Are you Kidding me; Brand New p380 JUNK

[Disapointed]

- First I want to apologize if this has been beat to death, but I am new to Kahr. I've only heard of GREAt things about kahr pistols (up to now) and always wanted to own one. The chance came when my wife was looking for a carry/purse gun the other day. With out going into great details she is a proficient shooter, owns a .40 XDm, and has a Nevada CCW.
- She chose a pink Kahr p380 over the LCP and SW body guard. The sig was never a choice as we don't like the idea of a single action with one safety. A true 1911 is fine, but am leery of the sig .380 cocked and locke din teh pocket/purse. I feel terrible as I talked her into it saying Kahr is superior and operates flawlessly. My bad, that's all I ever heard. I've never owned one before and never will again.
- She bought it, I cleaned it, racked it, followed all instructions, and right out of the box it jammed on the first clip. It would only shoot one round and occasionaly two rounds with FTF. The slide would hang up a bout 1/8" from fully closing. I told her we had to put a few hundred rounds through it to break it in. HA!!! We shot 50 rounds that day, loading it via releasing the slide release lever, firing one shot, then it jammed. Then drop the magazine 9which did not want to come out), then clear jam, then start over. Any idea how long it takes to shoot 50 rounds this way?
- Took it home cleaned it, and started over. Well we got over 200 rounds through it, but 80% of them were single shots. Once in 40 rounds or so, it would shoot 2 or even 3. Yippee. What a pile of crap!!!
- Did a little research on the internet and have seen nothing but problems with the p380. The gun was 1 week old, took it back to Cabelas and asked for a full refund, minus Brady. Even said we would buy another gun on the spot. No luck it's going back for repair. I'll take small side wagers, for real, that gun will come back and have issues. I can shoot 200 rounds through my old and beat up XD40 and maybe have 1 or 2 hangups. Same for my ppks, same for my kimber ulta carry II, same for my ruger gp101.
I know some of you are diehard Kahr fans, but that's it. They got one chance and neither my wife nor I will ever be back. Are you kidding me??? A gun that won't shoot out of the box? Unacceptable for even Taurus. Why won't they recall these and make em right? My only wish is that we can somehow get her money back and try another brand.
Story over, if you've read this far, Thanks, : ) G :)

[kerby9mm]

Now you know about the p380 after you paid your money for it. There have been issues with that gun for so long and they still can't get it right to this day. Makes you wonder how many people buy it for protection and never shoot it thinking it will function fine because a friends cheap pistol works. Kahr must be making money on them even with all the so called repairs.

[East River Guide]

Read up, there is plenty of discussion on this. I guess some p380s never get right but many just need a whole lot of breaking in. Mine had FTF probs on 50% of round to start but now runs fine after a few hundred rounds, no problems at all.

[Whaleman]

Mine had to go back 3 times and now runs perfect. Needed a new frame. Keep sending it back they will fix it if they know you will continue to send it back if they don't.

[Ljutic]

I had that exact same problem with my first p380. Kahr fixed it on the first trip back. Upgraded to a black with nightsights later and that one has been fantastic since day one. Some need help and I agree that it sucks that they leave the factory that way.

You didn't mention your ammo. Fiocchi fmj, Tulammo fmj, and Sellier & Bellot fmj will all cause my black P380 to behave as you described. I just avoid those ammo choices.

[rogerthedodger]

I had that exact same problem with my first p380. Kahr fixed it on the first trip back. Upgraded to a black with nightsights later and that one has been fantastic since day one. Some need help and I agree that it sucks that they leave the factory that way.

You didn't mention your ammo. Fiocchi fmj, Tulammo fmj, and Sellier & Bellot fmj will all cause my black P380 to behave as you described. I just avoid those ammo choices.
You can add WWB flat nose to the list. It will not feed in mine, jams at the bottom of thr ramp, 2nd round, every time.

