Kahr T-9 Review and endurance test

[oldtex]

.....
oldtex,

Every 1,000 rounds? Seems like a very frequent scheaduale. I'm not sure how often jocko has replaced his PM springs, but I'm well past that on my P-9. Replacing them ever 1,000 rounds as a factory recommended scheaduale also hurts the Kahr as a shoot often pistol vs. say a Glock.

I agree that a 1k-1500 rd interval for changing recoil springs sounds very frequent. But firstly, this is what the CS guy at Kahr told me, and what a rep of the manufacturer says about required maintenance should, in my mind, carry a lot of weight.

Secondly, springs are cheap. 1500 rds of Federal 115gr FMJ from Walmart will set me back about $300 bucks plus tax, and a spring to burn that ammo costs less than $10 plus shipping. I keep spare recoil springs on hand for all my autos (except the wife's P32...need to get one for that).

Thirdly, they're easy to change.

Keeping a relatively fresh recoil spring in a gun is insurance against malfunctions, and should help a gun last longer because it limits the force that a recoiling slide exerts on the frame.

Not everyone who replaces springs less frequently is going to have a problem. For me it's an issue of managing risk. I prefer to reduce the risk of malfunctions and premature wear and parts breakage by changing springs when the manufacturer recommends it.

I don't really understand your statement about the interval hurting a Kahr relative to a Glock as a shoot often pistol. Could you expand on that idea?

I'm not a Glock armorer, but my understanding is that somewhere in the neighborhood of 2500-3000 is the manufacturer's recommended recoil spring changing interval for Glocks. I change my Glock recoil springs at 3K. SIG I think is recommending a similar interval.

By the way, IIRC Rohrbaugh recommends on their website changing the recoil spring in its R9 every 200 rds.

[Bawanna]

"Once I am done with this I will give it a good cleaning, and likely keep on shooting it, to include my next class. Right now the only change I want to make is to customize the grips. They need to be thinner (or an extended mag release) and have a slightly differant profile. Anyone good with machining G10 or Micarta? "

I'm not exactly sure what G10 is, I suspect that synthetic stuff the FBI put on HI Powers years ago?
I can slim those grips you got on there now down some, recut the checkering and refinish. Or build from scratch if I can find a T9 to fit too. Those look like Pau Fero or something. Never messed with Micarta either but that's probably doable too.

[jocko]

A hard core top notch Glock shooter who has done some serious work on my G19 told me to change at least 3000 rounds. Like has has said recoil springs are cheap in price and the #1 thing that can cuase issues with any gun, Change as often as u feel comfortable doing. If you shoot alot, change often...

I have read the Rohrbaugh recommendation to and I have read that if one stretches that round count, be assured issues will arise. At least they tell you up front. This R9 is a dandy gun but also not a gun that you can shoot until the cows come home, but those that have um and take care of them love um to, and respect them for what they are truly made for "DEFENSE"... they aren't cheap in price but neither is "life"..

[at_liberty]

The other night at the range my T40 started banging up the mouths of ejected cases. The cases were scrap as far as reloading goes, so I intend to try a new recoil spring. The manual says "D" shaped cases coming out of Kahrs is "normal", but the fact is that the gun never did this before. Kahr CS pointed me to that statement in the manual, so no fix was suggested to me. Continuing would be unacceptable, since I reload and rely on salvaging my brass. Without a fix, the gun will be set aside, possibly sold.

The gun is at about 1000-1500 rounds. I wasn't counting but know I haven't bought, made, or shot great quantities of 40 SW, since it is not a match gun for me. I have two other Kahr 40, neither of which marks the brass to this extent.

[hedgehog]

Is there any reason to get a stainless guide rod since we are sort of on the subject here?

[jocko]

Is there any reason to get a stainless guide rod since we are sort of on the subject here?

being stainless won't show the wear as much as the standard kahr guide rod, . Both will work just as good..:israel:

[mity2]

This is an interesting reading as I order T9 yeasterday, and waiting for it(Should be here sometime next week).

I intend to shoot my T9. May be not as fast as OP is, however.
My K9 I bought in April, I carry it everyday(and finish shows it), and I usualy go to Range every weekend(or every other).

But everytime I'm out, I shoot at least 50rds. and sometimes more.

So simple math would indicate that my round count is roughly at 1000rds or so.
I still see no evidence of recoil spring needing to be changed tho. But I guess I should replace one as insurance as Oldtex stated, since this is my primaly carry gun.

My S&W M&P9 - I bought it when it first came out in 2006 - has been around 8000rds at this moment. Still on original recoil spring. But I can start to see that the ejection is going farther then it did back then...

[DMR]

I completed the challange today. My hands are black from wiping down the pistol. All in all I have mixed feelings about the test. One it pointed out to me just how much I need to get into some classes again. The layers of rust over my fundimentals realy hampered a few stages.

Today I had three more failures to feed between 1900-1924. Each was the first round on a reload. The feed ramp was heavyly coated with carbon and a little rough. For two the failure to feed cleared when I slapped the bottom of the mag. The other I had to drop the mag to clear the stopage. The round fell right out the mag well.

No other issues at the completion.

Nothing broke. 1 failure to extract leaving the round half way out the chamber sitting on top of a empty mag. 1 Stovepipe. 6 failures to feed on the reload. Likely the failures to feed were user induced[:I]


I did find out that Kahr recommends replacing the recoil spring every 1,000 rounds. Seems like a short life for the springs, but maybe replacing the spring at 1,000 would have dropped all six of the failures to feed.

It's not a Glock, but after I replace the spring I will keep going. The re-set doesn't bother me now either.

Pistol: Kahr T-9
Caliber: 9x19mm
Ammunition: 800 124 gr DAG Surplus, 300 115 gr. CCI Blazer, 900 115 gr. Speer Lawman
Dates of testing: 26-July-10 to 26-Sept-10 Total rounds fired: 2,000

[jeep45238]

I wouldn't have mixed feelings. You ran a pistol hard and got it incredibly filthy and sluggish, which more than likely led to the malfunctions.

I say give it a medal for putting up with ya

[oldtex]

I did find out that Kahr recommends replacing the recoil spring every 1,000 rounds. Seems like a short life for the springs, but maybe replacing the spring at 1,000 would have dropped all six of the failures to feed.

Moderators, perhaps we need a sticky addressing the issue of spring life. It appears that many of us don't know Kahr's recommended frequency of changing recoil springs.