Hoghunter's CM9- The Verdict is In

[hoghunter]

Thanks for all of the support during my CM9 nosedive challenges. As most of you know through my well documented postings I had the nosedive issues with my CM9 even after performing all of the fixes here on the forum. I sent th CM9 back to Kahr and they said my recoil spring was causing a timing issue so they cut it shorter. I did not measure it before I sent it away so I have no idea how many coils were there prior to the return. I had a lot of doubt that cutting the recoil spring would have any impact on my CM9. So I received the CM9 back earlier this week and couldn't take it out until this morning. I was at the range at 7:50am this morning in anticipation. The only modifications I made to the CM9 was to use Mil-Comm TW25B grease last night as I prepped the gun, plus I added a Talon Grips (granulate version). I did NOT sand the followers as every Kahr employee I ended up speaking to said point blank that this being the culprit in the nosedive issue was an absolute myth. I used the same Speer Lawman 115gr TMJ ammo. I also used three 6 round magazines.
Here are the results:
- I ran 178 rounds down the pipe today with no rest period and had ZERO nosedives!!!!!!!!!!!
- The only issue I had was on round 32 (mag 6 round 2). It was not a nosedive, rather what appeared to be a lockback likely caused by me hitting the stop pin. My heart did stop when it happened as I was fearing I would see a nosedive. But it was not.
- The CM9 was really hot but I refused to stop putting rounds down the pipe. It was my version of a mini torture test. Every time I loaded a mag I kept thinking, "this will be the mag that breaks my heart"- but it did not.
- I consider this a flawless range visit. I have NEVER shot a gun with such accuracy in my life. It just felt like the more I shot the tighter the groups got. My my last few mags I was making larger holes in the targets.
- I am no pistol shooting expert (right handed / left eye dominant) and have large hands (6'5" 240lbs.) so I have nature working against me with a small pistol.
- There was one interesting issue developing though. All three of my mags had the base plate sliding off of them as I shot the CM9. After each mag was ejected from use, I had to snap the base back on the mag. Two of the mags had the mag base and lock plate slide off. The third mag had just the mag plate slide over the lock plate. Very strange indeed. But I sure as h*ll ain't sending these mags back. I will figure out another fix or just deal with it.

Guys, I could not be any happier than I am now. Ranks right up there with the birth of my kids & my wedding day (alright, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration). My wife was cringing when I walked in from the range today. She knew that if this CM9 did not perform it would have been a real bad day. I am going to send a note to my Kahr contacts thanking them. Thanks so much to all that have sent recommendations, fixes, support over the last month. Everyone on here is awesome and I really appreciate the support. I will post a pic of the reworked recoil spring, CM9, and my target (no laughing please).

[Bawanna]

Well one word comes to mind for me.

Awesome!

[JBarbaresi]

awesome report! glad you had a good range experience. hopefully the premature slide lock was due to your big sausage fingers, only time will tell but if it only happened once out of almost 200 rounds i would say this is likely a shooter related error.

glad to see you picked up some of the talon grips, how do you like granulate textures? in my experience it gives the absolute best grip possible in a handgun, particularly a small one like the cm9. the only reason i went with rubber over granulate was for ease of pocket carry.

[hoghunter]

I like the granulated Talons a lot. I did wear a hole in my hand near my thumb knuckle today, but it was worth it. I have normally used rubber or left the grip alone but thought I could use the extra texture. Not sure how it will feel IWB but I was mainly concerned with must getting the CM9 carry-worthy. Now to figure out which SD ammo to get.

[stumprat]

Thanks for the report. Glad everything worked out well.
Guide rod spring tension? Makes sense to me.

[JBarbaresi]

Now to figure out which SD ammo to get.

that's easy, 147gr federal HST. now let the ammo wars begin

[Ressom]

Very cool!

I figured Kahr would straigten it out with your CM9. Judging by the forum posts here, there haven't been a whole lot of issues with the gun.

Good to hear the ammo wasn't the problem too.

Time to have fun with it now.

[bonjorno2]

glad to hear it, you've got a winner now without a doubt!

[Gatorbug]

Congrats Hoghunter, i am at work today and i was thinking about you going to the range. I kept checking for a report. Looks good , now i have to cut my spring too...Thanks for all the info....and enjoy your CM9.

[Bill K]

Good for you! As the saying goes... "Alls's well that ends well."

[JFootin]

That's great news, hoghunter!!! I think Jocko would say you and your gun have ... what is the word? ... bonded? ... mated? ... melded? What's the term, Jocko?

[Scoundrel]

Interesting that Kahr is so vehement about the follower not catching on the mag release. I wish I could say with 100% conviction that I know different. But the 7rd mag I was having trouble with continued to have trouble (and the trouble got worse) after I sanded it. Then I sent it back and got a 6rd to replace it. I have not had nosedives with any of the 6rd mags.

I will say with 100% certainty that adjusting the angle of the follower DOES make a slingshot slide rack much less likely to jam. But then Kahr says we're just not supposed to do that at all, so there you are.

I also find that the CM shoots tighter groups on paper than my other pistols, and that when shooting misc targets in gravel pits, I can hit things better with my CM9. My dad, however, has big meaty paws and finds that the Ruger P95 works best for him, so when we go shooting together, that's "his" gun. The P95 feels too big in my dainty computer consultant hands. (Note: I bought the P95 as a favor to a family member who needed some cash. I would not otherwise have purchased a gun that felt too big in my hands.)

[OldLincoln]

Great report! My SD Ammo is Federal HST +P 147gn. You can often find it at Kyle's Gun Shop.

[wayneo1]

Great to hear the happy ending to a story. Good luck with your new pistol. 147 g is too much here we go.

[Bear549]

Sweet, glad to hear that it solved the issues. I know how you feel all too well because of the nose dive issues I had. Once you get it running though, it becomes your favorite EDC. Glad you like the Talon grips.