My New Kahr CW380 is En Route

[DXTAC]

I just picked up a new CW380 for $297 out the door. I thought that was a pretty good deal?!?! Bought it from HERE (http://www.keelyarms.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=kahr%5Fcw3833) KeelyArms, a place I have never dealt with but the price was right. I am hoping the break-in goes as smoothly as it did on my CW45 and my CW40. My hope is to break it in with some Winchester white box or similar, at least the 200 recommended rounds, then my personal carry is going to be either the RIP G2 or Polycase ARX ammunition. I have ran both of these through the 45 and the 40 with no problems. I have already ordered the stainless steel guide rod and Talon grips as this is not my first rodeo with Kahr pistols. The night sights will be next on the agenda.

I've been doing research on the CW 380 and see many pros and cons, good reviews and bad reviews but if anybody has any real world input please feel free to let me know. I am hoping all goes well and goes as smoothly as it did with my other two Kahr pistols.

CHEERS!

Derek

[Bobshouse]

Congrats, your gonna love that little 380. The P380 is real picky about the ammo it likes, not to many find theirs with a hunger for Winchester white box. I'd like to try the RIP in mine, but want to find if they will feed before I throw down that much for 20 rounds....

[DavidR]

I agree that WWB is probably not the best choice to start with. Better to start with some round nosed brass cased ammo.


Dave

[DXTAC]

White box is what I used to break-in my cw40 but I used Federal Munitions to break-in my cw45. Any suggestion on what to use???


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[jpshaw]

I wouldn't rule out WWB just yet. While my Kahr is a P9 I do have two .380's including a Keltec and I've never experienced a jam yet with WWB flat nose. Of course it could happen with the very next time I shoot the stuff.

[ZMan]

$297 is a great score. The 200 rd. break-in is unfortunately for real - it took every bit of that for mine. I suspect you can accelerate the break-in process by hand-cycling the slide - most of the friction seems to originate between the top of the barrel and bottom of the slide.
The super-tight tolerances, presumably to improve the accuracy, are IMO an odd engineering choice in a pocket gun, where reliability is actually more important than accuracy. IMO it is quite possible a lot of users who complain about the CW 380 reliability may not have gone the full 200 plus rds. I run WPA in mine as practice ammo, and other than an occasional failure to feed the first round caused by the "dome shape" bullet - when I DON'T follow Kahr's recommended method of chambering the first round and use the slingshot method instead - and the slide not locking out after the last round all is good. The 380 WPA is the softest-shooting .380 ammo I found, and also the cheapest ; ). I carry it loaded with Corbon DPX in the De Santis Super Fly pocket holster. IMO the mag extension, which, if one has small to medium size hands, allows for the "3 finger grip", is a great mod. I first put Talon grips on mine, and later slipped the Pachmyer tactical grip over them - now the slip-on grip doesn't move around hardly at all.
For me, with or without the slip-on grip the CW 380 points high - this problem seems to be responding to training, though :)

[RonW]

White box is what I used to break-in my cw40 but I used Federal Munitions to break-in my cw45. Any suggestion on what to use???


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I've had no issues with WWB, Federal American Eagle, Monarch brass (from the Academy) Blazer. I'm not crazy about Remington UMC & Federal aluminum however... Freedom munitions is excellent for 9mm-.40s&w-.45 however I've heard mixed reviews on their 100 gr. .380.. Probably because its a RNFP and not a round nose.

[guitar]

I tried 4 different brands in my 200 round break in for my CW380 Herters, PMC, UMC, WWB. I had one stovepipe early on probably from a weak grip. Maybe I just got a good one, but I don't think so, I think they are a fine little CCW piece.

[TheLastDaze]

hope you get a good one, seems a gamble or at least it used to be when I frequented the board more... I have 800+ rounds through mine now, mostly handloads and most of them are flat tipped Xtreme 100gr bullets....

I've had many failures with mine, mostly FTRB.... I've done extensive testing and modding, even pulled from my mixed range brass and oriented them in order, federal, win, etc and fired them consecutively and found better results.... I've never carried the gun as I don't feel it's 100% yet though very close, especially now that I put P380 recoil springs in it which I believe are a tad longer if in fact they are the p380 springs, CS sent them for free just couple weeks ago but didn't acknowledge the difference in springs though I can physically see they are in fact different...

