Same old story ... New CM9 ... nothin wrong with it

[dseder]

Look forward to hanging out with you guys ...and of course getting the club seal!

Only issue I had was that I got a bit nervous taking the CM9 apart today. I thought it had a full metal rail ... didn't know that it only had two small rails on the back side. Then I saw some spots where the plastic was shaving off. ... then saw the metal rails on the lower front and felt a total sigh of relief.

Only 100 rounds through it today - didn't have time for 200. Everything was flawless out of the box except that it didn't lock open when empty once when my friend was shooting it. Big whoopin deal.

Can't believe it comes in a cardboard box. Even my former Diamondback had a plastic clamshell! But that's okay - it was meant to be carried not kept in the box.

One more ... while cleaning it I put the slide on without the barrel. Oops. Got a quick lesson on how to remove the firing pin assembly to get the slide back off. at least that's the only way I knew how to do it.

And as you know ... WHAT AN AWESOME GUN!!!

[CJB]

Look forward to hanging out with you guys ...and of course getting the club seal!

Here ya go!
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSLMui1faUr8H0I2gAXRlCVmoJd36fJN PHFOsS0FAx9E0QN6JjU

[dseder]

wait. just. a. minute! That seal ain't smilin'!

(but thanks ... that was good)

[JFootin]

Welcome to the forum! :)


And welcome to the CM9 Owners Club! :D Our official symbol is the wide grin smily because we are so happy with our purchase that we can't wipe the smiles off our faces!

I don't know anything about a seal, but here is your club badge.
http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee486/John_England/Smilies/BigSmily.jpg

[cjm2022]

there are also two metal rails at the front of the frame. the wear on the black plastic is normal...well at least mine did it too

[flatlander937]

Congrats!

I too have a CM9 that I am 99% happy with... I noticed the plastic shavings on mine at the first cleaning too, I just carefully shaved the bits off that were loose and every 50-100rds since then the plastic shavings are negligible and/or non-existent. Consider that part of the break-in I guess.

Only problem I've had w/ mine are the 7rd magazines(which I bought separately)... they refuse to feed Federal 115gr ammo. Magtech and Aguila work great though. I used some calipers and found the Federal to have the largest overall length of the cartridges... Magtech was about 0.010" shorter on average and Aguilla 124gr was about 0.015-0.020 on overage. Also the bullet shape is considerably smoother for the Magtech and Aguila which I think doesn't help matters.

Just be sure to shoot your intended carry ammo through any and all magazines you have to make sure they all work well(normal advise but very important to re-iterate).

[HalfCocked]

Congrats!

... they refuse to feed Federal 115gr ammo. Magtech and Aguila work great though.

Well in my first 100 rnds Magtech didn't work in the 7 mag for me. At one point the mag flipped a cartridge up at about a 75-80 degree and the gun jammed (second or third round of the 7) . Couldn't drop the mag or rack the slide. The range officer and I both messed with it. He finally took a rod and pushed the cartridge down enough to lock the slide back and clear the gun. Went back to just using the 6 round clip and had no problems shooting the rest of the Magtech. Checked the spring in the mag and it was in the proper orientation. YMMV but I'm shying away from that 7 rounder.

[CJB]

Shavings happen at first... don't sweat it. The plastic rails are there as a guide for re-assembly, not structural. The right side of the slide has a cutout for what would be the disconnector part of the trigger bar. (Thats the nub that sticks up and fits into that cutout, and gets pushed down "disconnecting" the trigger bar from the cocking cam.) That area can have a burr or two that can cause a burr or two, not while firing, but while removing/replacing the slide on the frame. Careful needle file or stone work on the burrs makes that a non-issue.

(pre-emptive strike)
Yes, there is supposed to be a notch on the left side rail up front!

You needn't take the back of the slide apart to remove the slide if the barrel is not in place. Just pull the slide all the way back, push it back forward to normal position. Hold it in place and pull the trigger. Then wiggle the slide off. Sometimes some trigger wiggling is needed too.

White box vs plastic clamshell. There are probably two reasons for this. One is actual cost containment. Say, the CM and CW series are produced to the tune of 25,000 units a year, in all models and calibers. Add in a buck fifty for each case. Not chump change. Not a deal breaker, but everybody is watching costs closer, and the pistol is essentially a very high quality one, with alternate cosmetic machining.

The other reason, may be more marketing than anything (may also be the larger reason). That is, when you take a product, rework it, and remarket it to a lower price tier, you devalue the upmarket and more profitable product that you still wish to produce. The distinction in products needs to be clear, and the further the price points are, the clearer (in the eyes of consumers) those distinctions need to be. So, to preserve the PM/P models image as the "up market" products, the CM/CW gets a white box.

