New PM-9 Owner-Failure to extract then failure to feed

[MarkG35]

Hello All,
I purchased a PM-9 to spell my Glock 19 (when I want to go lighter for CCW)

Picked it up yesterday (after 11 day Cali jail time)Cleaned and lubed it per

Kahr tech section.Went to the range today,shot about 50 pretty good rounds(1
FTF and 1 Failure to eject.Was feeling pretty good about the handling and accuracy of the gun.

After 20 more rounds I had 2 FTE and then the the gun would not feed.Also the slide would not lock.

I took it apart but could not fix it at the range.

Went home and cleaned and lubed it. I got it to feed and eject snap caps and
was able to lock the slide.

Then I had the same problems again.It looks like the recoil rod and spring are sticking out the front about 1/4".

Has anyone had this problem? I am going to call Kahr tomorrow and see what they have to say.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Thunder71]

Sounds like the spring might be too long... There's some gray area there as far as how long they should be (plus everyone seems to count coils differently). Mine has about 13.5 coils and has been flawless for 700 rounds.

Might start there, I'd almost bet that would solve your issues - then again, it may be an unfortunate situation and Kahr will want it back to make it right.

I hope you don't let this little cloud hang over the gun, once you get it worked in it'll be a shooter... I carry nothing but my PM9 99% of the time, I feel bad neglecting my XDM but it's just so much easier to carry.

A lot of people compare Kahr's to other gun makers like Glock and SA which is just an unfair comparison in my opinion. Glocks and XD/XDM's are built with much looser tolerances to begin with, Kahr firearms are built very tight. Still, mine will eat whatever I feed it - but it does prefer Winchester PDX1 for hand racking the slide.

[Ikeo74]

I am a new CM9 owner so my suggestions may not be valid. At about 50-75 round level I tried some min velosity reloads. they failed to eject. Went back ti the bench and up the load to near max vel. Had no failures to feed or extract. Took it home to clean it. Multiple people have had problems with the recoil springs. I took mine out, got my car grease gun and put greese on the springs liberly on both the small spring and the large spring. I have not had a problen since then. I also put a small amount of greese on the slide surfaces. Guns runs smooth now at about the 250 round level.

[JFootin]

The manual tells you how to orient the recoil spring when reassembling the gun: with the loose end up toward the barrel. Try reorienting the end of the spring toward the barrel. That should solve the problem you are describing.

Another thing to check is if the front end of the spring is pressing into and scratching the rod. If it is, take some pliers and uncurl it a bit so it doesn't contact the rod. Rub some grease or oil into the rod and reassemble.

What Thunder is referring to is that we are seeing springs with different number of coils in these guns lately. It seems the new guns have 15 coils, but older ones have as little as 13. Kahr has actually been solving some owners' issues by cutting a little off those 15 coil springs. If you still have problems, try cutting 1/2 coil off the spring and reorient it toward the barrel. Test it out at the range. If needed, repeat.

If none of this works, call Kahr, insist on them paying for shipping (nicely), and send it back to them with an explanation of the problem.

[DaveInCA]

The spring should not be sticking out the front at all. The rod is the only part that should come out that hole. It is possible to get the spring sticking out when you assemble the slide. If that happens pull the spring back out and rotate it about half way around and put it back in. That will usually put the point on the other end, away from the gap. If you still have problems the end of the spring can be opened up just a bit. Of course, if you really didn't mean the spring stuck out, ignore this.:)

Dave

[MarkG35]

Thanks for the tips guys.Thunder-Mine has 14 coils.I'm really hoping mine can be as reliable as yours.
JFootin-I don't understand about reorienting the spring.I didn't take the spring apart.

Dave-The rod and alittle of the spring came out the front.I removed the rod and spring assembly and rotated it on reassembly.That stopped the spring coming out.I then successfully racked it a few times,but then the rod comes out and I have failure to feed problems.

