K9 Soft Strikes

[ormati]

I am having a lot of soft strikes on my K9. It is clean and I have replaced all springs in the slide. Should I replace the striker? Other suggestions? Thanks, Pete

[CJB]

1. clean striker and channel
2. check ammo for proper fit in chamber
3. replace springs (done)
4. examine extractor and striker


Ammo to chamber fit can be an issue, especially on re-manufactured, reloaded, etc. The 9mm is especially sensitive to issues with tight chamber (aka Kahr) and ammo not quite up to spec. A little flare, bulge, oversize, and the ammo will almost seat upon chambering. Then, when the striker hits it, instead of indenting the primer, it pushes primer (and case, and bullet) forward fully seating the cartridge. This only takes a few .001's to absorb the striker energy.

Check for protrusion. Do the pencil test (BiC pen test)

In some cases the extractor can cause an issue with some ammo, and of course clean is mo' betta. The striker and channel should clean and dry, non oiled.

[ltxi]

^ x2

[zaitcev]

I had light strikes on P45. Replaced the springs, cleaned, etc. Protrusion looked okay. In the end, it turned out that there was a minuscule speck of white metal right at the end of the striker channel, so the protrusion wasn't actually okay. But it was coming maybe 0.004 short. I got the speck out with a Q-tip. Not saying this is necessarily what happens to Mr. Ormati, but who knows. I thought I cleaned the channel well the first couple of times.

[ripley16]

The Kahr striker design needs more redundancy and excess capability than .004 limitation. I don't know of another brand of firearm plagued by the "light strike" problem as badly. It is the number one reason I will not carry a Kahr. When everything else works right, and the striker hits a good primer, the gun should work 100% of the time. No allowance for error in this case. Kahr's "just enough" philosophy fails to inspire confidence when there are other guns that work so much more reliably and not hampered by a .004" speck of dirt. I wish they would fix this problem once and for all.

[Redstate]

Never had a problem with light strikes on any of my Kahrs, K9, MK9 and P9 Covert.

[ormati]

Thank you for very informative responses. Would a stronger recoil spring serve to ensure proper seating? The pencil test gets a weak response, does that suggest a new striker? Does anyone else make K9 strikers, maybe slightly longer? Thanks again!

[ripley16]

Look here at LakeLine Kahr parts.
https://lakelinellc.com/product-category/kahr-pistol-accessories/kahr-striker-solutions/

[Alfonse]

I haven't seen any real reason for a replacement striker for the 9mm Kahrs. The striker works fine and seems plenty robust. I have experimented with the .380 and .004" in length is not enough to make any difference. That doesn't mean a small contaminate might not gunk up the works though.

The pistol has to go properly (all the way) into battery to work well. If it were me, I would get a spring set, recoil springs, striker springs, extractor and would probably even change magazine springs while I am at it. In changing the springs I would take the striker out, clean the channel, inspect and put it all back together. Springs are cheap and I bet your problem would be gone.

I detail stripped all my Kahrs after taking one apart and finding quite a bit of brass flakes and gunk in a striker channel. That was the only pistol that was dirty in that way. It was a pistol I had picked up used. I do clean the striker channel, using aerosol spray through the little hole, every time I clean one of them.

[ormati]

Just to close out this issue for anyone who might have a similar problem... I tried replacing all springs and cleaning out all Frog Lube but still had soft strikes. When I pulled a striker out of another K9 and compared them, mine was noticeably shorter, so I ordered a new one and all is well. Problem solved, K9 shoots like a dream. Hope that helps someone else.

[gb6491]

Just to close out this issue for anyone who might have a similar problem... I tried replacing all springs and cleaning out all Frog Lube but still had soft strikes. When I pulled a striker out of another K9 and compared them, mine was noticeably shorter, so I ordered a new one and all is well. Problem solved, K9 shoots like a dream. Hope that helps someone else.
Congrats on figuring out the fix and thanks for posting a follow up (very much appreciated) :)
Regards,
Greg