CW380 Range Report

[JMC]

Well I have call in to Kahr but they let me go to voicemail. Hopefully I’ll hear back today. I also noticed a few other issues with the CW380 that I want addressed also. The barrel and slide at 10 o’clock have a corresponding nick in the metal that certainly did not come from me and also where the top of the barrel meets the slide on the ejector side the metals is deformed and looks quite bad.

[JMC]

Well I was finally able to get ahold of someone who was very helpful and very understanding. The gun will be heading back to the mothership as soon as I get a free moment. You guys were right, they are definitely not quick to offer up a shipping label but after asking they took care of it. They said they are running around 5-6 weeks for repairs so we will wait and see what happens.

[King Rat]

Not bull IMO

The problems and known fixes have been out for awhile now. Kahr needs to address them. The CW380 would be the most kick-ass pocket .380 out there if only 95% of them worked flawlessly out of the box. Instead it seems more like 50/50. This "shoot 200 rounds through it and most of the problems will go away" excuse is bullcrap. That's like a car dealer saying you need to drive your brand-new car at least 10,000 miles before it will stop stalling at intersections.

I have not posted for a while. In my previous post I had talked about how reliable my CW380 has done so well. Yes, the Gun has tight tolerances. I knew that this upfront and considered it a trade off. It signified good quality. And I accepted the fact that it would need a break in. I did not go the course of shooting 200 rounds. I simply let the springs "Set" for a few days, along with the Mag springs and would just rack the gun over and over while watching TV. No big deal.
Later I did run into a problem, I had put some crap oil on the gun and it gummed it up. (I aways go back to Ballistol, do not know why I sometimes fall for other lubes). The striker would jam. So after taking the gun down, I cleaned it all out and re-oiled it with Ballistol and now back in action. The gun is running flawless. Had a good time Yesterday at the range. Low 20's made even the mild mannered Kahr, sting a little on recoil. Hands were frozen.

[vinnier6]

I have 300 plus rounds through mine, and it’s still not 100% reliable yet, but it seems to get better each range trip...I paid 220 new for mine at grab a gun so I just figured I got what I paid for.

i solved all my failures to lock open on empty mag with the mag guts kit, but I have been experiencing failure to go into battery and the occasional ftf.

i will admit, I sometimes get a lock back in the middle of a full mag from time to time and I believe that is on me as my support hand is riding really close to the slide release.

from now on, I plan to run this gun one handed as it would probably be used in a sd situation. I will check back after next range trip.

[lee1000]

CW380 Range Report

The striker would jam. So after taking the gun down, I cleaned it all out and re-oiled it with Ballistol and now back in action.

I wouldn't oil the striker or channel. I'm not sure about Kahr but I know Glock doesn't recommend it. I generally find oil on the striker due to ingress so it will find its way in there. I also use the thicker Slip2000 EWL30.

[CharlieW]

I have about 80 rounds thru my new CW380, and it has run great, even with all kinds of crappy ammo (Monarch, Fiocchi) -- it really doesn't seem to care what I feed it, FMJ or JHP. Runs Hydra-shocks well. I have been reading about some of the issues folks have been having, but my experience has been good. I have had a CM9 for a while, so I am familiar with the care and cleaning of a Kahr, so maybe that experience has helped.

The size of the CW380 is great for pocket carry, and I can get a little better grip on it than some of the other small 380's. My particular pistol is very stiff to rack the slide, but I think it will improve as it breaks in. Sights are OK, better than some. I put a Magguts spring set in the 6-round mag, and it worked fine. I have a 7 round and Magguts for that one coming, so I will have 15 rounds between the two mags for carry.

Here is an update -- Took my CW380 to the range today with a new 6 round mag and a couple of boxes of Remington green box FMJ's. The 6+1 Magguts magazine I have runs perfectly, but the 7+1 Magguts in sensitive to pressure on the extension, and does not feed properly with finger tension on the baseplate. So I ran the Magguts 6+1 and loaded up the new factory mag. On the 5th round of the second mag full, the gun failed to fire and locked up tight. I took it out to the gunsmith and he was able to push the jammed round back with a dowel and get it free. Turns out that what they say about the chamber being tight is true, and this particular batch of Rem .380 would not fit. My Hydra-Shok carry ammo fit and ran fine, and even the cheap Monarch ammo I had on hand ran great. I tried the Remington ammo in my old Taurus 738 TCP and it shot fine in that pistol, so the point was reinforced that the Kahr is ammo sensitive, and it is important to know what kinds run well (as in any carry gun). I am still happy with it, will just be cautious going forward to load compatible ammo.

[JMC]

My cw380 is still at Kahr for all the issues. It’s been there for about a month. I’m ready to get it back and put some rounds through it, fingers crossed it will be fixed.

[jg rider]

IMHO Kahr has turned into Dog and pony show.

From the plating peeling in the barrel chambers and rifling.

