What happened to my PM9 polymer frame rails- chipped off?

[armoredsaint]

this is just after ~300 rounds, it looks like the rails are chipping off and it looks warped, is the spring or slide hitting it somewhere. :eek:

this is my first kahr, how's the warranty repair work?

http://images116.fotki.com/v698/photos/4/499657/1762319/IMG00016200912291330-vi.jpg

http://images51.fotki.com/v424/photos/4/499657/1762319/IMG00017200912291502-vi.jpg

http://images47.fotki.com/v1589/photos/4/499657/1762319/IMG00019200912291503-vi.jpg

[ripley16]

The actual rails are embedded in the dust cover and are at the rear of the frame. What you are calling a rail is there only to make assembly easier. Why it is being chewed is a good question though. Are you shooting particularly hot ammo? What lube, where and how much?

[armoredsaint]

The actual rails are embedded in the dust cover and are at the rear of the frame. What you are calling a rail is there only to make assembly easier. Why it is being chewed is a good question though. Are you shooting particularly hot ammo? What lube, where and how much?

just normal blazer brass, WWB - i never shoot any +P. And I take care of my handgun very well, almost OCD ;) I use weapons lube or eezox, never had an issue ever.

it's just strange and disappointing.

[armoredsaint]

and i have to give a -1 on Kahr CS rep named Sean, he suddenly decided in not returning my emails for support after two attempts over the past 2 weeks - pretty disappointing when you compared it to other makers who are top notch.

[ripley16]

Does the gun malfunction?

[fitzgood]

That sure doesn't look right. Keep us posted on what Kahr says and does about it.

[wagon]

The pics look familiar, I think I've seen them from another forum ..... GlockTalk? AR15.com? I can be wrong. ... Are you the same person who got this (used) PM9 from a trade? Surely it looked abused (by previous owner), as every one suggested.

I thought you were to contact Kahr to see if they can do anything to help? Give them a call and show them these pix, Kahr will surely warranty their product -- where appropriate.

Good luck.

[Bravo_Kilo]

I've had my PM9 for what seems like a couple of years now (probably under 500 rounds through it though), and I just noticed my polymer "rails" are looking similar, though maybe not quite as bad. I didn't realize it was a problem as the gun had been functioning reliably.

Well, I let a friend shoot it recently so he could compare the trigger to the trigger on his new Kel-Tec (which is awful BTW), and he had a FTF after the first shot. I had just pulled the gun from my concealed carry holster to let him shoot it, so I was understandably shaken up by this. Had it been a life and death situation, I would be screwed. Anyways, I cleared the jam and then I had a FTF after every subsequent shot. I was shooting Speer Gold Dot - my standard defensive load. Every single round nose dived into the feed ramp. What's weird is that it had been functioning fine with this ammo up until this point. I spoke to someone at Kahr the other day to talk about the FTF issue, and they're supposedly sending me a new recoil spring and a new follower. I didn't bring up the polymer rails issue during the call, but I'll be calling them back after seeing this thread.

I gotta tell you, I have no confidence in this pistol anymore. I registered here to try and find a solution from other Kahr owners, and I may still start my own thread. I'm interested in the OP's conclusion.

[pacific nw guy]

i have about 450 rounds through my pm40 and I take very good care of it. yesterday while cleaning I noticed that at the same point the rails were starting to come apart/lose their shape. not as bad as the pics but it seemed to be starting.

i was thinking i should just sand them down a bit with some really fine paper, anyone have input on that?

[deadhead1971]

I have 985 rounds through my Pm9. There is a little wear but it appears to have stopped and is not getting worse.

The 3rd photo down is out of focus but appears to show the front rail chipped and missing. Is that what you all see?

[jocko]

my two cents. Was this gun bought new by YOU ? this will tell us alot. What you are seeing IMO is possable improper reassembly of the slide. these polymer rails are there to guide the slide on the gun in a proper straight line fashion, Once on the gun those rails never touch the slide anymore. Now from viewing this photo what looks like possable damage is at the very front of each side of the polymer guide rails. Now if you put that slide on wrong,the metal slide rails are going to damage that front part causing slivers etc. Other than looking like crap, it will not effect operation of the gun and what i would do is just get some 600+ grit auto sand paper and smooth those two front polymer areas down. remove the slivers and it will be OK. I do not think Kahr will replace the lower section for they also know what causes this abnormal wear in that one frontal part. It would help to know if it was used and I tend to agree with Wagon here, that I think I have seen this thread over on AR15.

by the looks of the non beveled slide stop lever, I feel this gun could be at least 2 years old and for having only 300 rounds through it to me might indicate it was bought used and was abused by the previous owner. If that is the case, then smooth it out and live with it as it will not cause one issue with reliability at all...

[willyfast]

this is just after ~300 rounds, it looks like the rails are chipping off and it looks warped, is the spring or slide hitting it somewhere. :eek:

this is my first kahr, how's the warranty repair work?

http://images116.fotki.com/v698/photos/4/499657/1762319/IMG00016200912291330-vi.jpg

http://images51.fotki.com/v424/photos/4/499657/1762319/IMG00017200912291502-vi.jpg

http://images47.fotki.com/v1589/photos/4/499657/1762319/IMG00019200912291503-vi.jpg
See my post under "PM45 issue". Your picture clearly shows what I was trying to describe with words.