CW380 Range Report

[dsk]

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.

Yikes. I have two PT-111s that I bought at the same time, and both have the exact same issue (no extraction and double-feeds). I sent them back to Taurus in the same package. I don't care when I get them back, but I want them fixed. I hear that they've been simply replacing a lot of their defective guns, but it doesn't help if the new ones are just as bad as the guns that were sent in. My dealer told me that one of his customers sent in a pistol and got a replacement in an ugly color he didn't like.

[mpgo4th]

Yikes. I have two PT-111s that I bought at the same time, and both have the exact same issue (no extraction and double-feeds). I sent them back to Taurus in the same package. I don't care when I get them back, but I want them fixed. I hear that they've been simply replacing a lot of their defective guns, but it doesn't help if the new ones are just as bad as the guns that were sent in. My dealer told me that one of his customers sent in a pistol and got a replacement in an ugly color he didn't like.

I’ve owned 5 Taurus firearms.

1. Model 94 22LR revolver - worked great.

2. Model 85 .38 revolver- worked great.

3. Model PT145 45acp pistol- slide locked on mags with ammo, dropped mags while firing and stovepiped.

4. Model 85UL .38 revolver- cylinder locked up while firing and totally went out of timing.

5. Model 85ULSS .38 revolver- this was the replacement for the last one. It also locked up while shooting and the side plate fit so badly that the screws wouldn’t tighten all the way down.

I’ve given up on Taurus but I know people who have had great success with them.
Good luck to you!




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[JMC]

Well still no word. I’ve called a couple of times and each time I’m met with just one more week. I’m really regretting my decision now. I think I may sell the CW380 and go with the Seecamp 380 as their 32 has been nothing short of amazing.

[Ed M]

JMC, everyone has their own criteria for how they handle their choices and their performance.

Having a gun perform perfectly is always nice, but perhaps the problem in your case wasn't the fault of the gun.

As I read through this thread, I gather that you had problems with Remington UMC ammo. I've seen a lot of posts in other venues about folks having problems with Remington ammo. Maybe they have had some quality issues with their ammo.

You stated Winchester T&D ran fine. This would have set off an alarm for me.

Everyone handles problems differently, but I would have picked up a box of Blazer Brass FMJ, a box of Federal American Eagle FMJ, and a box of PMC Bronze FMJ. If those brands of ammo also had issues in the CW380, then I'd have to point the finger at the weapon. Maybe your Remington UMC was/is slightly out of spec - at least enough to cause issues with the tight tolerances in Kahr 380s. This might not be a problem in other brands of 380 autos.

Maybe Kahr isn't finding the problems you were having because the ammo they are testing it with isn't a problem, but they don't want to just declare your CW380 is fine and ship it back. That would concern me more, but the 3 ammo test would reveal the truth anyway.

It's your gun, and your choice, but here's my suggestion and what I'd do:

Get those 3 brands of FMJ, and a box of whatever self defense ammo you want to carry. When you get your CW380 back, run those different brands of ammo through it, and see how it runs.

Reserve judgment until you do this. Of course, this doesn't take into account any other issues you may have had, ie unusual wear.

Have patience - yeah, it's easy for me to say, but all my Kahr 380s run 100%.

[SlowBurn]

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...

Agreed. Email works best.

[erichard]

Well still no word. I’ve called a couple of times and each time I’m met with just one more week. I’m really regretting my decision now. I think I may sell the CW380 and go with the Seecamp 380 as their 32 has been nothing short of amazing.

I had the Seecamp 380 previously. The CW380 is a much better gun to shoot in all respects. Mine was not reliable (wouldn't feed the last round out of the mag.). Seecamp 380 is like firing a firecracker off in your hand in terms of recoil and muzzle flip/snap. Accuracy is 10X better with the Kahr. Only thing I could say positive for the Seecamp is that it is very small, smaller than the Kahr.

Seecamp 380 ≠ Seecamp 32

I think the 380 was developed after the founder of the company passed away. The son was not up to perfecting it apparently, and sold the company. Not sure how the new Seecamp is doing with the 380 to be honest though.

[Mike_usn_ret]

When I bought my CW380 it would cycle almost nothing,,,after several hundred rds of various ammo I found this on YOUTube and did it. Fixed the problem and the gun would cycle any and all ammo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwrBbUQze2k
Still, I sold it and bought a CM9 and never looked back.

[JMC]

Received a update from Kahr today, the cw380 is on the gunsmiths bench and should be back to me next week. They now say anything sent in is going to take 9 weeks for a turnaround.

[JMC]

It’s back! Two months, not too bad I guess. They replaced the extractor and barrel. The barrel appears to be a new design compared to what I had previously. Also, the trigger feels better. All in all I am quite pleased. It seemed to chamber every round I had laying around including the dreaded perfectas. I will take it to the tangethis weekend and see how it functions.

[Mike_usn_ret]

Having seen both worlds of bad {a bad experience for me} (CW380) and good "CM9) of a Kahr firearm, I can only say I am pleased with my choice to sale the CW380, and trust Kahr reputation enough to buy a CM9. It has been perfection out of the box, and is still that way every time it is fired. I never will regret buying it.