No luck with my new CW 380

[Dave D]

Just bought a CW 380. I disassembled, cleaned, and took it to the range yesterday and had no luck. After reading posts here I see that Fiocchi ammo is not a favorite for this gun(didn't know that at the time) but that is what I bought with the gun and that might be part of the problem. Still it was disappointing that out of 40 attempts not one single round chambered without me banging on the slide. Not one. I contacted Kahr and am awaiting a response. I can't see spending years and my own money, as some on this forum have done, to make the gun work. Hopefully Kahr will repair or replace it and I have the same positive experience that most of you have had with Kahr guns. By the way I just joined this forum. Very cool. I will update when I get this worked out. Dave

[topgun1953]

Welcome to the forum. The Cw and P380 will not run Fiocchi FMJ. I think that has firmly been established. The fact that u had to hit the slide to chber every round is not uncommon. Try some other ammo like Blazer and PMC before u send it to Kahr.

[timboy]

I wouldsearch on here for some known good ammo and try it,my CW380 was also not fully going into battery on most rounds when it was new,a trip back to Khar cured it.

[Dave D]

Thanks guys. I'll try a different ammo while waiting for a response from Kahr. Hopefully something good is available locally.

[DevinBreeding]

Thanks guys. I'll try a different ammo while waiting for a response from Kahr. Hopefully something good is available locally.

i like Winchester white box from Walmart in mine and have had good luck. Don't use fiocchi, Tulammo or perfecta. Perfecta is made by fiocchi and has the same issue in KAHR 380. The specs are slightly different on their ammo so I don't think we can fault KAHR for that. Tulammo will usually function until the pistol heats up and starts to melt the polymer coating on the steel case. Winchester is the cheapest ammo I've found but federal works fine too. I really want to try blazer aluminum. You can buy 1000 for right around $200.

[Cogburn]

Get through your 200 rd break in and find the right ammo. Just got myself on the right track with my P380 and now I look forward to shooting it more. I'm sticking with PMC bronze but still have some ammo it doesn't like that I have to burn up. I just look at that as malfunction clearing practice. It's just a 380 so it's nothing you are going to take to the range and put 100's of rds through in one sitting. Keep it clean and learn to disassemble the slide and clean it's internals as well. Except during the break in period, mine has never malfunctioned when clean. Pocket lint has never been an issue either. I can say do not get Winchester white box with the flat nose. I never could get those to feed properly.

[Ronni3_J]

Sorry to hear. I've been pretty lucky with my CW380. It's ate everything I've put through it except some reloads I bought locally. I usually order from Freedom Munitions and haven't had any issues with their reloads or new Hornady JHPs


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[gb6491]

Dave D,
Welcome to the forums:)
You might want to give this a look: http://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?26232-Found-solution-to-FTF-and-failure-to-return-to-battery-on-CW-380
Regards,
Greg

[DevinBreeding]

I can say do not get Winchester white box with the flat nose. I never could get those to feed properly.

Really? mine loves the Winchester flat nose. Strange to see each pistol has its preference

[Dave D]

Thanks gb6491.Great link. It made a lot of sense so I went ahead and made that mod to my gun. Only took off about .008" instead of .015" like the original poster did. Can always take more later if needed. I'll buy more ammo tomorrow and give it a shot. My corner Walmart has Winchester White Box, Federal, and Talua(or something like that).
Any of those sound good? Thanks again.

[Alfonse]

Federal seems to have few complaints and works great in mine.

[Cogburn]

Really? mine loves the Winchester flat nose. Strange to see each pistol has its preference

It was early on during break in but every round hung up on the feed ramp. It may work now but I don't think I'll take the chance. Glad it works for you.

[Ronni3_J]

Really? mine loves the Winchester flat nose. Strange to see each pistol has its preference

Same here. Luckily mine hasn't been picky with amo

[dustnchips]

If you really want to run Fiocchi the post that Greg cited has the solution. My CW380 had ten problems in the first hundred rounds. I did a bit of polishing with 1000 wet and dry sand paper per the sticky about gun prep and it has benn perfect since then. I have run PMC and remington through it. Feed it the right ammo and you will love it.

[nmkahrshooter]

Try some Magtech 95gr ammo FMJ. Just got my CW380 and no problems with it. Also use a quality lubricant. Hope this helps and stick with it. Eventually it will work itself out. Also make sure you are holding gun properly!

