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Barnacle Bill
Junior Member

USA
209 Posts

Posted - November 01 2009 :  4:16:21 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Breaking in a Kahr TP9 Novak. After 300 rounds of ball and <100 rounds of assorted HP (mostly DPX), I went today to run a couple 50 round boxes of 9BPLE through it. There we had a couple of hitches...

About halfway through the first mag, the slide wouldn't go completely into battery. Disassembly revealed that somehow the flanged end of the recoil spring guide had worked its way a couple coils up into the spring. I got it out, and reversed the spring on it. It didn't do it again, so I guess it is OK. I didn't know there was a "right" end to this spring, but I guess I'd better mark one end with a paint stick or something.

Again in mid-mag with most of the first box gone, there was one FTF where the round seems to have hung up in the mag. Pulling the slide back & releasing fixed it on the second try. It never did it again.

Is this gun trustworthy with this ammo, or do I need to shoot off another couple boxes to be sure?

BobK
Advanced Member

USA
1137 Posts

Posted - November 01 2009 :  7:05:09 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Bill, I have owned four different Kahr pistols. Never had a feeding problem. I used DPX, Ranger T, and Golden Saber.

But I did have a few other problems that persisted. In my experience with them, once a problem shows it never goes away.

I would try a different ammo and stick with it if it works.

Kahr pistols are great but only when they work of course. When you get one that's a lemon, there's no fixing it usually.

Good luck.

"We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm." George Orwell
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Barnacle Bill
Junior Member

USA
209 Posts

Posted - November 02 2009 :  2:59:15 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Well, the problem with the spring turns out to be my bad. From the manual, it does matter which way you put the spring. The manual actually cautions against removing the spring from the rod lest you get it backwards. IMO, they should have made it captive if that's how it is supposed to work... Anyway, it seems I did no permanent harm so I'll just watch that reassembly in the future.

Not sure if I'm ready to call it a lemon because 1 round in 100 nose-dived in the mag, or to blame that on the ammo (i.e. try a different load).
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BobK
Advanced Member

USA
1137 Posts

Posted - November 02 2009 :  4:01:16 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Barnacle Bill

Well, the problem with the spring turns out to be my bad. From the manual, it does matter which way you put the spring. The manual actually cautions against removing the spring from the rod lest you get it backwards. IMO, they should have made it captive if that's how it is supposed to work... Anyway, it seems I did no permanent harm so I'll just watch that reassembly in the future.

Not sure if I'm ready to call it a lemon because 1 round in 100 nose-dived in the mag, or to blame that on the ammo (i.e. try a different load).



Hope you got it figured out.

"We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm." George Orwell
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rnpollard
Starting Member

13 Posts

Posted - November 02 2009 :  5:41:35 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
You mention that you are "breaking it in". Does that mean that it is a new gun? If so I would contact Kahr. They mention a 200 round break in period and you've exceeded that. I would imagine that they would want to take a look at it and make it right.

I can't imagine anyone being able to get their hands on enough DPX or other premium round right now to put a whole lot of them through their gun. If you could find them the cost would likely be prohibitive.

That being said, I just bought a PM9 and it fired the first 300 rounds without a single malfunction. Just the same I practiced my immediate action drills. TAP RACK READY.

A semi auto is a machine and is subject to fail and training on correcting those failures is part of the training program.

Murphy never sleeps.

Good luck with your gun.

Rick

Hooah! It's an Army thing!
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mojo
Advanced Member

USA
1148 Posts

Posted - November 02 2009 :  10:28:33 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Grind another couple of boxes of hard ball through it if OK then try the 9BPLE again. It could be magazine related. Do you have more than one magazine? If you do mark them so you will know which one is giving you trouble.

"In these modern times, many men are wounded for not having weapons or knowledge of their use."
-Achille Marozzo, 1536

"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials.
To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
-George Mason
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Evan
Administrator

26750 Posts

Posted - November 03 2009 :  07:39:20 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
only you can decide what is reliability-my Glock's 17, 26, and 30SF, and Beretta PX4 Storm and Smith 642 have never had a stoppage-never. that's almost reliable enough AND it's why I carry multiple handguns with a rifle in the van.

"The greatest thing a Father can do for his children is to love their Mother."

