Small takedown issue

[mikemc53]

So yesterday I went to the range (best shootin day yet...love this gun) and afterwards I'm cleaning the gun (CM9) as I always do after shooting. I'd only taken the gun down about 3 or 4 times prior to yesterday and never had any issues. I read the manual and watched a few videos with the expectation of having a little trouble but it went smoothly each time. Yesterday was a somewhat different story.

I removed the slide stop lever without much trouble and then ran into a little problem. When I pulled the trigger to release the slide, initially, it wouldn't click or release. It had pressure on the takeup but no break. I fiddled with the slide a good bit and it (the trigger) finally clicked, releasing the slide. I continued on and cleaned the gun. Putting it back together I ran into another very minor issue when the slide didn't seem to want to move cleanly back and I struggled a bit getting the pin/slide stop back in. Also, the recoil spring seemed to want to creep out of the port at the front of the slide. I took it out and rotated it a bit and it seemed fine but it worries me that it could sneak out of the port/hole. My son had just dropped by with the granddaughter so I left things sit to spend time with them.

A few hours later I decided to take the gun down again to see what I might be doing wrong. Same thing with the trigger...it wouldn't break, initially, and I had to play with the slide before it clicked and released. I did this 3 more times and each time the trigger/slide issue was there. The reassembly went smoothly, so the first time problem with that was probably just an anomaly.

I've never owned or worked on a striker fired gun so the trigger/slide release is new to me. My guess is I'm doing something wrong but I don't know what it might be. By the way, I dry fired it a number of times after this to see if the trigger was functioning well and everything was fine in that regard.

Any hints or tips are appreciated and I do hope that it is me and not the gun.

Thanks gang.

[RevRay]

This is pretty normal for me ... sometimes it comes off smoothly ... sometimes it takes a little jiggling. But it always fires when it's supposed to, so I figure it must be ok.

[xsailer]

Same with me RevRay, I keep trying a different way each time. The lastest I''m going to try after reading a post yesterday is pulling the trigger half way while offing the slide. We'll see.
Hope we get a telling post here.

bob

[BEARDOG]

It will get easier with practice.

Here is how I do it.

1.Clear gun- remove slide stop lever.
2.After you remove the lever, hold the slide in its normal firing position-I look at the rear of the slide and frame to get proper alignment.
3. Now pull and hold the trigger back, and at the same time it breaks move the slide forward off the frame.

And for the recoil spring during reassembly-
Position the cut end of the spring so it goes in the "port" aligned with the barrel.
(if you would be looking at the the front of the gun, being held in the normal firing position it should be at the 12 o'clock spot)

That is what works well for me. YMMV

[jocko]

nice post Beardog. very correct to.

[scosgt]

Once the recoil spring is properly mounted, It (should not) be ABLE to get out forward. The port is filled with the tube on firing.
However, there are reports here of that happening, I suspect they mounted it with the spring hanging out.
It has also been suggested to mount the spring with the closed end forward. Never did it, but apparently that works.

[scosgt]

nice post Beardog. very correct to.

That's because it is clean and has plenty to eat.

[muggsy]

I had the same problem with the recoil spring that you related. I've run my recoil spring with the closed end forward with no problems. Why Kahr doesn't close both ends of the spring I don't know. It would end the problem and one wouldn't have to worry about which way the outer spring was oriented.

[mikemc53]

Thanks for all the help gang.

I did exactly what BEARDOG said and...IT WORKED!

Awesome!

I might try the spring with the closed end out but for now I did the rotation so that the end is at 12:00.

This is a great place, by the way.

Take care...Goin to the range again tomorrow. I'll keep ya posted.

[wyntrout]

It's economics... cheaper for the one-end-closed spring. The spring is designed for the closed end to GRIP the rear of the guide rod and the front OPEN end is loose to allow free movement of rod within the spring during recoil. Putting the spring in backwards risks the spring going over the flange and jamming the action. But... do what you want.

Try putting your magazine springs in backwards, too, MAYBE that will work for you, too.

Wynn

[mikemc53]

Thanks, Wynn.

I guess I won't be turning that spring around.

[wyntrout]

Sorry... I get vexed by the "advice" sometimes. Because someone gets away with doing something the incorrect way, doesn't mean you will.

It does take a little care sometimes to make sure the spring doesn't precede the rod through that front hole. Guys have missed that happening and then the pistol can get jammed up pretty good with the rod and the pin caught there.

Usually my pistols go back together with no problem. The P380 is more prone to have the free end of the spring get through there first. Some guys have tried tweaking the free end out a little more with pliers, but I just twirl the spring a bit until I succeed in getting the rod past the end of the spring and through the slide opening first.

Wynn

[RevRay]

The one thing I've noticed is that if I orient the end of the spring down it seems to stay put better. Keeping in mind that down is towards the top of the slide since I'm holding it upside down.

[berettabone]

I replace mine with Wollf recoil springs....................don't have those problems................

[S281]

It will get easier with practice.

Here is how I do it.

1.Clear gun- remove slide stop lever.
2.After you remove the lever, hold the slide in its normal firing position-I look at the rear of the slide and frame to get proper alignment.
3. Now pull and hold the trigger back, and at the same time it breaks move the slide forward off the frame.

And for the recoil spring during reassembly-
Position the cut end of the spring so it goes in the "port" aligned with the barrel.
(if you would be looking at the the front of the gun, being held in the normal firing position it should be at the 12 o'clock spot)

That is what works well for me. YMMV

Exactly what I do and it works every time. The only additional thing I can say is that the more rounds you put through it, the easier and smoother take down becomes.