New PM40 and 45 some problems

[Phanes]

Hello I have been lurking here for sometime but never posted. After doing some research I decided for my pocket guns I wanted a PM40 and 45. I like owning two guns in the same caliber in case I have problems finding ammo. When I took the PM40 and 45 out for their break in the following happened.

The PM40 broke the followers on both mags, had one FTFeed every single mag, and would eject rounds back at my head.

The 45 shot all 200 rounds but there was some ammo that I had bought from a reloader that was too fat. Basically the bullet itself kind of looked like it swallowed a doughnut. They fire fine on my full sized 45s but the little PM did not like it.

So my plan is to call Kahr tomorrow about the 40 and since I work a few miles from the plant I am hoping they just let me drop it off and pick it up.

Outside of a fluff and buff on the 45 do you guys have any recommendations?

[scosgt]

I would not fire reloads in a small polymer frame gun. That is begging for trouble, and do not tell Kahr you fired reloads.

As to the .40, send it back and demand they fix it. That is horrible.

[Phanes]

I would not fire reloads in a small polymer frame gun. That is begging for trouble, and do not tell Kahr you fired reloads.

As to the .40, send it back and demand they fix it. That is horrible.


Yeah that is the plan. I hope when I visit the factory they have a storefront.

[yqtszhj]

Shoot the 45 like you stole it. It gets better every time. :)

[CJB]

The 40 will lose its tendancy to hurl 'em at your head, as it breaks in and the recoil spring gets looser. Have them fix the problem with the followers breaking.

The 45's that I have, and I have two, both have tight chambers. Very tight. I have not gauged them, but ammo that drops into my FN and Colt factory chambers will not chamber in the PM45. Similarly, that same ammo will not go into my Bar-Sto chambers or the Sig 1911 match barrel that I got for a Govt Model. The Sig P220 has a rather loose chamber.

So we see that chamber sizes vary and... any commercial reloads are subject to all sorts of quality issues from length over all, to crimp, to wrinkling, to bullet bulge, to case bottom bulge... you name it, they get it. I know, I reloaded literally millions of range swept up brass for the range it was swept up in. Its a chore to get it to come out so it will fit in most any pistol's chamber.

[kerby9mm]

The followers breaking seem to be a common problem now for the pm40 and there was a post of a cm9?( Not sure) doing the same thing. The fix seems to be trimming the feedramp. So why does this happen. Is the slide stop hole drilled out of spec/is the slot in the barrel that the slide stop goes through out of spec enabling the barrel to come back too far so as to hit the follower. I don't know but I am curious about this broken follower problem.

[CJB]

I don't think its things being really... "off kilter" but could be more of a case of occasional stacked tolerance causing interferance. That area in the pistol has not got a lot of room at its disposal.

Or... dirty secret perhaps be told, it could be a case of "pieceworkitis", where in order to get paid more, assemblers rush stuff out the door.

Everyone who says they oughta check it, is right, the should. Could be though, that the incidence is of problem is very low in comparison to the number of produced pieces and some college boy bean counter says its fine. We do tend to see disproportionately more problems than succes stories, due to human nature and the internet experience......

[kerby9mm]

Yes, it does seem that Kahr owners turn to the forum when a problem arises. If there is not a problem they just go on their way.

[Phanes]

Yeah I have to say I was surprised at how well the 45 shot. It ran through all 200 rounds of various ball/hollow point ammo with no problems and the recoil was manageable. I just had a bag of mixed .45 and there was some reloads in there from a commercial reloader up in Maine. Basically when one of those went in the gun would stop about 1/8" short of seating fully I would have to tap the back of the gun to get it to seat. So after two of those I went through my bag and pulled out the reloads. I dropped them in my FNH 45 and they shot fine. I know the little guns have much tighter specs so I am not surprised a reload did not fit in it.

I am going to call Kahr today and see if they will let me drop off the weapon as I work only a few miles from the factory. I am hoping they have a storefront as well so I can get some more .45 mags.

[Sharpsburg]

Yeah I have to say I was surprised at how well the 45 shot. It ran through all 200 rounds of various ball/hollow point ammo with no problems and the recoil was manageable. I just had a bag of mixed .45 and there was some reloads in there from a commercial reloader up in Maine. Basically when one of those went in the gun would stop about 1/8" short of seating fully I would have to tap the back of the gun to get it to seat. So after two of those I went through my bag and pulled out the reloads. I dropped them in my FNH 45 and they shot fine. I know the little guns have much tighter specs so I am not surprised a reload did not fit in it.

I am going to call Kahr today and see if they will let me drop off the weapon as I work only a few miles from the factory. I am hoping they have a storefront as well so I can get some more .45 mags.

I recently sent my pm45 for repairs related to FTE on virtually every mag. Turn around was quick and it now runs like a champ. If I recall, you cannot drop it off. Their website states something about not allowing drop offs. From their website:


Q. What is the procedure for returning my firearm for service or repair?

A. KAHR ARMS DOES NOT ALLOW INDIVIDUALS OR DEALERS TO BRING FIREARMS TO OUR FACTORY FOR REPAIR. GUNS FOR REPAIR MUST BE SENT TO THE FACTORY ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION OUTLINED BELOW.

Kahr pistols returned to the factory for service or repair should be sent to:


K.A.I.
130 Goddard Memorial Drive
Worcester, MA 01603
Attn: Service Dept.