Color me impressed

[Coppertop]

Kahr hasn't exactly made a great first impression on me.
The size and feel drew me to the CW380 but I had my reservations base on all the nightmares posted on the internet about these weapons.

I took the plunge and picked one up and while the pistol started out a little rocky with misfeeds and the slide lock kept missing, it finally settled down after about seven mags. However, the trigger pivot pin would not stay in place so it had to go back to Kahr for service. Not the best situation for a new gun.

Kahr sent me a pre-paid shipping label but said it would be a 2-3 week turnaround. I was planning to call them next week for an update and to my surprise, the pistol was delivered this morning. According to the packing label, the frame was re-worked and pivot pin reset. The gun was test fired and operational. Excluding the time on the FedEx Truck, Kahr had the CW380 for less than a week.

I still think Kahr could benefit from tightening up their production line quality control but if the CW380 functions reliably (should be able to hit the range on Friday), I am impressed with how Kahr's customer service steps up to make up for the production issues.

[timboy]

I agree 100% the failure rate on here seems a little excessive on new CW380s,they should be inspecting and test firing these things a little better.
I would not have believed mine had been test fired had it not been filthy on the inside when I purchased it new but I will say that however many rounds they did fire should have revealed the problems mine had from day one,therfore it should never have left the plant in my opinion. No grammar is not my strong suit.

[nrccali]

Thanks for posting. I was considering finding a used CW380 after I sold my P380... I liked pocket carry on the P380, however I hated recoil on it, but loved the night sights. I sold the P380 to buy a sigP238 which is amazing, but is way heavier then the P380, which led me to thinking about the cheaper CW line. Maybe I will stay away from the 380 in general. FYI my P380's extractor broke after the 75th round, sent it back, they did a full replacement of the extractor, guide rod and springs + did their polish package. After getting it home about 6 weeks later I never had any further issues with the 300+ rounds after that, just the recoil was rough for someone with smaller hands like myself. Great gun for the purpose of pocket carry!

[kenemoore]

I frequent quite a few gun forums, and it seems like all the small .380's have issues. The next larger size seems to be more reliable, I wonder how the new CT380 runs? Have not seen or shot one yet.

[Coppertop]

Thanks for posting. I was considering finding a used CW380 after I sold my P380... I liked pocket carry on the P380, however I hated recoil on it, but loved the night sights.

See I'm the opposite. I found the recoil on these little guns manageable with the CW380 may be the most manageable of all the small 380's I've owned.

I also own a Ruger LCP and have yet to have any reliability issues but for some reason, the slide not being able to lock back bothers me. I also own a Walther PPK (which is my favorite) but at 1.5 pounds it is a beast to carry compared to the Ruger or Kahr. Then there is the Sig P238 that I have owned (wonderful gun in its own right) but the single action bothered me for pocket carry.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything feeds without issue on Friday otherwise I will probably have to learn to live with the Ruger's slide not locking back.

[nrccali]

I agree on the PPK. I love my PPK and in a IWB holster its awesome and I feel like James Bond! The Sig p238 is definitely a IWB only and not pocket, but i'm used to my Kimber Eclipse Ultra in the winter, so the Sig rides like a piece of Styrofoam. I carry my Kahr MK9 Elite 03 with a Carhart work shirt or any overshirt, but with just a t shirt the p238 has been great. I am not sure i'll go back to pocket now.

[Coppertop]

Went to the range today. Ran 8 magazines through the CW380 and only two failure to feeds, which I thnk was due to a weak magazine spring. The better news is that the trigger pivot pin stayed in place.

I still have my doubts about Kahr's manufacturing process and the 200 round break-in period. I think if Kahr beefed up their post-production quality control two things would happen. First, consumers would have a reliable firearm out of the box and second, warranty repairs would likely decline tremendously.

I am impressed how quickly Kahr repaired the CW380 and I like the pistol. I just think the headaches so many go through shouldn't be happening. I have never had to break-in any of my Sig Sauers, none of my Glocks or Smith/Wessons. Even the Ruger LCP functioned properly right out of the box.

Again, the CW380 is a nice handgun worth considering if you are in the market for a pocket carry .380. You just need to be prepared to have a lot of patience before it begins to function properly and with reliability.