Kahr P380 - Nonstop Issues, Jams, Etc.

[Jim K]

Interesting about reassembling the gun the right way, but wouldn't the factory have done that???

Jim

 

[nebraska_farmer]

I sent a not so nice (but fairly civil, given the circumstances) email to their service dept requesting, at a minimum, a brand new defect free firearm. At least I can then sell the darn thing in good conscience to help pay for a replacement smith and wesson pocket revolver!!

 

[Jlr2267]

I sent a not so nice (but fairly civil, given the circumstances) email to their service dept requesting, at a minimum, a brand new defect free firearm. At least I can then sell the darn thing in good conscience to help pay for a replacement smith and wesson pocket revolver!!

Don't expect a response

 

[Jlr2267]

Not sure how you came out nebraska_farmer, but my gun has been at Kahr for 4 weeks and I cannot even get an email or phone call returned telling me when or if I'll ever get my brand new gun back. This has been without a doubt my worst purchase ever, of any kind...nothing else comes close. I have never experienced such poor customer service...will never, ever own or recommend another Kahr product

 

[JimC]

To the OPO:

Just curious, have you taken your issue(s) with your P380 to the "Kahr Experts" on the Kahr Talk Forum for their evaluation?
Be sure not to bad mouth the gun or you will be banned.

 

[SDGlock23]

I do like Kahrs, but I'm not going to say they're perfect all the time. I've been very pleased with the ones I've had, and a lot of how well it works is based on how you hold it. The real small ones need a very firm/strong grip, make sure it's well lubed and that you've hand racked the slide a LOT. My CM40 shoots great, as did the other Kahrs I've owned, but it does require a very firm grip, almost as if it's very susceptible to misfeed with anything less than that.

I'm buying a CW380 here in a week or two, like P380 but less pricey.

 

[wally]

I do like Kahrs, but I'm not going to say they're perfect all the time. I've been very pleased with the ones I've had

I was very happy with my CW9 until the front frame rail broke, now I'm very unhappy with their EAA-class customer support. They are not answering my Emails either.

It hurts to have a gun you've invested a lot of practice time and ammo break like this and then find the warranty is going to cost to fix a "shouldn't happen" type of failure.

Stuff breaks, even stuff that shouldn't, and I always say "if you've never broken a gun, you just ain't been shooting enough!" But I'm done with a gun company that won't stand behind their frame -- its legally the gun, anything else I can fix myself if they'll sell me the parts at a fair price.

I'm switching to S&W Shield because I know from experience that they have great customer support. IMHO Kahr has totally dropped the ball.

 

[Jlr2267]

I do like Kahrs, but I'm not going to say they're perfect all the time. I've been very pleased with the ones I've had, and a lot of how well it works is based on how you hold it. The real small ones need a very firm/strong grip, make sure it's well lubed and that you've hand racked the slide a LOT. My CM40 shoots great, as did the other Kahrs I've owned, but it does require a very firm grip, almost as if it's very susceptible to misfeed with anything less than that.

I'm buying a CW380 here in a week or two, like P380 but less pricey.

I have owned *other* Kahr pistols as well, and several other small semi-autos, and never have had a problem EVER with any of them.

My new CW380 however, was a total POS that would not feed 2 consecutive rounds...even after struggling through almost 300 rounds for "break-in". Ok, I thought, every company produces the occasional turd...so I gave them the chance to make it right. It took several days of trying to reach "customer service" and when I finally did they initially wanted me to pay shipping. They ignored my calls and emails and it seems I just got lucky to catch someone at their desk that day (called at lunch). They've had it 4 weeks now without a single communication. On the bright side, the Kahr failure made me take a 2nd look at the LCP, which I purchased and has been 100% reliable right out of the box.

A bad gun I can forgive...pathetic customer service I can not.

 

[hemiram]

A friend of mine's wife had a CW380, and it was a joke. It did the same stuff as the OP's did in the video. Kahr worked on it, and it was better, but not good enough, so it got sold off. She now carries what IMHO is the best .380 ever made, the Beretta 84, in one of those purses that are also a holster. No "limp wristing" nonsense, no pickiness on JHP ammo, it just shoots and shoots, and just for grins, it's a great looking gun that they bought on gunbroker for like $350.

