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View Full Version : First day with a CM9 - Disassembly, shooting results, ammo preferences



Papersniper
07-08-2016, 10:51 AM
Picked up my new Kahr CM9 last night at the FFL holder's store. Non-firing check out was okay.

This morning disassembled it and did a semi-like-is-posted-elsewhere-on-this-forum cleaning a lube. Basically I ran patches through the barrel until they were clean, then ran one very lightly oiled (CLP) patch through it. I cleaned off the light, excess oil all over the pistol's internals, and followed up with some CLP. I forgot to clean the magazine. But It was dry and not dirty.

Disassembly of this CM9 is probably the most difficult of any of the 30+ handguns I've owned! But I did finally get it done. Reassembly was even more difficult for me! I followed the directions in the manual, which are actually decent, but it's harder to do than in looks on paper! I am sincerely hoping my next cleaning goes better. Everything was very tight and very unforgiving (i.e.,slide stop through the frame and recoil lug).

Shooting at the range started off not too bad. I did anticipate a more lengthy wear in than my S&W, Ruger, H&K and Sig pistols. I first loaded 6 rounds of Blazer Brass 115 FMJs, inserted the magazine with the slide back, did a slide-release (NOT slingshot). That chambered a round fine. I popped the magazine out, which was a little complicated. I found the easiest way to remove the mag was to use two hands - pistol in my strong hand, pushed and held the mag release with my weak hand until the mag feel out. (I suspect that parts will loosen up after 200 or so rounds and the mag will fall free with the typical strong hand thumb). Anyway, replaced the round just stripped off during chambering, re-inserted the magazine, did a slide stop release. Now I had a pistol loaded 6+1. Fired all rounds; did that three times. Each time the last round failed to lock open the slide.

Decided that Blazer ammo might be a little anemic, so I switched to Speer Lawman 124 TMJ rounds. Did a 6+1 reload as described about - fired that magazine and the slide DID lock open. Did another 7+1 mag as described above with the Blazer Brass 115 FMJ - the slide locked open. Short story: after about 30 rounds or so apparently the slide stop started working. However, when I again loaded a 6 round magazine with the Lawman ammo, I had a Failure to Feed; the bullet's tip appeared to catch on something just under the barrel's feed ramp. It did this maybe 30% of the slide releases with the Lawman bullet. I did not get this with the Blazer Brass 115 FMJ. I couldn't figure out why.

I then loaded several 7+1 magazine with one of my favorite practice rounds, Federal American Eagle 147 gr FMFP*s. These functioned without an problems. Of course, by then I'd fired 8 or 10 magazines of the Blazer and Lawman ammo.

Bullet Specifications, POI, and Notes - All Point of Air was center of target at 7 yards
Blazer Brass - 115 FMJ round is 1.153 in overall - POI about 5 inches low but centered - group size good.
Speer Lawman - 124 TMJ round is 1.147 in overall - POI about 4 inches low but centered - group size good.
Fed Am. Eagle - 148 FMFP round is 1.067 in overall - POI about 3.5 inches low but centered - group size very good.

*Full Metal Flat Point

Note: No difficulty with the short grip on this pistol. Works as well as my Glock 42. I do not feel I need grip extensions or grippier grips like Talon, etc.

After today's drill I don't plan on using any more Speer Lawman 124 gr TMJs in my Kahr CM9 until I've had a couple hundred rounds through it. Using it now would be just too frustrating. This is surprising, as I use that same round in many 9mm pistol and have had zero problems with it. I guess my CM9 just doesn't like it, at least at the initial introduction.

I DO plan on shooting up my large stash of Blazer Brass 115 FMJs in the Kahr. The Federal American Eagle FMFP works even better, but it costs me a bit more than the lighter bullet. I also have some Lawman 147 gr TMJ that I did not bring today; I will test that during my next range session.....I have a feeling it might not work too well if the bullet shape is like that on the Lawman 124 gr FMJ.

I am not going to even test carry ammo for another 300 rounds.

Bills1873
07-08-2016, 11:08 AM
Good range report! Your idea of more break-in rounds is spot-on.

JMag
07-08-2016, 04:28 PM
An excellent CCW choice.


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The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.--Sir Winston Churchill

Papersniper
07-08-2016, 05:13 PM
An excellent CCW choice.


