First range trip for new PM9: troubleshooting advice needed

[Holsterer]

Hi, new Kahr PM9 owner here. Put 225 rounds through the pistol at the range today. 200 rounds of Magtech 115 grain and a box of Sig V-crown 124 gr that I no longer use for carry. I experienced the following issues, one of which I may have to get an RMA for. I stripped and cleaned the pistol per the manual and followed the extra steps in the sticky (except for checking the mags were correctly assembled, going to check that tonight). I also took it down and cleaned it after the first hundred rounds hoping that would help.

The seven round mag would allow the second round to move forward and become lodged under the feed ramp when the first round was stripped out into the chamber, inducing a nasty malfunction to clear. It would experience the same malfunction with the third, fourth, and/ or fifth round intermittently. I will be taking down and verifying assembly of all three mags tonight. Is this the typical malfunction caused by a reversed mag spring?

The more serious issue is the striker failing to reset, which only got worse as I continued to shoot. The trigger would return forward. But the striker hook failed to engage on the sear. After getting home and inspecting the weapon it looks like the slide isn’t making proper contact with the round bit at the back of the trigger bar where it pokes out under the frame rail (see picture) and there is a pronounced burr where the slide rail is hitting it and skipping over it, rather than pushing it down and letting the cocking cam flip back up to catch the striker.

https://imgur.com/a/KOyZEQB
https://imgur.com/a/KOyZEQB

[getsome]

Hello Holsterer and welcome to the group……I’m not sure if this was a used pistol but it looks like the side plate has been off the gun before and that cam shouldn’t be looking like that…..I would call Kahr and get a return label and get them to inspect what is causing the issue and send a letter detailing the problem with the magazine not feeding……They will make it right for you and when it comes home order up some Lakeline metal followers for the magazines and you will be good to go……Sorry you are having problems with your pistol, I carry a PM9 and it has been perfect from day one with everything I stuff through it, I’ve tried to limp wrist it to get it to malfunction but it still shoots so these little guns will shoot reliably so send it back to the mothership with the problematic 7 round magazine and they will fix it……Again welcome to Kahrtalk!

[Holsterer]

Thanks getsome! The pistol was sold to me as new, with two six round and one seven round magazine. To try and describe the mag issue better it is feeding. It just pulls the next round below it forward when it feeds. So the following round is stuck under the feed ramp and the slide stuck just forward of being fully rearward.

[getsome]

The 7 round mags have been problematic in the CM and somewhat less so in the PM pistols but the bigger problem is the trigger reset issue and you said it was sold as a new pistol so if it was a gun shop then I would ask them to return it to Kahr for repair but if you bought elsewhere and from the picture posted it looks like the side plate screw has been buggered up some so if the seller was a private individual they may have had the same problem and attempted to fix it unsuccessfully but either way it needs to go back to Kahr to be refurbished so call them and get a return shipping label……

[Holsterer]

I’ll definitely get in touch with Kahr. Bought it through an online FFL that I found through ammoseek, but it’s no biggie to Fedex it for warranty. Thanks!

[getsome]

You bet guy, I found this place way back yonder with a CW40 that had problems that I had no idea how to fix but many good folks here helped me out and I’ve been here ever since…….Lots of nice people hang out here and there is much knowledge of Kahr firearms and guns in general so glad you found us………

[Bawanna]

You might try polishing up the feed lips on the magazine if they appear rough.

[Holsterer]

Just got done cleaning the gun and took the mags apart for a quick wipe with a dry cloth, verifying they were all assembled with the coils pointed the right way (they were).

The seven rounder’s lips do feel a bit rougher than the sixes lips do. Since I’m most likely sending the gun back to Kahr, I think I’ll hold off on the polish until I get word on how they want to resolve it. I guess worst case, I can always smooth ’em out by running some steel case through it lol.

