P380 cocking cam spring failure

[XFlyboy]

On the range yesterday, the gun loaded the first round from the magazine normally, fired normally, and cycled the next round into the chamber properly. But the trigger did not arm (or reset) and moved freely as though the slide had not cycled. At this point I manually racked the slide (as you would when dry firing) and with the second round still in the chamber the trigger armed and activated the striker and fired the round. But again, for the third (and subsequent rounds) in the magazine, the trigger did not arm when the gun cycled the slide while firing.

Upon closer inspection with the slide removed I can see that when I pull the trigger it activates the cocking cam, but when I release the trigger the cam does not return to its initial position. It remains up. I can also move the cam with my finger and it offers no resistance. It appears the cocking cam spring has failed.

Questions:

1) How common is this type of failure? I see Kahr sells replacement springs on their web site for a few dollars. But it is disappointing that my P380 that is less than a year old should be experiencing any failures at all.

2) Is this reasonably user repairable? The gun is under warranty so I could send it back to Kahr, but if it is not too difficult I might try to replace the spring myself.

For the record, this is the fourth failure of this gun in less than a year of normal use (maybe 300 rounds plus some dry firing). I've had two firing pins shattered which I finally replaced with the Lakeline striker, and the frame got warped somehow and I send it back to Kahr to be "deburred." I also had to replace the recoil springs. Not a great track record.

Still I'm looking forward to the day I can fire at least a hundred consecutive rounds out of this weapon without a failure and can consider it reliable for concealed carry.

Thanks.

[dustnchips]

Should have bought the CW, mine runs perfectly. I really don't have any answers, but I would be really pissed if it were my gun. May be you could send Kahr a list of the failures and ask for a completely new gun. They will probably say no, but it never hurts to ask.

[XFlyboy]

I would love to have bought the CW and saved $300 but I live in California so the P380 was the only option. Likewise for my P9. Thanks for the feedback dustnchips.

[gb6491]

On the range yesterday, the gun loaded the first round from the magazine normally, fired normally, and cycled the next round into the chamber properly. But the trigger did not arm (or reset) and moved freely as though the slide had not cycled. At this point I manually racked the slide (as you would when dry firing) and with the second round still in the chamber the trigger armed and activated the striker and fired the round. But again, for the third (and subsequent rounds) in the magazine, the trigger did not arm when the gun cycled the slide while firing.

Upon closer inspection with the slide removed I can see that when I pull the trigger it activates the cocking cam, but when I release the trigger the cam does not return to its initial position. It remains up. I can also move the cam with my finger and it offers no resistance. It appears the cocking cam spring has failed.

Questions:

1) How common is this type of failure? I see Kahr sells replacement springs on their web site for a few dollars. But it is disappointing that my P380 that is less than a year old should be experiencing any failures at all.

2) Is this reasonably user repairable? The gun is under warranty so I could send it back to Kahr, but if it is not too difficult I might try to replace the spring myself.

For the record, this is the fourth failure of this gun in less than a year of normal use (maybe 300 rounds plus some dry firing). I've had two firing pins shattered which I finally replaced with the Lakeline striker, and the frame got warped somehow and I send it back to Kahr to be "deburred." I also had to replace the recoil springs. Not a great track record.

Still I'm looking forward to the day I can fire at least a hundred consecutive rounds out of this weapon without a failure and can consider it reliable for concealed carry.

Thanks.

1) To my knowledge, this is an uncommon failure.
2) Yes, it is "reasonably user repairable".

To do the replacement you will need:
T5 Torx driver or a punch to remove the side plate (some side plates are held on with Torx screws, others have a pin holding them on)
Punch and hammer to remove the trigger axis pin ( I used an arbor press to start the pin out of my P380)
Solid work surface
A pin block to facilitate removing the axis pin (a roll of tape or a block of wood with a hole drilled in it will probably suffice)
Something to pry the cocking cam axis pin out of the frame far enough that it can be pulled out (I used a dental pick)

Reinstalling the trigger can be a bit tiresome; you might find any or all of the following useful when doing so:
Headlamp, punch for aligning the parts, slave pin, needle nose pliers/tweezers/forceps, punch and hammer to drive the pin in place, a third hand

Here's an excellent write up on how to reinstall the trigger:
http://commonbullets.com/wp/archives/1606

Here's where I repaired my P380, some of the photos may be of help or interest to you: http://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.p...a-happy-ending

A couple more resources:
http://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.p...mbly-(Tutorial)

https://www.gun-tests.com/special_re...y-10184-1.html

Regards,
Greg

[XFlyboy]

Hey Greg,

Thanks for the thorough response. This is very helpful! I’m also glad to hear that it is not a common type of failure. If the gun were not still under warranty I think I would definitely give it a shot on my own. But I contacted Kahr and they say I need to send the gun in to have their gunsmith complete the repair. They did not offer the option of sending me the parts to install on my own as they did with the firing pin.

It is also noteworthy that Kahr puts you in touch with the individual who will be accomplishing the repair when they provide an RMA number. I Googled the name (Ian Burr) and I can see that he has been with Kahr for many years and is spoken of very positively on the Kahr forums. Maybe after Ian replaces the cam spring he’ll give the gun a thorough going over and fix any remaining idiosyncrasies so I may finally have a reliable EDC.

Thanks again.