P380 failure to lock back

[CharlieR]

None of the 4 magazines I have were locking back on the last round. I looked at the slide lock spring, and it seems to be ok. I tightened it some (but was careful not to tighten too much). No luck. I noticed that the portion of the spring that is supposed to come into contact with the pin doesn't really go far enough towards the pin to contact it. The pin slides in without any resistance. (Unlike my PM9). I saw a youtube video where the guy suggests cleaning the magazines, and stretching the spring some. I did that and now the 3 6-round mags all lock back when the slide is manually pulled back on empty magazines. The 7-round mag, despite really stretching the spring, will not engage the slide lock when empty.

The follower on the 7-rounder doesn't look any different than the others. I'm thinking the slide lock spring is the culprit. Any suggestions? I was about to order a new one, but the shipping cost for such a small part is out of line.

Charlie

[CharlieR]

After the range, still NONE of the mags hold back on last round. Finally called Kahr, and he is going to send me a slide stop and a slide stop spring.
I'm thinking it's the spring, as the pin on the slide stop has no real tension on it, and I think the backside of the spring is supposed to provide that.
Now the waiting for the mailman begins........

[topgun1953]

Thanks for the update. I'm surprised no one responded to your first post. 😳Found this picture on the web. It shows the spring. As with your pm9, make sure the slide stop lever is under the red side of the spring when it is pushed in. When you install your new spring, don't over tighten the screw as stripped frames are frowned upon! If you still have problems at the range, shoot it one handed and also have someone else shoot it (if you haven't already).

[Alfonse]

I believe that there was a change on the 380 followers at some point too. The old ones are a round pin in the plastic follower. The newer ones have a machined "ledge" in the pin. I don't have any photos handy, but this one on the Kahr site shows the newer follower. The old style doesn't lock back as well.

http://www.kahr.com/GetDynamicImage.aspx?dir=itemImages&path=SVimg-K387G.jpg&w=326&h=278

[CharlieR]

Thanks Alphonse.....well, this isn't on my PM9, it's on the P380. The part of the spring that is in blue above doesn't really go into the hole for the Slide stop pin. Therefore, the pin has like no tension on it. I'm still waiting for it to come in the mail.....Yes, I know to have the stop under the "red" part of the spring.
Time will tell. My magazines all are the "newer" style. It did it with all the magazines. Even when manually pulling the slide back on an empty mag, it barely catches, and then lets go.

Charlie

[marshal kane]

. . . Any suggestions? I was about to order a new one, but the shipping cost for such a small part is out of line.

Charlie
Same goes for my P9 recoil spring. Kahr still hasn't found out about the padded shipping envelope.

[CharlieR]

Well, I got the new spring and slide stop in the mail today. Put them in, and SAME PROBLEM. It will not lock back on any of the magazines empty. Once again, Kahr says to send it back in, AGAIN on MY DIME. Here is a picture of the followers on each of the magazines (the only thing I haven't replaced).
http://www.kahrtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14000&stc=1

And here is a picture of the slide stop spring installed:

http://www.kahrtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14001&stc=1

Any suggestions, before I spend the money to send it back it again???? :mad:

Charlie

[CharlieR]

P.S.: I manually stretched out the springs in the magazines, and it did lock back.......until I loaded rounds into them, and after an hour, unloaded them, and it still won't lock back. all 5 magazines. Guess I'll send it back in.......waiting on an RMA. As much as I like this thing when it works, I'm thinking about getting something else for pocket carry. This one (which I bought new for $685) has been back to Kahr before.....the first time, when brand new, was shooting 1-2" low at 7 yards. They replaced the frame with a new one (PSS: It's been doing that again, but I've been compensating for it). Not very confidence inspiring. :mad:

[gb6491]

Charlie,
Please post a photo similar to the one below so we can see how much your slide stop is engaging the magazine:
http://i65.tinypic.com/2znn6h3.jpg
BTW, the photo is of my P380 which does lock the slide back.

Not trying to be insulting, but as we're searching for a solution, are your mag springs installed on the followers as in the photo below?
http://i62.tinypic.com/2uqj9mp.jpg
Regards,
Greg

[CharlieR]

Not insulted in the least, gb6491.....I appreciate the help......well, here are the pics:

http://www.kahrtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14003&stc=1http://www.kahrtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14004&stc=1http://www.kahrtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14005&stc=1http://www.kahrtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14006&stc=1
It is hard to get a picture as clear as yours with my phone and my camera doesn't wanna focus on the right spot.

The magazine spring looks correct on the follower to me.....look at the spring without tension at the bottom of the magazine....should it be longer than that? There doesn't seem to be very much tension when it's buttoned up.

One more pic:

http://www.kahrtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14007&stc=1

Still haven't gotten the RMA from Kahr yet.....

[gb6491]

Charlie,
After reading this thread again, I noticed, that while my P380 locks back, the engagement of the slide stop is not full. I've since fixed this and perhaps something I did will help with your pistol. I've got to take care of somethings right now, but will post what I did as soon as I'm finished.
Regards,
Greg

[gb6491]

.....
The magazine spring looks correct on the follower to me.....look at the spring without tension at the bottom of the magazine....should it be longer than that? There doesn't seem to be very much tension when it's buttoned up.
.....
Here's the spring in one of my p380 mags (locks the slide back), I think it looks a little shorter than your spring:
http://i65.tinypic.com/1z6axc9.jpg

Here's what I did to get my slide stop to fully engage the slide. One or all my work for you.
1. It looked like my stop was contacting this surface in the frame cutout. I just scraped the edge of the frame with a razor knife to provide some clearance.
http://i68.tinypic.com/33c1bab.jpg
2. I bent the end of the magazine spring up some.
http://i67.tinypic.com/30w70xj.jpg
3. I sanded the top of the follower down a slight amount (would have done more if warranted).
http://i63.tinypic.com/35cj2vc.jpg
http://i66.tinypic.com/2n6fqd.jpg
4. This maybe particular to my pistol, but my slide stop had a groove worn into it where the slide stop spring rides. This probably wouldn't hurt anything if the spring rode in the groove all the time, but that wasn't the case. The spring would rest to one side of the groove then snap into it as the stop was applied. You could see and hear it do so. I didn't like how that worked so I ground that surface flat with a Dremel bit.
In this photo you can just see where the the start of the groove was:
http://i67.tinypic.com/1256tq8.jpg
Ground down:
http://i63.tinypic.com/vghszs.jpg

Here how the stop acts now: View My Video (http://tinypic.com/r/2rrt5rp/9)
http://i63.tinypic.com/rk9bif.jpg (http://tinypic.com/r/2rrt5rp/9)


I suspect actions 2 & 3 above will give you the most dramatic results.

Regards,
Greg

[CharlieR]

Awesome suggestions.....well, Kahr surprised me this morning, and sent me a RMA# with a FedEx label. I decided to send it in to them, as it has started to shoot low again, like the first frame I had. But there is still a CW380 around here, and I'll bookmark this thread in case I ever have problems with it. Thanks again.

Charlie

[Bills1873]

Greg, you sure do illustrate well! Kudos for all the neat stuff you educate us on!

[gb6491]

Greg, you sure do illustrate well! Kudos for all the neat stuff you educate us on!
Thank you :)

[CharlieR]

Well, it came back from Kahr........it just says "Slide lock spring replaced". I had just replaced that and the slide lock lever.
BUT......it WORKS ! So, I guess I'll just be happy it's fixed. :D