T40 slide release not long enough to catch mag follower on lock back

[mad1ben2]

I haven't had much of a chance to evaluate this yet, but I did try the MK40 slide stop over the weekend and it did not help... I wanted to wait until I received the new one from Kahr before posting back... it came yesterday and (as expected) is the same.

So I've got 4 mags that all fail to lock back on the T40. So now I'm thinking the metal tabs on the followers have gotten pushed in somehow... on ALL of them... so I took one apart and struggled to find a way to pull the metal tab out a bit... ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO PULL THIS TAB OUT A BIT???

I managed to scrape one up a bit and pull it out enough to now scrape the inside of the magazine a bit as it slides in and out. It does now slightly catch the slide stop but also rubs inside the magazine... not sure this is how it should function and would imagain over time the friction will push the tab back into the mag.

So I need to take a step back and reevaluate. Compare different kahr guns to the T40 and figure out what's causing this. As I said, I didn't have time to play around last night but I did give it a bit of brain power while sleeping! I know I put the TP9 stop in there and it extended significantly further in and catches the metal tab easily... what I did not do was put rounds in the magazine and ensure the slide stop doesn't catch the live rounds too... I'm thinking it will so my problem wont likely be solved with a differnet slide stop (nor should it since I now know I have the right one... and should be working with this slide stop).

Now that I realize the correct slide stop is in the gun and it doesn't catch the lock back tab on the follower, it has to be something with the mag follower, right?

For now, if someone can give me some advice on how to pull the metal tab out a bit from the follower (hopefully without scaring up the top of the metal tab) I'll extend them as far as possible while not rubbing TOO much on the inside of the mags and see if that helps. And I'll do some comparisons with other kahr guns that are working correctly and try to figure out exactly how much contact is needed between the slide stop and the tab on the mag follower for proper function...

[mad1ben2]

Ok, I finally got the time to re-evaluate the problem... seeing how I now know I have the right slide release...

Well, hopefully you'll be able to see the pictures below, but basically the metal tab that catches the slide release was in backwards in 3 of the 4 magazines I had... on the 4th the problem was simply that the tab had been pushed in a bit too far.

Here are some pictures of the before and after and a couple with the metal tab pulled all the way out and laying next to the follower... in the original (backwards) position and then the correct position.

Before - tab in backwards


Tab out but in the backwards position


Tab out and flipped to the right position


After - tab replaced in the right position


I would presume these were all from the same batch of mag followers and simply got installed backwards... I'm embarrassed I didn't notice it right off the bat... but my brain when the slide stop route and as soon as I found a slide stop long enough to catch the tabs I jumped to the conclusion it was the wrong slide stop...

Oh well, live and learn. At least it was an easy fix.

[jocko]

ok, so did that fix the issue with your kahr??? If so, I must say kudos to you for trouble shooting this to. I would have never caught that at all. One might assume one could be out of whack but 3 of them, wow. That is so strange. Four sure test these magazine out andif in doubnt just order 3 or 4 magazine followers and start anew..

Nice job though it all is well. again something that we need to keepin our brain files if one has an issue. Your photos served very well also.

[mad1ben2]

it did solve the problem.. as I said 3 of 4 were like this. when I went back and looked at the original pictures i posted with the 2 different slide stops I had the 4th mag in that was actually installed correctly... it had just been pushed in a little too far... I never inspected the mag followers real close (obviously!)... just jumped to the wrong conclusion that it was the slide stop.

When I look back at the new pictures I'd almost swear I was making this up!!! it just looks screwy but I would almost swear on my kids (but obviously I'd never do that!) the photos are not 'doctored'... 3 of the 4 were exactly as I show... after correcting 2 of the 3 I decided I'd better grab the camera and capture the kodak moment or no one would believe me...

It's sad that it took me almost a week to build up the energy to research this again... I was disgusted when the MK9 slide stop didn't work and just didn't have the energy or patiences to really look at it...

I'm just glad the problem is fixed! I was going to just buy some new followers but when I found that a small jeweler's screw driver would pry those tabs out I figured I could flip them over and at least try it...

I did find that in order for the tab to catch consistently it has to be far enough out to noticeably scrap the inside of the mag.... not enough to snag it or keep it from moving up as each round is stripped off... the mag spring if plenty strong enough to keep it moving... but with my other kahrs this amount of friction isn't necessary...

If/when I order anything from Kahr I'll likely add a couple followers to the order just for good measure... as of now this is a range and possibly IDPA gun for me, so no life/death situations expected!

We can put this thread to bed now... thx!

P.S. I too loved the old '97 Heritage Springers... I have the '96 FLSTN (Heritage Special - cross between the Heritage and the Fatboy).. I think they was only made from '93 - '96... the first one was the "moo glide" as it had the black/white cow leather seat and bags... each year had it's own unique paint scheme... they replaced the Heritage Special with the Springer in '97... definitely a unique bike for sure... all that fringe!