[TriggerMan]

- First I want to apologize if this has been beat to death, but I am new to Kahr. I've only heard of GREAt things about kahr pistols (up to now) and always wanted to own one. The chance came when my wife was looking for a carry/purse gun the other day. With out going into great details she is a proficient shooter, owns a .40 XDm, and has a Nevada CCW.
- She chose a pink Kahr p380 over the LCP and SW body guard. The sig was never a choice as we don't like the idea of a single action with one safety. A true 1911 is fine, but am leery of the sig .380 cocked and locke din teh pocket/purse. I feel terrible as I talked her into it saying Kahr is superior and operates flawlessly. My bad, that's all I ever heard. I've never owned one before and never will again.
- She bought it, I cleaned it, racked it, followed all instructions, and right out of the box it jammed on the first clip. It would only shoot one round and occasionaly two rounds with FTF. The slide would hang up a bout 1/8" from fully closing. I told her we had to put a few hundred rounds through it to break it in. HA!!! We shot 50 rounds that day, loading it via releasing the slide release lever, firing one shot, then it jammed. Then drop the magazine 9which did not want to come out), then clear jam, then start over. Any idea how long it takes to shoot 50 rounds this way?
- Took it home cleaned it, and started over. Well we got over 200 rounds through it, but 80% of them were single shots. Once in 40 rounds or so, it would shoot 2 or even 3. Yippee. What a pile of crap!!!
- Did a little research on the internet and have seen nothing but problems with the p380. The gun was 1 week old, took it back to Cabelas and asked for a full refund, minus Brady. Even said we would buy another gun on the spot. No luck it's going back for repair. I'll take small side wagers, for real, that gun will come back and have issues. I can shoot 200 rounds through my old and beat up XD40 and maybe have 1 or 2 hangups. Same for my ppks, same for my kimber ulta carry II, same for my ruger gp101.
I know some of you are diehard Kahr fans, but that's it. They got one chance and neither my wife nor I will ever be back. Are you kidding me??? A gun that won't shoot out of the box? Unacceptable for even Taurus. Why won't they recall these and make em right? My only wish is that we can somehow get her money back and try another brand.
Story over, if you've read this far, Thanks, : ) G :)Am I reading this right? You did your internet research AFTER you bought and fired it?
I also hope your wife will find a way to carry on her body. A purse is often not at hand when needed and often the target of a thief. The Sig P238 is a great gun. Good luck with your next step, whatever it may be.

[OldLincoln]

Fail to feeds are often caused by the slide action slowed by friction. That's why it is critical to lube it liberally until broken in. The other thing that will cause it is inadequate power in the round you shoot. This is not the time for a weak target round, but instead a solid performance round nose. Finally is allowing the gun to flip out and up when shooting which counters the energy needed to work the slide.

Before totally giving up, why not try a box of whatever is recommended here as a power round. Perhaps Gold Dot or ? I shot Federal American Eagle but don't know how that ranks.

If you liberally lube your gun following the lube chart (do not overlook point 6) then shoot a box of good power rounds making sure your grip is solid and holding the gun on target the best you can through recoil then you may have a factory problem.

[Disapointed]

Thanks for the replies, I needed to vent. Yes, I did the research after she purchased it and experienced problems. My bad. I wrongfully assumed Kahr, any Kahr, was a superior product. I've probably owned over 30 various pistols in the last 23 yrs, and have never had any issue with any one of them except Taurus. I bought 3 Taurus' and all 3 went back for repairs. I will give Taurus a 10 out of 10 on repair service, but will never own one of those again.
- ammo shot wwb flat nose 50, bellot? 50, federal round nose red box 150, hornady critical defense 25. Every bullet jammed after firing the first round. The slide would not close the last 18th inch or so. we did try shooting all of the ammo with aclean gun, bu tno luck.

[Disapointed]

Fail to feeds are often caused by the slide action slowed by friction. That's why it is critical to lube it liberally until broken in. The other thing that will cause it is inadequate power in the round you shoot. This is not the time for a weak target round, but instead a solid performance round nose. Finally is allowing the gun to flip out and up when shooting which counters the energy needed to work the slide.

Before totally giving up, why not try a box of whatever is recommended here as a power round. Perhaps Gold Dot or ? I shot Federal American Eagle but don't know how that ranks.

If you liberally lube your gun following the lube chart (do not overlook point 6) then shoot a box of good power rounds making sure your grip is solid and holding the gun on target the best you can through recoil then you may have a factory problem.

