Second Range Report P380

[Native]

Second time out with the P380 after a thorough clean and lube:

25 Federal AE= 0 problems, gun not exactly launching the brass but functioned fine

Another clean and lube, then:

25 Federal AE=Very first light primer strike (used slide release to chamber round), hand racked slide chambering new round then another light primer strike, hmm....wtf, poor cleaning?
Shot the rest of the magazine fine then the two light primer strikes fired fine then the rest of the 25 without a hitch.

Curious thing here with the light primer strikes. Not one of the problems I see mentioned a lot with this gun. But, it has now done it a handful of times, clean and dirty. Curious.

[jocko]

i doubt it, if u cleanede it the first time it should be OK. give it another 50- rounds of fmj ammo . document what is happening. Light strikes are a sign of out of time gun, if it continues, more than likely it is an out of spec trigger bar. More rounds might also shoot itself out of this to. 50 rounds is not enough to panic yet, but indeed document ike yo have done further shooting events.

sure would love to see one new vbuyer of a P380 come on here and report zero issues but it just is jot working out like I want either.

[jdavis]

Well Jocko, here I am. A new member that recently purchased a P380 w/CT and it has performed perfectly on it's first trip to the range. I carefully followed the instructions in the tech section before shooting it. I ran 50 rounds of Remington 115 Gr. FMJ and 50+ rounds of Winchester WB 115 Gr. FMJ flat nose. The pistol digested everything that I fed it with no jams, no FTF, or FTE. The first WWB round did not fully load, but that was my fault
so I will not count it as a failure. This baby Kahr runs like a champ. I will be running some hollow points through it in the next session and I hope that it continues.

[Bawanna]

I like it. Good report jdavis. Hope it continues to do all the right things.

[jocko]

jdavis: super I like to be put down every once in awhiile. post as u shoot to keep us up to date. This is what a kahr is supposed to do.... I don't consider the 200 rouond break in with any issues a failure. It is after that, has what issues were there in the git go, now gone, have they gotten worse and worse yet, does the gun have to go back . ALL GUNS IMo need some break in rounds, just makes good sense . BGreak in issues are what break in rounds are supposed to take care of, Most do, especially on the bigger kahrs....Good luck down the road..

[Native]

jdavis: super I like to be put down every once in awhiile. post as u shoot to keep us up to date. This is what a kahr is supposed to do.... I don't consider the 200 rouond break in with any issues a failure. It is after that, has what issues were there in the git go, now gone, have they gotten worse and worse yet, does the gun have to go back . ALL GUNS IMo need some break in rounds, just makes good sense . BGreak in issues are what break in rounds are supposed to take care of, Most do, especially on the bigger kahrs....Good luck down the road..
FWIW I agree with these sentiments jocko. I was prepared for a few bobbles with my PM9 within the first two hundred (didn't happen, but who's complaining). Anyone buying a gun should know what they are getting when they buy. I automatically Ass-U-Me'd this mousegun would have to go back at least once. No biggie. Around here someone can carry a Glock 20 (or in my case a 29) without anyone noticing or caring (except maybe a few tourists from The Peoples Republik of Massachusetts), so not having a mousegun at my disposal didn't matter a whole lot. However, the little mini Kahr kind of gets under your skin a little in a good way, and now I really want my project gun to work. If it was having some of the other problems, I kind of think between break in and common sense they could be worked through. These friggin light primer strikes have me flummoxed though. It could be out of time. I didn't have my glasses out in the yard, so I can't say if the primer dents were centered (I know some guns will dent a primer trying to fire out of battery), but will bring them with me the next time. No panic here, just now that I've shot this little sucker I'd really like for it to work. It's a PM9 off the juice.:D

[jocko]

primer hits off center will still go boom. If the trigger bar is out of spec, u will get light strikes that is one thing that we can't trouble shoot either. These little guns are just that little and kahr is jamming alot of stuff in it. THEY STILL FOR THAT KIND OF MONEY SHOULD WORK out of the box. To go into a buiy like this and expect to send it back for me anyhow is just not right, but one has to do what he has to do also to get the gun right if he indeed intends to make it a carry peace. I won't sit here and defend kahrs either. I love my K9 ad my Pm9 AND i AM SO- SO WITH MY p380 EVEN After getting it back for kahr. I realize also that this little P380 poll is just that little but it does give some insight as to the reliability of these little guns. We have seen some P380 sent back twice more than once even, this is just not tolerable IMO. The other kahrs are basically trouble free, sure we have seen some out of spec slide stop levers lately but I don't put that in the same class as light strikers or issues that a new part sent to the owner would solve. A new slide stop lever has solved most all of those issues. That can happen. I had a Para Carry 9 that had to have 3 slide stop levers before it got right.

