P380 2nd trip to the range report

[frbejarano]

Went out and put 100 more rounds through my P380. Shot well but still had problems. Had 2 stove pipes, failed to lock back on an empty mag almost every time, 3 shells hit me in the head, and the slide locked open on a loaded mag about 6 times. Other than that it went into battery every time and all rounds fed reliably. I still don't feel I can trust this pistol. Im kinda frustrated because every firearm I have ever bought has functioned flawlessly so I don't know what to do. This puts 300 rounds total through it.

What do you guys think. Is there something I should do to try to improve reliability or should I call Kahr? I know my finger was not touching the slide lock lever as I made sure I made no contact with it. Let me know what you guys think.

[Bill K]

It is sad but from what you describe you should not at this point trust your P380. Most folks here on KahrTalk will be more knowlegable than I but if it were me, because of the multiple issues, I'd want to send it back to Kahr on their dime.

[HadEmAll]

deja vu all over again. Might as well call Kahr and get your P380's first trip back home underway.

In the mornings, the lines seem to be busier. If you're calling then, go ahead and leave a message. They'll get back to you.

I've had better luck getting straight through in the afternoons. By then, they seem to have fielded the bulk of the calls.

Good luck.

[LMT42]

I wouldn't get too down on it just yet. I was still cleaning metal shavings out of mine after 250 rounds on the third cleaning.

My advice is this; clean the gun until it's spotless and the feed ramp is shining and dry, leave the gun wet with plenty of oil on all contact points and rails, take 50 rounds of quality SD ammo and only the six round magazine, and patiently shoot the box using a strong two handed grip - don't worry about accuracy. I wouldn't get too uptight about the slide failing to lock back yet - just concern yourself with making sure the gun feeds all bullets reliably.

I think you're just now out of the break-in period. Give the gun a chance in a short outing, with quality loads, and see how it shoots. I recommend one magazine to help narrow down possible causes of failure. I don't know about the 380, but the seven round mag is known to cause problems in the PM9.

P.S. - clean your magazine and make sure the spring is installed correctly.

[HadEmAll]

As anybody who bought the P380 as a pocket pistol with the intention of actually carrying it and using it for self-defense knows......

stovepipe can get you killed.
slide lockback on a loaded magazine can get you killed.
pulling it from your pocket and waiting until you get a "strong two handed grip" can get you killed.

Yeah, I know a satellite could fall on you, or the earth could open beneath your feet due to a previously undiscovered fault............

Some of us didn't buy the P380 to make a hobby of curing its ills.

Every Kahr I've got that is worth a damn needed NO break in period, though they all got 200 or more before I started carrying them. If it's screwing up after 300, it isn't going to fix itself. And Kahr may or may not fix it the first time. Of course if you enjoy burning .380 ammo just to see if MAYBE your gun will decide to work it's way out of being fussy, then go ahead. I recommend the first step that so many on here have resorted to, give them a call.

[LMT42]

Sounds like he's only been to the range twice, with one cleaning in between. These little Kahrs aren't range guns and some take a bit longer to break in than others. If he isn't willing to give it another 50 rounds, and wants to send it home, that's fine, but IMO he could be wasting a lot of time in doing so.

I had FTF problems my first three range trips up to 250 rounds. I haven't had any feeding problems in the subsequent two trips - 150 rounds.

I recommend a strong two-handed grip to rule out limp-wristing. This doesn't mean that I expect the gun to need it to function in SD. I think he's better off giving the gun another chance - guess we can agree to disagree and the OP can choose his course of action.

[frbejarano]

I wouldn't get too down on it just yet. I was still cleaning metal shavings out of mine after 250 rounds on the third cleaning.

My advice is this; clean the gun until it's spotless and the feed ramp is shining and dry, leave the gun wet with plenty of oil on all contact points and rails, take 50 rounds of quality SD ammo and only the six round magazine, and patiently shoot the box using a strong two handed grip - don't worry about accuracy. I wouldn't get too uptight about the slide failing to lock back yet - just concern yourself with making sure the gun feeds all bullets reliably.

I think you're just now out of the break-in period. Give the gun a chance in a short outing, with quality loads, and see how it shoots. I recommend one magazine to help narrow down possible causes of failure. I don't know about the 380, but the seven round mag is known to cause problems in the PM9.

P.S. - clean your magazine and make sure the spring is installed correctly.

