(Fixed) CW9 - Mags Falling Out During Fire

[CrossLex]

Repeatable on factory 7 round and 8 round extended mags. Thought I was riding the mag release but firing one handed it does it almost every round. First 125 rounds wasn't an issue and now it's every shot.

Easy fix or send it back to Kahr?

[Bawanna]

Since it's doing it with two different mags, worked fine for 125 and now doesn't I'd guess something went haywire with the mag catch.
I'd pull the slide and take a good look down the mag well and see if it looks broken or rounded off or something.

It's easy to replace if needed.

[gb6491]

If it's the catch, call Customer service and explain the issue. In the past, others (and myself) have received a replacement from them. I agree with Bawanna, the catch is not difficult to replace.
http://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?1612-CW45-(and-other-poly-Kahr-pistols)-issues-and-fixes&p=360130#post360130

Sometimes the issue can be with the frame; I'd be inclined to let Kahr deal with that (if a new catch didn't cure it), but others have found fixes that work for them:
http://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?1612-CW45-(and-other-poly-Kahr-pistols)-issues-and-fixes&p=67289#post67289
You could check the frame by inserting a magazine tube, sans the internals and baseplate, into the frame, then twisting the tube while looking to see if the catch comes out of contact with the magazine.

Regards,
Greg

[CrossLex]

Well I did some more testing today after giving everything a very thorough cleaning and look over. Mag catch looks perfectly fine. Nothing visibly is any different to either my CM9 or CT9. Test fired with the CT9 8 round mag that just has the small polymer mag base; no issue. 7 round factory mag again with a metal mag base and again with a small polymer mag base; no issue. Took the extended mag base off of the mag I was having issues with and replaced it with a metal mag base; no issue.

After all that I shot it again with the extended mag base on the 8 round magazine and it pops out every time I fire, regardless if I'm physically touching it (squeezing it with my pinky with a normal 2 handed grip) or not while I fire.

There is a small clearance when the mag is seated between the frame and the polymer extension, but it is smaller than what you see with the small polymer base plates on the CT9. Only thing I can think of that might be causing issue at this point is that when the gun is fired there is just enough flex in the frame where that reduced clearance causes enough contact and force between the frame and magazine to dislodge it, and I originally didn't experience the issue because the gun was still breaking in and a combination of clearances and spring tensions were all stil tighter. I'm going to run out and grab some sand paper and open up the clearance between those extended base plates and the frame to mirror the gap I see on the CT9 and see if that fixes everything.

[Bawanna]

I think your on the right track, at least that's what I would do. It's apparently not moving up far enough to lock in solid enough.

A fine file or the sandpaper should make short work of it.

Fingers crossed for ya.

[CrossLex]

So far so good. I sanded down the base to open up the gap between the mag extension and frame it so it wasn't as flush fitting. To give an idea of the size of the gap, I used a folded over business card as a guide to determine how much material needed to be removed. I originally sanded it down to about a single cards width (enough that you could see metal all around) and that still wasn't enough. Went out on the property and ran a couple full mags through it to see if it was fixed and so far no issues. I'll run to the range tomorrow and give it a real good workout and see if this is all what was needed.

Before: Very flush and worked fine for about 125 rounds.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8tyokddnvuflp3w/Flush.jpg?dl=0https://www.dropbox.com/s/8tyokddnvuflp3w/Flush.jpg?dl=0

After: Gap is whatever a folded over business card equates to and currently works without a hiccup.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wefic9rrmsbfx2z/Modified.jpg?dl=0

[downtownv]

The smallest amount of dirt can make the difference in that catch.