Looking to pick up a used K40

[dale roper]

I have My eyes on a used stainless K40 that the owner says "appears to be very low rd. count with very little wear if any." I wondered if there are any things, in particular, to look for (tell tale signs of a problem that would be a deal breaker?) I thought I remembered reading somewhere that some of the all metal Kahrs had a problem with a crack that would form between the hole for the guide rod and the barrel. Any help is certainly appreciated it. I am the proud owner of a PM9 and love it so I am not totally in the dark. Thank You!

[FLBri]

I own 4 SSteel Kahrs (3 T's and an MK) in both 9mm and .40 and have never had a crack or any other issue once the guns were all set up and properly broken in. There were some minor issues that Kahr CS sorted out, but once they were taken care of I have had no failures of any kind with any of them.

My T40 is a 2004 model with older style dovetail cuts. All the others are newer guns. The MK took the longest to break in .... but could easily be called my favorite (actually my favorite is the one I am holding at the time).

IMO if the visual inspection bears out what the owner says, go for it. The only issues would have visual signs of torture like parts not lining up, OVERLY sloppy slide to frame (careful here ... all my steel pistols have some play it is mostly an irrelevant issue), mangled trigger pin, etc. These guns are built like a tank. Shooting them doesn't wear them out ... they only get sweeter.

[Barth]

I own 4 SSteel Kahrs (3 T's and an MK) in both 9mm and .40 and have never had a crack or any other issue once the guns were all set up and properly broken in. There were some minor issues that Kahr CS sorted out, but once they were taken care of I have had no failures of any kind with any of them.

My T40 is a 2004 model with older style dovetail cuts. All the others are newer guns. The MK took the longest to break in .... but could easily be called my favorite (actually my favorite is the one I am holding at the time).

IMO if the visual inspection bears out what the owner says, go for it. The only issues would have visual signs of torture like parts not lining up, OVERLY sloppy slide to frame (careful here ... all my steel pistols have some play it is mostly an irrelevant issue), mangled trigger pin, etc. These guns are built like a tank. Shooting them doesn't wear them out ... they only get sweeter.

+1
Don't think you can go wrong with the all stainless Kahrs.
The only, not really a, problem with my MK40 3" gun was how tight she came
from the factory.
And having an extended break-in period.

The gun is 100% reliable now and much easier to break down and assemble.
The RSA is still hard and the most difficult of my autos to rack the slide.
I think that may be one reason why the slingshot is not recommended.

Personally, I think many new Kahr owners may not be willing to weather the
break-in and give up on the gun early.
If the gun looks like it's never been shot, that's really no surprise.

The little stainless guns are built like tanks and just polish themselves with use.

[downtownv]

I have My eyes on a used stainless K40 that the owner says "appears to be very low rd. count with very little wear if any." I wondered if there are any things, in particular, to look for (tell tale signs of a problem that would be a deal breaker?) I thought I remembered reading somewhere that some of the all metal Kahrs had a problem with a crack that would form between the hole for the guide rod and the barrel. Any help is certainly appreciated it. I am the proud owner of a PM9 and love it so I am not totally in the dark. Thank You!

What's included and what's the price?:confused:

[jocko]

what Barth says is about true with damn near any semi, take good physical care of it and 500 rounds or 5000 rounds can't tell anyt difference. I defy anyone that does not know me and my PMJ9 with over 32K out of it to guess withinb 10K of what is through it. It is just totally new looking all over, not a wear place on the gun. I when I buy used, buy for over all looks/condition to gauge myt buying. I tend not to wantto believe an owner telling me it hasw 100 rounds or what ever out of it. If it looks great internally etc, then to me rounds down range is now my time saving break in already done for me.

U ain't gonna shoot out a kahr..

[Bongo Boy]

As far as 'telltale' signs, you can certainly give it a casual inspection and tell if a retard has owned it, but even if that's the case, it still may not make it a bad deal at all.

Examples include any signs of pounding on the slide lock lever or use of tools on it to disassemble; obvious signs that the grip screws have been removed and replaced multiple times by someone without the time to get a properly fitting screwdriver; left and right ends of the sights, where you can tell if they've been pounded on and banged up.

Again, none of these would necessarily keep me from buying the gun--these are cheap replaceable parts if aesthetics bugs you. But, they're 'telltale' in that the same bonehead was also possibly inside the gun prying on things. If you can take the slide off and just peek at the parts, and nothing looks wrong, most likely nothing's wrong.

I don' believe I've ever picked up a used gun at a gun shown that was less than 20 years old or so that appeared to have ever been used much--by my standards.