For me I put the P380 in a class like a juvenile delinquent. It needs some strict attention given to it or it will get worse. You guys that get a good one out of the box, I think that is great. report back to me when you have 500 perfect rounds through it.

A good example, My P380 was purring along pretty good and at around rounds 1200+ the slide would not lock open on the last round. Now I replaced, magazine followers, no luck, magazine springs, no luck recoil assembly, no luck, new slide stop lever and spring, no luck AND ALL AT MY EXPENSE. So it went back, and it came back within a week with a brand new slide. Now go figure,,, what the hell changed to cause this. Again, we just don't have the parts in front of us like kahr does to just replace test fire and no luck put in another part test fire, no luck until they hit on the right part. Who would have thought the slide changed in 1200 rounds, or really did it, or just was this now maybe a temporary fix. I just don't see how a slide can change. If it is bad, it should have been bad from the git go. So I cross my fingers when I read these great P380 reports, for I truly want that little gun to be a barn burner and I think the general conscensious is that it is not..

Now we have the komifornia compliant P380 out with a loaded round indicator and a magazine disconnet all again being squeezed in this smallass frame. OH my..

[Bill K]

Well Jocko, here I am. A new member that recently purchased a P380 w/CT and it has performed perfectly on it's first trip to the range. I carefully followed the instructions in the tech section before shooting it. I ran 50 rounds of Remington 115 Gr. FMJ and 50+ rounds of Winchester WB 115 Gr. FMJ flat nose. The pistol digested everything that I fed it with no jams, no FTF, or FTE. The first WWB round did not fully load, but that was my fault
so I will not count it as a failure. This baby Kahr runs like a champ. I will be running some hollow points through it in the next session and I hope that it continues.

I keep reading and reading your post and don't get it. You're talking about a .380 pistol but you list 9mm ammo weights. No?

Bill K.

[jocko]

hell I missed that part, I bet ur rigtht, it is a PM9 and they run like a duracell battery or an illegal trying to get back across the border, with our american drug money.

[Native]

primer hits off center will still go boom. If the trigger bar is out of spec, u will get light strikes that is one thing that we can't trouble shoot either. These little guns are just that little and kahr is jamming alot of stuff in it. THEY STILL FOR THAT KIND OF MONEY SHOULD WORK out of the box. To go into a buiy like this and expect to send it back for me anyhow is just not right, but one has to do what he has to do also to get the gun right if he indeed intends to make it a carry peace. I won't sit here and defend kahrs either. I love my K9 ad my Pm9 AND i AM SO- SO WITH MY p380 EVEN After getting it back for kahr. I realize also that this little P380 poll is just that little but it does give some insight as to the reliability of these little guns. We have seen some P380 sent back twice more than once even, this is just not tolerable IMO. The other kahrs are basically trouble free, sure we have seen some out of spec slide stop levers lately but I don't put that in the same class as light strikers or issues that a new part sent to the owner would solve. A new slide stop lever has solved most all of those issues. That can happen. I had a Para Carry 9 that had to have 3 slide stop levers before it got right.

For me I put the P380 in a class like a juvenile delinquent. It needs some strict attention given to it or it will get worse. You guys that get a good one out of the box, I think that is great. report back to me when you have 500 perfect rounds through it.

A good example, My P380 was purring along pretty good and at around rounds 1200+ the slide would not lock open on the last round. Now I replaced, magazine followers, no luck, magazine springs, no luck recoil assembly, no luck, new slide stop lever and spring, no luck AND ALL AT MY EXPENSE. So it went back, and it came back within a week with a brand new slide. Now go figure,,, what the hell changed to cause this. Again, we just don't have the parts in front of us like kahr does to just replace test fire and no luck put in another part test fire, no luck until they hit on the right part. Who would have thought the slide changed in 1200 rounds, or really did it, or just was this now maybe a temporary fix. I just don't see how a slide can change. If it is bad, it should have been bad from the git go. So I cross my fingers when I read these great P380 reports, for I truly want that little gun to be a barn burner and I think the general conscensious is that it is not..

