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Worn
08-06-2017, 11:43 AM
I came into possession of a used PM9. It fired reliably in the 30 or so rounds I put through it.

As part of my familiarization with this new-to-me firearm, I installed my 9mm LaserLyte cartridge and did my usual point shooting exercise: Look at a "target" then raise and fire at it without looking at the sights or even the gun. Note how close the red laser flash is to the "target" I had in mind.

I do this to see how closely my natural, uncorrected grip and aim are to ideal for the particular weapon. My Glocks tend to shoot high, owing, no doubt, to grip angle. My Beretta, Walther, Browning and others tend to be very close or right on the money.

I was hoping that the Kahr would be close enough to make it my EDC, but the striker would not activate the switch of the LaserLyte. Looking at the striker, it seems to protrude from the breech face significantly less than my Glocks' strikers.

I'm puzzling now over a way to measure the amount of protrusion and also looking for any kind of specification there might be for required minimum protrusion to reliably ignite a primer. Brownells has a gauge ($40) to measure it but absent a spec against which to compare, I'd still have no idea whether my PM9 is out of spec or not. (And we're talking about forty bucks for something I may never use again.)

I figure Kahr would probably tell me the problem is the LaserLyte and LaserLyte will likely say that, since it works with every other weapon I have tried, the problem is the Kahr.

So, two questions:

Is anyone aware of a specification for required striker/firing pin protrusion to reliably ignite a primer?
Is anyone currently successfully using a LaserLyte cartridge with a PM9?



I really like the LaserLyte for dry fire practice (and highly recommend such a device for any serious shooter). While LaserLyte makes a variety of electronic targets, you don't really need those to get great benefit from dry fire practice with just the laser.

gb6491
08-06-2017, 12:12 PM
Welcome to the forums :)

Here are a couple of threads that discuss striker protrusion in Kahr pistols:
http://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?26721-Does-anyone-have-P9
http://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?11859-Do-your-primers-look-like-this/page4 (see posts 36 & 38 for some measurements)

Remember to depress the plunger block and push the plunger forward to measure the protrusion.
If it looks good maybe a new spring is in order.

Beyond that I'd suggest breaking the slide down and giving the striker tunnel and striker parts a good cleaning.
I usually drop a BIC pin or chopstick into the bore and dry fire my Kahr pistols while watching to see how forceful they are expelled as a function check after reassembly of a slide.

Regards,
Greg

Worn
08-06-2017, 11:29 PM
...:)

Here are a couple of threads that discuss striker protrusion in Kahr pistols:
http://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?26721-Does-anyone-have-P9
http://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?11859-Do-your-primers-look-like-this/page4 (see posts 36 & 38 for some measurements)Dang, they're talking about 0.045" of striker protrusion. I'm seeing more like 0.015" measured with feeler gauges set as close to the striker tip as I can get it on the breech face.


Remember to depress the plunger block and push the plunger forward to measure the protrusion.
If it looks good maybe a new spring is in order.This doesn't seem like a spring problem. The striker is firmly bottomed out in its channel.


Beyond that I'd suggest breaking the slide down and giving the striker tunnel and striker parts a good cleaning. Already did that. Found that the previous owner had it all oily in there and there was just a bit of crud, that I cleaned out before reassembling it dry and making my measurement. I did note that the end of the striker channel at the breech seemed rather beat-up looking. No idea what might have caused that.


I usually drop a BIC pin or chopstick into the bore and dry fire my Kahr pistols while watching to see how forceful they are expelled as a function check after reassembly of a slide.As do I (with a pencil), but it tells me nothing of the striker protrusion, only the spring's strength and that it's functioning.

Thanks for the links. If 0.045" is typical, I'm definitely missing some protrusion.