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The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.--Sir Winston Churchill

Yeah, I really like this little pistol! I usually carry striker fired pistols like the S&W, H&K, Glock, etc. I like the "pull to go bang" to be as consistent and uncomplicated as possible. I have heard a lot about the Kahr's unique trigger, and decided to add one to my collection. I hope to add it to what I carry when I ride my motorcycle; I have been carrying a Glock 42 (380) that is about the same size as the CM9, so I figured a more power cartridge made sense. I can only carry something light, small and thin on my bike due to what I wear.

Anyway, I really enjoyed shooting today, in spite of the problems I had. I had zero failures to fire or eject; only the nose dives. The trigger is great, and the size and weight will be perfect for my motorcycle carry where I have to carry something small and thin.

RolandD
07-08-2016, 06:54 PM
Field stripping was tough with my CT380 and CW9 when they were brand new. I gets easier. I can take both down now, no problem.

sandy22
07-11-2016, 06:40 PM
Field stripping was tough with my CT380 and CW9 when they were brand new. I gets easier. I can take both down now, no problem.

My CW9 is hard to take down. Hate to shoot it because of the take down. Ever one says Ruger MK's are hard to field strip. Think I could take 4 Rugers down quicker than one CM9.

CJB
07-11-2016, 07:09 PM
Cannot fault your most excellent choice of pistol, except maybe it shoulda been a PM45......

Only thing I can add... after some research you are free to do online, like I did, is that the recoil spring system is a tight mo'fo on purpose. It will take its set (reduced but consistent spring tension) after you fire some.

The folks who are changing the recoil spring assy after 500 or 1000 rounds are jumping the gun, especially if the pistol is not well broken in to start with, as the full (pre "set level") power spring will make matters worse.

The best way to break in a Kahr is with hot ammo. Not WWB, not Blazer, not winkydink range ammo. Shoot full house stout ammo, the hottest you can find/afford. That will break'er in better, and faster. Cost? Well you wanna shoot five boxes of WWB, or two of the good stuff? You decide.

RolandD
07-11-2016, 08:55 PM
My CW9 is hard to take down. Hate to shoot it because of the take down. Ever one says Ruger MK's are hard to field strip. Think I could take 4 Rugers down quicker than one CM9.
The first week I had my CW9, I would rack it til my hands were sore, then use my brass Zippo to pop in the slide lock pin. I'd disassemble and reassemble it four or five times. After for or five days of that, I could use my thumb to pop in the slide lock pin. It gets easier every time.

nmkahrshooter
07-12-2016, 05:38 AM
Although Kahr pistols are tight, I have not had a big problem breaking them down to clean. Yes they are harder than others.

Papersniper
07-12-2016, 07:04 AM
Field stripping was tough with my CT380 and CW9 when they were brand new. I gets easier. I can take both down now, no problem.

Yeah, it took me about half the time to disassemble/reassemble my CM9 the second time. I learned some tricks along the way.

Papersniper
07-12-2016, 07:06 AM
My CW9 is hard to take down. Hate to shoot it because of the take down. Ever one says Ruger MK's are hard to field strip. Think I could take 4 Rugers down quicker than one CM9.

While take down on my new CM9 is not easy compared to a S&W or Glock, it is getting easier for me. I think practice brings little tricks that make it easier. At least I hope so. The second time I did it took about half as long as the first time. I still have to fiddle with the slide, wigglying it around and trying different angles and pressing the trigger, etc to get it to work. Not sure, but eventually I suppose I'll get it down to a routine.

Papersniper
07-12-2016, 07:09 AM
Cannot fault your most excellent choice of pistol, except maybe it shoulda been a PM45......

..........

Hmmmm.....I have been lusting after a CW45 lately.....:cool:

Papersniper
07-13-2016, 01:38 PM
I am the OP.
You may recall I shot my new CM9 for its initial 100 rounds about a week ago:
>I had had several failures to lock the slide after the last shot. After about 30 rounds that no longer happened.
>I had a few "nose dives" when I closed the slide on a full or partially full magazine using the slide stop/release (that's the only way I closed the slide)
These nose dives seemed to happen mainly my 124 gr Lawman TMJ loads.(I was also shooting Blazer Brass 115 FMJ and 147 gr American Eagle).
I had no failures to eject, failures to feed (or than the nose dives). The pistol never failed to return to battery. I cleaned the pistol after this range session.

