K40 smashes lip of bullet case?!

[Monadnock]

I got some new Winchester .40 target ammo for super cheap, shot 100 rounds through K40 today, starting to get it dialed in, feels good.. not one failure, so far and ever but..

..when I went to pick up the spent cases, I noticed that there was a smash/ flat spot on the lip of the case, with a tell tale scrape marks on the outside where the case had come into contact with something, presumably at ejection. I've never seent or heard of this before and had not noticed in past outings.

I don't really mind if it's natural..or even if supernatural, as long as I'm not doing damage to the gun or risking failure at some future point.. just never did see this before and it made me go huh(?) then hmmm.

Not sure if i can post pics yet but was hoping someone could chime in with some good info.

[berettabone]

" Pictures are worth a thousand words."

[Monadnock]

https://1drv.ms/i/s!Aqv9UfTnM_NH8w3i4jgyxz9jgu3_https://1drv.ms/i/s!Aqv9UfTnM_NH8wjq1SwIwOAtTpI3

[Monadnock]

uggh, don't think i can post them.. due to FNG status. https://1drv.ms/i/s!Aqv9UfTnM_NH8wjq1SwIwOAtTpI3 https://1drv.ms/i/s!Aqv9UfTnM_NH8w3i4jgyxz9jgu3_ here's the links to the pics from teh clouds.

[Monadnock]

those flying V etched horizontal lines were difficult to capture w my fone camera but you get the picture.. any ideas?

[Bawanna]

My K40 dings them much more than that at the mouth.

Those are some nasty looking cases. Are they even brass? Maybe the picture is playing tricks on me.

[gb6491]

My K40 dings them much more than that at the mouth.

Those are some nasty looking cases. Are they even brass? Maybe the picture is playing tricks on me.
That looks like the cases of some training ammo I've seen folks from a federal agency use down this way. What we picked up was nickle plated brass with a purple tint.
It came in a purple/fuschia colored box that said "FOR TRAING USE ONLY" in big letters and was made by Winchester.
Being old, retired Marines, my buddy and I had to give them folks some grief about their pink ammo and ask if they were also issued tutus.
Good folks, regardless of what they are issued.
Regards,
Greg

[Ikeo74]

I don't see any problem shooting them and they should be reloadable if they are brass. If you reload watch for splits in the case mouth.

[Monadnock]

Yes Greg, training rounds and yes brass but I found some non purple ones on the ground, that had a similar gouge from the day before.. Remington UMC. The purple rounds are supposed to be fully reloadable...I don't understand why they make them purple or why they are training rounds. I did fire a round today forgetting to put my ears on. I can tell you they sound like regular bullets.

https://www.outdoorlimited.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=q4409case

I was going to post the link.. cheapest ammo I have found anywhere, cool little big company out of NC. The owner Dave Gregory responds to customer questions, seems like a cool cat. Got some 'LE' Federal HST 50 round box for $23-27 a box, depending on caliber and a smoking price on some Blazer .380/ .45.. My local retail store, if they have them, charges the same for 20 rounds.. (thanks Brownell's :| this is my unimpressed face).

[kenemoore]

Yes Greg, training rounds and yes brass but I found some non purple ones on the ground, that had a similar gouge from the day before.. Remington UMC. The purple rounds are supposed to be fully reloadable...I don't understand why they make them purple or why they are training rounds. I did fire a round today forgetting to put my ears on. I can tell you they sound like regular bullets.

https://www.outdoorlimited.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=q4409case

I was going to post the link.. cheapest ammo I have found anywhere, cool little big company out of NC. The owner Dave Gregory responds to customer questions, seems like a cool cat. Got some 'LE' Federal HST 50 round box for $23-27 a box, depending on caliber and a smoking price on some Blazer .380/ .45.. My local retail store, if they have them, charges the same for 20 rounds.. (thanks Brownell's :| this is my unimpressed face).


Thanks
for the link, always looking for good ammo deals.

[berettabone]

I just purchased HST's in .40 cal. for 21.99 a bx. of 50. $11 shipping. Target Sports USA.

[Monadnock]

Ya i feel sometimes like I hawk too much for products and links but I just do it for the companies I like and use..just got 15 boxes of that violet 40 and 10 boxes of blazer 380 for under 3 shipped to Midwest. I liked the k40 trigger from the first pull but now I'm starting to get consistent..nothing like 750 rounds to get me some of the way there.

[Scrambler]

http://www.kahrtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=14657&stc=1
My K40 does that, as does my E9 and K9. It just adds a little Kahr character to your brass. Makes it easier to id at the range. I'll reload these with out hesitation.

[Monadnock]

Good to know, thanks Scrambler!