Did the lube job as required, also shot some quality ammo, still nothing. She shot it, I shot it, my brother shot it, we bench rest shot it, one hand two hand, left hand. Nothing. Personally, I find it unacceptable though, you need to go through a song and dance with lube, ammo, break in etc. My Kimber ultra carry II said dont expect good functioning until 500 rounds have gone through. Being OCD, I intentionally tried to make this gun jam, FTF, stove pipe etc., by limp wristing, alternating ammo, quick shoointg, slow then quick etc. I shot around 250 rounds though it, before I got one FTF. In the 600 or so rounds I have through that I think 2 or 3 max ftf.

[MLESa7990]

Sounds like you got a lemon. Plenty of perfectly functioning P380s out there, but obviously still some Junkers. Who knows...Your's could have been sitting on a distributors or dealers shelf for months. Doubt it's brand new as in manufactured in the past couple months...I say that because I'm pretty sure Kahr did a limited run of pink 380's early in 2011 for a specific distributor and haven't made them since.

[Bawanna]

Call or email, get a return pickup ticket. Send it back. Kahr will make it right. The new production 380's I'm told are cured and running fine. Maybe yes, maybe no. I'm not good at patience myself but I think it will be worth it when they get it running properly. Inconvenient, not acceptable perhaps but they will take care of it.

[jocko]

also might I add that now that Bawanna is back on line, my computer as of today is now again perfect. Nice job great one, I look forward to listening to youyr speech tomorrow night on TV.

Ohb damn, wrong GREAT ONE!!

[muggsy]

There are far more good running P380 than bad. If yours has a problem send it back and Kahr will fix it. You won't find a better .380 out there.

[O'Dell]

Your choice of examples is interesting. I have bought about 45 new guns in the last five years, and three had a problem out of the box, an XD45, Kimber UC II, and STI Escort. All were eventually fixed after some tuning or parts replacement.

If you give Kahr a chance, your pistol will be fixed. If you don't want to give them a chance, and your attitude reflects this, sell it and buy something else. That's what I did with the XD.

[ladman]

Can I ask what the serial number is? Thanks.

[yqtszhj]

Don't give up. Kahr will fix it. If you you are willing to go for something beside pink maybe they'll fix you up with a new frame if that's the problem. Everyone here will talk straight about Kahr's issues so have no fear there. I had a flawless CW9 and now a flawless CM9 so hang in there they do make good guns.

[CJB]

Maybe its an obvious, but the female hand has a different grip... and a small gun will require a rather firm and unwavering grip in order correctly function. That can be a problem for ladies. Not knowing her, she may be better suited for a hammerless revolver, which is arguably the safest handgun to have, one upping the little 380, because there is no chamber to check. Cylinder open, its either loaded or not, and its safe. Long DA pull to fire after you close cylinder. Cannot be left "ready to shoot" single action. Very safe, very good for ladies of limited skill, or limited strength and endurance.

Just sayin....

And, the 380 has had its share of problems - lately some frames that were a little off, causing some issues with feeding. You may, or may not have one of those.

[CJB]

I wouldn't call the 389 junk. I'd say Kahr had some problems and is working through them. There are many satisfied 380 shooters, and some very dissatisfied ones too... but Kahr is helping them, at no cost except time.

[Bawanna]

I agree, there are many good running 380's and ignorance plays no part in the equation. With a little patience you'll get a good running 380, best one out there.

[Disapointed]

Don't give up. Kahr will fix it. If you you are willing to go for something beside pink maybe they'll fix you up with a new frame if that's the problem. Everyone here will talk straight about Kahr's issues so have no fear there. I had a flawless CW9 and now a flawless CM9 so hang in there they do make good guns.

Thanks for the straight talk!

[Disapointed]

can i ask what the serial number is? Thanks.

rb5xxx

[Disapointed]

Maybe its an obvious, but the female hand has a different grip... and a small gun will require a rather firm and unwavering grip in order correctly function. That can be a problem for ladies. Not knowing her, she may be better suited for a hammerless revolver, which is arguably the safest handgun to have, one upping the little 380, because there is no chamber to check. Cylinder open, its either loaded or not, and its safe. Long DA pull to fire after you close cylinder. Cannot be left "ready to shoot" single action. Very safe, very good for ladies of limited skill, or limited strength and endurance.

Did you not read the post??? She shot it, I shot it, my brother shot it, we "bench rested" it. Limp wrist? :rolleyes:

Just sayin....

And, the 380 has had its share of problems - lately some frames that were a little off, causing some issues with feeding. You may, or may not have one of those.

