P380 - EPIC malfunctions

[70CM9]

Bought wifey a P380 to replace the G42 she couldn't fire. Wishing I hadn't at this stage. I've never had the kind of teething pains I've experienced with this little thing. Don't know how many Kahr owners have experience with this but thought I'd throw it out there to the people I hope know more than me.

The recommended break-in period of the Kahr, according to the manual, is 200 rounds. I've put a bit over that through it so far and have experienced just about every malfunction I can come up with - everything from failure to chamber first round from mag (using the proscribed Kahr method of releasing the slide lock from hold open, btw), to failure to return to battery, failure to extract, double feeds, the works. The only thing I HAVEN'T experienced yet is failure to fire, so I'm sure the guts are working, anyway.

I think this is to be quite a learning curve for me - I'm used to guns that just work (certified Glock guy here, sorry!). I've had micro 380s before and haven't had issues with them - BodyGuards and LCPs - so I really can't see how my grip can be the problem, since I can fire hundreds of rounds through them without failure.

I'm thinking, however, I may be zeroing in on some issues that are contributing. Yesterday after field stripping and disassembling the slide for thorough cleaning I noticed that there's an area on the bottom of the slide that's showing signs of polishing - as if rubbing on something during operation. I noticed this because it's not the same finish as the rest of the slide bottom and is only in a small section that seems to correspond to a "hill" of sorts on the polymer frame in the dust cover area. From what I can see its a perfect match for the movement front to back of the slide to polish it up.

So, thinking this could be part of the problem - increased drag slowing things down enough to keep from proper function.

Also, in disassembling the mags for cleaning I found one 6 round mag that has the follower move relatively smoothly. Both the extra 6 rounder and extra 7 rounder it came with have the followers hitch quite a bit during travel. Granted, this may be overcome by the spring under pressure, but to my mechanical mind (not an engineer by any stretch, but 23 years of automotive experience, most of it in parts and service, has given me an eye for a few things ) the followers need to move through the mags with a minimum of effort.

So, KahrTalkers, are we talking about needing hotter ammo and reducing friction in the slide movement and follower, or is there something else I need to look for? I DID email Kahr about the issue, haven't heard back yet (didn't really figure to, emailing them on Saturday like I did), or is there something endemic to these little beasts I'm not seeing?

I'm sick at the thought of the money this little "premium" 380 cost me to give me these kind of issues.

[glock813]

I had the same problems with mine. I sent it back to Kahr (they paid for shipping) and they fixed it up. It now fires like a champion! They fixed a whole page full of internal components. I also noticed these little fellas are extremely picky with ammo. Mine definitely does not play well with Winchester white box flat tip ammo. I would contact Kahr and have them fix it! Hope it works out for you...

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[70CM9]

Went to their site and put in a request for an RMA. Let the games begin...

[70CM9]

I had the same problems with mine. I sent it back to Kahr (they paid for shipping) and they fixed it up. It now fires like a champion! They fixed a whole page full of internal components. I also noticed these little fellas are extremely picky with ammo. Mine definitely does not play well with Winchester white box flat tip ammo. I would contact Kahr and have them fix it! Hope it works out for you...

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

What kind of turnaround time did you experience?

[smokersteve]

Yeah it stinks when you pay good $ for a gun and it doesn't function correctly.
I can't speak on the wear you are seeing on the slide, but the follower in the magazine should be smooth. Take the mag apart and clean it, then put the follower on the spring and slide it into the mag. It shouldn't catch on anything. If it does you can lightly sand the sides of the follower and the inside of the mag.
You could also send it back to Kahr at their expense

[70CM9]

Yeah it stinks when you pay good $ for a gun and it doesn't function correctly.
I can't speak on the wear you are seeing on the slide, but the follower in the magazine should be smooth. Take the mag apart and clean it, then put the follower on the spring and slide it into the mag. It shouldn't catch on anything. If it does you can lightly sand the sides of the follower and the inside of the mag.
You could also send it back to Kahr at their expense

I'm done futzing with it. It's on them now.

[70CM9]

Got an email reply today - and I emailed them Saturday, can't complain about them getting on it - and they immediately issued an RMA. So far, so good.

[jocko]

IMO u did the right thing, one should not have to d!ck with any gun, many here will d!ck with any gun to a certain extent. I certainly find no fault with that, as many times some of these issues are just so easy to fix, but when in doubt, u have a 5 year warranty, Kahr made it, let kahr fix it. Most who sendin their 380 kahrs get um back and all is well, sos that tellsme that kahr knows within certain parameters when they get a 380 back exactly where to start, where as the forum people are mrely passingon suggestions to try/test out. Most of the time I do think they work.

