Broken PM40 magazine follower

[Calaveras]

I'm brand new to this site, just joined today. I just purchased my Kahr PM40 in April and had opportunity to run only approximately 100 rounds through it until yesterday. I had planned to run at least another 100 rounds to complete the break-in requirements. I had shot about an additional 80 rounds when the magazine follower in the 5-shot magazine broke, not allowing me to reload the magazine. I continued shooting another 60 rounds or so using the 6-shot magazine. I sent an email to Kahr customer service with photos of the broken follower last night. Of course it's Memorial Day weekend, so I won't hear back from them until at least Tuesday. I requested a new follower.

This seems to be a common problem with some of the Kahr pistols...disappointing!

[CJB]

As has been shown here in the recent past, the reason your follower broke was because the feed ramp was smacking it upon firing.

You can send the pistol to Kahr for a little tweaking (or do it yourself, if you're handy).

Some folks baulk at having to correct something on a new pistol... but its really minor.

[Calaveras]

As has been shown here in the recent past, the reason your follower broke was because the feed ramp was smacking it upon firing.

You can send the pistol to Kahr for a little tweaking (or do it yourself, if you're handy).

Some folks baulk at having to correct something on a new pistol... but its really minor.

CJB, what's the minor fix for the feed ramp?

Thanks.

[kerby9mm]

It is a minor fix but it has been happening for far too long. Kahr must be using existing barrels with the feedramp that is too long if that is what the problem is. There's lots of posts on this forum on trimming the feedramp so it doesn't hit the follower. It will be interesting to see when the new guns don't have this issue anymore.

[garyb]

It is a minor fix but it has been happening for far too long. Kahr must be using existing barrels with the feedramp that is too long if that is what the problem is. There's lots of posts on this forum on trimming the feedramp so it doesn't hit the follower. It will be interesting to see when the new guns don't have this issue anymore.



I agree...far too long.

[CJB]

CJB, what's the minor fix for the feed ramp?

Thanks.

Its not too bad a fix.

First off, unload the pistol, field strip it too.

Then take the barrel out of the slide and mount it into the frame, with the slide stop pin/lever holding it in place.

Press the barrel full rearward and down, as it would be when under recoil. Fully back, fully down in the back.

While doing that, insert a magazine slowly, maybe repeat that insertion a few times. If you got some play in the barrel, move it around a little too while ckecking for interference while inserting the magazine. You'll see where the very end of the feed ramp comes in contact with the follower.

You can use a Dremel sanding drum, or you can use sandpaper wrapped on a dowel. Remove a bit of metal by sanding. If I were doing it, I'd keep the tool at 90 degrees to the bore axis. Straight up and down, and take off that little bit. Clean the barrel, check again, repeat until there is no contact. You can use some fine sandpaper or a abrasive wheel to polish up the edge if you like, but that would be for show...as the bullet never touches that area of he barrel at all.

Think in terms of about 1/100 of an inch....or slightly more. Just enough to eliminate contact. Should be about a 15 minute job by hand, even less with Dremel.

We had one fellow here take a bunch off his ramp. Yikes...I personally think he got carried away, but... the bullet never touches that area, and it worked ok for him, so... I think its safe to say you'd have to almost try to fubar the barrel with the tweak.

[hardluk1]

Or let kahr fix it. Kahr made some 90,000 pistol in '12 so a few slip thru. maybe a 1/2 of 1% . Fix it your self or send it in. kahr will send a replacement follower first. If breaks agin they will send you a shipping label. Or try to file a fuss off the front edge of the follower with a small rat tail file too . Use the info above to see where the stike point would be and shoot away.

[Hawkeye]

Its not too bad a fix.

See the thread "CM9 Break-in".

Please be cautioned that doing this yourself rather than sending to Kahr may result in voiding your warranty. After breaking my second follower, I did it myself because I wanted to avoid the long ship and return time caused by the Chistmas holidays. But after I started I regretted doing so.

