Kahr PM40 Issues

When people buy an $800 1911 and it doesn`t work 100% they send it to a smith and have hundreds (or thousands!) of dollars worth of attention lavished upon it to make it right and that`s okay but if a $500 Kahr has one weak spring that`s easily replaced it`s junk that`ll get ya killed. :blink:
I bought my P40 used,it`s an early one. It had the weak mag release issue. I called Kahr and they sent me a 2nd design release and spring for free. I had it in less than a week. It took about 2mins. to install and it`s been fine since. It also had an issue with failures to fully feed the last round in a mag from time to time. That turned out to be excessive extractor tension. With that fixed it`s been absolutely 100% for several years now. It`s become by far my favorite carry gun. It was worth a little effort to end up with a carry gun that carrys and shoots this well. Marcus

Whether it's a $300 or $1,000 gun, if you're gonna stake your life on it, it better work right out of the box, not after applying baling wire, duct tape or whatever other fixes it requires!

Out of my three Kahrs (P9 Covert, PM9...both 9mm's....and P45), my P45 has been suffering some "teething" problems....related to extremely irregular ejection/extraction and failures-to-eject with Winchester SXT 230 grain .45 ACP ammo....it's going back to Kahr to get those issues addressed.

Quote:

---

Whether it's a $300 or $1,000 gun, if you're gonna stake your life on it, it better work right out of the box, not after applying baling wire, duct tape or whatever other fixes it requires!

---

My first gun, a Glock 17, had lots of failures to feed during the first few hundred rounds. My Glock 34 had a bunch of light strikes when it was new. Both have been very reliable since then.

One of my 3, a 226, shoots way high. I'm sure that Sig will fix it up.

My point is that you can sometimes have a problem even with the best.

I understand your frustration. But mechanical devices aren't always perfect. It's your gun. I'm sure that you'll do what you feel best. I'm just trying to offer another opinion.

M1911....I'm PM'ing you.

Yeah I realize even reputable manufacturers put out a few bad guns. I have nearly 6 months before I can get my CHL so I have a while for my PM40 to prove its 100%. I'm not going to ditch it because it was sent back to the factory after 80 rounds. I could definatly see this gun being my favorite carry piece.

1911s seem to be the exception. Most guys will ditch a normal gun if it can't feed dirt. But everyone seems willing to send their $1200 1911s to Wilson or whoever to buff the chamber. I guess thats what happens when you take a G.I. gun designed with loose tolerances and make them ultra tight. Make an AK that tight and see what happens.

1911s can take some fiddling to get running, but once running they're pretty solid. I've had pretty good luck with mine. I have one that I buffed the feed ramp, breech face, and retensioned the extractor. It wasn't exactly hard to buff the feed ramp -- 600 grit sand paper, oil, my finger, and some patience did the trick. But my other 3 have been pretty good. I've never had a chamber buffed.

1911s can be picky about magazines. 7 round Wilson's have been great for me. I'm currently experimenting with 8 round Wilson's for my IDPA gun -- I need that extra round (yup, I'm a gamer). So far so good on the 8 rounders -- they worked great with JHP, FMJ, and semi-wadcutters.

I wish I could find a Kahr PM9 here in MA. I like the MK9, but it's a bit heavy for a pocket gun.

I have a Kimber Combat Carry (predecessor to the Kimber Compact CDP I and II) .45 ACP and Dan Wesson PTE-EXP 10mm....both 1911's have yet to give me a problem that wasn't attributable directly to magazines. With reliable mags, both guns have been running at 100%.

Kahr shipped me 3 new mag followers. So if they don't replace the ones in my mags while its there for service, I'll have an extra one. If they do then I'll have 3 spare followers.

I have no doubt most modern manufacturers turn out fine 1911s and a Kimber TLE is on my list for the future. However, it seems that 1911s as a whole tend to need a little more TLC than other service pistols such as GLOCKs, XDs, SIGs, and H&Ks. After saying that I must say that the 1911 might be the best combat sidearm in terms of practical accuracy and ergonomics. 1911s seem to fit just about everyones hand like a glove.

75scout, I think we're pretty much in violent agreement.

Its kinda strange that you had reliablilty problems with a GLOCK 17 and accuracy problems with a SIG, but you 1911 has run perfectly. It's seems you are both lucky (1911) and cursed (SIG/GLOCK).

Yup, it is odd. My Glock 17 is an early model, so perhaps there were some teething problems in the early guns. It was also my first gun, sp perhaps some of the failures to feed that I experienced were pilot error. It is also inaccurate -- my Glock 23 is noticeably more accurate. Why I got light strikes on my Glock 34 (and why they went away) is another mystery. :confused:

I think my Sig 226 is reasonably accurate, but the sights are just off. I just need to get off my duff and send it back to Sig. They'll fix it right up, I'm sure. My other two Sigs (P239s in 9mm and .40) are both quite accurate and the sights are right on.

Just picked up a PM9 today. I'll try to get to the range tomorrow and see how it does.

Let us know 1911 , mine runs great , and i honestly think a lot of issues you read about with them are operator induced , they are not guns for everybody .