I'm not too worried about the slide not locking back after the last round. Not a bid deal to me.

I was only using the 6 rounder the entire time.

I'm waiting on some ammo that I purchased from USA ammo. will shoot some carry ammo and 100 rounds of this stuff before I make the call.

What worried me the most was the brass to the top of the head and the 2 stove pipes.

[jocko]

Went out and put 100 more rounds through my P380. Shot well but still had problems. Had 2 stove pipes, failed to lock back on an empty mag almost every time, 3 shells hit me in the head, and the slide locked open on a loaded mag about 6 times. Other than that it went into battery every time and all rounds fed reliably. I still don't feel I can trust this pistol. Im kinda frustrated because every firearm I have ever bought has functioned flawlessly so I don't know what to do. This puts 300 rounds total through it.

What do you guys think. Is there something I should do to try to improve reliability or should I call Kahr? I know my finger was not touching the slide lock lever as I made sure I made no contact with it. Let me know what you guys think.

3 shells out of 100 hit u in the head, This could be a slight change in the grip causing it, tired shoorter also. when 97 doh't hit u in the head, I would find it very hard to trouble shoot the issue. The slide not locking back , well IT SHOULD, so how about trying this. order a new set of recoil springs from kahr (or betteryet calla nd ask for Jay or eion and state ur issue and see if they will skend u a new set "on the houlse". If this is being done, then take the set u have now and clip off a half coil of the outter spirng and retest..U ain't gonna hurt anything asu have anew set coming and a half coil certainly.

If cuttng a half coil off the outter doesnt do any good, then proceed to cut a half coil off the inner sprinbg. REMEMBER. cut the open end of the coils.

[HadEmAll]

One thing is for sure, there are a lot of companies who appreciate the heck out of P380 owner's spending time and ammo trying to fix their own P380 by trimming this, polishing that, bending this, holding it like that, etc.

Kahr
Winchester
Remington
CCI/Speer
Federal
Magtech
Corbon
........................
.......................
........................

[JodyH]

IMO if you have ANY problem you should call Kahr and get a shipping label.
The only way Kahr is going to get serious about fixing this crap is if it hits them in the pocketbook.
It doesn't take very many $100+ Fed-Ex round trips to justify fixing it right the first time.

[jocko]

oh I think kahr is busting ass to get the P380 fixed right, I in my own feeble little opinion am just not sure what they feel the REAL fix is. I have commented in the past and this is no real reflection on kahr but u tak ethe other litlte 380 Pee swhooters out there, most are loose as a goose, IMO no need for such tight tolerances as the P380 seems to show. These loosey goosey gun seem to go bang and accuracy at 7 yards is enough to do the job. I think when a P380 is running like it should it would indeed out shoot any 380 out there but personally who gices a rats ass, at 7 yards or so. Ur still gonna paut um allin a man sized target with any 380 out there or u best just give up shooting. Just my two cents.

[LMT42]

I think when a P380 is running like it should it would indeed out shoot any 380 out there but personally who gices a rats ass, at 7 yards or so. Ur still gonna paut um allin a man sized target with any 380 out there or u best just give up shooting. Just my two cents.

Seven yards at the range, shooting at a static, unarmed piece of paper is one thing. Shooting at seven yards, at an armed person, who is trying to harm you, is completely different. Some of you guys probably train more than me and some might even be involved in IDPA or something similar. I'm just a regular civilian that goes to the range once a month. I think the Kahr has an inherent balance/pointability/accuracy that could make all the difference in a stressful situation. My .02.

[Cokeman]

Do you have an LMT?

[jeffe007]

This doesn't make sense as one doesn't by a gun to perpetually fix it. Period! If that were the case we'd buy used likes of poo to fix. These $700 guns should work out of the box. Bow having said that, my cm9 is a sweet little piece and fun to shoot but again, it took ALOT of fixing and smoothing to get it %100!

[LMT42]

Do you have an LMT?

Yep, same as the one in your signature, with an Accupoint 1-4.

Wonder what happened to the OP. I thought he'd make it to the range this weekend and would have an update for us.

[frbejarano]

Sorry guys. Ammo still hasn't made it. I bought 1000 rnds from USA ammo ordered on 10/2 and still no ammo. I'll call them tomorrow and hopefully have an update soon. I'll shoot this stuff along with others.

[Cokeman]

Yep, same as the one in your signature, with an Accupoint 1-4.

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