My wife gave me my first Kahr today & have some questions I need help with

[TheManInTally]

Greg,
Thanks so much for the information. I am really enjoying everyones help and information. I am going to contact Khar just to see. I still plan on shooting it this weekend if they are good with it. I have noticed a few other concerns that all add up to me contacting them and inquiring on top of the rail tolerance differences on each side.
1. After racking the slide back and letting it go forward there is a very noticeable "BUMP", "grab" & Jump in the motion of the slide. If you rack yours back and move the slide forward, all of this goes on at about the same point the witness mark on the slide is on and passing the "M" in Kahr ArMs" on the grip housing. This is also the area on the left rail that is kind of chewed up before the "witness" mark on that insert that I talked about in an earlier post. Am I overthinking this? Let me know anyone if you have time to check yours.
2. Noticed Slide does not sit evenly on the grip housing. Do not have a caliper to check but I can get 4 sheets+ of paper under the front of the slide and only 1 near the back. You can see daylight easily on the front. You can also easily push down gently on the slide and see it go down in the front. Normal?
3. Just like the LCI, I am sure that there has been even less talk about the safety. I don't plan on using it but wife insisted as stated in earlier post. Concerned with the safety engaged and weapon cocked or not when pulling the trigger sometimes the trigger will hang half way through when you release it. It is PAST the breakpoint so I do not know if that is an issue or if someone could have this happen and then take the safety off and BANG. I know this wont happen with me but seems odd that it comes up and repeats regularly but not all the time.

Thanks for the info on the metal glitter. Just so you know I have cleaned it twice since I have broken it down twice (full clean, gun scrubber, Mpro 7 cleaner, re greased, lubed, etc.) and still get the glitter. I know it is a new gun so this will go away and since this is my first Kahr and they require a break in period I am fine with the glitter. Just wanted to make sure that you knew I cleaned my weapon well..twice...there ain't no factory anything left on that baby! :-)

[gb6491]

Greg,
Thanks so much for the information. I am really enjoying everyones help and information. I am going to contact Khar just to see. I still plan on shooting it this weekend if they are good with it. I have noticed a few other concerns that all add up to me contacting them and inquiring on top of the rail tolerance differences on each side.
1. After racking the slide back and letting it go forward there is a very noticeable "BUMP", "grab" & Jump in the motion of the slide. If you rack yours back and move the slide forward, all of this goes on at about the same point the witness mark on the slide is on and passing the "M" in Kahr ArMs" on the grip housing. This is also the area on the left rail that is kind of chewed up before the "witness" mark on that insert that I talked about in an earlier post. Am I overthinking this? Let me know anyone if you have time to check yours.
2. Noticed Slide does not sit evenly on the grip housing. Do not have a caliper to check but I can get 4 sheets+ of paper under the front of the slide and only 1 near the back. You can see daylight easily on the front. You can also easily push down gently on the slide and see it go down in the front. Normal?
3. Just like the LCI, I am sure that there has been even less talk about the safety. I don't plan on using it but wife insisted as stated in earlier post. Concerned with the safety engaged and weapon cocked or not when pulling the trigger sometimes the trigger will hang half way through when you release it. It is PAST the breakpoint so I do not know if that is an issue or if someone could have this happen and then take the safety off and BANG. I know this wont happen with me but seems odd that it comes up and repeats regularly but not all the time.

Thanks for the info on the metal glitter. Just so you know I have cleaned it twice since I have broken it down twice (full clean, gun scrubber, Mpro 7 cleaner, re greased, lubed, etc.) and still get the glitter. I know it is a new gun so this will go away and since this is my first Kahr and they require a break in period I am fine with the glitter. Just wanted to make sure that you knew I cleaned my weapon well..twice...there ain't no factory anything left on that baby! :-)

1. I don't have a CM/PM series pistol anymore to verify this, but the point of the slide's travel you described might be where the barrel cams up and into battery. I wouldn't worry about it at this point, but you might consider putting a little grease on spots 1 and 6 as shown on the lube chart:
http://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?308-Kahr-Lube-Diagram
2. My poly Kahrs have the same kind of gap front to rear as you described (to varying degrees), but I don't see much change if I push down gently on the slide. There was/is an issue with some CW45 frames that you might want to read on, but I know of no reported instances of this on other caliber Kahr pistols.
http://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?1612-CW45-%28and-other-poly-45%29-issues-and-fixes&p=306968#post306968
3. I've no experience with the safety versions of Kahr's line.