[BirdsThaWord]

Good morning and welcome to the forum Holsterer! Totally agree with getsome and Bawanna’s input here. I too would attempt to get Kahr to make it right before doing anything myself, so they can’t blame you for anything. As far as the 7 round mag goes, as I do not know if Kahr would address a mag issue or not, and to be clear on the issue, is that feed issue not happening on the 6 rounders? If the issue is only occurring on the 7 rounder, I would check to see (other than the interior of the feed lips as Bawanna mentioned) to see if there are any differences between it and the 6 rounders. If you have calipers, check the spacing between the lips on the 6 rounders and the 7 rounder. Does the 7 rounder have more space between the lips than the 6 rounders? If so, you can tighten up the lips. Also, is the angle of it’s feed ramp while empty the same as the others? With rounds in it are the rounds sitting at the same angle? If not, burs inside the mag could be limiting proper movement and preventing it’s follower from pushing upwards properly, which would leave the top rounds sitting loose or improperly angled. I’ve had to tighten mag lips and do a fluff & buff on mag interiors to bring mags up to speed. Running ammo through to debur would be expensive (and might not work, adding to your frustrations) vs using a dremel/light sanding. That trigger bar could also be addressed in similar fashion, if Kahr does not make it run. Adding to what getsome said, there was another member here who had trigger reset issues. The sideplate was worn on the inside where the trigger bar rubs against it. This allowed to trigger bar too much play and allowed t to move too far away from the frame (bulged/bowed outward) which made it so the sear lost contact/slipped off come reset time. A new sideplate fixed his issue if I recall correctly.
Here’s a couple of threads that may help:
https://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?33312-Quarantine-Repairs-on-CW9
https://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?34400-CW9-won-t-fire-trigger-all-the-way-back/page2
https://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?34199-CW45-Trigger-is-quot-dead-quot-Help-needed!/page3

I hope Kahr will get things sorted for you. If not, those are the things I would go through if I intended to keep the gun. Best wishes on this!

[dao]

Welcome Holsterer. Looks like you're getting some good advice here, from the good folks that frequent this site. I hope Kahr gets your gun squared away. FWIW I have a PM9 that I bought back in 2003. It has always run reliably for me, with any Kahr magazine I've put in it.

If your gun is new, or has never been detail stripped before I would not be surpised if there is some gunk in the striker channel. In your case I too would send it back to Kahr, but these days after owning many Kahrs myself I would strip it down to parts, inspect them carefully, and put it back together after first cleaning everything up. Also, Kahr uses some pretty nasty stuff to keep their mags rust free, which after sitting for a long time turns to something closer to glue than lube. I always thoroughly clean Kahr mags with solvent after buying them, and before a trip to the range. And finally, if your trigger does not feel buttery smooth from front to back, it is common for the trigger bar on Kahrs to require some deburring and smoothing along the edge that the spring's hook rides over. Very simple to do. I've had new Kahrs that produced a squeak when pulling the trigger back. A quick polish on the trigger bar clears that right up.
Anyway, good luck. Kahr's service is generally very good and they should have your gun back to you and working fine in a short time. Please do let us know how it works out, for future issues and questions by others. It is how we can pay back the help we receive when we need it. and finally, put up a stool and set a spell. You're welcome here.

[BirdsThaWord]

Sound advice dao. I thought about that striker channel after I typed out my reply.
One thing I also thought to add… Given that the 7 rounder hangs down a bit, on some guns at least, gripping the part of the mag that protrudes (the “extension”) too tightly can cant the bottom of the mag slightly backwards, which simultaneously cants the top of the mag (follower/feed end) forwards. This can both nose down the top round and push the casing rim upwards getting it into the way of the slide as it heads into battery.

[Bawanna]

Just got done cleaning the gun and took the mags apart for a quick wipe with a dry cloth, verifying they were all assembled with the coils pointed the right way (they were).

The seven rounder’s lips do feel a bit rougher than the sixes lips do. Since I’m most likely sending the gun back to Kahr, I think I’ll hold off on the polish until I get word on how they want to resolve it. I guess worst case, I can always smooth ’em out by running some steel case through it lol.

A little fine sandpaper on a pencil will smooth things right out. No need to possibly ruin your gun with steel.