Posted: 5/20/2007 5:17:46 PM EDT
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Took the newly arrived CW40 to the range today. Got about 150 rounds through it. So far, the overall picture has been OK. I field stripped and cleaned the gun before oiling and taking to the range. Here are my impressions. 1. Fit and finish of the slide assembly was good. The offset ramp is interesting, but seemed to work fine. 2. The fit and finish of the frame left a lot to be desired. There were thin plastic shavings all over the internal portions. Most still attached, but could be rubbed off with little effort. However, there are still some plastic tabs that look pretty shabby. It looks like the tooling may have been dull. This may be normal, but was not as clean as my Springfield XD or my friend's Taurus PT140. 3. The trigger is VERY smooth. Long travel with a clean break. 4. Accuracy was great. But I was shooting low. I would guess this is because I am not used to the trigger yet. Also anticipating the shot. 5. Recoil was stout but manageable. This was shooting 155 grain Federal Classic JHP and 180 grain WWB. The narrow frame digs into the webbing between thumb and forefinger. But after 150 rounds, it was still OK. 6. Had four malfunctions in the first 100 rounds. On two occasions the slide locked back with rounds still in the mag. It also FTF twice. This was with both FMJ and JHP. I will reserve judgment until I am through the recommended 200 rounds. All together, it was fun to shoot. I will look into the the issue with the plastic by field stripping some other P40s and CW40s. If it turns out to be abnormal, I will see what Kahr will do. But then, if it shoots fine, I will probably not do anything. Sorry no pics, camera is down. ETA: Forgot to mention one of the bigger problems. I had problems dropping the mag with the slide locked back. Mag release would not positively release mag and the mag release would then stick pressed in. This occurred with the mag that came with the gun and the mag purchased separately. With slide forward, mag release worked well. It never would drop free when empty, whether the slide was locked back or not. I am not sure if the gun is designed to drop free. |
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Minor update. I finished the official "break-in" of 200 rounds yesterday. All rounds were 155 grain Federal Classic JHP. Would have run some more, but I spent most of my time running some new reloads through my Springfield 1911-A1 S/S Champion. Since my last post, I have contacted Kahr, through e-mail, and they have addressed a couple of the issues. 1. Had three additional FTF which required a simply smack to the mag and continued firing. All three occurred on the same mag, so I am leaning towards mag issue. I have disassembled and cleaned both mags, so we will see if that helps. 2. Had two premature slide locks. I have discussed this issue with Kahr and they indicated if this continued after "break-in" it was probably a damaged slide lock spring. They have already sent me out a couple of extra springs, just in case. Their website mentions this in the FAQ, which I found after my initial post. 3. As for the plastic shavings and tags, Kahr indicated current polymer technology is not capable of meeting Kahr's required standards, which results in plastic shavings. I am not sure exactly what that means, but they said continued use would get rid of the shavings. This is probably true, but there are some "tags" of plastic that I do not believe will come off. They probably do not affect function, but they look bad. I was not able to confirm plastic shavings on another Kahr firearm, as the local gun store I visited would not let me field strip their guns. And they would not do it for me. Oh well, Kahr pretty much says it is normal. 4. Kahr indicated their firearm is not designed to have the mags drop free. They stated this was to prevent damage to the mag as a result of falling and hitting the ground. I prefer a mag to drop free, but apparently I will not get what I want. Gun continues to be very accurate and fun to shoot. I will run an additional 200 rounds and see where I am at that point. |
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Here are some of my thoughts on the CW40, in response to yours. I've owned mine for about 4 months and have put several hundred rounds through it. I agree with you on the finish of the frame. I also found several shavings left on the frame, particularly the slide rail. It was a little bit of a disappointment, but nothing 10 minutes with a razor could not fix. For the money I saved, it wasn't a big deal. Though I do agree, it should be taken care of at the factory. Also agreed with you on the smooth trigger. I let a couple of guys I work with at the PD try it and they were very impressed with the trigger (as well as accuracy). Most are firearms guru's but had never shot a Kahr before. The accuracy is good and recoil manageable. I have never had any malfunctions for FTF's on mine. If I assist the slide forward, I will occassionaly get a HP round to not feed. However, unassisted and during firing, they have all fed using both HP and FMJ rounds. I did have a problem with the slide lock spring after cleaning and reassembly. The spring bent and caused the slide to lock during a cycle. I never fired like this, and a simple bending of the spring back into place has fixed it. I've put at least 200 rounds since then, still with no problems. That's interesting about the mags not supposed to fall free. I have two mags (one that came with and one I bought later) and neither have given any problems. The gun drops them both free with the slide forward or locked back. I've qualified with the CW40 for off-duty use 3 times (plus a few practices), and have yet to notice any damage to the magazines falling both on gravel and concrete. Each qualification has 6 reloading drills. I am very happy with the gun. I put a Hogue Hand-All Jr on my grip and have noticed an improvement in comfort as well as recoil management (affecting overall accuracy in quick fire drills). I have larger hands, and it helps fill in a little but, but has not affected concealability in the slightest. The gun works great, is fun to shoot, and easy to conceal. |
