Corbon +P in 9mm Question... (long)

T

TomPCFGA

Inactive
Greetings,

I have a question for the experts on this forum. I apologize in advance for the length of the posting, but any info or advice would be appreciated...

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I recently purchased a Kahr K9 pistol in stainless steel. I really, really like the gun. It shoots very well (especially for such a small gun) and it's also very well built. For the first couple of hundred rounds, during the break-in period, I only shot FMJ rounds (115gr, Winchester or CCI Blazer). It shot and fed fine.

After the break in period (after about 225 rounds) I shot some Federal Personal Defense ammo (115 gr, JHP). It fed and shot fine as well.

I had problems, though, with the Corbon 115gr +P, JHP. These rounds wouldn't load correctly. When I racked the slide, the round would strip and feed, but the slide would not go back into battery completely. I also had a tough time re-racking the slide (it was stuck). I took the gun to the dealer and he was able to rack the slide and clear the round. The gunsmith field stripped the Kahr and everything looked fine. He noticed, though, that the Corbon round seemed a little long and it didn't quite fit in the barrel's chamber. We compared the Corbon rounds with other 9mm rounds from various manufacturers and we saw it was longer than all of the other rounds. All of the rounds in my boxes of Corbon ammo (I had two boxes, 115gr and 125gr) were noticeably longer than the standard rounds, and didn't quite fit in the chamber of the pistol (or fit differently, when compared to the other rounds from different vendors).

Has any of you experienced similar problems with Corbon ammo and with Kahr or any other semi-auto handgun? I've heard that with Corbon loads, the bullet sits higher on on the casing, but I thought that the Kahr was designed to use this ammo. I'm hesitant to try loading my gun with this type of ammo without further information. Also, why is Corbon ammo longer than the other brands (is this a non-standard length)? Do other brands such as Triton have this problem as well?

Thanks in Advance.

Tom
 
Hello. I've not experienced this problem with CorBons or Tritons in Kahrs, but there can be small variations in various production lots of ammo and Kahrs are known for having tight chambers. Length overall may not be the problem as much as can be the shape or ogive of the bullet.
I had a Walther P88 that would not chamber anything having other than a JRN shape.

IF this turns out to be the problem, either change to a round-nosed ogive round or have a 'smith ream the bbl a tad just in front of the chamber. IF he/she doesn't immediately know how to do this, take it to one who does.

Best.
 
Exactly why I will never ever use Corbon. They are way overrated. Yeah they are pretty hot, but I cannot tell you the number of misfires I have had with this stuff. Differnt lots etc. No, it is not the guns. I had trouble in my best W.German weapons. It is so overated. Just my opinion. I think the traditional factory guys have been pretty responsive in addressing the needs of defense and that is where I put my trust. Best.
 
Had the same problem with my K9 and some 115gr Silvertip handloads of mine. The throat in the Kahr barrel is short enough that the bullet was engaging the rifling, keeping me from opening the slide on a chambered round. Boy, that was fun trying to open the slide on a live gun! I ended up using a piece of wood against the ejection port, and driving the gun and wood into the soil in my back yard, keeping my fingers clear of the muzzle and making sure the muzzle was pointed into the dirt in case it AD'd. No problem since, though, I just make sure my handloads are seated deep enough to chamber and unchamber easily in the K9. I haven't gotten out to buy factory hollowpoints for it yet, but I will make sure I take along a round that I know chambers well, for comparison's sake. Anybody feed their K9 Black Talons, Golden Sabers, or Hydrashoks? I'm curious if they've experienced similar problems...
 
Thanks...

Thanks everyone for the info. Now I don't feel so bad, knowing that there are others who have had similar experiences. I guess that for now I'll avoid the Corbon loads, since there seems to be a lot of other good defensive rounds to select.

Note that I had the same kind of jam as Gewehr98. The bullet engaged the rifling since the overall length of the round was too long. I couldn't manually rack the slide. It was freaky, so I took it directly to the dealer/gunsmith. He put the gun in a padded vise (pointed in a safe direction) and used some force to rack the slide and clear the jam. It was similar to Gewehr's technique, although Gewehr's technique guess bonus points for ingenuity and improvisation!

Thanks again!
 
Just tried Hydra-Shoks in my K9

The Federal 135gr Hydra-Shok Personal Defense loads have no problem chambering or extracting unfired rounds. Walmart is great in some respects, late on a Monday night, went there to get something else and happened to get a box of 9mm hollowpoints, life is good!
 
Interesting...

I've shot hundreds of CorBon rounds with not a single failure. I can understand if a certain pistol has trouble feeding them - some pistols are just fickle about certain rounds - but I have never seen or experienced any substantiation to them not detonating.

<shrugs>

CMOS
 
On the earlier Kahr pistols, the barrel's chamber was reamed to NATO spec, which is a very tight chamber dimension. I have one of the early models and also encountered problems with failure to go into battery type malfunctions. I contacted Kahr's customer service group and explained the situation to them. They suggested that I send the gun to them for inspection. Two weeks later I get the gun back and they had reamed the chamber to SAAMI specs and replaced a weak recoil spring. Since then the gun will feed anything, even reloaded ammo (this was a definate no no before the repairs)
I would reccoment that you contact Kahr and inform them of the problem you have encountered. IMHO Kahr's customer service is very good and they will do what is necessary to rectify the situation.

Mark / FL
 
This problem is interesting. All the Corbon 115 grain +P rounds that I have used or bought generally run shorter than any other 115 grain rounds with the exception of the Triton Quik-Shok. They have generally run 1.027". Triton Quik-Shok 1.032". Remington +P 1.110". Winchester Silvertip 1.085". I have encountered some rounds that were hard to extract after chambered, notably in my recent production CZ 83, which I understand are being produced with tight chambers. I have no personal experience with Kahrs.
 
I have never seen Corbon ammo that was longer in oal than comparable rounds.

The Corbon that I have purchased and shot is noticably shorter than the Speer Gold dot, and Federal 9bp that I also have.

I have had nothing but positive experiences with Corbon, but I'll let you all know if I do.
 
I have had no problem feeding that round into a USP and a Glock 26. I have some custom reloaded rounds that do have a longer O.A.L. and they feed too.
 
I tend to think it is more of a barrel problem. I would contact Kahr and see what they say.

Having said that,I prefer the hollowpoints with the more rounded shape to the bullet. The truncated stuff can,and will,with any gun (except maybe a Beretta 92), hang up on the ramp ocasionally.

I would also be curious to see how the pistol would function with a Bar Sto or jarvis barrel. I am not sure if they make one for the Kahr though.

A good rule of thumb,if your pistol is happy with a certain type of ammo,then by all means feed it that ammo.
 
Maybe cartridge OAL is only part of the picture

Because the ogive (or curvature) of the bullet, and where it engages the rifling of the barrel, is often independent of the bullet's, and cartridge's, length. For example, a truncated cone hollowpoint, like some earlier Hydra-Shoks, won't engage the rifling of a given gun, while a more rounded profile bullet, like the newer 135gr Hydra-Shoks, could, even if both rounds were loaded to the same OAL. Then there's the difference in feed ramp mechanics due to the different bullet shapes, which sometimes can be a real can of worms.

I was just pleased to know that the Hydra-Shoks function well in my K9, as well as Golden Sabers and an older box of Black Talons I found on a dusty shelf.
 
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