But yes, Jocko makes two great points: "appears to be very low round count" is utterly meaningless statement, and other than scrub marks where bluing is worn off, you'd never know if most guns had 20,000 rds through them or not by looking at them.

[dale roper]

http://s1308.beta.photobucket.com/user/daleroper/library/ the pistol 2 mags, lock, box and docs. in exchange for a glock 36.
What's included and what's the price?:confused:

[jocko]

I have yet to read of an owner shooting out any kahr. U might shoot the damn rifling out of a barrel for some odd reason but u merely buy a new barrel and continue on

[dale roper]

I ended up trading for the K40 and Picked it up this afternoon. I would first like to thank Jocko for reviewing the photos that were sent to Me by the owner. I was a little apprehensive but Jocko took a look at the pics in a timely manner and said it looked good to Him. I, otherwise, would not have known wether or not to go ahead with the transaction. Moreover, He gave Me some excellent advice on ways to make it a better pistol. Thanks again Jocko! I have included a link to a fairly sizeable library of photos that I took of the pistol so please have a look and Lastly thanks to all who replied Your information is so helpful!

http://s1308.beta.photobucket.com/user/daleroper/library/

[Bongo Boy]

Congratulations! It looks like basically a seldom-fired gun in excellent shape plus. Are we enjoying it so far? Personally I think you got a deal and have an excellent SD pistol that will last a lifetime and then some. When I replaced the slide on mine I also kicked in for the Trijicon sights sold at the Kahr site. I'm extremely pleased with them, and I believe this is the only mod I'll do to the gun--other than putting in a slightly heavier recoil spring.

As I get more acquainted with mine and tweak my habits to accommodate the tiny little gun, I continue to appreciate it more. Today, it's off to the range to try to speed up the shots a bit.

Congrats again--I think you'll be more pleased with your decision the more you shoot it.

[jocko]

tell us more after u put a 100 rounds down range. IMO the K40 is gonna be ur most pleasent 40 cal kahr, but a 40 cal is what it is, kinda a hot puppy to. I think the Great oen on this fourm has a K40 magna ported. If u like the gun andit goes bang every time but u feel u would like to tame it down a cuntis hair, MAGNA PORT IT.

[Bongo Boy]

Hopefully as encouragement to get to the range, Dale, my experience with the K40 went something like this: about 200 rds for me to adapt everything I normally do when shooting compact to full-size single action only pistols, the next 200 or so to just shoot without thinking the mechanics much, and then finally, just this weekend, getting to the point where I can present-and-fire in one single smooth action. It's really been quite the journey and it's still underway.

I experienced momentary periods of going blank mentally, generating a little bit of stress, and just shooting with what feels like the natural focus I use for my other shooting. During these brief periods, the gun was pure magic, doing its part perfectly.

For me, at least, I'm just getting to where I'd say I'm comfortable with the gun and I'm not sure my weak hand yet knows exactly how to do its job properly. But I can without hesitation say one thing: I'm absolutely thrilled I chose the K in 40 caliber. It is an excellent match, incredibly accurate, and 2nd shots are already just fine with no place to go but better. The massive little piece of hardware is perfect for the cartridge.

[Barth]

Final thoughts on 40 S&W;
There are a wide range of ammo choices available in that caliber.
Some, like Speer 155 gr GDHP, are smoke-in hot.
Others, like Speer 180 gr GDHP Short Barrel, are quite mild in comparison.
The sub sonic 180s tend to be soft shooters.

Be sure to try out a selection of SD ammo and see what you and your new Kahr favor.

[Bongo Boy]

...and if I haven't said it a dozen times already or even if I have, loading a good amount of practice ammo up to full strength can be fun and rewarding to develop the special habits needed to handle the Little One with SD rounds..even if you choose to carry only factory loads for the mean streets.

What I can find in my data at the moment is 7.9 and 8.0 gr SR4756 under the 165 gr Golden Sabre clocking in at just under 1,200 fps. Sweeet--this is a real nice one (of course you would substitute a cheaper 165 if that's what you want to simulate). I know I loaded a bunch of others using plated TC and plated HP, too, but I may not have chrono'd them--I'll take a look.

My apologies for rattling on, I'm just so excited about this particular handgun I can hardly contain myself, and I've had mine quite a while now. It truly just gets better as I gradually become accustomed to it--got quite a ways to go I think.

Where's that range report, pal? :)

[Rufus]

I hope you enjoy your KM40 as much as I enjoy mine!!