At my whit's end with my P380

[BuckeyeBlast]

I've had this thing for about a year now. Started off unreliable as hell. Premature slide lock-back every 4-5 shots. Being that I've had a great PM9 for a while, I new to shave back the slide stop engagement lever and to break it in. Went home, brought out the file, went back and struggled through 200 rounds still having some lock-backs. Went home, filed some more, back to the range again trying to get 200 consecutive rounds. Never did that, but got down to about 1 premature slide lock per hundred, and figured that was OK and it'll continue breaking in. All was good for a while, but a couple of months ago it started acting up... I figured it was dirty. Brought it home, cleaned it thoroughly, back to the range, more premature slide locks with several different types of ammo. Brought it home, got the file back out, brought that slide-stop engagement lever to the point where if I put any pressure on the right side of the lever at all, it pushes it just enough to the left where the follower won't engage. So, I can't go any more. I've tried different types of ammo. I like the PPI hollowpoints because they spec-out the most closely to my carry ammo, but at a price I can afford to shoot. But no matter what ammo I use it still gives me premature slide lock.
So, I've cleaned it, filed back the lever, replaced the slide-stop spring, re-bent the slide stop spring... everything. :mad: Kahr has no other suggestions and wants $50+ in shipping to send it back to them. Don't feel like wasting my time and money, as I've seen plenty of people who have sent guns back to Kahr only for it to be returned with the same problem. Seems like they don't diag things, but just change parts until the problem goes away for the 12 rounds they test fire the gun for.
The damn gun shot low-left since the day I got it. I've taken pics and Kahr says it's within spec. I've shot it from a rest, and had different people shoot it including a master USPSA shooter who gets the same poor results. I want to love this gun as I love my PM9, so I resorted to filing down the front sight to the point where it's barely usable to try to get POI to match POA. Finally resulted to investing in a CT laser. With the CT, I was able to get POI to match POA so I've solved that problem reasonably.
I'm finally at my breaking point with this gun. I've been extraordinarily patient with it, but this is the most amount of money I've spent on a gun to have such piss-poor performance. My last step is that I'm ordering .380 reloading dies and will try to make my own ammo. I'm going to try and make some ammo with a smaller (but safe) OAL to see if I can finally get this gun to be reliable. I really don't want to carry home-made ammo, but damn. I want to like this gun, I want it to work.
If Kahr would say "I'm sorry Mr John, here's a return authorization number, and I'm emailing a postage paid shipment authorization so you can UPS the gun back to us. I understand your frustration of investing $600 in a self-defense firearm and having reliability problems with it. Please send it back to us so we can make it right." then we would be fine. But no, I'm stuck dealing with this crap after another day at the range with 4 pre-mature slide locks in less than 100 rounds. :mad:

BTW: I also know the issue with the thumb hitting the slide stop. I've rounded that as well just to be sure I'm not hitting it. Gun locks back while shooting single handed too. Not limp wristing the gun either, 100% sure of that. I've got plenty of guns and plenty of experience shooting, this is the only one with these problems. :mad:

[jocko]

have u talked to eion or Jay at kahr. about poicking up the gun on their tab. they should andnormally willdo thatbut you gotta be Iguess alittle pushy about it. They madeit they shold fix it on their dime.

You have done all u can, it needs to go back, if u don't get satisfaction from the above two,k then go higher up but certainly be polite in all cases or it will get u nowhere.

[BuckeyeBlast]

have u talked to eion or Jay at kahr. about poicking up the gun on their tab. they should andnormally willdo thatbut you gotta be Iguess alittle pushy about it. They madeit they shold fix it on their dime.

You have done all u can, it needs to go back, if u don't get satisfaction from the above two,k then go higher up but certainly be polite in all cases or it will get u nowhere.

Yeah, I know. I work in a job where I have some power in being able to make people's situations better or worse, and I know to keep a professional, polite, and friendly attitude. The post here is my venting, I wouldn't do it on them. It always baffles me how people think that they're more likely to get what they want if they treat you like an a-hole. :rolleyes:

I may give them one last shot before I order the .380 dies. After all, I want it reliable w/ my carry ammo, and I don't want to carry reloads even if it does solve the problem. If that doesn't work, may know someone offering a great deal on a P380 w/ CT laser. :D

[Pointedstick]

Yeah, I know. I work in a job where I have some power in being able to make people's situations better or worse, and I know to keep a professional, polite, and friendly attitude. The post here is my venting, I wouldn't do it on them. It always baffles me how people think that they're more likely to get what they want if they treat you like an a-hole. :rolleyes:

They're not thinking about your feelings, they're thinking about their own. Getting what they want is temporarily forgotten once they find a convenient target that will make them feel better to direct their anger at—you!