 

[SDGlock23]

Seems like a mixed bag then, I've heard really good things about the CW380 as well, ordered mine few days back. I'll do the usual conditioning to it before I run it, but if it's like the other Kahrs I've owned, I should be in good shape.

 

[Paul7]

I had the same story with a Kahr P40, they finally gave up on it and send me a new one, which I sold. I hear the steel Kahrs are good, but I would never trust the polymer models. After also having issues with the Kel-Tec and Ruger .380s, I bought a Colt Mustang Pocketlite which has been great.

 

[jigglyjames29]

Like half the P380s out are lemons.
I wanted one so bad, but didn't want to take the gamble.

 

[d'zaster]

I took the gamble and lost. Same problems, same experience with tech support. Not ready to give up just yet tho. It is running better but certainly not not for confident carry. As it has been breaking in i now notice another problem with the slide not reliably locking back after firing the last round. 7 rd mag seems to be a bit more reliable than 6 but need more testing to confirm. I have a lot of years experience with runs and reloading. This is completely ridiculous. I will never buy another Kahr. I would not be surprised in there is a class action suit brewing.

 

[astra600]

Maybe Sun Myung Moon forgot to give his blessings to his sons factory.

 

[DT Guy]

I've had 4-5 Kahr's now, and only one, a CW45, needed to go back to the mothership. It came back in five weeks and worked fine.

My new CW380 runs fine with decent ammo; I will note that you are going to need a FIRM grip to make that gun run, though. It's exceptionally easy to limp-wrist....


Larry

 

[CNobbe]

I think you've been more than patient with Kahr. I'd call them and request a replacement P380. They've got the records for each time yours has been returned, and you have video proof of the malfunctions.

Emailing customer service departments is frankly a waste of your time. I've emailed several manufacturers "customer service" departments over the years, and only one responded : H&K.

If I were the OP, I'd call them and request (demand more likely) a replacement gun.

I noticed your P380 has the loaded chamber indicator...this is a fairly new thing for Kahr, have seen a new PM9 with it as well as a manual safety and honestly, I had an S&W made PPK/S with similar issues as your P380 and the issue was the darn loaded chamber indicator was interfering with feeding...I'm not saying I'm not saying this is the issue, but I'd be suspect of that hideous thing poking out the top of the slide..

 

[Fatdaddy]

I had the same issue with a Cw45 and it turned out to be the extractor being too tight. This tightness wouldn't allow the base of the round to slide up into position as the gun cycled forward.
If you take the slide off the gun and position a round on the breechface and slowly push up to fully engage the extractor you can feel the tension.
Mine seemed to have too much so I shortened the extractor plunger a little and reassembled. Now it shoots great.

I know it's sickening to buy a lemon but hopefully Kahr will make it right.

If I had done "any" research on the Kahr products I probably would have passed over the Kahr line.

 

[Potatohead]

I went out and bought three new boxes of .380 from the store: Lawman .380 Auto 95 grain, Remington UMC 95 grain, and Buffalo Bore 380 +p 90 grain JHP

Wow, you even have different choices of 380 ammo. Evidently, you live in the land of milk and honey..Sorry about your gun though.

 

[MICHAEL T]

Good luck I got same treatment from Para Ord few years back .Never be another one of those in my house again.

 

[gbran]

I had a PM9 that had issues. I sent it back to Kahr and they returned it without solving all the issues. It was the perfect carry gun, but I couldn't trust it. Maybe mine was just a lemon, but I'll not try another. YMMV

 

[BLU]

Someone working in the industry must read some of the forums on the Internet. I know that stories such as yours and others here definitely can turn a potential purchase into a "forget it.... who needs that?!". Man is flawed and his products will never be perfect, but, as mentioned, they should be calling/emailing you to make things right. I'm going to steer clear of Kahr. You might want to mention that you've shared these problems with others on the Internet. Sometimes that helps, sometimes not. Do keep us updated.