I've got a close friend in the injection molding business. We are like two peas in a pod. He didn't know guns, but can precisely cut metal in his sleep. I know guns, but didn't know machine shop practices. Good relationship! Won't mention the shop, but they're big in the USA molding industry for having pioneered EDM preparation of molds a very long time ago. Nowadays its common, and most molding is sent overseas... those plastic boxes, are probably a two cavity mold, just for redundancy in case something happens to one cavity. Real production cost on the mold is probably around three weeks labor. Send it out for texturing, that adds cost. Engraving, that adds cost. My estimate - a weeks labor more. Factor that by the local going rate. If that's an overseas produced mold, costs are far lower. Actual per-unit costs after mold production are nil. Pennies per item, and they can probably produce between a thousand and two thousand units per shift... although thin material molds get tricky. Lets say 1000 per shift. At a dollar a unit, you've paid for all materials and molds in the first production run of ten days length... really two weeks with setup and testing. After that, you're next run is setup time, materials, and operational expenses. It is most likely that Kahr has the cases made, and did not actually "buy the molds". That is, they just buy cases from a mold shop that also does the molding work. Far cheaper that way... overseas too. Costs are very low for that plastic unit. BUT, the perceived value to the market is what the item is really worth... as always.

[flatlander937]

Oh, I forgot to add that my CM9 came in a black plastic case... and I bought it only ~1 month ago.

So I don't know what's up with that.

[CJB]

just on the shelf longer... the white box didn't appear until earlier this year

[flatlander937]

Well in my first 100 rnds Magtech didn't work in the 7 mag for me. At one point the mag flipped a cartridge up at about a 75-80 degree and the gun jammed (second or third round of the 7) . Couldn't drop the mag or rack the slide. The range officer and I both messed with it. He finally took a rod and pushed the cartridge down enough to lock the slide back and clear the gun. Went back to just using the 6 round clip and had no problems shooting the rest of the Magtech. Checked the spring in the mag and it was in the proper orientation. YMMV but I'm shying away from that 7 rounder.

Was your 7 rounder doing this consistently? Or did it only happen once? What did the jam look like? Round hitting the top of the chamber?

My failures were all nose-dives UNDER the feed ramp. I think I forgot to specify that in my last post.

I agree about avoiding the 7rd mags if you haven't gotten 150+ trouble free rounds of what you plan on carrying through them though.

I may get one of those pinky extensions for my 6rd mags as that aids me greatly in drawing quicker and getting a solid repeatable grip on the gun.

[jocko]

IMO u should have looked at a cw9, it is 7 rounds with flush fit mag. Putting a pinky exstension puts u almost in the same size gun as a cw series. Just sayin

[JFootin]

My S&W 638 came in a white cardboard box. In the last year, many gun makers started switching to cardboard. Maybe the price of plastic is going up or something.

[jocko]

I think ol CJB gave a very good scenario of the plastic box thing. If u look at the kahr polymer box, there is alot of work in that box that had to go to a mold maker befrore #1 box ever came out. Cardboard would please me fine. My gun rests in my pocket and on the mantel athome, not in the kahr, smith, ruger boxes....Just sayin

[dseder]

Thanks for the info guys! I was just complaining about the box to complain ... it makes no difference as I'll still keep it. I see a lot of used guns sell without the original box anyways ... so who (besides me) really keeps them ;o)

[HalfCocked]

Was your 7 rounder doing this consistently? Or did it only happen once? What did the jam look like? Round hitting the top of the chamber?
My failures were all nose-dives UNDER the feed ramp. I think I forgot to specify that in my last post.

Yes it did it twice both nose dives but also had several times where the slide did not lock back after last round with the 7 mag. I am new to this gun and certainly not a gun smith but it feels like there is more play (wiggle) in the 7 mag than the 6. I wonder if gripping the extension at the bottom of the 7 mag is causing it to not seat correctly. There isn't any room for backward pressure from your hand on the 6 but with some force going back by your grip maybe when the slide racks back the front of the 7 mag dips. Don't know. Just a theory. Physics class was a long long time ago. :der:

[krazman]

I'm also new to guns, Kahr and my PM9. Shot it BRIEFLY yesterday and had the same problem with the 7 round mag failing to keep the slide open after empty. 6 round mag worked fine.

Just got back from shooting 130 rounds of Federal 115grn FMJ through my PM9 and out of 10 magazine rounds of the 6 and 7, I only had 2 times when the 7 failed to keep the slide open. All the experienced Kahr shooters said give it time and it will improve. They seem to be on to something! Tomorrow ought to be even better!!
kraz