[Rainman48314]

Thanks for the tips guys.Thunder-Mine has 14 coils.I'm really hoping mine can be as reliable as yours.
JFootin-I don't understand about reorienting the spring.I didn't take the spring apart.

Dave-The rod and alittle of the spring came out the front.I removed the rod and spring assembly and rotated it on reassembly.That stopped the spring coming out.I then successfully racked it a few times,but then the rod comes out and I have failure to feed problems.
Did the nut that is machined so it doesn't look like a nut come off? Mine did and Kahr shipped me a new recoil assembly. The gun never left my house.

[jocko]

I am a new CM9 owner so my suggestions may not be valid. At about 50-75 round level I tried some min velosity reloads. they failed to eject. Went back ti the bench and up the load to near max vel. Had no failures to feed or extract. Took it home to clean it. Multiple people have had problems with the recoil springs. I took mine out, got my car grease gun and put greese on the springs liberly on both the small spring and the large spring. I have not had a problen since then. I also put a small amount of greese on the slide surfaces. Guns runs smooth now at about the 250 round level.

u should have the slide lubed with grease, as far as the recoil rod if it fixed urs that is great. I just spray remingotn dry lube on my recoil rod, as that way I get no dripping but I do get some lube. Make sure that open end of the recoil spring is not grabbing on the recoil tube. Easy to check, just reverse the spring and see if it slides up and down on the tube with zero hindrance. If u feel some grabbing sensation, just open up that open end a tad, as that is where the grabbig is at. then reverse the srping again with the open end towards the front of the slide and reinstall everything.

U should try to go by the kahr lube chart which is a dandy sticky in the kahr tech section under KAHR LUBE CHART

[WMD]

Is it possible after firing 50 or so "good" rounds your hand got tired and you inadvertantly started "limp wristing"? That happens with me occasionally. :o If I shoot alot at one sitting, as my hand grows tired, I automatically begin to relax it and..., guess what...? I get function issues (not locking back, misfeeds, etc.). If you start off your shooting session and everything is good, then after 50 rounds (or whatever the magic number is) you start having failures, stop shotting for a while and give your hand a rest. Then try it again and see what happens.

In terms of the spring and rod sticking out, go to the Kahr website and check out the take-down video for the PM9. That will explain how to properly install the recoil asembly. Like others have said, if the spring sticks out of the muzzle end of the gun, just remove it, turn it a half turn, reinsert it and you should be good. The guide rod should not be sticking out of the gun 1/4 inch when the slide is closed. If that is really the case, I would call Kahr.

Sorry for being repetitive, hope this helps! :D

[MarkG35]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions,

I spoke with Kahr this morning.


They want me to send the gun back to them for repair.

Hopefully they can address the problems I'm having with it.

I really like the size and conceal ability of the firearm.

However I am very disappointed after spending so much on the gun.

They said it will be about a 3-4 week turnaround.

Mark

[Bawanna]

The 3 -4 week turn around estimate is usually a worst case scenario. Quite often they are back in a week unless there's a major component that needs replaced and they have to wait for one.

I imagine it's hard for them to predict how busy they will be and lean towards longer estimates rather than say a week and tick you off when it takes 3.

[JFootin]

JFootin-I don't understand about reorienting the spring.I didn't take the spring apart.

Just rotate the spring around the guide rod until the loose end is pointed toward the barrel as you install it. You will usually be doing this with the slide upside down, so the loose end (tip) of the spring will be pointing downward toward the barrel as you put it in place. The video on the Kahr website (go to the PM9 page (http://www.kahr.com/Pistols/Kahr-PM9.asp), scroll down, then click the "Downloads" tab to access the video) will show you what I am saying.

[Thunder71]

Or just rotate the whole assembly :)

[JFootin]

Or just rotate the whole assembly :)

You're right. I wasn't looking at it and couldn't remember if it mattered. (On some guns, there is a square piece at the back that only sits in there a certain way.)