[Jimmers]

For what it's worth, I also had a lot of trouble with the slide locking back prematurely. What I discovered was that I was holding the gun too tight. When I relaxed my grip it worked great. Not totally limp mind you, just a medium grip. You may have already tried that, but if not it may be worth a try.

[BuckeyeBlast]

Thanks Jimmers, but FWIW - this is a self-defense gun. If I'm in a situation where I'm pumped full of adrenalin, who knows if I'm going to be squeezing fore dear life. Band-aid solutions aren't a solution for a CCW.

(not trying to be a **** to you, just really frustrated with this gun)

[RUT]

>>What I discovered was that I was holding the gun too tight<<

I didn't know that was possible?

[ripley16]

>>What I discovered was that I was holding the gun too tight<<

I didn't know that was possible?

I think he may mean squeezing to the point of pushing the slide stop into the path of the slide. Polymer flexs a bit while shooting and this occured to me too, but BB said it occured with other people and single handed shooting. That is the test to see if one's personal grip is causing the problem. Apparently not in this case.

[gb6491]

BuckeyeBlast,
I'm hesitant to chime in here as I don't own a P380. However, as your problem with the slide locking back prematurely is an on going, I'd like to inquire about your slide stop spring. In particular, how the spring operates after you replaced it. With the slide stop removed, if you push up or down on the open end of the spring (where it would engage the slide stop lever) does the spring move along it's complete length (kind of rotate)? If it does I have a suggestion that might help with the premature lock back.
Regards,
Greg

[Fedor]

A year? It's time to move on.

[BuckeyeBlast]

BuckeyeBlast,
I'm hesitant to chime in here as I don't own a P380. However, as your problem with the slide locking back prematurely is an on going, I'd like to inquire about your slide stop spring. In particular, how the spring operates after you replaced it. With the slide stop removed, if you push up or down on the open end of the spring (where it would engage the slide stop lever) does the spring move along it's complete length (kind of rotate)? If it does I have a suggestion that might help with the premature lock back.
Regards,
Greg

I'm confused by exactly what you're trying to describe. Yes, there's some movement, but I don't know if it's what you're describing. I'm curious as to your suggestion.

FWIW - I just sent Kahr customer service an email link to this thread. Ball is in there court. If they're willing to help, then that's fantastic because I'm willing to cooperate. If not, then I'll order .380 dies and try to find a load that safely works at minimum OAL. :cool:

[johnh]

I am not sure how any gun maker would respond in terms of service a gun once the customer has modified it in an attempt to fix issues. I would suggest calling rather than email. Most manufacturers prefer to discuss service with customers directly. If you are not satisfied with the response you get initially, ask if you can speak to someone higher in the chain.

[gb6491]

I'm confused by exactly what you're trying to describe. Yes, there's some movement, but I don't know if it's what you're describing. I'm curious as to your suggestion.

FWIW - I just sent Kahr customer service an email link to this thread. Ball is in there court. If they're willing to help, then that's fantastic because I'm willing to cooperate. If not, then I'll order .380 dies and try to find a load that safely works at minimum OAL. :cool:
Sorry for not being more lucid in my description. I had problems with my CW45 locking back inadvertently. I tried modifying the slide stop as you did, but the problem persisted. What solved the issue for me was how tight I tightened the slide stop spring screw and how that affected the operation of the spring. Here's a link that explains what I found: http://kahrtalk.com/showpost.php?p=15672&postcount=5
Perhaps this with will help with your problem.
Regards,
Greg

[BuckeyeBlast]

I am not sure how any gun maker would respond in terms of service a gun once the customer has modified it in an attempt to fix issues. I would suggest calling rather than email. Most manufacturers prefer to discuss service with customers directly. If you are not satisfied with the response you get initially, ask if you can speak to someone higher in the chain.


I agree and I did start w/ a phone call. Apparently Jay read this because he replied back with almost exactly what I said I wish Kahr's initial response would've been... made me laugh. I've talked to him before, he seems willing to help. I'm gonna ship it back and hope for the best. Hopefully my next post will be about how much I love my recently fixed P380. :)

Now, time to rig up the PM9 while the P380's in the shop. :cool: