CW380 sold back to Cabela's traded for Ruger LCP 2 after FAIL in Kahr CS

[icysurfer]

FTF's, FTLB on the last shot. after 1100 rounds of CCI and S & B round-nose FMJ, and XTP Hornadys... I sent the Cdub back to Kahr. Got it back after 7 days, with the explanation EXTRACTOR REDONE< RECOIL SPRING REPLACED....

To the range again with the right ammo for the gun. After a thorough cleaning, as they obviously took some test shots..

Even worse performance, had a light striker fire and CLICK - which had never happened before.

Had enough, lost confidence in what is primarily an SD weapon.

Sold it back to Cabela's and got the LCP2. It is OK, hurts the hand a bit, but after a 300 round break in with 2 FTF's in the first 100, PERFECT performance with 2 different XTP rounds, and 2 FMJ brands.

Kahr contacted ME by email thinking that I sent it to them, but we cleared that one up quick.. THe Sales Manager was on the phone with the salesman.

"Oh, you shouldn;t have done it, cause we figured out what was wrong with the gun... The Firing Pin was broken, but still functioned sometimes."
"If you would have sent it back again, we would have fixed it...! And if it did not work after that, we would replace the gun."

They thought that they were talking to Cabela's at first, or Me, it was bizzare and very confusing. Essentially, admitting that KAHR did not fix it correctly the first time.. It almost seemed that they looked at it, fired it and returned it to me with NOTHING done.

"You can go back to Cabela's and tell them you want to buy it back. THen we will fix it or replace it. " Kahr.....

"Dude, this is an SD gun, primarily, how could I ever trust a CW now..? But, if you wanna send me a new one for all my trouble and ammo spent, feel free..!" ME.

For some money we will, he jokingly said." "The LCP I bought was a cheap gun." "At least it fires dependably,"I wanted to say..!

Maybe they will do me a favor, but I doubt it. So, I said nothing to that statement.

SILLINESS IN CUSTOMER SERVICE> Lack of Pride in Product.

The grip and trigger are far better with the CW, but it needs to RUN......!!!!!!

EDIT: So Cabelas had sent it back to the Massachusetts Kahr Factory without an RMA, that was why they thought I had sent it in. And when the gun was diagnosed as having a Firing pin problem that intermittently failed ("It is strange," He said today 1/4/17. In other words, no answer for my one FTF only after their repair.) CS seemed still under the impression that I want to buy that particular one back from Cabela's (which I would not do, or even a new one, not just to get good ergos and spend another 400+USD breaking it in with certainty.).

Keeping the LCP 2, as the trigger got softer after break in, and has been 100% in 250 rounds of all sorts, other than one round that had bullet setback (American Gunner XTP)

[DavidR]

Put a couple layers of bike tube on the LCP or get the Hogue grip when it comes out and "hand hurt" will lessen.

I had a similar experience with my CW380 but I gave up after about 600 rounds. I now own 2 LCPs.



Dave

[icysurfer]

Gave the CW a lot of love, and tons of ammo to get it to run right.. Really like the grip and trigger, but ALAS, it was not meant to be..

[sharpetop]

Sold my flawless LCP in favor of a CW380, mainly because of the un-godly trigger on the LCP. I've never had an issue with the CW380, but it resides in the safe.

[icysurfer]

LCP 2 has a better trigger than the LCP. Especially, after the break-in - where it loosens up a bit. And, LCP 2 has a more extreme grip surface.. With a Talon grip, it's almost as comfortable as the CW. But, that is asking a lot.
Some say the LCP Custom has a good trigger too. Many eschew the trigger on the basic LCP.

[DavidR]

Gave the CW a lot of love, and tons of ammo to get it to run right.. Really like the grip and trigger, but ALAS, it was not meant to be..

I agree. My CW380 ran okay with Hornady Critical Defense and when it ran right it was a sweet shooter!

I haven't handled the new LCP II yet but there's some controversy on the Ruger forums as to whether it's safe to pocket carry a gun that Ruger says is single action without a safety.


Dave

[icysurfer]

The LCP 2 trigger has a very solid break. It is not really light. Especially, at first. If ya try it, you'll see. It doesn't make me nervous at all. Now if it had the trigger of the LC9s Pro, that is a different one.

[nmkahrshooter]

Sorry to hear about your cw380 and congrats on the new ruger. I also have a cw380 but hardly carry it. It has not failed me but for some reason I do not trust it. I have purchased a Kimber micro 9 to fill the spot of the 380. At least with the nine my confidence level with the gun has gone up knowing it will go bang when I pull the trigger.

[icysurfer]

Thanks... In anything but it's reliable operation, I LOVE the Kahr CW380. I know it sounds silly (minor detail, haha), but the ergos and trigger are really THAT good. The Ruger LCP 2 is not as comfortable to shoot as the CDub was. A Talon Grip helped.

But, Elsie 2 always shoots. And is not super-picky about ammo. I figure 1200 rounds for the 'break'(in) of the CW at $15 per 50 rounds = 360. Although I enjoyed shooting it, I did not enjoy the frustration of the Slide not locking back, or rounds taking a nosedive at the feedramp base. So it ended up costing more than a P380... And, not fulfilling the aim of sound operation. It costed Me 700+ to learn how to shoot a small gun. so, I DID get something out of it. Of course, we would all like a handgun that always goes BOOM!

[allthumbsplusone]

I purchased a used p380 without much thought about malfunctions. I shot probably about 500- 700 rounds through it and decided I would replace the striker spring since the trigger pull was about 4lbs 4 oz. As far as I could tell it was original. I decided to replace the recoil spring as well. The tech at Kahr asked me the serial number and said it was a very early model. I have put a few hundred rounds through since without issue.
Happy with the reliability I purchase a new pm9. Again no issues whatsoever right from the start. Close to 1000 rounds and no malfunctions with ball ammo or self defense loads.
Feeling my good luck oats I picked up a new cw45 that was absolute crap. The fit and finish was ok, but I had numerous failures to feed, failures to completely close action, failure to eject. I noticed the spring that held the slidelock in place loose...in fact it was stripped. I was able to use some metal reinforced epoxy to get the screw to set properly but by then I had lost all confidence with the gun. I did take it out after the fix and it ran spotty at best
My lastest kahr is a PM45. I had about 6 failures of the action to close all the way with some Freedom Munitions New Ammo. With the Freedom reloads it runs great (as well as a couple diefferent kind of defense loads). I checked the diameter of the Freedom new loads and they are at max diameter at the widest point. The hornady and winchester defense loads are about .005 under that so I am thinking it just might be the freedom loads feeding tight when the gun is somewhat dirty. So I am 3 for 4. On the hand I have been 100 percent on every glock I have ever owned. But... the glocks are larger, and the trigger is not nearly as safe in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I will own more glocks (I have a 34 and 21) but for carry I would take a Kahr any day. It is lighter, reliable, and the trigger is flat out better for a self defense gun without a trigger.

I agree with those who indicate the magazine release screw should go into a metal piece molded into the frame. Really no excuse given how much that spring is responsible for. If I have a screw that strips I will drill out the hole, press fit a metal piece that has been drilled and tapped. That is the way it should be done.