Harold B. Lee

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Barnacle Bill
Junior Member

USA
209 Posts

Posted - November 03 2009 :  10:42:57 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Yes, new gun...

Like Evan, the guns I'd normally rely on are 100% with no record of trouble. Then I've seen guns that were not reliable at all & I wouldn't trust. This one seems kind of borderline. If it was just me involved, I'd just get something else. However, it is ultimately for my wife. She wants something both lighter and lower recoil than the Star Firestar M40 she now has, but has pretty much rejected anything with double stack mags over the fat grips. The Kahr seems to fit the bill, but if it isn't reliable I may have to go to a .380 for lack of other light single-stack alternatives in 9mm.

To rnpollard's point about cost, normally I shoot a couple hundred rounds of ball and then 100 of what I want to use for serious. One of the attractions of 9BPLE (in addition to its reputation) is that when you can find it you generally pay < $0.50 per round. At that price I can bring myself to burn a second 100 on this, but if it was DPX that would be really painful.

I think I'll go with mojo's suggestion, and send it back to Kahr if it acts up again in the process.

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Evan
Administrator

26750 Posts

Posted - November 03 2009 :  12:33:57 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
one thing that is sometimes forgotten is the need to take brand new guns and field strip them and scrub the snot out of them.

I fixed a customers super expensive customized 1911 by just cleaning it. I did it out of his sight and after shooting it he wanted to know what parts I had replaced.

"The greatest thing a Father can do for his children is to love their Mother."

Harold B. Lee

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TONY
Advanced Member

USA
2749 Posts

Posted - November 03 2009 :  1:11:38 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I have a CW40. The owners manual said not to consider the gun reliable until it had a minimum of 200 rounds through it. It likes nickle plated best so that's all i carry in it. Fed Tactical 165gr.

Stay Safe,

TONY
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Barnacle Bill
Junior Member

USA
209 Posts

Posted - November 03 2009 :  3:22:01 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Evan

one thing that is sometimes forgotten is the need to take brand new guns and field strip them and scrub the snot out of them.

I fixed a customers super expensive customized 1911 by just cleaning it. I did it out of his sight and after shooting it he wanted to know what parts I had replaced.



I did that with the gun, but not the mags. I'll do that next
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WR Moore
Junior Member

USA
139 Posts

Posted - November 03 2009 :  4:35:30 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I'm not up on Kahrs catalog, but the mini pistols sometimes don't do well with +P+ type ammo due to slide velocities outside the design envelope.
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Todd
Average Member

USA
483 Posts

Posted - November 03 2009 :  5:30:45 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I found my P45 liked to run really well lubed, even after the initial several hundred rounds.
Todd
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Lockjaw
New Member

USA
63 Posts

Posted - November 06 2009 :  4:08:35 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Evan

one thing that is sometimes forgotten is the need to take brand new guns and field strip them and scrub the snot out of them.

I fixed a customers super expensive customized 1911 by just cleaning it. I did it out of his sight and after shooting it he wanted to know what parts I had replaced.



I usually oil mine with a very good gun oil I get locally. It will slick up anything, and gives me extra casting distance on my baitcasting reels too.
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Chuck
Advanced Member

USA
2436 Posts

Posted - November 08 2009 :  02:26:27 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
MY wife's PM9 took more like 400 rounds to break in.

I note that her gun really likes the BPLE 115gr +P+, and Doc Gunn of John Farnam's list has posted that he and others he knows have +P or +P+ in their Kahrs.

The Kahrs seem to like to be run "wet", more so than my Glocks and S&Ws have.
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Barnacle Bill
Junior Member

USA
209 Posts

Posted - November 08 2009 :  4:50:37 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
OK, cleaned it thoroughly including the mags (which had not been diassembled ed since coming out of the box). Did my usual on lubrication - Tetra grease on all bearing surfaces in the gun itself, Mag Slick on the follower & inside of the mag body. Another 100 rounds of ball went through without a hitch yesterday. Recleaned & relubed as above last night. Next chance I get to hit the range, I'll try another 100 rounds of 9BPLE.
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Barnacle Bill
Junior Member

USA
209 Posts

Posted - November 14 2009 :  7:08:26 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Tried another 100 rounds of 9BPLE. Three nosedives in the mag, all in the same mag, all on the second round in the mag. I'll call Kahr next week & see if they'll swap me for a new mag.
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