Reloading Lead in my Kahr

[Bawanna]

For sure some effort required on the length of my reloads. I had issues with my Rainier plated bullets but I was just loading to book length which I found was too long for my Kahr as well as a few of my other 45's as well. I got that issue taken care of by not trusting the book and testing in the actual barrel to make sure they go in and drop out.

[100percent]

I would agree that my kahr PM40 doesn't like to eject loaded rounds. The cut in the slide appears to be a bit short. I load mine to minimum length to help this.

[Tilos]

earle8888:
Understood, I've competed in IHMSA for a number of years and shoot nothing but lead, and I'm sure you didn't hunt in Montana with a Kahr.
So we're talking different applications here.
I just said, for me, if a defense gun is problematic shooting lead I just don't put a lot of effort into resolving it.
Now if I was competing with it and putting a lot of lead down range, I might lap the barrel, throat, etc.

So, one gun shoots lead no problem and one does not.
Do we know the twist rates of the 2 guns in question?
I don't, but for someone having a problem it is posibbly something to research.
I'm just offering some direction to isolate the element that is creating the leading.
I'm not poopooing the shooting of lead at all, sorry you took it that way.

just sayin'
Tilos

[Bawanna]

He said poo poo

Oh according to the Martha Stewart book of etiquite thats OK on account of it's natural.

Now just hold the hosses here a minute, there's other natural things that are not mentionable, except in Arkansas I think. I shall ponder this.

[500KV]

I load quite a bit of lead in my handgun calibers and, over the years, have had problems with leading at times.
A couple of things I've picked up to limit leading is the combination of properly sized bullets, you dont want the bullet to go skidding down the bore like a bobslead, and Lee Liquid Alox lube.
Put a small amount in a gallon size zip lock bag, give it a couple of shots of alcohol or mineral spirits to thin it down a little and roll them around.
I then dump the bullets out on wax paper or aluminum foil to dry (overnight).

I don't cast anymore so I use this on the lubed cast bullets I buy bulk.
I have also had better results using the slower powders, like Unique, with lead bullets.

A few strands of Choreboy copper pad wraped around a bore brush also helps when cleaning a leaded barrel.
BTW: A little of the LA goes a long way so don't be too generous with it.

[100percent]

Hi Tilos
Not sure of the twist rate. My glock and kahr have similar rifling and are the same caliber. My guess is that the twist is either identical or nearly so. My glock is a number of years (10) old and has been shot a lot. Probably the throat is smoother in the glock. Maybe after I shoot another 500 fmj rounds my Kahr will do what my glock does.

I'll keep you posted after more trials.

Thanks for the input.

I am not interested in shooting buck a round ammo. I bought a box of some fancy hollow points and loaded them up and in a few seconds half of them were gone. Had a bad feeling about using them after that.

earle8888:
Understood, I've competed in IHMSA for a number of years and shoot nothing but lead, and I'm sure you didn't hunt in Montana with a Kahr.
So we're talking different applications here.
I just said, for me, if a defense gun is problematic shooting lead I just don't put a lot of effort into resolving it.
Now if I was competing with it and putting a lot of lead down range, I might lap the barrel, throat, etc.

So, one gun shoots lead no problem and one does not.
Do we know the twist rates of the 2 guns in question?
I don't, but for someone having a problem it is posibbly something to research.
I'm just offering some direction to isolate the element that is creating the leading.
I'm not poopooing the shooting of lead at all, sorry you took it that way.

just sayin'
Tilos

[Tilos]

I too shoot lead thru a glock23 that I hardly shot until I bought a Storm Lake 9mm conversion barrel and now it's my range gun of choice.
I lapped and polished that barrel, but it leads a little and tells you when it needs cleaning as the accuracy goes away.

When shooting steel challenge with lead, I have to consider wind direction for target engagement order, because waiting for lube smoke to clear doesn't help your stage times much.

Maybe you can fire lap the Kahr barrel.

just sayin'
Tilos

[100percent]

I looked at the barrel of my PM40 and noticed that there is a ridge on about half of the barrel throat with concentric rings. My glock is amazingly smooth in the same area. So much for the barrel quality of the 800 dollar Kahr. More of a fantasy than any reality. My Kahr does shoot FMJ rounds better than my Glock does.

I am giving up on the lead rounds on my Kahr until it chokes down another 500-1000 fmj rounds. My wife has a HighPoint 40 that gobbles up lead and my glock does good with PB as well. I have plenty of ammo to load right now.

Give me another few months before I try lead again in my Kahr.

[Tilos]

100percent:
WoW, Most people never look at a barrel that closely.
Yes, it's common for the pilot of the reamer to score the rifling some, just ahead of the chamber, during the process of reaming.

Polishing will improve it some, but it'll still be there.

Chips will clog a reamer and cause grooves, rings, etc.
Something called "pecking" will minimize this, but it takes more time, which costs more money.
Pecking is backing the reamer out several times during the operation to flush out the chips.

Way more info than needed, I'll shut up now.

just sayin'
Tilos

[100percent]

Hi Tilos,
My work involves using binocular microscopes in the 5-25x range. I am used to looking for problems with some magnification.

With my naked eyes I could see a groove half way around where the manufacturer throated the barrel. With magnification the throat has defects. There is also some chatter marks in the rifling, not unusual.

My gun shoots good so I have no complaint and don't think my Kahr needs replacement parts. I plan on fire lapping it with fmj rounds. I hope that I will be able to shoot 30,000 rounds (like jocko) and will like the barrel for the last 29,000 rounds, if my gun lasts that long. I have been shooting about 50-100 a week through it so I have shot it a few hundred rounds.
Take care.