[jocko]

my thought the brass is hitting the top of the ejection side of the bbl on the right side. If its brass they are still reloadable, seen this before on utter semi's . glad its in the 40's ore than the 9's as I don't see that on any f my 9mm kahrs, course again i don't reload any ore, I can buy federal 9mm fmj from wal mart for 8.95 with my wifes discunt, so I don't even think of reloading. what u might want to keep a eye on is the next time you shoot hot defense ammo, look at that brass casing and see if it is the same. Hot ammo will eject differently so it migtht even be OK. Just sayin

[jocko]

my thought the brass is hitting the top of the ejection side of the bbl on the right side. If its brass they are still reloadable, seen this before on utter semi's . glad its in the 40's ore than the 9's as I don't see that on any f my 9mm kahrs, course again i don't reload any ore, I can buy federal 9mm fmj from wal mart for 8.95 with my wifes discunt, so I don't even think of reloading. what u might want to keep a eye on is the next time you shoot hot defense ammo, look at that brass casing and see if it is the same. Hot ammo will eject differently so it migtht even be OK. Just sayin



I had a bad ass dream last nite. I dreamed I sent Bawanna my engraved Model 60 with his pink finshed grips on it as a gift!!!! Once I sobered up, I had a good laugh!!!!!:Amflag2:

[Bawanna]

You need to lay off the firewater there Jocko.. I'll see if I can get a sequel to that dream myself tonight, I've had some weird bad dreams lately too.
Maybe it's an omen.

[Monadnock]

You may be right about the bullets Jocko. I'll shoot some hotter rounds through it, see if the mash marks are similar.

[berettabone]

My MK does the same thing with 115 gr................................................ .....

[jocko]

You need to lay off the firewater there Jocko.. I'll see if I can get a sequel to that dream myself tonight, I've had some weird bad dreams lately too.
Maybe it's an omen.

yes BOSS MAN!!!

[finpro]

I had a similar problem on a Kel-Tec pistol about 20 years ago. The fired shell may be extracting too slowly so it is still present when the next round pushes the fired shell against the barrel hood. You might try polishing the chamber and lower and rear edges of the barrel hood to minimize any friction that may slow the fired shell from clearing the scene. This can be done with a Dremel or by hand. You might polish the feed ramp while you are at it.
Secondly, I would try a reduced power recoil spring. According to the Wolff Gunspring website, gunsprings.com, you should match the spring weight to the power of the round, with lighter springs for less powerful rounds. If your spring is too heavy, with less powerful target ammo, the slide may be moving too slowly for the round to extract quickly enough to be out of the way of the next cartridge. Wolff shows a standard spring weight for a K40 to be 20# and sells an 18# spring for about $8 plus shipping. That might be a good investment.
If this doesn't work, I think it would be time for some R & R at the Kahr Mother Ship.

[Monadnock]

the gun is the elite 03 model, i thought they did the feed ramp and internals, can't recall the bits now.. Also, it came with a factory weight Wolf replacement..probably makes sense to call them tomorrow.

[finpro]

I have a K9 Elite 03 - the same gun except for caliber. My barrel hood is surprisingly sharp at the back and edge. I have not had your problem, but I will polish mine the next time I remove the slide, as a precaution. You might check your barrel hood. The shape of the crush marks probably come from shells being pinched between the hood and a new cartridge. Since they are supposed to be gone before anything incoming hits them, this suggests slow/weak ejection. Perhaps the shells are slowed by being contacted by the sharp edges. A reasonable polishing to smooth the right and rear lower edges may or may not help, but it shouldn't hurt anything.
Lighter springs might be justified if the purple means these are less powerful than normal ammo. If you will not use these cartridges again, it may not be worth doing anything. Sometimes small changes make big differences. Good luck.
UPDATE: After I wrote the preceding, I reread the earlier posts, including the seller's ammo description. With 180 grains moving @ 1020 fps, this is an average .40 load. The "training" designation must reference simply that it is not authorized for service carry. With normal loading, a lighter spring weigh would not be the way to go. Less spring weight would increase slide speed and eject the shell more powerfully, but would also involve more frame battering and felt recoil. I still recommend polishing any possible point of contact with the departing shell, including the chamber and the inner portion of the ejection port. By "polishing", I mean only that any sharp edge should be smoothed and not that it must be shiny. Again, good luck.

[Monadnock]

What about higher spring weight? Maybe teh bule-lets aren't being shot out fast enough? The do seem to fly pretty far. I had one hit the rafter above me at ejection?

[finpro]

To learn about spring weight selection, a good place is the FAQs section of the gunsprings.com website. Higher spring weights should slow slide excursion speed and shell ejection speed and cause shells to fall closer to the shooter, which is important for reloaders. I prefer the heaviest spring that will function properly, as it is easier on the gun and on me. At about $8 per spring, I think it might be worth a try. Some things in life work out differently from what we expect. You heard it here first! Good luck.