Now we have the komifornia compliant P380 out with a loaded round indicator and a magazine disconnet all again being squeezed in this smallass frame. OH my..
Well, that seriously sucks. I'm only at ten percent of that more or less and if I went from round 300 to say 1100 without a problem, I would expect to forget about counting (ie, PM9, Glock 29, 32. 33 that I can speak of). I think they got it perfect, or close, with the PM9, and the relative specs just don't translate. Make's a pretty little weight to hold down my tax papers if it ever warms up enough to open the windows though.

[jocko]

what happened to mine certainly was an oddity, so if yours is doing great now, one should feel it will stay that way. the finest gun made can malfunction on the very next round. I am not trying to disaqllusion anyone here either. i brag on my PM9 for what it has done since I got it and as u know we read of some who aren't to happy with their PM9's to. Just the nature of the beast.

My thoughts are if u truly love the gun you bought then IMO it is worthy of one trip back if it needs it. I would not buy expecting that but I would accpet it IF I loved the gun. after that, my faith in that gun would be demished to the point that it needs a new home... So native, keep the faith, and just shoot it like u stole it..

[jdavis]

I keep reading and reading your post and don't get it. You're talking about a .380 pistol but you list 9mm ammo weights. No?

Bill K.

You are right Bill. Nothing like screwing up on your first post! Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
The fact is that I was shooting my 9mm pistols during the same range session. I confused the bullet weights when I made the post. Both .380 rounds were 95 Gr. FMJ. I apologize for any confusion.

[merlin3]

the first 70 rounds through my wifes p380 have done perfect, we are going to the range tomorrow to put like 100 rounds through it so we'll see how it goes.

[Cokeman]

The light primer strikes are most likely happening because the slide is barely staying open. When you pull the trigger, the striker can barely reach the primer. When this starts happening, watch the back of the slide. You can see it sticking back past the frame. Push it with your thumb and it will close. Mine has done this a few times. It's my only problem with the gun.

[toptog]

The light primer strikes are most likely happening because the slide is barely staying open. When you pull the trigger, the striker can barely reach the primer. When this starts happening, watch the back of the slide. You can see it sticking back past the frame. Push it with your thumb and it will close. Mine has done this a few times. It's my only problem with the gun.

Mine did the same thing about 5 times and just stopped happening. It gets better the more you shoot it.

[HadEmAll]

Mine did the same thing about 5 times and just stopped happening. It gets better the more you shoot it.

Maybe. I'm at 600+ rounds on the P380, and I can still retract my P380 slide with a full magazine and have it stay out of battery. My CW40, PM40, and PM9 all snap right back into battery.

[HadEmAll]

0 problems, gun not exactly launching the brass but functioned fine................


Right there is my main problem with the P380, even after a trip back to Khar. The gun just does not clear the brass from the ejection port area like it means it. And I think that is why mine is so prone to stovepipes.

The stoutest non-plusP load I have found based on chronographing is the Speer 90 grain JHP, and it just tossed the brass a foot or so. But at least I've not had a stovepipe with it. The Ruger LCP I had before would toss this load's brass 15 feet up or out.

[jocko]

I can tell u that I had alot of issues in hand racking my P380. It just would not do it, and I really felt I knewhow to do it. using the slide lock lever was perfect, Today though with over 1300+ rounds through it, I can rack it with relative ease, It is just one smallass gun to get much of a handle on it and kahrs are tight, and they are stouc in the recoil spring area.. Your Ruger lcp has a 9# recoil spring in it to. I amsure kahrs P380 is close to twice that. It seeme dfor me anyhow that once my P380 seeme3d to smooth out even more and I got used to it more that things just all of a sudden worked in unison.
I still though use the slide lock lever 90% of the time. I know it works that way. I practice the tap, rack and bang thing with it but as small as it is, not sure how good tap, rck and bang drills are for the little pocket guns either. Pretty damn hard to cup your hand over the top of a 380 slide and expect that round inb the chamber to eject anywhere, as u just covered the ejection area and that two finger stuff, really just doesn't get the job done 100% of the time. My two cents

Little guns have little quirks. big guns have big quirks. If the brassin not bonking your head, and it lands within a couple feet, who cares. That would be a reloaders dream IMO..

