New Kahr S Series debuted at NRA

[berettabone]

Looks like a $300 firearm....................................

[zaitcev]

I really wish they reworked their .45 ACP design a little bit: reduced the barrel length by about 1/8" and increased the slide travel by that amount. That would improve the feeding and increase the slide travel time, again giving more time for magazine spring to lift cartridges. But such a significant change seems beyond the capabilities of the current Kahr.

They could at least add some fencing for the magazine release. I keep dropping them. Although it may be related to the barrel lug smacking the magazines.

Otherwise, the S series looks like a welcome change. The 9mm guns work okay, I heard, so all they need are cosmetics.

[finpro]

I really wish they reworked their .45 ACP design a little bit: reduced the barrel length by about 1/8" and increased the slide travel by that amount. That would improve the feeding and increase the slide travel time, again giving more time for magazine spring to lift cartridges. But such a significant change seems beyond the capabilities of the current Kahr.

If you have not done so, you should check to see that there is nothing slowing your mag follower. As an experiment, you might lubricate the interior of the mag with a dry lubricant or metal conditioner to see if this helps.
While you can hope for a Kahr redesign of their .45s, you would likely see sooner results by replacing your magazine and recoil springs with stronger versions. The Wolff springs website, gunsprings.com, does not list springs for Kahr .45s, but a call or email to them might be helpful. As a guess, a heavier spring for a .40 would probably serve for your .45. If a mag spring for the 9mm/.40 mags would not work well in a Kahr .45, you might ask them if, say, a 1911 mag spring would work. If you do any of this, please let us know how it works for you.

[Bawanna]

I really haven't heard of many issues with the 45's. Never had any with mine.
The barrel lug smacking the magazines is especially common in the 40's but seldom heard of in the 45's. Just file off a bit of the lug if that's an issue.

[johnh]

Here is what I am told on the letter designations for as requested above:

C = Concealed. Value Series Line
S= Silver. Gen 2 Value Series Line
P = Premium Polymer Line
K = Kahr. Steel guns only
M= micro (3" barrels) PM, MK, CM
W= weapon (may have had another meaning at another point in development, like P)
T= tactical

[MMyers1970]

So since these are being called "Gen 2", does that mean the ones teased for the last two years are a no go?

[DJK11]

Rework the 45? Both my pm45 are flawless. The older version slide has more than 10k down the tube and the current version has more than 6k. Just picked up a TP45 with 550 hand loads rounds, no factory rounds yet, without a hiccup.

No need to change the 45!

[DJK11]

If you have not done so, you should check to see that there is nothing slowing your mag follower. As an experiment, you might lubricate the interior of the mag with a dry lubricant or metal conditioner to see if this helps.
While you can hope for a Kahr redesign of their .45s, you would likely see sooner results by replacing your magazine and recoil springs with stronger versions. The Wolff springs website, gunsprings.com, does not list springs for Kahr .45s, but a call or email to them might be helpful. As a guess, a heavier spring for a .40 would probably serve for your .45. If a mag spring for the 9mm/.40 mags would not work well in a Kahr .45, you might ask them if, say, a 1911 mag spring would work. If you do any of this, please let us know how it works for you.

I called wolff about 45 mag springs and as I assumed they can't recommend a spring. They can't tell you to experiment with their springs if they don't have a direct replacement. They list springs that I think may function.

[wyntrout]

I've had many problems with the Kahr .45 magazine springs. I've had the mag tubes split at the top rears... 3 or 4 times. My PM45 went back 6 times total and they replaced the frame once and finally swapped me the PM for a new P45 DLC with NS as I wanted. I continue to have problems with cartridges feeding fully into the chamber. I did discover that the screw holding the washer and spring for the slide lock kept coming loose. Tightening it every 20 shots or so sucked, so I used some medium thread locker and haven't been back to see if that helps.

On top of that I've had major issues with the magazine springs in the past and had mine replaced numerous times due to the springs shattering into small pieces... one about a dozen pieces. I inspected all 9 of my mags and found that the 14-coil springs were shattering in my two 5-rd and my 6-rd mags. I was having issues with my six 7-rounders, too, and took those apart. All six had the same 14-coil springs that the smaller 5 and 6-rd ones had... and they only protruded about 3 or 4 cartridge diameters above the mag lips. The spare springs I had for the 7-rounders were all 18-coil springs and a BEAR to install.

Kahr wanted me to return ALL of the mags and I talked them into just sending the proper springs, which they did... problem solved... except for the splitting.

After I got my new P45 and all 9 mags, I checked them out and the six 7-rounders had 14-coil springs. At that point I was disgusted and with gun shows, family deaths and travel for Christmas and funerals, I haven't gotten back to sorting the mags out.

I've bought a lot of springs from Wolff and way back, I asked them several times about springs for the Kahr .45's and the .380's, but got no good answers.

I do have a ten-pack of springs for the 7-round 9mm and .40 mags that I will compare and see if they will work. I don't know if I can even get 18-coil springs from Kahr anymore. The few spares I bought recently were 14-coil! This is inadequate for the 7-rounders... part of my disgust, because I have had the wrong springs in many different 7-rounders from different sources turn out to be the weaker 14-coil ones. I had them all replaced several times or batches, but now I get the 14-coil ones when I order for the 7-rounders.

I would love to carry my P45, but I'm still carrying the P40 with a ported barrel, and have the P9 with a ported barrel for backup carry. All three fit in my XB Minituck that I bought for my PM9 back in 2010.

Pix below show the 14-coil springs in the 7-rounders and a new 18-coil springs, which I apparently can't get anymore. Then there's a closeup of the shattered springs... all of the 5 and 6-rd 14-coil springs shattered, and one more since then with the replacement springs. Note the GREAT difference between the 14-coil and correct 18-coil spring for the 7-round mags.

Wynn

[JohnR]

You have the patience of a saint. If I'd had that much trouble with any of my Kahrs, I would have moved on to another brand.