Magazine Drop

[gerry]

Hello, New to forum.
Just purchased a CM9 and I have the problem when the mag release is pressed the mag only falls about a half inch. Seems like many have it on the forum, but I was wondering if anyone has contacted Kahr to see what they say.
Thanks,
Gerry

[SkeletonSlinky]

Here's a thread that helped me...I have a PM9 with 4 mags that now drop free every time!

http://kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?t=7325&highlight=free+magazine+drop

[SkeletonSlinky]

Welcome to Kahrtalk, by the way...you made great choice with the CM9. There's a lot of great support and friendly help here! You also will want to check out the "sticky" in the KahrTech section...do the Prep and Lube before you take it for a spin and you'll be a happy camper!

[Ressom]

Yes, do it yourself. It'll save you time and money. And you can then call yourself a gunsmith. ;)

[JFootin]

Yeah, mine does that, too. I guess it shows uniformity in manufacturing that almost all of them do that. LOL! :rolleyes: I wonder if Justin Moon just decided that these are concealed carry and back up guns, so free dropping mags is not part of the design. Remember how so many small caliber pocket guns had the awkward little hook holding the mag in at the bottom back edge? I owned some of those guns and the mags never dropped freely once the hook was pushed out of the way. You'd have to have to pull the mag with your finger on the extended front edge of the base plate to get it past the hook, and then continue to pull it the rest of the way out.

Do you see my point? Unlike military combat weapons where high capacity and free dropping mags are essential, these personal defense weapons are intended to be used for up to 7 or 8 shots in an emergency confrontation, not on a battle field. And in this context, preservation of the mags is the design intent, so that they DON'T go bouncing on the floor and getting stepped on and stuff.

I don't know if Kahr will ever admit to this, but looking at the history of guns, it is a reasonable conclusion to arrive at concerning these mags.

[Ressom]

Actually I think jocko found in the manual that the magazines are not supposed to drop free. So your magazines are working as designed.

[JBarbaresi]

if you want drop free mags it is a very easy fix, it doesn't require calipers and doesn't need to be made into an exact science. load that magazine to full capacity, take a pair of pliers and squeeze the top third of the magazine (from just below the feeder lips down to the third hole). squeeze on the sides and make sure you cover the whole area mentioned. do not over do it with the strength, but with the rounds inside it will be hard to ruin your magazine so don't worry about babying it either. it doesn't take much, after your first attempt test your magazine and see if it drops free to your preference. if it doesn't just repeat the process until it does.

i've done 3 magazines this way and all three have several hundreds of rounds down range without a single issue. the way i can tell when i'm done squeezing is by locking the slide open and inserting a loaded magazine. after the magazine is fully seated, look down into the ejection port at the top round. if it stays pinned against the bottom of the ejector, the magazine is too tight and will not drop free. if it falls down about a mm or two, press the bottom of the mag upward several times and it should continue to drop back down off the ejector. when it does that, you are done.

also, if you hold the mag release the magazine will drop free. if you just press and release the magazine will not drop free no matter how much squeezing you do.

[Markis82]

if you want drop free mags it is a very easy fix, it doesn't require calipers and doesn't need to be made into an exact science. load that magazine to full capacity, take a pair of pliers and squeeze the top third of the magazine (from just below the feeder lips down to the third hole). squeeze on the sides and make sure you cover the whole area mentioned. do not over do it with the strength, but with the rounds inside it will be hard to ruin your magazine so don't worry about babying it either. it doesn't take much, after your first attempt test your magazine and see if it drops free to your preference. if it doesn't just repeat the process until it does.

i've done 3 magazines this way and all three have several hundreds of rounds down range without a single issue. the way i can tell when i'm done squeezing is by locking the slide open and inserting a loaded magazine. after the magazine is fully seated, look down into the ejection port at the top round. if it stays pinned against the bottom of the ejector, the magazine is too tight and will not drop free. if it falls down about a mm or two, press the bottom of the mag upward several times and it should continue to drop back down off the ejector. when it does that, you are done.

also, if you hold the mag release the magazine will drop free. if you just press and release the magazine will not drop free no matter how much squeezing you do.
+1 I have had 100% success with this procedure. I cover the jaws of the pliers with couple layers of cloth as to not scratch the mag. I also do a quick polish with my Dremel, polish wheel bit, and Flitz. This really smooths them out. All my mags drop free as long as I hold the mag release in until the mag drops.