I think since Jay is back behind the helm of CS with kahr that things will again get better. Just sayin

[70CM9]

IMO u did the right thing, one should not have to d!ck with any gun, many here will d!ck with any gun to a certain extent. I certainly find no fault with that, as many times some of these issues are just so easy to fix, but when in doubt, u have a 5 year warranty, Kahr made it, let kahr fix it. Most who sendin their 380 kahrs get um back and all is well, sos that tellsme that kahr knows within certain parameters when they get a 380 back exactly where to start, where as the forum people are mrely passingon suggestions to try/test out. Most of the time I do think they work.

I think since Jay is back behind the helm of CS with kahr that things will again get better. Just sayin

I figure that not only should I not have to fix a new gun that carries an MSRP of $758 (not what I paid, but that's not the point, is it?), but a gunsmith is better qualified to do it than me.

[b4uqzme]

Some of us like tinkering. I know I do. It has nothing to do with the cost of the gun. But everyone should do what they feel is best and I'm sure you did the right thing. You should be very happy with your repaired gun once it returns.

[glock813]

What kind of turnaround time did you experience?

I'm not gonna lie, it was slow. It has been a while, but I think it took about three weeks or so...

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[glock813]

They ended up replacing the extractor, recoil spring, ejector, cocking cam, both magazines, striker block and they polished the feed ramp! Worked like a champ when I got it back. No issues at all now...

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[hwkeye01]

Good luck Sir. I have a CW9 that I am experiencing pains with, however I really like the gun. I, like you am used to Glocks that work out of box. I want to give it a fair shot and see if Kahr can work out the kinks. It is unfortunate that you (and I) have to go through these pains with what seems to be a really well built gun, but my hope is that it is like a pair of blue jeans, a little stiff at first, but eventually wear into a comfortable go to.

Keeep us posted!

[70CM9]

They ended up replacing the extractor, recoil spring, ejector, cocking cam, both magazines, striker block and they polished the feed ramp! Worked like a champ when I got it back. No issues at all now...

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So, once they changed almost all the mechanicals it worked great. Yikes.

[70CM9]

Good luck Sir. I have a CW9 that I am experiencing pains with, however I really like the gun. I, like you am used to Glocks that work out of box. I want to give it a fair shot and see if Kahr can work out the kinks. It is unfortunate that you (and I) have to go through these pains with what seems to be a really well built gun, but my hope is that it is like a pair of blue jeans, a little stiff at first, but eventually wear into a comfortable go to.

Keeep us posted!

Updating my local forum and this as well as developments occur. Thanks for the support and interest!

[dbp67]

I never had all the problems you did, but I did have problems with failure to feed and failure to stay open on last round when my P380 was new. After about 350 rounds and finding the right ammo (PrecisionOne) the gun functions well now. Hope your problem is resolved by Kahr.

You say that your wife couldn't shoot the G42. What was the problem? I am thinking of looking at the G42 for my wife and am just curious.

Thanks

[70CM9]

I never had all the problems you did, but I did have problems with failure to feed and failure to stay open on last round when my P380 was new. After about 350 rounds and finding the right ammo (PrecisionOne) the gun functions well now. Hope your problem is resolved by Kahr.

You say that your wife couldn't shoot the G42. What was the problem? I am thinking of looking at the G42 for my wife and am just curious.

Thanks

Her issues seem all related to grip strength - which has been a problem for her from day one of her handgun shooting experience. The 42 isn't textured very aggressively, and of course has a short grip in depth and is very thin. She literally had malfunctions with every shot, while I put far more rounds downrange with it than her and had zero issues. The P380 is a small grip as well but is much more aggressively textured. When the P380 functioned, she was able to shoot it. The problem was getting it to function. I kept running it in hopes it would get better but it never did.

We're now working more on her grip strength. We have one of those grip strengtheners and working on it.

Personally I think the 42 is the best shooting 380 out there. Recoil is almost non existent. Wishing I'd worked on her grip strength more and kept it, in hindsight.

[RRP]

.... Wishing i'd worked on her grip strength more and kept it, in hindsight.

Hmmm :D

[dbp67]

Could she cycle the slide? I have heard it is not too strong.

[70CM9]

Could she cycle the slide? I have heard it is not too strong.

Slide cycling on the 42 is much easier than the P380 - although she can work both.

Kahr's had the P380 for a couple of days now. No word so far. I might email today just to verify where it's at in the process.

[70CM9]

And, after my email inquiry this morning, looks like I've got an ETA for it back in my hands...

Hello,

Your firearm was received on 3/17/14. Our gunsmiths are currently
experiencing a four week turnaround time and will service your firearm as
soon as possible.

Thanks,

Kahr Arms/Auto Ordnance

[70CM9]

She's back! Now to run some rounds through and see what's what.

Kahr's comments:
http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb456/wesnellans/0077b109cfa47075be247fcfcfece7ab.jpg

[trentu]

Good luck. Let us know how well they fixed it for ya.

[jlr2267]

That's pretty much exactly what my work order said when I got mine back. It was better for sure, but still having issues with many different ammo types.

[TheTman]

Oh Geez, I thought they had worked out all the bugs on their problem child (The P380). Around a year ago, there were a TON of reported problems with the P380.
Then the bug reports tapered off to very few. You didn't happen to get one that had been sitting on the shelf for a couple of years did you? Good luck, that is an awfully expensive little gun, to have such big problems with.

[Whaleman]

what is your serial #? You can use X's for the last two numbers. Maybe you got an old one with a bad frame. Mine went back 3 times until they finally changed the frame. After that like 600 perfect rounds. Dan

[Firewire]

Wow, my CW380 has only been to the range once, but 100rds was with WWB and 50 were PMC Bronze. No issues with either, but skied did have trouble returning fully to battery on the last 20 or so rounds from being dirty.

I hope you get it back better than it left. Wish it never had to go in the first place for you though.

[muggsy]

My P380 ran flawlessly for a year and them started to experience every type of malfunction imaginable. I returned it to Kahr and they replaced the entire frame. I was without the gun for more than two months over the Christmas and New Year holidays. The gun, considered new because of the new serial number, is again running flawlessly. I didn't cry, whine, or piss and moan. I didn't threaten to sell my Kahr and buy a Glock. I accepted what was and chalked it up to Murphy's Law. That's what a man does. You can't always get what you want. But it you try, sometimes, you might just find, you get what you need. (With apologies to the Rolling Stones) :)

[cloud]

I like kahr have 2 of them .I also like my rugers ,smith &wessons , springfields etc etc. In my garage I have a Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda, and a couple of yamaha's. Sold the Harley for the Suzuki. I think they are all good products. For me I buy what I want at the time. My last gun purchase was the ruger lcp Not because I was not happy with my p380, it was I wanted to try something different. I see more kahrs in my future ,I also see a couple of different brands of guns and motorcycles.lol

[70CM9]

Got it back and it ran better on Remington ammo but i decided i had enough issues to never trust it fully. Got a decent trade value after full disclosure to the LGS I'd purchased it from and came home with a new two-tone XDS. I'm done with Kahr. Just not a robust design imho.

[jlr2267]

Got it back and it ran better on Remington ammo but i decided i had enough issues to never trust it fully. Got a decent trade value after full disclosure to the LGS I'd purchased it from and came home with a new two-tone XDS. I'm done with Kahr. Just not a robust design imho.

I did the exact same today (except my LGS bought it back rather than trade). I was gonna keep it a while and try to find some workable hp's but decided I didn't want to throw good $ after bad. Too many quality firearms out there today with solid C/S to choose from.

[cloud]

I did the exact same today (except my LGS bought it back rather than trade). I was gonna keep it a while and try to find some workable hp's but decided I didn't want to throw good $ after bad. Too many quality firearms out there today with solid C/S to choose from.

Sorry to hear that. Will you be looking for another 380 or are you going to stick with the lcp? I'm really liking my stainless lcp.

[jlr2267]

Sorry to hear that. Will you be looking for another 380 or are you going to stick with the lcp? I'm really liking my stainless lcp.

Yes, the LCP has been 100%. It runs all the ammo brands that were choking my CW380. Not as easy to shoot accurately (for me), but still way more than sufficient for a pocket gun.

By the way, the lcp fits very nicely in the Nemesis pocket holster. Disappears in a large pocket.

[cloud]

Yes, the LCP has been 100%. It runs all the ammo brands that were choking my CW380. Not as easy to shoot accurately (for me), but still way more than sufficient for a pocket gun.

By the way, the lcp fits very nicely in the Nemesis pocket holster. Disappears in a large pocket.

I have been using a stays- put for my p380 . I like it so I bought one for the lcp.I also have the cm9 but I like the way the 380's fit in my front pocket.