P380 Break-in FTF almost every magazine 100 rounds

[Bawanna]

Actually they probably are the rare exceptions. As many as there are sold the vast majority still run right out of the box, despite the wise 200 round break in recommendation.

[dsk]

I realize that this isn't a scientific analysis, but I've never seen so many threads on a forum that continually pop up with owners complaining about malfunctioning issues with a single brand or model of pistol. Heck, I sometimes visit the Kel-Tec (KTOG) forum and don't see nearly as many. Yes I know that *most* of them work fine, but I'd be willing to bet that the failure rate is much higher with Kahr .380 pistols than with most other similar firearms. I keep seeing the same thing over and over... "I've fired XXX rounds out of my brand-new pistol and it still jams.. when is it going to start working right?".

Lest somebody call me a Kahr basher, I finally have mine running right and it's back in the CCW rotation. It's a fabulous little gun that hides easily and is easy to shoot accurately out to any reasonable distance. But that's the only reason why I put up with it malfunctioning for so long. If it was as hard to shoot as a Ruger LCP I'd have thrown it in a deep lake a long time ago.

[Ed M]

dsk - you've got to be the prize winner for determination and patience in getting your Kahr to run right. Sharing your experience will also help others who may have a "problem child" 380.

In the end, most problems with these little 380s have solutions posted here on this forum, and one can always fall back on Kahr's service to make things right. Is every problem fix easy? No - not even for Kahr. There's always gonna be a few examples that are just difficult to correct their issues. Every manufacturer produces some of these "lemons".

Putting things into perspective though - how many true "lemons" are posted on this forum involving Kahr 380s? Lets pick an arbitrary number of 100. Probably on the high end. How many THOUSANDS of Kahr 380s are sold every year? See my point?

No matter what Kahr does to improve their quality control or product testing before shipping out a firearm, there are things that can and will happen that can cause the end user to experience problems.

Many folks complain of the 200 round break in recommendation, but even if not needed for the weapon to be considered reliable, its also sound advise to allow the end user to become familiar and proficient with something they're gonna trust with their life. As you are aware, a reliable Kahr 380 is truly one of the very best 380s one can own, for so many reasons. How many issues reported here are due to the user running cheap foreign ammo in their firearm? How many issues can be solved with a simple slide stop spring adjustment? How many issues are due to an improperly assembled magazine? How many due to poor cleaning and/or machining debris left in the firing pin channel? How many due to improper grip/limp wristing, and/or hitting the slide stop with the thumb? Eliminate just these problems, and the list of "lemons" shrinks dramatically....

I have a suspicion that a lot of the issues concerning Kahr's service and quality control has been impacted by moving their production and service facilities. They're bound to lose long time, experienced employees. It takes time to replace people like that. It'll take time, but I really believe things will improve a lot in Kahrville. Seeing their incredible new facility firsthand, and knowing the caliber of the available workforce in the area gives me great hope for the future. The people in that area have a long history of hard work and excellent craftsmanship. They historically have contributed mightily to the industrial revolution and development of this country - beats the hell out of outsourcing to someplace like Mexico, IMO...

[dice974]

dsk I agree. Seems like a lot of post on the Kahr .380's FTF issues, more than most guns I reviewed in the .380 before purchasing. I hesitated for months because of all the negative reviews. I have a Kahr PM9 and absolutely love it (not one issue). I'm probably a little over the 200 round mark on my P380 and I can live with 1 FTF out of 70 rounds. First 100 rounds it was a jamamatic lol. Thanks for the help everyone.

[dsk]

Has your pistol jammed at all using the magazine with the MagGuts kit installed?

[gun papa]

Mine runs fine now, but only after making the realization that bullet shape was everything, conical bullets were a must for reliable feeding in my gun, and a reliable firing pin was also required before I bet my life on it. ymmv.

[Ikeo74]

I have 2 Kahr 9mm, a CM9 and an MK9 and love them both, but I had to skip the Kahr 380 in favor of a Remington RM380. I have never had a misfire from day one or any failure to fire or failure to load on any brand of bullets.

[dice974]

dsk - Pistol has ran great with the MagGuts kit. One of the magazines (without MagGuts) won't hold open after last shot.
Gun papa I agree I think the P380 is very finicky on the ammo and it seems like each P380 is different. My jammed with American Eagle, Precision One FMJ and HP, Remington FMJ was hit and miss got better around the 150 round mark, never jammed with Hydra-shok or Hornady CD. Now that it is broke in I will shoot more Precision One HP to see if it still jams. I like Hydra-shok so I will probably carry with it.

[dsk]

The reason why I asked is because my pistol had occasional FTF's until I switched all the springs and followers in my mags with the MagGuts kits. The stock followers in Kahr mags allow the bullets to nosedive during feeding, especially the first few rounds. That's why you normally can't sling-shot a Kahr slide on a full mag. With the MagGuts I can actually do it now, and the bullets don't nosedive which means it's actually been awhile since my pistol had its last misfeed (of course now that I said that it'll probably choke next time out). Along with the Lakeline striker I consider them must-haves for anyone relying on a Kahr .380 for defense. Note that I didn't even mention the extra round of capacity, which to me is just a bonus.

[1stnamebassist]

I don't have a p380 or cw380, but I do have the excellent ct380. I had a few issues in the beginning but all is well now. As far as Magguts, I have 2 magazines with them installed with at least 100 rounds through each magazine with no issues. Plus its nice having 8 plus 1 in a weapon I can toss in a sticky holster in my back pocket and feel confident it will go bang when and if it's needed.