Brand New P380 - many failures to feed and fire problems

[bobbtopgun]

Hello,

I have purchased two new Kahrs - a PM9 and CW45, both of which have been excellent from day one. All great experiences - never any failures whatsoever. So I was excited to acquire a P380.

Yesterday I took delivery of a brand new P380 serial #RCxxxx.

After an initial cleaning and Balistol lubrication I took it to the range today to begin the 200 round break-in using factory 95 gr. FMJ loads.

I was terribly disappointed. Using the recommended method of using the slide release lever (I did not sling-shot the slide) I had immediate issues with failures to feed, failures to go into full battery and failures to fire. I had to clear at least three or four major jams with the live round jammed partically in the chamber, lodged between the slide and chamber.

After clearing the jams, I might have gotten it to fire only to get another jam on the next round. I do not believe I got more than 2 consecutive rounds to fire before getting another jam. I tried both the factory 6-round and 7-round mags with the same results.

It took all I could do to get a grand total of eight rounds fired. At that point, I gave up. :(

Back at home, I field stripped the gun to see if I could notice anything that did not look right. On close inspection, what I noticed was that the grove in the polymer frame in which the slide cycles has some areas of the polymer grove that look like they have been gouged. :confused:

I'm inclined to immediately contact Kahr customer support but thought I'd first ask whether anyone else out there has experienced problems like these with a P380.

THANKS for any help you can provide! :)

[itsthelaw]

Great idea to ask here first! I have 3 other Kahrs and a P380. The P380 had different issues than yours, but it was very disappointing. The guys on this site are brilliant and can probably help. I spent some extra $ on ammo trying to work out the issues, but never had to send it to Kahr.

They will help! If they can't, then you can send it back. I shot my P380 today and loved it.

[TheTman]

Dang, I thought they got the issues with the P380 ironed out. Maybe that is an older one that had been on the shelf for awhile?

[nikon]

That stinks..i got mine a few months ago. Wiped the oil off the outside of it and fired 200 flawless round through it. My only issue now is the slide is not staying back after the last round. Have you tried different ammo?

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[AjarnMichael]

Sounds exactly like what my P380 was doing today with Fiocci ammo. I switched to Gold Dots, Hornady, and a locally made +P ammo and had no trouble firing 100 rounds. The ammo was expensive, though. PMC ammo was just recommended to me as a cheap ammo to use during break in. Give a box a try if you can find it.

[michpatriot]

A Dremel tool also works wonders....I think they should forego the second mag and put a Dremel tool in the box next to the cool lock.

[adamog133]

My issue was: magazine issues with the mag release slot in the mag catching the follower and preventing the 3rd round advancing in all magazines. Ftfeed issue. Dremel the follower and issue was gone.

[Flincher]

Love my P380. Followed all the recommended pre-breakin and lube tasks, polished the feed ramp and chamber ( as I do on all my sem-autos), and I have over 400 rounds hardball through it with not a single issue.

[pm9094n]

Topgun-

I recently had the same experience with my p380. (See thread 'striker prevents chambering). I also have a pm9 with no hiccups from the first shot.
Here's where I am now, two cleans one action polish and 250 rds later.
I assumed you followed jockos and Greg's posts on prep, polishing and proper lube.
My first trip to the rang was like yours and I came home very frustrated. I also was not making sure the striker was behind the striker block before inserting a magazine.
I was shooting Magtec fmj which apparently it didn't like.
So here are my suggestions:
Field strip and spray/clean
Polish chamber, ramp and throat and mag lips with dremel
Modify magazine follower and make sure spring is inserted with the end with the greatest angle up
I've never used balistol but maybe try another wet lube?
Def try another ammo
Shoot 1-200 more rounds, tear down clean etc
Also make sure rounds are fully rearward in the magazine

After all that my recent trip out was flawless. My p380 seemed to require much more breakin than pm9. I also bought some snap caps and have done lots of dry firing/racking since that first bad outing.

[gm412]

Mine has been back to Kahr 3 times. Last time they said they could not get it to fail. I got it back on the first 50 rounds through it and I had 5 light strikes. I am now wondering if I just can't shoot this small gun. Never an issue with my pm9. Maybe someone from the Bay Area in California can meet some day. I would like to get someone else using my p380 and ammo to see.

[yqtszhj]

I don't have the P380 but from what I remember from the other post in the past is that for breakin it likes some good powered factory ammo. After a few hundred rounds they settle down and run right.

There are some out there (in particular the earlier production) that just had problems. Try a different factory ammo known to have some power and if you still have the problems I'd call kahr and ask nicely for a return label. They should fix you up.

[Flincher]

Mine has been back to Kahr 3 times. Last time they said they could not get it to fail. I got it back on the first 50 rounds through it and I had 5 light strikes. I am now wondering if I just can't shoot this small gun. Never an issue with my pm9. Maybe someone from the Bay Area in California can meet some day. I would like to get someone else using my p380 and ammo to see.

:)gm412. You concern about maybe just not being able to fire this small gun is very legitimate. Any true "pocket-sized" semi-auto, regardless of brand and functionality presents a whole set of issues; grip, limp wristing, magazine loading, etc. that make those guns just very difficult for some folks to shoot with success. My old shootin' buddy broke his wrist years ago. When I got my Kahr P380, and Sig 238, he loved both and wanted one in the worst way. But while I can shoot both with virtually no issues, he cannot. Neither gun ( one DAO and one SA) is reliable for him.:)