Unlike some report, this was no 15-minute job for me even using a Dremel sanding drum. It took several hours working carefully and slowly. I had quite a bit of interference between the ramp and magazine. I suppose if I was used to doing this I could just have thrown caution to the wind, used the Dremel very aggressively and finished quickly. But I wanted to be sure I didn't remove too much material.

If you choose to do this, I would definitely recommend covering the start of the ramp with carbon black by holding it in a candle flame. (I first tried a Magic Marker but that didn't work.) Then reassemble, lock slide open, push barrel hard to the rear and insert the magazine. (You will see the barrel move slightly when the mag is pushed in.) Do this about 20 times then disassemble and view where black is rubbed off. Sand there. Because of the irregular shapes of the contacting parts, the contact point changes as you remove material. Repeat until no more black rubs off and barrel does not move when mag is inserted.

Once the interference was gone I polished the area worked on with jewellers rouge on a small felt wheel in my Dremel.

I have shot about 1000 rounds now without breaking another follower or having any kind of failure. Still it was a PITA to spend this much time and I may have a voided warranty.

[CJB]

Several hours? Did you use Preparation-H? Sounds like an overly anal retentive amount of time. I guess you did ok though. Some folks have been workin' for weeks, months, even well over a year to trim up the end of their ramp. Damn, one guy is so afraid of fookin it up, that he's got his barrel set with milk drip on it, so the milk slowly drips off the end of the feed ramp, and his cat is lickin' the damn thing to REALLY go slow.

Listen, fix the damn thing yourself, or send it to Kahr. Your pistol, your choice. Grow a set and live with it, then go shoot the fokker like you stole it.

If you got a rat tail file smooth enough, that would do the job too. I suppose a chainsaw file might as well. Thing with files is they can remove a lot if you're not careful. A little 100g paper rolled around a stick of the right diameter would do nice too.

And for what its worth, jeweler's rouge is extremely fine, and wont cut stainless worth a damn. You used red polishing comound from your Dremel set, or something like it. Not saying that to correct ya, just don't want anyone actually getting jeweler's rouge and finding that it don't work. You want a rather hard cutting compound - like the red stuff from Dremel (pricey for what it is... ). FWIW, you can get four sticks - red, brown, black and white, from Sears for about the price of two of those little Dremel containers.

Some folks are just not comfy workin on their weapons, or anything else for that matter. They might muss-up their hair, get a smudge in their makeup or break a nail. Why, even some women folk feel that way too. If you're not into or able to get the pistol fixed yourself, by all means, send it back to Kahr with instructions to do so.

[Bawanna]

CJB meant every word of that in a really nice way. I can tell and I can feel it in my cells.

[CJB]

I did, I did!

Nothing like pokin' some social sarcasm at the case in point.

Please, take no humbrage.

Humbrage is getting scarce, so don't fookin' take none! Getcher own!

[Hawkeye]

CJB,

I work on a lot of stuff and with great success, but like I said I haven't done this specific job before. And this is a trial-and-error process not one being measured and machined to.

One thing I do know is once you take too much material off something you may be screwed. If a lot of ramp material can be removed without causing a problem, it makes me wonder why Kahr doesn't just correct their tolerances and adjust machining accordingly. Instead they have a problem that has continued for at least two years.

In spite of your comments about polishing materials and stainless, the sanded area polished up real well with what I used.

Finally, CJB, friend, you really should see about getting your meds checked and/or a refresher course in anger management.

[CJB]

Anger....?

Not angry at all. If I was angry, you and Bawanna would be the 2nd and 3rd to know.

[gb6491]

What meds?
http://i62.tinypic.com/2uzt6dl.jpg

[CJB]

Same as those.


Folks needa get a grip.

[Bawanna]

So just to be clear am I # 3 or # 2. Who's on first ya know?

[Calaveras]

Thanks CJB, Hawkeye, and everyone for your input. The shop where I bought my PM40 is in a very small town and, since the owner gave me a $50 discount, I suspect he may have had it in stock for quite awhile. Is there a place I can run the serial number to see when it was manufactured?

