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View Full Version : I just finished wiping the blood off of my Kahr...



QuercusMax
04-06-2012, 02:12 PM
No, I'm not at a crime scene, and this is not the first chapter of my new crime novel (although it does give me an idea).

While going through my normal "make sure it is not loaded" drill that I do every time I pick up any gun before handling it, I ejected the magazine on my MK9, locked the slide back, and checked to make sure that there was not a round left in the chamber.

In this case, I had left a snap cap in the gun from dry-firing exercises some days ago, and it did not fully eject when I pulled the slide back and locked it.

While removing the snap cap, I somehow released the slide stop, causing the slide to slam shut. At the time, my left thumb was touching the frame near the witness mark, where the frame is very sharp when not covered by the slide. Unfortunately the force of the slide slamming forward pushed my thumb along that sharp edge, which functioned like a meat slicer, almost taking off the very tip of my thumb. :eek:

Clearly I need to re-examine my technique and procedures, but thought I would post this as a caution to others. Strong Kahr springs when combined with sharp metal edges can be hazardous!

I should have taken some pictures before I cleaned everything up ... blood all over the frame, slide and magazine really did look like something from a crime scene (which I never hope to see again under any circumstances!).

Tinman507
04-06-2012, 02:14 PM
Sorry you were injured but glad it wasn't worse. Sometimes lessons are painful. Betting you won't do that again.

Bawanna
04-06-2012, 02:45 PM
I can't help but think of M1 thumb reading your story.

Slices like that can be sore as heck for several weeks and you'll be amazed how much you use the wounded finger as you go through your day to day routine, probably like it's the only one you ever use.

You might want to think about rounding off some of those sharp edges, easy to do and looks good too. I know I'd be thinking about doing that in between cussing and hating myself.

chipD
04-06-2012, 03:53 PM
I can't help but think of M1 thumb reading your story.

Slices like that can be sore as heck for several weeks and you'll be amazed how much you use the wounded finger as you go through your day to day routine, probably like it's the only one you ever use.

You might want to think about rounding off some of those sharp edges, easy to do and looks good too. I know I'd be thinking about doing that in between cussing and hating myself.

Hey me too,
When I was an armorer we would have to take in M1 Garands from ceremonies. You have to be on your toes releasing that bolt.

OldLincoln
04-06-2012, 03:53 PM
Bet that hurts. Another sharp place is the inside bottom edge of the mag lips. I've cut my thumb so many times I finally took the sharp out of it.

jg rider
04-06-2012, 07:24 PM
Have you thought about contacting an attorney. There's probably liability on the part of Kahr. You probably could win a settlement and require Kahr to engrave "Read Owner's Manual Before Using" on the side of the slide. They'd probably also be required to install a latch to prevent the accidental release of the slide stop.
I'm sure there's more that can be done to prevent this horrific event from happening to someone else.
Was a visit to the emergency needed? stitches? trauma management counseling? :eek:

QuercusMax
04-06-2012, 07:45 PM
Yeah.

My most recent acquisition - a Beretta - came with an owner's manual in which the first 5 pages were filled with nothing but warnings, including such useful advice as "Read warnings." Finally on page 6 started some actual content....

I'm pretty sure my Kahr manual - not here in front of me now - does not contain any dire warnings about preventing what happened to me due to my own fault. But hmmm, maybe I can get a lot more Kahrs for free somehow due to my own error ... only in America.

Speaking of owner's manuals - for products in general, and certainly for most guns - are pretty lame productions that serve mostly as vehicles for liability-induced CYA warnings, while omitting any useful info.

The owner's manual for my recently-acquired S&W 617 was a generic affair that gave no info on cleaning or lubrication, except to advise me to consult the instructions that come with various gun cleaning kits.

On the other hand, I was quite impressed with owner's manual for my H&K 45c, which in typical Germanic style, actually does contain useful info. I don't own a Sig - I wonder if they come with useful manuals?

muggsy
04-06-2012, 08:00 PM
I can't help but think of M1 thumb reading your story.

Slices like that can be sore as heck for several weeks and you'll be amazed how much you use the wounded finger as you go through your day to day routine, probably like it's the only one you ever use.

You might want to think about rounding off some of those sharp edges, easy to do and looks good too. I know I'd be thinking about doing that in between cussing and hating myself.

There is only one part of your body that has more nerve ending than your finger tips and I don't want to go there. Ouch!