring, mag catch & slide release spring.... be careful when inserting the slide release lever back into the gun, if done incorrectly, it can bend the spring, which might be a possibility from it's previous owner, that can cause some of the problems your describing....

On a good note... I've owned my CW40 for nearly a yr, put 1100 rounds thru it and it's been ultra reliable. In fact, it replaced my M&P shield 9 as my primary carry. I sold my Shield 40 when I bought my K9..... In addition to being my EDC, I also use it for weekly IDPA club matches at our local indoor range. There was another guy that shows up on occasion that uses his CW45, and his like mine, has been very reliable as well.

Hey, since your going to be ordering some parts from Kahr, you might as well consider ordering their Trijicon front night sight for your CW45... I just replaced mine on my CW40 and it's working out great!