[Dave D]

Well I got good news and better news about the 380. The good news is Kahr already sent me a prepaid FedEx return label. The better news is I may not need it. After performing the mod posted by triggerman 250, I bought a box of Federal ammo and headed to the range. Fired 44 rounds of the Federal and the remaining 30 rounds of Fiocchi. I had two failure to fully chamber round with the Federal and two of the same with the Fiocchi. Correct me if I'm wrong but that is acceptable during break in I would think. I'm going go ahead and put another hundred rounds thru her before I decide whether to send back to Kahr. Thanks so much for all the help. Dave

[timboy]

Really? mine loves the Winchester flat nose. Strange to see each pistol has its preference
Mine eats up Winchest flat nose without issue too but I have read that its not uncommon to have trouble with it.

[JimChevy]

Dave D- I'm new here also and have the same issue with my CW380. Failure to feed almost every single round except the first round! I just found the thread you mentioned on the fix. I'm waiting to hear back from Kahr on a return slip.

[Dave D]

Dave D- I'm new here also and have the same issue with my CW380. Failure to feed almost every single round except the first round! I just found the thread you mentioned on the fix. I'm waiting to hear back from Kahr on a return slip.


It only took 2 days for Kahr to get back to me. I probably shouldn't have started grinding stuff until I gave them a chance to fix it but hey what's done is done and it seems to have helped. Good luck with your 380. Dave By the way, is yours the Davidsons special with the gold colored slide? Mine is. Maybe just an issue with that batch.

[timboy]

For what it is worth,when mine went back they did replace the recoil springs and "re work the extractor" from what I recall so maybee the grinding was the proper course of action.

[JimChevy]

It only took 2 days for Kahr to get back to me. I probably shouldn't have started grinding stuff until I gave them a chance to fix it but hey what's done is done and it seems to have helped. Good luck with your 380. Dave By the way, is yours the Davidsons special with the gold colored slide? Mine is. Maybe just an issue with that batch.

Mine is not the Davidson special. I still have not heard from Kahr and it's been 4 or 5 days!

[Dave D]

I was able to stop at the range and put another 50 rounds thru the CW380. It only had one glitch(failure to fully chamber) and that was while the wife was shooting and she has a weird ass grip which could be the cause of that one. Looks like I will have to waste that FedEx return label (he says with a smile). lol. Hopefully they will get back to you this week JimChevy. Holiday weekend might have slowed things down at Kahr.

[Ronni3_J]

I had my brother in law get a few FTF from his limp wrist a few weeks ago. He tried to blame the CW380 until I showed him otherwise. These little guys are weird about grip.

[DEKerr77]

I had the same issues when I first fired my CT380. The only rounds that would fully cycle the slide were Buffalo Bore. None of my Fiocchi (or the like) functioned worth a damn. Luckily I had a stockpile of the Buffalo Bore, & by the time I'd shot ~150 rounds the cheap stuff began to function. Now (after 300+ mixed rounds) I can shoot pretty much any commercial .380 ammo without issue. It's my belief that Kahr's recoil springs are so stiff that only hot cartridges can overcome them at first. Once broken in, however, everything is golden. I love my CT380, & carry it everyday. Be patient, stick with it, & I'll bet you'll love your Kahr just as much.

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[JimChevy]

I got my gun back from Kahr rather quickly. Shipped it to them on a monday and got it back Friday in the same week! The technician's report states they updated the extractor, polished the barrel, slide and slide stop as well as replacing recoil spring, lubed and tested it. Yesterday I ran the Federal American Eagle and Hornady Critical Defense XTP with ZERO issues. Since I still have the steel cased Tulammo and brass Perfecta that I bought BEFORE I learned it was crap with this particular gun, I tried it anyway and of course it was still a nightmare. When I got home to clean the gun I started examining the cases and see how the two brands that didn't work are not angled away from the rim like the brands that did work. That must have something to do with the issue. The gun was actually fun to shoot for the first time but it still makes me a little uneasy carrying it until I run more of the KNOWN ammo that works as well as mixing in a few more brands I haven't tried yet. It can only help with breaking it in! I still need to work on my trigger pull because I was mostly low and left. I'm not giving up yet!

[darinb]

My cw380 has had a few issues with tula and perfecta but my last trip I had 11 double feeds in a row with speer gold dot. WWB stills runs perfect though.

[9wracn]

I have had my cw 380 for a few months, it would hang the slide at first, but after 200 rounds or so of federal ammo it works great. Just got to get thru the break in point.

[b52]

I have a cw380 and a ct380 for about 3 months now and they will eat Winchester flat nose all day long.