rampectomy done CM9 barrel

[jocko]

kahr does an excellent job of polisihng their feed ramps. IMO one of the best on the market. Some yearsw back they had a recall on someof their PM9 b arrels (and this has been years back to) and it was due to not a good polish job. Since then I would say a barrel needs no polishing but u never casn over polish a feed ramp IMO...

I have neer been a fan ot telling anyone to do a ramptemy as we may make it sould easy, but if ur breaking followers. let kahr fix it on their dime. Many here are good techs themselvbes and can do it. I would consider myself a half ass technie but if I had feed ramp issues, I would let kahr fix it for me. Just sayn.

[C0untZer0]

I am getting a Dremel 3000 today for Father's Day, and I am going to attempt a rampectomy on my follower-smashing CM9.


Does anyone have any advice on what Dremel wheel to start out with, transition to and finish up with?


I will finish up with polishing it of course.

[rjinaz85308]

rampectomy done CM9 barrel

A non electric one. Use a file(safer)

If a gun feeds reliably already I don't see the need or the sense in polishing the feed ramp. I have seen many perfectly good functioning guns ruined by an over-zealous polishing job.

Just my opinion


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CJB]

sanding drum

[CJB]

Back at a real keyboard again....

If the barrel is horizontal, the tool's shaft should be vertical. As seen from the top, the ramp is not flat but has a slightly concave edge. Select a drum that best matches the concave edge (the medium size drum). Use a medium high speed, not too slow. Do not use much pressure at all... just slight touch. You'll be removing enough material to keep about a credit card thickness between the follower and the end of the barrel's ramp. Check your work with the barrel in the frame, magazine in the frame, and slide stop in place.... holding the barrel rearward and down as you check clearance. When you're good with clearance, use one of the dremel rubber abrasive wheels to lightly take the "sharp" off the edges of what you just sanded. You can polish with a felt wheel and the red compound if desired, but its not really needed.

[muggsy]

True but a reasonable hand and deft touch would be indistinquishable from original factory work.

Not so. Kahr keeps a record of everything that is done to the gun when returned for service. All that Kahr would have to do is check the service record to know that they didn't perform the rampectomy. The people at kahr service aren't stupid.

[muggsy]

Almost every one of my favorite handguns and carbines has benefitted from my Dremel work. I started working on cheap KelTec's that really needed the work and improved because of it. I wasn't too worried about screwing up because a replacement part was not expensive; even the whole gun could be replaced within my budget. I had grown tired of sending these guns back to the factory for simple work to get them to function and make them reliable. Eventually I just gave up on the brand entirely.

I have returned many guns to the factory for them to do warranty work or work that I choose not to do.

However, I took those skills I developed on those cheaper guns and started working on my Kahrs and Berettas and then some carbines to polish various different parts and make adjustments on others. One of my most common adjustments is to work on a slide release so that it releases on the hard insertion of a magazine. I've done this on a dozen or more pistols.

I am not a gunsmith, metal worker or mechanic. I am a home hack, self and internet taught. I have not ruined anything I couldn't fix using my Dremel, files, wet/dry sandpaper, belt sander, stones or anything else. I have made my guns function the way I want them to. They are more reliable. They are easier to shoot and in many cases they look a lot better. I have done trigger jobs, slide melting, rampectomies, installed different sights, reprofiled bolt handles, adjusted safeties and slide releases, and generally polished every piece of metal that slides against another piece of metal wherever it may be in the gun. Doing such work gives me a pride of ownership and involvement with my weapons that is invaluable to me. If I ever screw up and have to replace a part, or even the whole gun, I figure I'm already way ahead with what I've $aved and in the satisfaction I get from doing this work.

When I was young and at a boarding school I used to cut hair for some pocket change. I learned that you could always take more off, but you couldn't put it back. I just follow that same rule whenever I work with metal.

A person of average intelligence with some decent tools, including a Dremel, and reasonable mechanical skills can work on his own guns and not destroy them and not void warranties and not cause the problems that some posters think are just so terrible and happen all the time.

Sure there are a few idiots out there who ruin guns. Walking through a gun show will reveal the work product of many of these home hacks. They are easily identifiable and sometimes a real bargain to pick up and then fix. At the very least they are fun to look at and try to conjure up what was going through the individual's brain when he did that work the way he did. It's kind of fun.

Bottom line: If you are interested in trying to do this type of work yourself, go buy a cheap screwed up gun at a pawnshop or gun show. Buy a Dremel, some files, some 400 and 800 grit wet dry sandpaper and go to town! Have some fun. Learn something. If you screw it up even worse, and find that this is not where your talents lie, give it up. However you may just find some real satisfaction in working on your own guns.

I'll bet you'd even try to remove you own appendix with that Dremel, CB3. You da man. It's a wise man who knows his limitations.

[CJB]

I serisouly doubt they keep records on hand fitment during initial assembly - and since some have obvious signs of fitment... they do it to at least some pistols. And the real over ridiing factor is can Kahr connect the dots of a well done rampectomy to some other issue that may occur later. They'd have to demonstrate that work similar to what they themselves would perform caused the other problem.

[Hawkeye911]

I don't know whether this will help the conversation, but I found it interesting:

I bought a CM9 about 6 weeks ago, and became so impressed with it that I also picked up a CW380 when I found one for a really good price. I am just finishing up the 200 round break in period with both pistols, but have had a single stovepipe jam with each gun. The 9mm, it was the first shot. The 380, shot #8. Both all my magazine followers remain intact.

On a whim, I locked the slide back on each pistol with an empty mag, then dropped the magazines to move the followers as close as possible to contact with the feed ramps. Peeking in with a flashlight, it looked like the CM9 had about a 1/8" gap. The CW380 looks like it has a great deal more free space... about 3/8" to my eye. By comparison, the gap looks cavernous, but so far both pistols shoot GREAT!

I thought that might be worthwhile data to add to what has been discussed here...

[gb6491]

As the term "Rampectomy" is generally considered to have originated in regards to Kel-Tec pistols, some might find this of interest:
http://www.1bad69.com/keltec/smiley.htm
Regards,
Greg