Then a recent experience a friend had with them about his dad's CW45 not being able to drop rounds into the chamber. We figured out it was because the chamber was tapered going in.

When he called Kahr the tech told him the problem was because the dad was slingshoting the rounds in. And he needed to fire hundreds of rounds through the pistol before complaining. The guy was an idiot and too defensive. They finally replaced the barrel after a six month wait

Then there's what I found out a few days ago about their misleading consumers about Elite triggers which no longer exists. There top of
the line trigger is nothing more then what was probably their standard trigger in the past.

We have 4 Kahrs from the late 90s to the early 2000s. They are perfect. Never a problem. I don't know when Kahr went downhill.

We recently bought a mid 2000s P9. And before buying we went through it thoroughly.

I won't be buying any more Kahrs and I won't be advising others to do so either

[JMC]

I’m just crossing my fingers mine comes back and runs like a champ.

[JMC]

No movemt from the Kahr factory. Eventually I’ll get my cw380 back.

[Bawanna]

Yes you will. Patience is a virtue I've never managed to attain myself but when ever you send anything back the waiting is painful.

Guns or other stuff for that matter although I don't miss the other stuff like I miss a gun.

Fortunately I only had to do it once and I survived.

Some are faster than Kahr, many are much slower and of course it all depends on timing.

I'll cross me fingers for you and hope for a quick return and a happy ending.

[mpgo4th]

CW380 Range Report

I had a gun at Taurus once for 3 months. I called and bugged the crap out of them about it. I got a different story every time and finally they just replaced it with a new gun carrying the old serial number. That gun was crap too. Out of 5 Taurus firearms, three needed factory repair. I haven’t had to use Kahr customer service yet but I doubt it’s worse.


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[JMC]

I had a gun at Taurus once for 3 months. I called and bugged the crap out of them about it. I got a different story every time and finally they just replaced it with a new gun carrying the old serial number. That gun was crap too. Out of 5 Taurus firearms, three needed factory repair. I haven’t had to use Kahr customer service yet but I doubt it’s worse.


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thats horrid! I’ve only been waiting about six weeks.

[Bawanna]

If you haven't done so, send them an email and inquire of status. Sometimes things fall through the cracks or they might be waiting for a part off the line.

I sent my K40 back and listed the department, went to check on it using my name and they couldn't find it since it was logged in as a department gun. Once we figured out my error we found they were waiting for a new slide. Didn't have any black ones. Asked for stainless and got it back in hand the very next day.

[jg rider]

I prefer the Kahr of the past. When Dottie Herrold in cust. service, Stefon (sp?) Randy in the service dept were the points of contact.

You could speak with them almost instantly. Back then if you called with a problem they would offer to send out the part if you felt you were able to do the work yourself.

My experiences with them back then went like this:

I cracked a slide, I called to have it replaced at my cost. They said no problem. Did I want to send the gun back in to them, or did I want them to send a slide out to me.

I went through 8 sets of nite sights ( 4 kahrs ) in very short times. They replaced them all free of charge. Finally went with f.o.s

In 2004 I sent my wife's custom K9 in for something. When I got it back the jeweled barrel and trigger were replaced. Jeweled gun parts were really machine turned swirls on the surface. I called Dottie about the replaced parts. he was so apologetic and wanted to know what kind of gems they were. We both laughed after I explained. She said she would investigate, but she wanted to make it right.

She asked want I wanted her to do. I jokenly said " I could use another PM9. I figured a holster was in my future.
Next day I got a call from Stefon in service to ask me to send him an FFL from who I wanted the PM9 shipped to.
WOW !
THIS IS A TRUE STORY !

I also have so many extra parts that all I would need is a bare frame and slide to almost build another Kahr

Also back then they would send a Fed-X shipping label to you. Now you have to fight for one.


My heard of experiences with them now :

My son has 2 PM9s. Both with the plating peeling in the chambers and rifling. He was told that was normal, no replacement was available... Wife and I have I believe have more rounds though our Kahrs then anyone else here. Practice 3x a week 50 rnds each. at our range in the summer or off our back deck now. And there isn't any wear of any part.

My friend / neighbor's dad has a CW 45 that wouldn't chamber any rounds. Th chamber was bored at a taper. Friend called Kahr and was told the problem was because dad was probably sling shotting the slide. He needed to use the slide stop to chamber the first rnd.
And he needed to fire about 500 rnds. though it. 500 rnds ? Is that the new break in protocol for Kahrs.
He also had to argue for a shipping label. He finally got the gun back months later with a new barrel.

I called Kahr 2 days ago to ask a question about new sights for a P9. It's now the third day and no one has gotten back to me yet.


I few days ago I joined another Kahr forum, out of curiosity to see what their experience was with Kahr. IMHO there seems to be a love affair between the admins. and Kahr

I'm sorry folks, at my age I do seem to live in the past when things were like Camelot.

I'll shut up now.....For a while