[Cokeman]

Mine did the same thing about 5 times and just stopped happening. It gets better the more you shoot it.


Maybe. I'm at 600+ rounds on the P380, and I can still retract my P380 slide with a full magazine and have it stay out of battery. My CW40, PM40, and PM9 all snap right back into battery.

Without a round in the chamber, I can't get it to hang up. I can definitely feel the spot where it wants to though. I've been hand cycling the gun to see if the hesitation spot will go away. It's right when the barrel protrudes out of the slide and when it comes back in. The barrel hood also pulls inside the slide at this time and it comes back out of the slide and rests in the slide cutout as the slide closes. I don't see any unusual wear at either of these two points.

What are we thinking is the cause of this? I was wondering if there is a problem with the hole in the barrel lug where the slide stop goes through it. As the barrel has to pivot up, is it too hard for the slide stop pin to make the corner in the hole in the barrel lug? Has anyone had to polish inside the hole, or polish the slide stop pin to make it cycle more smoothly?

Is it that combined with the pressure of the next round being pushed up against the slide?

[jocko]

how about doing some polishing around the barrel lug. I seriously doubt if the barrel lug is out of spec. If you can polish inside the chamber and feed ramp, althojgh they look super, they still might need alittle tlc to them to get them going. Just guessing here, but none of thse suggestions will void anything nor harm anything. I would ask kahr if they would send you a new sret of recoil springs, it never hurts to change them out even though your gun is new. eliminating the possables of issues is the first thing to try to trouble shoot. springs sometimes solve alot of issues...

I have vbeen told that kahr has went to a stronger inner recdoil spring for the P380, as to if that matters and to what extent this stronger spring is, I have no idea, but just mabye they feel they needed to do this to get better return to battery stuff..

[Cokeman]

I checked the lug and slide stop pin out of the gun and I don't think that's what is hanging the slide up. It was a pretty loose fit.

I'm hopeful that the problem will go away and the gun will smooth out. I've only shot 100 rounds of one brand of ammo.

[merlin3]

put another 100 rounds through my wifes p380 and a hundred through my brand new pm9 and and not a single issue. So far so good!

[ZenthaneX]

I'm in the market for a pocket .380 right now and after reading many threads about the p380's I personally can't risk spending nearly $600 on a firearm that may or may not work. It's disappointing because I am absolutely in love with my CW 9 and would love to have the effectively matching baby. That's why I have to say that I've gotta look at the Ruger's or Sig's for this one.

[Jeff00042]

I don't blame you for being skeptical and cautious. I've had a half-dozen Kahrs over the years and the only one that was not a winner was my P380. I finally gave up on it and sold it. My other Kahrs have been boringly reliable and accurate.

[jocko]

get the ruger; nice gun, priced right, all the bugs are out of it to.

[Native]

get the ruger; nice gun, priced right, all the bugs are out of it to.
My Ruger goes bang when I pull its ugly little trigger. My Kahr looks a whole lot better and goes...click...too much. I trust the ugly gun and it goes in my pocket sometimes. The pretty one sits on the desk where I take care of my guns. Just one guys opinion here, wish it was the other way around but it ain't.

[jocko]

I understand, completly. My P380 now shoots like a dream, , I love it, but I just don';t carry any of my 380'sw. as my PM9 just goes the same place with ease... I ne has to go with what he trusts. Like a good wife u know, if u can't trust her, why keep her, course unless you have been there done it, it is FAR CHEAPER TO PEDDLE THE GUN THAN TH PEDDLE THE WIFE!!!

[rogerthedodger]

Well ZenthaneX, I'm with you on this one. Ruger's are good to go!, however, I bought an LCP, and had to send it back, it would not feed my carry ammo, Hornady Critical Defense. Ruger made it right. Now, I had the craving for the P380, got one, and am having issues, I hope Kahr makes it right. I am not convinced any gun manufacturer is able to get the 380's right, from out of the box. Seems their success ratio is about 50-60%.
Roger