Regards,
Greg

[TheManInTally]

I very thoroughly oiled spots 1 & 6 both times but did not use grease. Will do that when I break her down again in another 100 or so slide racks. She is starting to break in a good bit and I can feel the spring starting to set and get easier. I will look into CW45 frame issue you talked about though.

[marshal kane]

The front of my P9 receiver bulges much like yours but is a bit more asymmetrical as it bulges on both sides. This is normal and shouldn't interfere with the functionality of your pistol. The Kahr was NOT meant to be a target pistol, so the slide will not be fitted tightly between the receiver and slide. In fact, just about the only places where my slide contacts metal are the stainless steel slide guides at the front of the receiver and the two small stainless steel plates at the rear. The polymer frame rails molded into the receiver exhibit no wear whatsoever with my slide. I would suggest you break in your pistol first and while doing so, note any problems you may encounter, then either bring them up to this site or contact Kahr since your pistol is still under warranty. Should you have any problems with failure to chamber, pick up some of your spent shells and see if they exhibit any scoring on the case walls. My P9 had burrs on the magazine feed lips which required polishing off to eliminate the feed problems. Once done, my P9 is quite reliable and I have put over 2000 rounds through it without any further problems. Congratulations on receiving your new Kahr as it is a great little pistol with a proven track record.

[RonW]

I should show you pics of my CW40 after 3350 rounds fired thru it... There is hardly any noticeable wear on the poly rails, the steel rails up front and hardly any visible wear on the two steel tabs on the rear of the frame. Absolutely no visible wear on the slide...the only visible "wear", and its basically just a shiny surface is on the inside of the barrel where the slide lock pin rides in, the slide lock pin itself, and the barrel shroud. I clean it after every time its shot with Ballistol, wipe dry and I use frog lube on it. The point is, Kahr's are a very well designed handgun. On a new pistol and every now & then I use Casey Gun scrubber & stick the spray tube in the clean out hole thats under the slide & spray out the striker pin channel. To break down the slide & remove the firing pin, firing pin block, ejector & springs is incredibly simple... I love these guns!

[TheManInTally]

This is GREAT INFORMATION! I appreciate it. I have pretty much done ever bit of pre prep I could do including racking the slide a couple of hundred times, leaving the slide locked back, completely cleaned it out, greased & oiled properly, etc. and then even just broke it down again tonight and cleaned all the poly crud and metal shavings, etc. from just racking the slide. She is good to go.

Should you have any problems with failure to chamber, pick up some of your spent shells and see if they exhibit any scoring on the case walls. My P9 had burrs on the magazine feed lips which required polishing off to eliminate the feed problems. Once done, my P9 is quite reliable and I have put over 2000 rounds through it without any further problems. Congratulations on receiving your new Kahr as it is a great little pistol with a proven track record.

Do you mean scoring like this??


I know it is only a snap cap but the scoring cuts well into the metal of the snap cap. This is probably one of the better ones and all of them that I have put in any mag either from the pistol box (2 six rounders) and the 3 others I got from Midway do the same and I have only ran the snap caps through 4 or 5 times.

If this is what your talking about would you recommend some 800 grit sandpaper and then touch it up with my dremel and some flitz?

[marshal kane]

Yes, that is the scoring that I had on my P9! When the slide comes forward to strip a cartridge out of the magazine, the burrs retard the cartridge from feeding smoothly and feed problems come up when the slide doesn't have enough forward momentum to chamber the round properly.

Depress the follower on the magazine past the inspection holes, then put a rod, nail, etc. through an inspection hole to keep the follower away from the feed lips. Take the shank of a drill bit or any hardened steel rod and burnish the sharp inner edge of the magazine lips. It isn't necessary to burnish the outer edge of the magazine lips. If the drill bit isn't abrasive enough, try 300-400 grit emery paper. DON'T try to remove too much material, you just want to remove the sharp burrs off the inner edge of the magazine lips so that's why I suggest you burnish before sanding. Test your magazine by placing a round in it and strip off the round using your thumb. No need to insert the magazine into your pistol. When the stripped round comes out of the magazine without scratches, no further burnishing or polishing is necessary. You can Dremel if you're careful and that might be even faster but you don't need to Flitz. Repeat with each magazine if you find it scoring the cartridge.

