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  1. #1
    MGO Member MichiganShootist's Avatar
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    Attention Kahr P-380 Owners

    I picked up one of these slick little pocket pistols a couple months ago. After some initial mechanical issues it was sent to Kahr for a factory tune---and it then quickly became my go to gun when pocket carry was all I could muster. (perfect in cargo shorts)

    Just a quick warning to other owners of this little gun. The recoil spring (which was replaced by Kahr) is so strong if you load the gun as the factory suggests (locking the slide back--installing a full mag--then releasing the slide release)-- The force involved is so violent that it generated bullet set back in only 4 or 5 or so times of reloading the pistol.

    I have experienced this with 3 different brands of premium ammo... and I'm talking about a serious set back OVER 1/4" IN A 380 IS SERIOUS.

    So I'm keeping an eye on it... and have trashed a number of rounds that I thought to be dangerously short.


    Mark

    P.S. The gun runs like a champ once you pick the right ammo. I love it... but now know it has a quirk to watch.
    Last edited by MichiganShootist; 06-16-2021 at 03:18 PM.

  2. #2
    MGO Member balrog006's Avatar
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    Thanks for the warning/caution. I do not follow the lock back and release method to load mine and I cannot say I have noticed the issue with my carry loads.

    I too love the light and compact little pocket pistol-it’s my, when I can’t carry anything else, deep concealment option. I did find in my SD ammo testing it did not feed Winchester Ranger T’s, or Remington Golden Sabers. Performance with Federal HST Micro’s were marginal at best…. I ended up going with Hornady FTX’s, they always feed smoothly, perform as well as a 380 can IMHO.
    “Cui prodest?” Lucius Annaeus Seneca

  3. #3
    MGO Member MichiganShootist's Avatar
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    That's good info. Straight Remington JHPs, basic Winchester JHPs, Cor-bon, and all FMJs run in mine. HSTs -- not so much

    What's your "loading drill"??? One of the reasons mine went in for a factory tune... was that it wasn't fully seating rounds.

    Mark

  4. #4
    MGO Member balrog006's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MichiganShootist View Post
    What's your "loading drill"??? One of the reasons mine went in for a factory tune... was that it wasn't fully seating rounds.

    Mark
    I got mine used and noticed it was a bit stiff on loading but not being sure if the 200 round break in was done or done correctly I redid it. No issues since then as long as I don’t let the pocket lint build up too badly.

    I load the same way I load my Glocks, pull the slide back fully and release-no slide lock. Being a lefty I learned that it was more reliable that trying to manipulate the slide lock lever. There is a very small difference in the length of travel between the two but I think the springs have a disproportionate amount of energy gained in that last fraction of an inch so they seem to work more reliably.
    “Cui prodest?” Lucius Annaeus Seneca

  5. #5
    MGO Member MichiganShootist's Avatar
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    My concern is that if I don't use the slide release method suggested by Kahr... I'll never know if that first round is fully chambered. Before the factory re-tuned the gun it was.. with some ammo.. failing to go into battery as much as 50% of the time.

    I'd hate to need it some day only to hear a click when expecting to hear a bang.

  6. #6
    MGO Member Ol` Joe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MichiganShootist View Post

    Just a quick warning to other owners of this little gun. The recoil spring (which was replaced by Kahr) is so strong if you load the gun as the factory suggests (locking the slide back--installing a full mag--then releasing the slide release)-- The force involved is so violent that it generated bullet set back in only 4 or 5 or so times of reloading the pistol.

    I have experienced this with 3 different brands of premium ammo... and I'm talking about a serious set back OVER 1/4" IN A 380 IS SERIOUS.

    So I'm keeping an eye on it... and have trashed a number of rounds that I thought to be dangerously short.


    Mark

    P.S. The gun runs like a champ once you pick the right ammo. I love it... but now know it has a quirk to watch.
    A 1/4” is way past excessive movement in a case as small as the 380. Personally I feel any change noticeable to the eye is way too much.

