Am I loading the magazine right?

[Pointedstick]

I just came home with a CW9. Love it so far, and I'm blown away by the design. Fits my hand like a glove. I plan to shoot it tomorrow for the first time, but I noticed something vaguely worrying; when I load the magazine, the last few rounds seem not to lay flat on top of the ones below them. Instead, the rim of the top round will sort of notch into the groove in the other cartridge that the extractor grabs. When I fully load the 7-round magazine, I can wiggle the top round up and down a bit, and the one below it is almost pointing downwards.

Here's how it looks with only three rounds loaded:



And now with all 7:



Am I loading the magazines wrong? Is this a design flaw? Or am I just worrying over nothing?

[ripley16]

That's normal. the top round rests at a slightly different angle.

[2edgesword]

That's normal. the top round rests at a slightly different angle.

I am new to Kahr (just got my first, CW45 last week) and also noticed the tip up orientation of the last round which is not typical of the other semi-autos I've owned. But the firearms has functioned flawlessly with the only hiccup being a bad primer in 1 out of 150 rounds I've sent down range with it (examination of the case confirmed it was not a light strike).

As you mentioned, it fits like a glove in my hand and the workmanship/finish is excellent. Enjoy!

[tconroy]

I just came home with a CW9. Love it so far, and I'm blown away by the design. Fits my hand like a glove. I plan to shoot it tomorrow for the first time, but I noticed something vaguely worrying; when I load the magazine, the last few rounds seem not to lay flat on top of the ones below them. Instead, the rim of the top round will sort of notch into the groove in the other cartridge that the extractor grabs. When I fully load the 7-round magazine, I can wiggle the top round up and down a bit, and the one below it is almost pointing downwards.

Here's how it looks with only three rounds loaded:



And now with all 7:



Am I loading the magazines wrong? Is this a design flaw? Or am I just worrying over nothing?

I just bought one today myself!!! Already took it apart and cleaned it twice. Cant wait to go shoot it tomorrow. Check back tomorrow and lets see how we compare these after the range session.

[Pointedstick]

I just bought one today myself!!! Already took it apart and cleaned it twice. Cant wait to go shoot it tomorrow. Check back tomorrow and lets see how we compare these after the range session.

I know, right? These things just exude quality. I plan to put a couple hundred downrange tomorrow (made sure to do everything in the "proper prep of a new Kahr" thread, naturally!).

[firemedic2506]

normal, just an FYI, if you carry and you carry a spare save yourself some headach and make sure the mag holder you get is angled at the bottom rather than flat. if the mag carrier is flat and your mag gets pushed all the way down that top round may "level out" and it could jam, happened to me at the range

[jackblack73]

As others said, it's normal. In fact, it seems to be a well designed mag to me. I believe the 9mm is a tapered round. Which would mean that when you stack them in a mag the more rounds you put in the more the tip would point down. That would obviously be detrimental to proper feeding. So the fact that the top round manages to point higher seems like a good design to me.

[mr surveyor]

As others said, it's normal. In fact, it seems to be a well designed mag to me. I believe the 9mm is a tapered round. Which would mean that when you stack them in a mag the more rounds you put in the more the tip would point down. That would obviously be detrimental to proper feeding. So the fact that the top round manages to point higher seems like a good design to me.

Exactly! To prove it to yourself just lay about a dozen or so 9mm rounds side be side on the table and you will see them create an arc. There is a fine art to creating a magazine, spring and follower combination that eliminates this issue. I don't know how much of a problem it has been with Kahr in general, but it does exist.


surv

[Pointedstick]

Exactly! To prove it to yourself just lay about a dozen or so 9mm rounds side be side on the table and you will see them create an arc. There is a fine art to creating a magazine, spring and follower combination that eliminates this issue. I don't know how much of a problem it has been with Kahr in general, but it does exist.


surv

Yeah, I was curious to know how other companies do it. This is my first 9mm pistol so I'm new to the design challenges imposed by the cartridge. Especially for those big double stack magazines, it must be rough.

[MW surveyor]

One of the differences is in the design of the follower. My CZ 18 round mag follower has a higher angled follower.

[jocko]

If the magazine funtions properly, forget what we think it should look like. Just shoot it like you stole it and enjoy the gun. Just make sure your rounds are not out of spec. Only takes one round out of spec to mess up a magazines function.

For me personally, I don't pay alot of attention to it at the range as I shoot it for fun, so I don;'t prepare as good as I should sometimes But for my carry/defense round, I funtion every round to be sure it loads in the magazine OK. I don't rack each round in the gun, just function check the rounds in the magazine to see that one is not causing a hang up.

[tconroy]

If the magazine funtions properly, forget what we think it should look like. Just shoot it like you stole it and enjoy the gun. Just make sure your rounds are not out of spec. Only takes one round out of spec to mess up a magazines function.

For me personally, I don't pay alot of attention to it at the range as I shoot it for fun, so I don;'t prepare as good as I should sometimes But for my carry/defense round, I funtion every round to be sure it loads in the magazine OK. I don't rack each round in the gun, just function check the rounds in the magazine to see that one is not causing a hang up.

Jocko, Do you know how many rounds the flush plate mag holds??? Do you loose a couple due to the shortness of the mag??? I looked on the Kahr web sight but could not find a flushplate for the CW9 listed. It is early and Im on my second cup of coffee, that could lead to my overlooking it.

[ripley16]

The 9mm flat plate kit fits all 9mm mag tubes. You don't loose any capacity, you just loose the finger rest.

Look here
http://www.kahr.com/Magazines/Kahr-S...d-40-SandW.asp

[jocko]

My PM9 flush hold 6 rounds. U can go to the kahr stie and pull up their magazines and it will give you the round count per magazine size. My extened PM9 gives me 7 rounds. I just don't like it, looks like hell and I carry witht he flush plate magazine, so I practice that way.. riplye 16 is right..

[mr surveyor]

One of the differences is in the design of the follower. My CZ 18 round mag follower has a higher angled follower.

That is probably the case with a lot of 9mm pistols, but I would bet the main reason Kahr does not use the steeper angle on the follower/feed lips is due to the Kahr pistols having a much lower bore axis, thus not needing the steep angle for feeding. Actually the steeper angle on a "fixed follower" (as in rigid moulded rather than hinged) wouldn't really solve much. From a bone head land surveyor's graphic/mathmatical perspective, it may make the top round or two look better in the magazine, firmly held against the feed lips, then create a funnel problem with the last round or two. I still thing a hinged follower similar to the McCormic Shooting Star mags would remedy the loose rounds. This would most likely require the magazine to be made a few millimeters larger in the dimension of cartridge base to bullet nose to allow for the natural curve caused by stacking the tapered rounds.

Personally I have never had a feed problem with my Kahr mags (or any problem whatsoever with my CW9), and don't worry about the fact that the top round will wobble if I force it. Would I like to see a design that lets the 9mm rounds "curve" in the magazine... sure, but I don't see it as a serious problem.

surv

surv