Today I shot another 100 rounds, so the total through this pistol is 200; the recommended so-called break in procedure.
Today I shot 50 rounds of 115 gr Blazer FMJ and 50 rounds of Lawman 147 gr TMJ.
> I had no failures to lock the slide after the last round. So that apparently will not be an issue with this pistol. (Perhaps I was inadvertently putting my thumb on the slide stop the first 30 rounds I shot the pistol last week?)
> I did have two "nose dives" before I figured out what is happening. I have determined what causes that with this pistol; other pistols might have a different reason: If I slap the magazine into the pistol's grip, as I usually do with my carry pistols, I will get a nose dive about 75% of the time. I have no idea why, but apparently the force I exert causes the bullet's tip to lodge below the feed ramp. Instead of slapping, if I firmly push the magazine into the grip until I feel that "click", I had no nose dives, not even one. I repeated the "push" and "slap" procedure at least 10 times without firing just to verify: when I pushed I never got a nose dive. But about 75% of the time with the slap I got a nose dive. Lesson learned? DON'T SLAP IN THE MAGAZINE!

I will probably do another 100 rounds "wear in" as I start testing carry ammunition along with more FMJs.

Anyone have any suggestions based on their experience with their CM9? I have a lot of Hydra-Shok and Fiocchi JHP on hand. I have heard the latter might not be a good choice due to feeding and ejection issues. I also plan to test Speer Lawman 147 gr GDHP, which is one of my favorite carry rounds. I most likely will carry 147 gr bullets.

kwh
07-13-2016, 04:59 PM
Good analysis on the slap vs. push mag insertion,I would not have thought of that. Might could it be a magazine lip or a spring issue? I never had any issues with my CM9. My CW45 and CW9 had nose dives with certain H.P. ammo until I got a Lakeland follower.

Papersniper
07-14-2016, 05:37 AM
Good analysis on the slap vs. push mag insertion,I would not have thought of that. Might could it be a magazine lip or a spring issue? I never had any issues with my CM9. My CW45 and CW9 had nose dives with certain H.P. ammo until I got a Lakeland follower.

I have heard such great things about the Lakeland followers. I just ordered a CW380 and I'm anticipating more problems with it (feeding failures, failure to eject, failure to go into battery, etc) than my CM9. Now the nose dive issue is "solved" with the CM9, its performance has been very good for about 200 rounds. So I suspect I will end up trying one of Al's followers in the CW380. I don't think I need one in the CM9, but I might try one to see if it prevents nose dives even when I slap the mag into it. Never head any negatives on Lakeland followers.

Which HP ammo did/does the nose dives in your CW45?

I should have mentioned in my preceding post that the nose diving issues I "solved" involved more than one magazine. I really think my nose dives are caused by me using far too much force slapping/slamming those magazines into the grip. I'll have to change my technique with this pistol. It's an old habit from some of my other guns (ie, S&W Shield, M&P 9c) where one really has to smack those mags into the grip to get them to seat properly.

Which HP ammo does the nose dives in your CW45?

Another question for you: Are you using any after market 1911 magazines in your CW45? And, how would you compare the "recoil" of the CW45 with your CM9? I do not find the recoil on the CM9 to be a concern at all. Actually I wonder if the CW380 might be more! I am thinking of getting a CW45......can't ever have too many pistols, right? Even Kahrs!:cool:

kwh
07-14-2016, 05:36 PM
^^ CW45, Gold Dots have been the most problematic. I use Federal HST for carry. I would think each pistol would be different. With a 2 hand hold I don't notice a lot of recoil with the CW45. However the recoil does "sting " my arthritic wrist. Weak hand only, noticeable rolling recoil. If I shoot the CM9 shortly after, I can notice a difference in recoil and follow up shots compared to the .45. My CW380 has very little recoil due to Kahr's design. No concern with recoil on any of my Kahr's. I also slam my magazines into the grip. I have a aftermarket mag but I usually use the Kahr mag.

Bawanna
07-14-2016, 05:48 PM
The kahrs handle recoil quite well. I have no issue with my PM45. To me the 9 and the 40 especially is an obnoxious little crack, fast flip. Not bothersome and not really recoil, where as the 45 is more of a push boom.

More the actual recoil is muzzle flip, tons with the 40, not much with the 9 and somewhere in between with the 45.

All manageable but I prefer the 45, always have, most likely always will.

Papersniper
07-15-2016, 09:28 AM
Thanks for the information, guys. I am still on the fence regarding the CW45. I have a Glock 30 that weighs a bit more, and it's recoil is tolerable. But I don't carry it much dues to the weight....so all in life is a compromise, eh?