Kahr CT380 & CW9 First Range Report

R

RolandD

New member
After 'trying on' huge number of guns and renting several, my wife and I decided we both liked Kahr's. Last week we got matching handguns, she got the CT380 and I got the CW9. Today, my wife and I were, finally, able to go to the range for a bit, after work, before it got too dark. I managed to get 58 rounds down range with the CW9, and she managed 56 rounds with her CT380, in the little time we had. Here's the breakdown:

CT380

35 rounds of RPT 100gr, FMJ, RNFP
---One stovepipe on the fourth round of the first magazine. Probably a limp wrist.

21 rounds of Federal "Champion" 95gr, FMJ, RN
---No Malfunctions

CW9

21 rounds of Perfecta 115gr, FMJ, RN
---No malfunctions.

7 rounds of RPT 115gr, FMJ, RN
---No malfunctions.

7 rounds of Blazer Brass 115gr, FMJ, RN
---No malfunctions.

7 rounds of WWB 147gr, JHP
---1 failure to feed. This was ammo that has been sitting in the magazine of my nightstand gun for about ten years and the brass was very discolored. I'm gonna chalk it up to that.

9 rounds of Freedom Ammunition 115gr, FMJ, RN, Mixed Brass, Reman
---This is where it got weird. I had this left over from my last trip to the range with my Llama XI-A. Only 9 rounds. So, I loaded the mag, chambered a round, and topped off the mag. The first round fired, but the second just went click. I waited a little bit and then pulled back the slide to see if I'd had a light strike, but there was nothing in the chamber. I then slingshotted the slide, chambered the next/second round and fired. Two rounds later, the fourth round failed to battery by 1/16", but took almost no pressure from my thumb to get it into battery. The next round, I short stroked the trigger. So I took a break, cleared my weapon, reloaded the fifth round and the extra from my pocket into the mag, and fired the last five rounds without any problems.

7 rounds of Federal "Champion" 115gr, FMJ, RN, Aluminum Cased
---No Malfunctions

After we got home and had supper, we sat down at the kitchen table and I walked my wife through the process of disassembly and cleaning of her CT380, as I cleaned my CW9. The only times I had to help her, was to pull the slide lock the rest of the way out, after she had successfully gotten it started, and to get the recoil spring and guide back into place. I was surprised by how much dirtier her CT380 was than my CW9. Way, way dirtier.

I am very pleased with the performance of both. The only aggravation for me is the fact that my wife is a better shot than I am. :eek:
 
Congratulations on your two new Kahrs. I have 3, CM45, CW45, CM9. All three are less than 6 months old. All 3 have had minor stoppages during the recommended 200 round break-in. All three are past that point now, and have had no further issues. My CM45 is around 600 rounds now, and has been perfect since around round 50. Ive owned it the longest.

I shot my CM9 for the first time yesterday, and had a couple issues with the slide locking back on an empty magazine. I started with Blazer 115 gr, and the first three mags, the slide failed to lock back. After I shot up the partial box I had of that, I switched to Blazer 124 gr. I was surprised how much more felt recoil there was with the 124 gr. I had one failure to feed somewhere before I got to 100 rounds. After that, the CM9 ran perfectly until I stopped at round 320. I finished with some Speer Gold Dot 124 gr +P, and some Remington Golden Saber 124 gr +P. I noticed that the nickel plated self defense ammo chambers much smoother than brass ammo.

I think most of the problems come from the very strong extractor spring. Most of my issues have been chambering the first round from an open slide. I use Kahrs recommended procedure of using the slide stop lever to chamber the round, as opposed to the sling-shot method.

Kahr recommends a 200 round break in. I would shoot around 500 rounds before I would consider trusting any pistol. Keep shooting the pistols, dont worry about issues until after 200 rounds. They really are great pistols, at a great price. There is tons of info at kahrtalk.

I like my CM9 much so, I have a CW9 on order. My CM45 is my EDC, and is a fantastic little pistol.
 
Have them both plus other Kahr's. My CT380 had 2 FTE around the 50 round mark but flawless on out to the 225 round mark! My CW-9 has been perfect same my other Kahr's!
 
I have a Kahr CM9 which has a slightly shorter barrel than the CW9. I had a couple of issues during the recommended 200 round break-in but it then smoothed out nicely. The WWB ammo is a bit on the weak side to begin with and ten year old ammo might even be a bit weaker. In my experience and from what I've read, the small Kahrs like ammo a bit on the warm side.

I'm not sure what is happening on the Freedom ammo but perhaps the fact it is re-manufactured might be a clue.
 
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