I obviously was determined to make the gun work as I've dumped all this ammo through it, I've also done a lot of work to it rather than send it in, gun seems to function very well now but I still won't carry it until further testing, besides this summer I primarily carry a P32 and if in undesirable places carry it as a BUG to a 26 or 19, with an extra mag....

off topic but fun facts nonetheless, I used to carry my LCP all the time but since I've got the P32 I've compared the two for the minimalist carry minded..... The P32 fully loaded with 8 rds 73gr fmj and an extra mag of 7 rds 73gr fmj is only 1/2 ounce heavier than my LCP loaded with 7 rds lehigh extreme penetrater...

good luck and warning up front do not use "perfecta" ammo through it, mine wouldn't cycle it at all, however with some major mods it does now apparently after firing a few of my mixed range brass handloads just recently with my new springs.....

[zredwire]

That is a great price! If you have problems with your gun after the break-in don't hesitate to send it back to Kahr. Mine would not cycle more than 5 rounds or so without a FTRB. I sent it back to Kahr and 11 days later had it back in hand and it worked flawlessly. I have now put 1236 rounds through it since I got it back and have had only two failures (both FTRB), and both were after I had fired over 100 rounds through the gun. As long as I keep my gun clean it runs awesome. Anyway just wanted to say don't hesitate to send it back if it does give you problems. I see people on the forums fool around with the gun and try to polish this and that and a month later still have a gun that is not reliable. Can't understand why they don't just send it back and let Kahr fix it.

[DXTAC]

I'll be picking it up tomorrow then I'm off to the range with 300 rounds of PPU. Don't think I'll get through all 300 as I'm bringing other toys as well. Also have to finish the break-in on the Tokarev. Think I'm bringing the K31 and SKS as well.


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[Coppertop]

Congrats on the purchase. It's a nice firearm. It just requires a little patience.
It could work out just fine or require a few trips to Kahr for warranty repair.
Here's hoping yours chews up the 300 rounds without missing a beat.

[DXTAC]

I went to the range today and the baby Kahr blew through 200 rounds of PPU and a 25 round box of Polycase without a single hitch. I field stripped, cleaned, soaked it with Ballistol and ran the Boresnake though it at the 100 round mark and ran the last 125 rounds. I now have a pocket rocket I can and will count on for every day carry. The only strange thing is the unpredictability of the Polycase ejections. They seem to go in front, to the side, behind, straight up and everything in between. I can live with that though. They fed and fired flawlessly. Here is a pic with the new pocket holster. Doesn't print at all in any of my shorts or Duluth Trading jeans! LOVE THIS PISTOL! http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/03/0a746f3076c0e4dbe1671bd465562dd5.jpg


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[TheLastDaze]

I see people on the forums fool around with the gun and try to polish this and that and a month later still have a gun that is not reliable. Can't understand why they don't just send it back and let Kahr fix it.
Probably because they, 1) dont want to pay shipping 2)dont want it returned with same problem, 3) dont want the risk of another or multuple problems once the gun is "fixed"..

Sad but true, if you've read around anywhere on the net you will have read this... Im sure my gun functions just as good as any but I recently just bought a chrony and realized my loads were a little on the weak side compared to factory loads..

But the argument is always tight tolerances, but the fact is my keltecs and rugers have functioned flawless right from the box, thats in the (small gun, tight tolerance) catagory...

My prob with the cw380 were minimal and though most probs were with ftrb its hard to imagine my underpowered handloads were a result as they funtioned in others with zero issues, all in all I love the kahr 380 just havent warmed up to its size compared to others for carry but it shoots like a dream... I've freed up my pocket this year and carry the P32 with a clip, no trigger cover as its not needed with these long triggers as much can be said with the Kahr as well

[TheLastDaze]

OP glad to hear the positive range results!!

[Dennis from ICT]

Congrats! The CW380 is my EDC during the summer because it's so small! If you run ammo it likes, you good to go. Don't hand cycle it to break it in, shoot it so you can get to know it!!! I always spend extra time with my current carry so I can be competent without thinking much. Good luck friend.

[Dennis from ICT]

I'm with you! Love my biddy buddy.