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opskmallory, Thanks for your input. I have not received the replacement slide stop spring, but I am pretty certain that is the problem. I imagine I bent it while cleaning and reassambly. The mag issue is probably the one that bugs me the most. (Assuming I can get it running 100%) Kahr's statement that they do not design their guns to drop free to avoid damage to mags seems odd. Just because the mag drops free does not mean I have to let it hit the ground. But when I want it to drop free, I damn well want it to drop. I could probably get it to drop free with some modification, but I don't want to screw it up. I will probably ask Kahr if they can do it for me, unless someone has an easy way to do this. Equally interesting is the fact that yours drops the mags. As for the add on grip, I will look into this. I have not had any problems gripping the gun, but a little more substance would not be a bad thing. Any issues with the gun grabbing on your shirt because of the add-on grip? |
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Allen, I'm glad you find my input worthwhile. It still amazes me that Kahr would claim that the mags are not supposed to drop free. Whether or not the mags hit the ground should be up to the shooter, not the manufacturer. Besides, the more mags we break, the more we buy. :) As for the grip, I have not had any problems catching on my shirt. I typically wear a Galco IWB when off duty, but will occassionally wear one of three other OWB holsters as well, or in plane clothes (G&G Yaqui, Fobus Paddle, Bianchia Minimalist belt slide). It has not been a problem so far, but has made the gun better to shoot. Good luck with that slide spring. |
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Ok, now I am just confused. Had not examined whether the mags would drop free after the last trip to the range. Had field stripped to razor off some of the plastic tags on the frame. (Never actually got to that part) Put it back together and the mags drop free like they could not get out of the magwell fast enough. Slide forward or locked back. I did not touch any areas near the mag release. I can only assume the mag release has broken in with use and now is allowing the mag to drop without binding. I believe some of those plastic shavings might have gotten into the mag release mechanism and was causing it to bind. Or the mechanism may have had some shavings on it that came off with use. Who knows. But the confusing part is Kahr's response to my question regarding why the mag would not drop free originally. If they REALLY are not designed to drop free, then I must have reassembled incorrectly. (It is assembled correctly) Or it is broken. I am going to review the e-mail from Kahr again to make sure I did not misunderstand their response. If Kahr was simply telling me the mag release was not designed to drop free to get me off their back, I am going to be pretty pissed. So, I guess the question is, does everyone's CW40, CW9, P40 or P9 drop free? Or not? |
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Just so there is no confusion about Kahr's response to my question regarding the mags, the following is the question I sent to Kahr and their response. Question: "First, the mag release does not seem to work properly when the magazine is empty. The mag does not fully release and does not release as fully as when the slide is forward. The mag release also sticks in once the mag is released. I am not sure if the gun is designed to have the mags drop free, but they do not. These issues are the same with the mag that came with the gun and a factory spare mag I purchased." Response: "The mags do not drop freely to prevent damage to the base. However, if it takes more than minimal effort to eject them, let me know." I took this to mean the gun was designed not to drop free. |
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Another update. Bottom line, I am probably sending it back to Kahr for some work. The slide stop spring was bent slightly and I replaced it. The bigger problem has been the followers in the magazines. The bottom part of the front of the follower on both magazines broke within 10 rounds of each other. This was about round count 250 or so. I contacted Kahr and spoke with Stefan. He indicated their polymer supplier had changed the composition of the polymer without telling them and that they had to redesign the followers to keep them from breaking. They sent me three extras, which I installed. The new ones looked just like the old ones, at least to my eyes. Went out today and did some shooting. After about ten rounds through one of the magazines, that new follower broke as well. Normally I would think I had done something to install the follower incorrectly, but I don't think so. I examined both magazines prior to taking them apart, and reinstalled the same way. I am going to send them all back to Kahr so they can examine them as well. Have not taken apart the newest broken magazine so Kahr can confirm whether I did something wrong. I also put another 62 round through it. Continued to have FTF and premature slide lock problems. On the FTF malfunctions, the round enters properly, but will not go all the way in. A simple slap to the bottom of the mag and it is good to go. These are with Federal Classic 155 grain JHP. Accuracy remains great and trigger is very smooth. I just can't get it to run, so I will probably send it off to Kahr. I will call them tomorrow to see what they recommend. |
| Well, not going back to Kahr just yet. Called service department this morning. Got right through. They were very helpful, as always. From my discussions with them, it sounds like the problems are all related. They asked me to take an emmory cloth or board and LIGHTLY and SLIGHTLY file down the portion of the slide stop that protrudes into the frame. Their description of what is happening makes sense, both from a functioning standpoint and as an explanation regarding why the followers are breaking. So, I will do a little work on it and see if it improves. |
VERY INTERESTING I was having a different problem and they told me to do the same thing. Believe it or not it worked for me. My problem was that my magazine was disengaging after every shot and falling about 1/2 inch below the magazine catch. I called them 3 times over the span of several weeks and we tried a new magazine catch, then 2 new magazines but no luck. Nothing worked until a guy in tech said to take an emmory board to the three "angles" of the slide stop portion you are referring to. I was very skeptical but tried it and guess what? It worked!! No more falling mags. Good luck...I hope yours works too. |