Used PM40 inbound...

[tacot007]

Hi Everybody,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I have a used PM40 in transit I bought online.

I am very hesitant to buy used, but I got a pretty good deal on it with a 3 day inspection - so I thought I'd roll the dice...

I found this excellent thread (http://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14689)with ideas on what to look for - it's a great start.

If you are in my shoes, what would you during your 3 day inspection period to ensure it passes muster?

Thanks in advance

[wyntrout]

Welcome to the forum. While you're waiting here are a bunch of links. you can read the manual, watch the take down movie, and be ready to check the pistol out. After doing that, you can take the pistol apart and lightly clean and lubricate it as needed. There's a link for that, too. I would get new manufactured ammo and take it to the range. FMJ is good for the range and before using the pistol for self defense, shoot at least a few magazines of your carry ammo in the mags you will use and 5+1... one in the barrel plus a full magazine inserted. Make sure the top round in the magazine is fully seated to the rear.

Use a FIRM grip for chambering a round as well as firing the pistol. The trigger should be a long smooth double action... very nice, but it takes getting used to. If you're right handed, you might shoot low and left until you get the trigger pull down. I'm sure the PM40 will be a handful, recoil-wise, so use a good two-handed grip.

If you have any problems, someone can usually help you here. Good luck!

Welcome to the Kahrtalk forum supported by Kahr Arms.
Here are a few essential links and things to do BEFORE you take your new pistol to the range, and ESPECIALLY BEFORE taking it apart and trying to re-assemble it! The Kahr is a different design… 6-7 unique patents cover the Kahrs. I’m not trying to imply that you don’t know anything about guns, but many don’t know anything about the Kahrs and some of the things you can do to damage or cause malfunctions of your new, or new-to-you Kahr pistol.
First, if you don’t have a manual, yet, or one didn’t come with your pistol, you can download the pdf file here:
http://www.kahr.com/PDF/kahrmanual.pdf
Impatient? Watch one of these videos FIRST! These videos can point out possible problem areas and emphasize correct procedures!
Take down and re-assembly videos:
T, TP, CW, P, & PM/CM Series:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=G2cZgVg_SwA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=G2cZgVg_SwA)
MK series:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...mSCnIOaUk#t=0s (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zXmSCnIOaUk#t=0s)
K series:
http://www.kahr.com/Pistols/Kahr-K9-Elite.asp
There are many links on fixing problems listed in several places… under the New Member or Kahr Tech sub-forums.
A very handy one is the Kahr Lube Diagram:
http://kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14750
Many of your questions can be answered in these areas and you can learn how your Kahr works and not damage it with improper handling.
Frequently asked questions: http://www.kahr.com/faq.asp?

There are many helpful members here most of the time who might be able to help you, but as anywhere, there are many opinions and not all are correct. Be mindful of this before doing anything drastic to modify your pistol!


Wynn:)
Aka wyntrout

[RRP]

If you are in my shoes, what would you during your 3 day inspection period to ensure it passes muster?


I would verify that all components are original, factory parts.

Some gun owners are wannabe gunsmiths and in their quest to make the gun "better", they make unorthodox changes.

[certified106]

Wynn gave excellent advice and I would second everything that was said!
Just make sure you go through the gun inside out, clean every single piece and examine them as you clean them and then fire the crap out of it.

[Joe L]

I bought a used PM40 over a year ago and have been very happy with it. Mine kicks a little but shoots very well and always runs. Good luck with yours. I also had a CM9 but sold it to a friend to give to his wife for a carry gun. It, too, was perfect.

I haven't shot my PM40 since...yesterday.

Joe

[tacot007]

Thanks Wynn - a ton of good info!

RRP - determine original factory vs 3rd party parts/work by comparing pics to mine? is there a better way? Thx

Certified106 - check, check, check & check - I'm taking a vacation day to completely and thoroughly clean & examine. Oh and shoot the crap out of it! Thx

Joe L - that is good to hear. Thx

I'd like to find some history of the gun - the seller received it used and knows nothing about it.
Does anyone know if Kahr will send me date of manufacture, any work done, recall info, etc if I give them the serial#?

Now to find a store with .40 FMJs in stock - I'm 0-2...

Thanks again

[SamF]

Thanks Wynn - a ton of good info!

RRP - determine original factory vs 3rd party parts/work by comparing pics to mine? is there a better way? Thx

Certified106 - check, check, check & check - I'm taking a vacation day to completely and thoroughly clean & examine. Oh and shoot the crap out of it! Thx

Joe L - that is good to hear. Thx

I'd like to find some history of the gun - the seller received it used and knows nothing about it.
Does anyone know if Kahr will send me date of manufacture, any work done, recall info, etc if I give them the serial#?

Now to find a store with .40 FMJs in stock - I'm 0-2...

Thanks again

Picked up my CW45 used locally. I'm quite happy with the cost and performance so far...you will likely be pleased as well.

[jocko]

yes kahr will tell u the vbirth date, u should also be ableto look on this four under ahr serial # and get withn a few months of the guns birth to.Other than knowing, I would not put any thoughts as to f it is 1 year or 5 years old. The thing is, it must work, after that all else in null and void. It is ahand cannonb so just get a good grip on thegun and watch ur thumb so it clears the slide lock lever andu should be good to go. shoot good ammo, not junk sh!t. a good gun deserves good food.