    Vihtavuori has a example of a change in reduction of depth of only 2 mm or about .0787” in a 9mm that resulted in a rise in pressure of ~11,600 psi from a normal for the load tested of ~33,360 psi. This is a larger case then the 380 and I am pretty sure a smaller pressure to seating change then you will find in the smaller cartridge. I also suspect you are getting some increase in depth most of the times you chamber a round past the 1st or 2nd chambering.

    I have noticed a slight change in seating of my handloads with just a few seatings in most (not all) of my pistols in the past and have developed a system of rotating the chambered rd to the bottom of the mag as I reload and when I feel all have been chambered 2x max I shoot them if I already have not done so and load with fresh ammo. I pocket the chambered round if not loading at home and reload the mag later with it at the bottom. Ammo is cheap, fingers and eyes not so much.

    I clean my carry gun about every 3 weeks if not fired or dropped in the mud say and shoot my magazine of carry ammo about every 6 months if I haven’t already, so I normally don’t really chamber a round more then once anyway.

    I load my guns by using the slide lock usually, I have never however checked to see if slingshotting made a difference in seating. I also only own 9mm and 45acp caliber pistols of 5 different models and have no experience with other cartridges or pistols but, I am guessing all pretty much act the same in most cases.



    BTW
    I 1st checked for bullet movement when 1st starting to reload straight walled pistol cartridges and wanting to insure my bullet stayed put with the amount of crimp I was applying and taking variations in case wall thickness into account. I did find some brass with thin case walls did offer somewhat less resistance to bullet creep then thicker brass without some readjustment of the amount of crimp. Not always but enough to show it made some difference, more then crimp IMO. I’m sure die/chamber tolerances and age of the case made some of the difference in how well the die compresses the OD of the case wall back down to size and brass thickness affects the final ID of the sized case which affects neck tension more then I can measure. JMO
    "Saepe errans, numquam dubitans --Frequently in error, never in doubt".

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  7. #7
    MGO Member MichiganShootist's Avatar
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    I agree with you 100% Joe.

    Regarding why people like Kahr pistols:

    1. Their fit and finish puts all other small pistols to shame
    2. A life time warranty (great customer service)
    3. A very smooth (double action) trigger once broken in
    4. Far more accurate barrels than any "peer" pistols
    5. They hold their value better than most "little" pistols

    That's enough for me. I carry a 9 MM or 380 of the Kahr brand any time a service sized is not practical (which is most of the time)

    Mark

  8. #8
    MGO Member balrog006's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PuffAtter View Post
    I don't understand why people think Kahr pistols are so good, I owned 2, sold one and traded the other away, I would never buy another one, the 9mm would double fire every now and then. Quite a bit of bad reviews on them too.

    To each their own is all I can say-you may not like them but many more have no or few issues with them and own and use them and buy more. Every pistol or brand will have issues, but I’ve never experienced nor seen reports of credible issues with regard to safety of them aside from unique instances and outlier incidents-of which the whole story is never told so it’s not conclusively the pistol or the operator or the ammo.

    Quote Originally Posted by MichiganShootist View Post
    I agree with you 100% Joe.

    Regarding why people like Kahr pistols:

    1. Their fit and finish puts all other small pistols to shame
    2. A life time warranty (great customer service)
    3. A very smooth (double action) trigger once broken in
    4. Far more accurate barrels than any "peer" pistols
    5. They hold their value better than most "little" pistols

    That's enough for me. I carry a 9 MM or 380 of the Kahr brand any time a service sized is not practical (which is most of the time)

    Mark
    I do agree with most of this myself-I had Kahr’s in 9mm as well but prefer the trigger on Glock models so once the G43/48 came out I carry those primarily-but as I said the P380 has a place in my kit and it fills it better that anything else I’ve ever tried.
    “Cui prodest?” Lucius Annaeus Seneca

  9. #9
    Whats your opinion of the mags? That's the only reason I didn't buy a ct380. Mags seemed really sub par compared to mp, xd, sig mags that I am used to.

  10. #10
    MGO Member MichiganShootist's Avatar
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    The mags have had some fit issues...and in some cases failed to drop free when empty.

    I've had my PM-9 5 or 6 years. One mag wasn't reliable. I called Kahr they took it back (and paid for shipping) and sent me a knew one.

    That's all I can report.

    Mark

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