Kahr CW380 FLAWLESS with 65 rounds of JHP self defense ammo

[StrikeFire83]

Many of you have tracked my ongoing odyssey with my Kahr CW380. If you haven't been following along, feel free to catch up here:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=770359

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=741969

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=765921

Well, I believe in giving credit where credit is due. Yesterday I went to the range and I fired 65 rounds of the high quality self defense JHPs featured below. Damned if every round didn't feed, fire, and extract perfectly!!!

So now I'm at a quandary. This is not a range gun that I need to be able to fire thousands of FMJ's for fun…but practicing only with pricy JHP is going to become prohibitively expensive. I guess this gun likes "hot" ammo? I know monarch is not historically the hottest ammo…any recommendations for HOT FMJ that might work better. For the record, WWB 380 did NOT do well in this gun before I sent it back to Kahr.

 

[Vodoun da Vinci]

Looks like you have a good carry gun then. Congrats on sorting it out!

VooDoo

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

Nice, I have my eye on a Kahr CT380.

 

[likesguns]

After a trip back to kahr,my cw380 runs on anything that I have tried except tula ammo.

 

[Armybrat]

Nick - bought my CT380 from Bud's last month - they still had them in stock as of yesterday $289.43 (credit card) or $281 cash - free shipping:

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...ts_id/94845/KAHR+CT3833+CT380+380ACP+7RD+1MAG

Haven't been to the range to shoot mine yet. Bought 2 extra mags online for a discount:

 

[Tony k]

Hey StrikeFire83- do you reload?

 

[StrikeFire83]

^I do not. I'm a criminal prosecutor and I work 50-60 hours per week, more if we end up going to trial. Something I plan on getting into in the future, but it's not in the cards right now.

 

[CNobbe]

Give it a chance with regular ball ammo, neither of my two would cycle RWS ammo, think its way underpowered.

 

[Tony k]

As you probably guessed, the reason I mentioned reloading is it's a way to make ball ammo that functions well in a particular gun.

I've got no experience with 380, but I did notice that one type of ammo you tested was winchester reduced recoil SD ammo. That one worked well, right? How does the bullet weight, velocity, and energy of that round compare to a given practice round? I know it's more complicated than that, but it's where I'd start.

 

[gotime242]

After watching this AmmoQuest ammo comparison video and seeing Precision One come out on top...i gave some a shot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNtPHYwcDts

I think its a great value at $29 for a box of 50 considering most other defense ammo is almost that much for only 20 or 25 rounds. This means you are able to actually run a decent amount through your gun to test it and feel good about carrying it all the time.

http://www.precisiononeammunition.c...oducts_id=63&zenid=3p9fmiki7g2teo5ff2ihbl2gu3

I bought two boxes and ran them through my CW380 and they were flawless as well. I am very happy with the combination of this ammo and the cw380.

 

[kokapelli]

Ammoquest tests show the XTP bullet to meet the FBI standards and you can buy it from Freedom for only 34 cents a round.

I have tested this round in all ten of my 380 pistols without a single failure and it seems to be loaded pretty hot.

The link to freedom is......
http://www.freedommunitions.com/380-Auto-90-gr-XTP-Hornady-New-p/fm380j90n-b0500.htm

 

[BSA1]

So now I'm at a quandary. This is not a range gun that I need to be able to fire thousands of FMJ's for fun…but practicing only with pricy JHP is going to become prohibitively expensive.

It certainly sounds like your gun has been fixed.

I normally test new, new-to-me and after being modified or repaired semi-automatics with 500 rounds before I consider it reliable enough for self-defense. I do my basic 500 round test with FMJ and cast lead bullets. Since I reload 90%+ of my ammunition the cost is much lower. The gun must run flawlessly except for identifiable malfunctions due to shooter error such as limp wristing, defective magazines and ammo issues. After completing 500 rounds testing then shooting a couple of boxes of my choosen self-defense ammo is sufficient for me.

I do not do my testing in one session. I break them up in 3 or 4 sessions. I am not only testing the reliability of the gun but training myself on how the gun works and to shoot it well. While 500 rounds is no guarantee given the history of this gun I would test it hard and thoroughly.

I completely understand the 50 hour work week as I often do the same thing.

 

[Rinspeed]

I was just checking out the CW380 at my local dealers tonight. I have wanted to pick up a Kahr for a while but I'm not real big on the .380 so I'm thinking the CW9 makes much more sense to me.