Kahr P9: first impression and a question

O

Oleg Volk

Staff Alumnus
Took the P9 to the range today. Mine had factory-installed night sights. Iiiiinterestiiing. I did not lubricate the gun (it had a little oil on it) before the range trip. I put a few drops of oil on the slide rails while at the range.

Trigger is not quite single action but veeeeeeery nice. Very smooth, without an unpleasant reset.

Accuracy, slow fire, is good. It is normal for an entire 7-round magazine to make a ragged 1" hole at 21ft, with not too much effort on my part.

Feeding was perfect on 115gr Fiocchi FMJ. It was perfect on 147gr Remington subsonics. 147gr Golden Sabres fed fine except for one that hit the ramp when I racked the slide manually. Ejection was perfect, too.

Recoil was slight. This gun is as comfortable as a Glock 17, if not more so. However, muzzle flips up rather more, so I would expect rapid fire to be more difficult. I fired about 180 rounds of FMJ, 40 or so JHPs and my hand was not tired at all.

I also *tried* to fire a few LRN 124gr reloads...two got stuck badly. The chamber must be tighter than in my Beretta 92 or Glock 17.

Now for the bad news: the slide locked back numerous times on a half-empty magazine. It did so about 50% of the time with either brand of 147gr JHPs and about 10% of the time with 115gr FMJs. It did so evenly with both magazine, somewhat more frequently towards the end of the range session.

If I can make this problem go away, it would be a great light fighting gun. I fully think I got my $535 worth. However, I have not the least clue as to what would cause the slide to lock back prematurely. I took it apart to look for debris in the works but found none. One other shooter fired it one-handed and got the same results. I know that my thumb is not hitting the slide release as I watched for it.

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Oleg "peacemonger" Volk

http://dd-b.net/RKBA

[This message has been edited by Oleg Volk (edited July 28, 2000).]
 
That would've been my 1st guess, the slide stop. It does protrude further than on the steel framed model. But you said that you were conscious of it.
My next guess would be the 147gr ammo, as the bullets extend further out from the case mouth. They could be impacting the slide release on the inside. Upon reassembly, are you sure that you installed it properly? There is a spring leg in the frame's window that slips into a notch where the slide stop's pin joins its external lever. You should hear a noticeable "click" when it snaps into place. If not under the proper downward spring tension, perhaps the tips of the bullets can "push" it upward w/o much difficulty?
 
That happened to my friend's MK9 too. :(

Never happened to my old E9.

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The Seattle SharpShooter - TFL/GT/UGW/PCT/KTOG
 
I have read that you should not use lead (unjacketed) rounds in a polygonal rifled barrel, which I think the Kahr has. It tends to collect lead in the barrel more than a regular land-and-groove rifling.
 
You are correct. I wanted to see if another bullet weight would rid me of the lock-back problems but, in retrospect, I don't think my actions were all that bright.

Seems I will have to mail the gun back to Kahr for a slide stop fix.
 
I have also had weird things happen with a new gun that I did not clean and lube before I shot it for the first time. In fact, the Glock manual says that this should be done before shooting the first time.

You said that you lubed the slide rails at the range. Perhaps a little lube on the ramp was also needed.

Try this before you send it back. It worked on my Glock.

Also, fyi, www.colt380.com/
Scott, McDougall & Associates does a conversion on the P9 that you may or may not be interested in.

Good luck. Let us know how this new gun performs. I may get one.
 
I have a P9 also, and I really like it. It has never had a feed problem, but I did notice that, perhaps because of the "thiness" of the poly frame, that some people have "grip issues" with their hand placement. Could you be nudging the slidestop with your thumb?
 
I will clean and re-lube it. I was not nudging the slide lock lever (one other shooter fired it with one hand and got the same results, too).

I just wonder what exactly causes this problem in general. I know that *failure* to lock back is usually worn out followers or whimpy ammo...but the converse :confused:
 
Oleg, clean it well and take it out once more as the other poster suggested. Hopefully, it will have smoothed out somewhat and not crop up again. The OM does state that 200 rounds should be cycled for break-in. Perhaps your's just needs a few more? If you must send it in, I'm sure that their excellent service reputation will come into play for you.
FYI, I held mine with my middle finger and thumb, and fired two mags weak-hand, and one strong-hand. I could not induce a "limp-wrist" malf of any kind. My grip was just barely strong enough to keep from dropping it on the ground! I sure hope that it works out for you with your's. :)
 
I have consistent problems with failure to lock back with Sigs. New, old, doesn't matter. It's caused, in all likelihood, by the way I hold my thumbs. It's something I need to correct. I'd look to that as the problem, given the huge slidestop on the K9.
 
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