The follower in the 6-round mag looks perfectly fine after shooting probably 150 rounds through it. I'll check the clearance on it using the method you suggested CJB. I've asked Kahr to send me a new follower by email and I'll do a follow-up call with them tomorrow. If another follower breaks, I'll probably send the pistol back to Kahr for repairs. I also own a SIG Sauer P229 that has been flawless through several hundred rounds, but it's a little too large for convenient concealed carry.

[Calaveras]

I contacted Kahr this morning and they are sending me a new follower via USPS.

[Calaveras]

They said I should receive it by the end of next week.

[Calaveras]

I also asked for the manufacture date of my PM40, June of 2012.

[Calaveras]

So I was correct that my local dealer had it in stock for awhile.

[Calaveras]

Kahr also told me that they would require the pistol to be sent in for repairs by their gunsmith if it breaks another follower.

[Calaveras]

Yeah, I'm trying to build up some posts so I can get an avatar.

[Calaveras]

The Kahr representative, didn't get his name, told me there haven't been any revisions to the PM40 since mine was manufactured in June, 2012.

[muggsy]

You guys a re a bunch of amateurs using files and a Dremmel. You can do a rampectomy in 30 seconds with a scotch bright wheel mounted on a bench grinder. Have you no shame?

[Calaveras]

Well, I don't have a bench grinder or a Dremmel...files, yes.

[Calaveras]

Overall, I'm very happy with the PM40, shoots very smoothly for a lightweight .40 S&W.

[Calaveras]

And it's very easy to conceal.

[CJB]

You guys a re a bunch of amateurs using files and a Dremmel. You can do a rampectomy in 30 seconds with a scotch bright wheel mounted on a bench grinder. Have you no shame?


Now now there Muggsy.... I know damn well if you or I had our druthers, we'd have that barrel in a nice little magnetic jig, and we'd have looked at the nose contour of the feed ramp with our profile projector, and we'd have shaped one of those ultra fine white grinding wheels and plunge ground the sob on the surface grinder.

Hey I thought the cat tongue approach was a good one! If the cat lives long enough, the barrel may be finished in fifeen years or daily lickin'.....

[Hawkeye]

Meanwhile back at the ranch, Muggsy is standing at his trusty bench grinder with the product of his latest 30-second wreckectomy-rampectomy proudly in hand and says, “Profile?” ;-)

[C0untZer0]

I bought my CM9 through Grab-A-Gun and it arrived with a broken follower. I notified Kahr and received a second follower, which broke as soon as I shot the gun.

I am going to send my CM9 back to Kahr...

[DavidR]

I bought my CM9 through Grab-A-Gun and it arrived with a broken follower. I notified Kahr and received a second follower, which broke as soon as I shot the gun.

I am going to send my CM9 back to Kahr...


That makes me think that the follower broke when they test-fired the gun and they didn't notice it. If that's the case, Kahr's QC is pretty much worthless.

[Calaveras]

A quick status update: After receiving an email reply from Eoin and a short phone conversation with a service technician at Kahr on Tuesday, May 27, I received a new follower via USPS today, May 31. Considering Kahr is on the east coast and I'm on the west, that's pretty good customer service. I'll shoot some rounds using the new follower tomorrow and let everyone know if it holds up.

[Calaveras]

Follow-up: I installed the new follower in my 5-round magazine and shot 50 rounds through it on June 1. I really wanted to give it a good test, so I loaded only two rounds each time to see if the barrel ramp would strike the follower on an empty mag. There was no evidence of the ramp striking the follower, so maybe the original follower had a defect?

I now feel confident again using the PM40 as my daily carry.

[C0untZer0]

That makes me think that the follower broke when they test-fired the gun and they didn't notice it. If that's the case, Kahr's QC is pretty much worthless.



I'm pretty sure the follower broke when they test fired it. I've read what people said about Kahr not making the magazines and all that - but the guns are test fired at the factory right?


Someone should have at least noticed that they were shipping a gun out with a broken follower in the mag.


It is very obvious too - one look at the front of the mag and you can see the spring :)

[CJB]

You think they took the magazine out after test firing the pistol?

Nah.

They probably have a mandate to test fire and box 160 or more a day...one every three minutes.