PM9 - 1st 2 Range visits- what happened?

[sco]

Last weekend I bought a new pm9 black with night sights, 1000 rounds of Federal Am Eagle 115 FMJ and 20 Federal 124 JHPs. Also got one extra kahr 6 round mag and 2 promag 7 round mags.

First visit to the range was flawless. 50 FMJs and 20 JHPs. Everything fed and shot great.

Then I stripped it down and cleaned and oiled very lightly.

Second trip to the range after cleaning- jammed a lot. Could I have messed up the reassembly or something? Same ammo, same mags. Only thing different was it was a different day and I cleaned it in between.

[Bawanna]

Locking open with bullets left, not feeding, not ejecting or extracting? What kind of jam are we talking about here.

I'd say 70 or so flawless one trip and then jamomatic the next somethings not put back together right but not sure what it could be.

Did you dissasemble and clean / oil prior to the first trip or shoot it right out of the box?

[TucsonMTB]

Add to Bawanna's comments, what lubricant are you using. My PM40 really likes Weapon Shield but is less happy with one of the other highly regarded lubricants that works well with my 1911's and will remain nameless.

The difference is startling. With my full sized stainless 1911 the other lubricant makes is feel like it is super slick or has ball bearings on the rails. In the Kahr the same stuff is almost gritty feeling. Put a little Weapon Shield on the barrel hood and where the barrel goes through the front of the slide and all is well, in terms of feel when hand racking.

To me, that suggests that Kahr's need a high film strength lubricant. YMMV

[sco]

When it jammed- it would seem to not get the round all the way in. It would leave the slide open about 1/4 inch. Same thing every time. I'm kind of new to all this so I appreciate your patience...

I did not clean it prior to the first trip- shot it right our of the box. It is only the second gun I've had apart. It's entirely possible I screwed something up. But I was pretty careful, not sure what I could have done wrong.

Also- upon jamming I would clear it- (sometimes this was difficult and required a lot of force opening the slide). After clearing it I loaded the same ammo back in another mag and shot it a few minutes later. That was probably not wise now that I think about it. I may have been attempting to shoot ammo that was damaged by the failure. In other words I may have had 4 bad rounds reloaded 5 times equally 20 failures.

If I can find a good clear video on how to strip it down I think I'll try it again.

I was trying to get through the breakin period as I have a CCW class scheduled for this Saturday. I can always use my browning buckmark .22 that is a tack driver but I really wanted to use the gun I plan on carrying.

I used Hoppe's 9 Lubricating oil- it came with a cleaning kit.

[BuckeyeBlast]

Could the recoil spring have been put in backwards on reassembly? Would that cause this? (open end of spring goes towards the front of the gun)

[TucsonMTB]

It's OK to be a little generous with lubrication during break-in. During the initial wear process, the gun needs all the help it can get.

Oh, and take the pressure off yourself, unless there is some requirement to qualify with what you will carry, use the proven Buckmark.

[dannyeller]

The recoil spring does have a front and back. I'm not sure how that would do what you described. When you cleaned it did you clean the chamber. If you put too much lube in the chamber area it could gum up fairly quickly causing a jam like the one you described. It could leave a thick residue just at the throat area of the chamber preventing the rounds from fully chambering.

Next time take a quew-tip cotton swab and apply a lite coat of lube on the swap then with the swab on the slide rails, feed ramp, outside area of the barrel starting at the muzzle to about an inch and a half from the muzzle and the "Trigger Cam" (Not sure what you call it but it is part number 15 on the PM9 diagram). Then after cleaning and lubing the chamber and barrel take a dry patch and run it through the PM9 chamber and barrel several times twisting it a little in the chamber as you go from chamber end to barrel.

You can see a take down video and parts diagram at:
http://www.kahr.com/Pistols/Kahr-PM9.asp

PS: born Avery County and spent 20 years at Fort Bragg.

[sco]

Thanks Tucson...

I just checked and the spring is in correct. I think what I'll do is clean it again and see if I can get to the range again before Saturday. If it's perfect I'll take it Saturday, if not buckmark it is until I get this figured out.

I'm in NC. No requirement for qualifying with same gun I'll carry. I think I just have to shoot with decent accuracy at a couple of different distances, timed. From what I hear it is pretty straight forward.

[BuckeyeBlast]

Hey - what mags were you using when the jamming was happening? I would only try and diag that issue with the Kahr 6 round mags.

[crazymailman]

Welcome SCO. Good luck with your pm9. What part of NC are you from?