P-380 Extra Power Springs

[DaveInCA]

I contacted Wolf Gunsprings (www.gunsprings.com (http://www.gunsprings.com)) and asked about a set of extra power recoil and striker springs for the P380. They have a similar set for the Rugar LCP, and it is supposed to help with failures to return to battery and light strikes.

"Would you please consider adding extra power Kahr P380 springs to your offerings? The P380 has issues with light strikes and failures to return to battery, and I think a replacement set like you have for the Ruger LCP is just what is needed. "


Reply:


Thank you for your email and for taking the time to suggest a new item to add to our product line. We’re always looking to expand our product line and depend on our customers to point us in the right direction when determining which springs we should concentrate on. While I can’t give you a time line or a definite commitment to making springs for the P380 I will pass along your request. I will also save your email and should we get something going for that model, I’ll give you a heads up.

Regards,
John Andrews
Wolff Gunsprings


So take a minute and let Wolf know that this is a product you heard they might carry, and that you would buy them for your P380 by sending an email to Customer Service at CustomerService@gunsprings.com. If there is enough customer base for these springs they will come.


Dave

[Mecenas]

It was very nice of you to inquire but I sincerely doubt they will make extra strong sets because they do manucfature all the springs for Kahr P 380.

[jocko]

IMO the P380 recoil spring assembly is plenty stout the way it is. Unlike the Ruger LCP which is factory at 9# which is very light by most standards. The kel tek recoil springs made avaailoalbe4 through wolffs in the 12 and 13# setting seem to work great in the lcp. I have the 12# in my lcp and love um, brass is certainly closer than with the 93 springs and felt recoil seems less, which possably it should be to. The action works perfect with those springs.

Now what will work great in the P380 kahrs is the kel tec 10% strength magazine springs put out by wolffs. i use um and love um. I feel they work the slide stop lever better by pushing up that follower with some gusto, as at that time in the magaziine on the last round the magazine spring is at its weakest point. again it seems to work great in the P380.

give wolffs some time as it took well over 2+_ years for them to comje out with different recoil springs for the kel tecs. If they feel a need for stronger springs in the P380 they will do it. volume has to be there before they will do it though..

[DaveInCA]

give wolffs some time as it took well over 2+_ years for them to comje out with different recoil springs for the kel tecs. If they feel a need for stronger springs in the P380 they will do it. volume has to be there before they will do it though..

Exactly! Do you think 1 in 100 who might look for such a spring would email and ask about them? Our users can simply click on an email link and in 30 seconds make a quite a difference in how Wolf looks at this.


IMO the P380 recoil spring assembly is plenty stout the way it is.

Here I disagree. Take a look at the people who have had to polish and adjust their guns to get them to feed right. A stronger spring would certainly help here. I put in a stronger striker spring and I feel much more confident that it will set off any ammo I choose to use.

Take your empty, cocked p380 and pull the trigger back until just before it would fire. Now press back on the front of the slide and see how much pressure it takes to start to move it out of battery (watch the tip of the guide rod). Mine didn't take very much, and I when I put in brand new springs I could feel and see the difference over those that had only about 500 rounds through them. (I'm talking all factory springs here). If it take two years, I'll just have to wait ;).

[jocko]

so are u saying u have found a stronger striker spring that goes in ur jP380?? I wonder what the trigger poundage is, or are u saying u just replace the original striker sprng after a few hundred rounds with a new factory striker spring??? I might be reading ur post wrong here.
I have a 5# striker spring in my pm9 for over 30K and have never changed it nor ever had a light striker and the P380 striker spring is over 5# ( I know not what exactly but I am going to assume it is in the same range as the bigger kahrs of around 6+ pounds. That should be plenty to ignite any round, if all other things are working correctly. Not that a heaviear spring wouldnot maybe in some cases work better but IMO one is just covering up something that is not right with the gun itself. Just my 2 cents, u seem to have worked your P380 into a reliable gun ..

[DaveInCA]

Yes, I talked about this in the "p380 from dirty dog to prom queen" thread.
I tested some very hard CCI primers and had some light strikes on my gun that had gone back to Karh twice now (in all fairness, they were very hard). I put in a PM9 striker spring and it made an BIG difference. Only problem is I now need stiff recoil springs to go with it, brand new ones work fine. I'm thinking I'll have to replace them about every 500 rounds with that stronger striker spring in there.

Not that big a deal, I can put the light spring set in for target practice and the stronger springs in for carry. Now that my gun is working extremely well, I won't be sending that many rounds down range. I figure I've done about 1500 rounds so far. If Wolf comes out with stronger springs I'll be set. In all honesty, my PM9 is much more fun to shoot, and the ammo's cheaper.

[jocko]

how Much difference do u noticE in the trigger pull as far as poundage changes from the P380 srping to now the pM9 spring. Did u do any shortening to the PM9 spring or just go with the flow. I would not think this heavier spring would have any bearing on the needing heavier recoil springs as the striker is only about 10%+ pre cocked on a kahr and then the trigger does the rest of the work..

Hell rohrbaugh states replace their recoil springs every 200 rounds, so if u can get 500 out of ur P380 that ain't a bad thing, as again ur not gonna shoot the piss out of that 380 like you are ur PM9. as nice as the P380 is to shoot over most all other 380's it ain't a pm9..

[DaveInCA]

Posts 19 and 20 pretty much sum it up:

http://kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?t=8950&page=2

The trigger did go from about 7.4 lbs to about 6.6lbs after 200 rounds. You can feel the difference, but it is still a great trigger. Kahr specs out the trigger at 7lbs, but I think it is closer to 5 as it ships.

[KahrOwner]

Careful - too strong a recoil spring can lead to stovepipes and failure to eject (because the slide does not fully cycle).

Especially if you also have any other contributing issues like a slightly soft grip, insufficient slide lubrication, dirt etc.. these problems all add up.

I think that may be one of the issues with my own "repaired" P380 as they put a stronger recoil spring in it and I saw a number of these FTE and stovepipe issues immediately afterwards. (see my range report).

[TominCA]

Don't know about the recoil or striker springs but I use the extra power mag springs - got 3 of them and they are the same spring material as the Kahr (wrote to Wolff and asked) with one or two extra coils. Work great and never miss a slide lockback when empty!

[rogerthedodger]

Can one of you tell me if you are using the Keltec +10 Wolff, and are you using them in the standard or extended magazines??
Roger

[DaveInCA]

Well, maybe not a stronger recoil spring exactly, but a longer spring. The factory springs are OK for a bit if I stretch them out or when they are brand new. Then they take their "set" and shorten up. I think the slide needs a bit more tension from the springs when it is fully closed. If they were longer after the "set" they would probably work fine but they barely compress when installed now.

[rogerthedodger]

I want to order some and try them. Is this what you are using??
KELTEC P32, P3AT +10% XP MAG SPRING Pak of 3
Will they work in the 7 round extended mag, or just in the 6 round standard mag??
Roger