She had a SW 636 hammerless. I think that was the model. .38+ Hated it. Could not hit the broad side of a barn. AND she is proficient with auto's. Hand her one she'll point it in a safe direction finger off trigger, AND can tell you if it's loaded, cocked, she can drop the clip (except the new Walther one). I'm proud of her.

[Disapointed]

i'm sorry to say thiis problem is really your own ignorance. The gun has problems . You should have spent a few more dollars knowing the gun was junk and got a pm9. Done deal.

I'm ignorant because Kahr (according to you) knowingly sells a faulty firearm? Well then so be it.

[Bawanna]

I'm ignorant because Kahr (according to you) knowingly sells a faulty firearm? Well then so be it.


Pretend your a duck and let that ignorant comment run right off your back.

We'll all be cheerleaders and wait for Kahr to get that baby running for ya.
I'm proud of any female that takes the time to know her weapons and tries to be proficient. Most I've known seem to be as dedicated if not more dedicated than us guys.

The good firm solid grip is still true and a factor. It may or may not work for her but I suspect it will.

Keep us in the loop and let us know how things progress.

[ladman]

rb5xxx

Thanks. I'm a new P380 owner and will be shooting it for the first time this weekend. In my research, it seemed that the models with RB as a prefix, seemed to have problems. Mine has a prefix of RC25, so hoping it will be good to go.

I've lubed and also worked the slide at least 500 times. I've had lots of experience with both the P3AT and LCP and had minor issues with both, but finally got them remedied. Because of the tight tolerances on these smaller guns, there are bound to be more issues than say a Glock. I pocket carry because of the convenience, but also absolutely must have something that goes bang everytime. I'm confident even if I experience a problem with my P380, it will get worked out with help from Kahr.

[Disapointed]

Pretend your a duck and let that ignorant comment run right off your back.

We'll all be cheerleaders and wait for Kahr to get that baby running for ya.
I'm proud of any female that takes the time to know her weapons and tries to be proficient. Most I've known seem to be as dedicated if not more dedicated than us guys.

The good firm solid grip is still true and a factor. It may or may not work for her but I suspect it will.

Keep us in the loop and let us know how things progress.


Bawana, I like your cander. Thanks for being positive. I will keep everyone in the loop, and get back to you when I hear back form Kahr.
SG

[yqtszhj]

Bawana, I like your cander. Thanks for being positive. I will keep everyone in the loop, and get back to you when I hear back form Kahr.
SG

Once Kahr gets you fixed up I'll be interested how your lady likes it. I'd like to get one for mine to have too. Hang in there.

[CJB]

She had a SW 636 hammerless. I think that was the model. .38+ Hated it. Could not hit the broad side of a barn. AND she is proficient with auto's. Hand her one she'll point it in a safe direction finger off trigger, AND can tell you if it's loaded, cocked, she can drop the clip (except the new Walther one). I'm proud of her.

Not a direct rebuttal, but for those who may read this... I'd like to remind all that there is a distinct difference, especially for a new and/or otherwise inexperienced shooter, between just opening a cylinder, and dropping the magazine, and being able to also check the chamber. I'll say again... the safest carry, for the new and/or inexperienced, is the hammerless revolver, which can be made instantly and recognizably safe, whereupon the autoloader requires at least two steps (mag, and chamber) and the latter may not be within the cognitive recall of the aforementioned new or inexperienced shooter. Times of stress with exacerbate the safety issue as well.

[Disapointed]

Not a direct rebuttal, but for those who may read this... I'd like to remind all that there is a distinct difference, especially for a new and/or otherwise inexperienced shooter, between just opening a cylinder, and dropping the magazine, and being able to also check the chamber. I'll say again... the safest carry, for the new and/or inexperienced, is the hammerless revolver, which can be made instantly and recognizably safe, whereupon the autoloader requires at least two steps (mag, and chamber) and the latter may not be within the cognitive recall of the aforementioned new or inexperienced shooter. Times of stress with exacerbate the safety issue as well.

Understood. Not disagreeing necassarily. Just the ol ball and chain, lol, just feels safer with an auto because she feels proficient with one. She's confident she can hit with one, as opposed to a hammer less. Now a revolver with a hammer is different, she drills holes when shooting single action. However, in a fire fight will you be cocking the hammer??? The very few times a year she carries, it always an auto and it always loaded ready to go, one in the pipe.