I found burrs on all four of my P9 magazines. Kahr makes a quality magazine but they leave burrs in some of the feed lips.

[Bawanna]

Marshal nailed this one. A small dowel or a pencil with some fine sandpaper should clean it up nicely.

You might as well take the mag apart at some point to make sure you get no junk in the mag tube.

[TheManInTally]

Thanks for the info Marshall!

All 5 of my 6 round mags cause the scratching/gouging. I went ahead and started with the worst one which was purchased separately and has the It didn't feel sharp to me but I went at it anyway. I took Bawanna's suggestion and went ahead and field stripped the mag all the way before I started. Them buggers sure do have a strong spring!

I used a steel first on the lips. It was actually hard to do so I switched over to the drill bit (great idea btw.) Since I didn't feel like putting the mag back together after burnishing it I went ahead and went at the lips from the inside with a pencil and some 800 grit sand paper so I didn't remove much/any metal. I figured once it quit grabbing the paper I was done. I then actually used another piece of the 800 grit and used a pencil on the inside of the entire mag. I finished by using the paper on the exterior. It actually shined right up and made a huge difference in how smoothly the mag drops out or gets pushed in. After that I did use my dremel and a little flitz just to shine up and smooth the top face of the follower on a few points that were not smooth.

I then used brake cleaner and blasted out the mag and the spring and carefully inspected the spring for anything that needed attention. It was good. Mpro7 cleaned everything just to be sure it was good and dry and clean and put her back together. Guess what?? NO SCRATCHING. Not on ammo and not even on the snap caps paint. I do notice when just checking the action with snap caps the angled mag does have the issue when loaded to capacity and not using the slide release on the first round or sling shot style that the first round goes in fine but what has happened is the second round has bumped away from the back of the mag well so regardless the second round is going to FTF each time. I am sure it is fine with the slide locked back like the directions are supposed to be. We will see. I am dying to shoot her but only get off on Sundays and since this was a Christmas present on a Sunday and today was New Years, on Sunday...Everyone has been closed! Cant wait. I will report back when I get to break her in. As for now, I got 5 more mags to work on since I may as well just go ahead and do the extended mag too though I plan to never use it.

[Bawanna]

Those magazines polish up like a brand new penny pretty easy. A dremel with a polishing pad or better a bench grinder with a felt wheel.

I do that to mine and then wax them with car wax, drop out like eggs through a hen. And look cook to boot.

The barrel and hood polish real easy too. The slide, not so much, those things are tough.

[TheManInTally]

Good Info Bawanna. I was so impressed with just the sanding @ 800 grit on the outside that I wanted to take my polisher to it but I was mostly interested today in correcting the burrs...But you can be sure I am going to go after the rest of them with a dremel for practice with it. I am very good with car paint with orbitals and rotary's so I know what I am doing as far as correcting and over correcting, etc. but I haven't used the dremel much for polishing and not much on a firearm at all. I do not own a bench grinder/polisher (so maybe a trip to amazon or harbor freight is in order...lol..) What would you recommend on the barrel and barrel hood (other than the bench polisher since I do not have it...yet..) Also, that is funny about the car wax. My family laughs at me when I use car polish, wax, etc. on household items.. I just like the slick feel, the protection and how easy it is to keep clean/functioning when an item is well polished.

[CPTKILLER]

Bulges have happened with Kahr and other brands. My suggestion is to contact Kahr and get it replaced period. This is usually a sign of a serious manufacturing defect and very bad QA.

[Bawanna]

I can't tell if this is tongue in cheek or serious. Every polymer Kahr delivered has those bulges. Its part of the design. No concern whatsoever.....

[TheManInTally]

Bulges have happened with Kahr and other brands. My suggestion is to contact Kahr and get it replaced period. This is usually a sign of a serious manufacturing defect and very bad QA.

??? Seriously or are you just playing around?