[tacot007]

Comparing its serial number to the serial # history post - it was born January-ish 2006. I just missed her birthday.

Thanks SamF- good to hear success stories with used Kahrs. There are quite a few problem posts on the forums about the PM40.
I get it that people generally only post when they have problems, but it still messes with your head...

Jocko - you're right, bottom line - if it works history doesn't really matter...

[tacot007]

Finally got my hands on her - looks great, feels great!
Kahr CustSvc said her birthday was Sept 05 - no recalls & she's never been in for service.

I quickly broke her down, cleaned her, then headed off to the range.
She went through a box of Remington 180g UMC & a box of PMC 180g - no FTEs, no FTFs. She shot real nice - couldn't hit a thing, but not worried about that right now.

She did have a few failure to return to battery towards the end of the session, but that may be because of the extremely dirty rounds. I was using slide release properly.

Recoil was not as bad as most say - she was snappy (as others have said), but not at all bad and definitely manageable. My hands did not hurt after and are not sore.

I was worried she would be too small for me. I'm 6' 10" with big hands and I didn't have a problem holding on to the gun - 2 fingers were plenty.
I really LOVE the feel & size.

I only have 1 5 rd magazine (I got her used) and into the 2nd magazine of shooting (10 rounds in), the follower broke.
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m261/tacot007/BrokeFollower1.jpg

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m261/tacot007/BrokeFollower2.jpg
The magazine was still usable, just a PITA to load rounds.
So that sucked.

After the range, I broke her down, cleaned her and really examined her.

Please check out the pics and let me know what you think.
The frame seems 'bulged' at the sides underneath the barrel. Is that normal?

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m261/tacot007/BulgingFrame.jpg

The one polymer frame rails looks about 75% broken off. It doesn't look like it's that way by design, but who knows...
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m261/tacot007/DamagedRail.jpg

Finally, the feed ramp has an angle to it (that pretty much matches the break on the mag follower). Is this normal?
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m261/tacot007/FeedRamp1.jpg

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m261/tacot007/FeedRamp2.jpg


I'm at Day 1 of a 3 day inspection period.
Thoughts? Comments?

Thanks again!

[jocko]

shoot the fokker. the buldge is by design. nuttun wrong that I can see. there is a welcome to newbies that answers most every question u ask here to. No offense but wyn worked hard and long to save new owners the troubleof asking qwuestions that are answered if one would take a fewminutes to read some of the material on the forum

[jimsea]

To the OP......I don't know how the pistol was represented so I am not going to give any advice as to what you should do.

Referring to your pics........the flair towards the front of the frame is normal. As far as the burrs on the polymer rails, it is hard to tell unless you clean the burrs off. Where your arrow is pointing, compared to mine, the rail appears to be thinner by design rather than wear. Hope these pics help you with your decision to keep it or not.

Pardon the lint as I just pulled this out of my pocket for a couple of pics. Here is my purchased new (2012) PM40 frame with 500 rounds shot through it. The pistol has operated flawlessly since day one. The only mod is the stock generic follower was sanded to match the rounds which enables them to chamber smoothly without FTFs and without slamming them into the base of the ramp.

http://www.thehulltruth.com/members/pelagic1901-albums-stuff-picture64372-img-0321.jpg
http://www.thehulltruth.com/members/pelagic1901-albums-stuff-picture64371-img-0320.jpg

[jimsea]

........and yet another point to ponder. Check out the difference between my frame and yours. Look at the frame just inside the rail where your arrow is pointing. See the area where there is some fore and aft scoring, my frame is cut away there.

I have no idea why there is a difference. There is also a minor difference in the design on the other side as well. Must be the result of a design change since 2006 (date of your pistol).

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m261/tacot007/DamagedRail.jpghttp://www.thehulltruth.com/members/pelagic1901-albums-stuff-picture64371-img-0320.jpg

[tacot007]

Jocko - no offense taken - dang, thought I caught them all. I'm usually good about that..but i guess not. Thanks to wynn for putting that together - they are very helpful

Jimsea - thanks for the awesome pics and comments - they eased my mind

Heading back to range today to put more rounds thru her

Thanks again for the comments.

[wyntrout]

When they have them, Ivanhoe Warehouse is one of the best places to get magazines:

http://www.ivanhoeoutlet.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=80

I just checked and they're still out of stock. There are shortages everywhere, but you definitely need a few more magazines.

The .40's have been prone to follower breakage as you've experienced. If you send a picture of that to Jay at Kahr Customer Service, they might send you a replacement.

Kahr Customer Service
jay.dandrea@kahr.com

Sometimes the pistol needs tweaking, though.

Wynn:)

[tacot007]

Thanks wyntrout - I just emailed Jay. I'm also debating about sending her to a trusted local gunsmith about that issue and also give her a once-over.

I put another 50 rounds of Sellier & Bellot 180gr through her yesterday - worked like a charm! Except for the pain of loading a magazine with a busted follower, all went well (no FtRtB).

This ammo seemed to bring a bit more recoil than the others (and not as dirty). Today my hand is a little sore between thumb and finger.

The 3 day inspection period has passed and she's mine, all mine.

As it happens, Crossroad of the West gun show is town this weekend and I got my annual work bonus on Friday.

Gun show + bonus + new/used pistol = supreme test of willpower!

Thanks again everyone.