Reliability Issues Resolved?
I know this thread is old but I find it every time I search for PM9 reliability on various search engines. I have some new, important information regarding a 2007 black model slide problem.
That is why I am adding this information on things I have experienced that resulted in poor reliability of the Kahr PM9. I hope others considering this gun, or who have it, can better evaluate its potential- primarily because there still is not anything quite like it in size for its price. My brother has two 9s and one 45 Rohrbaughs and has had more problems with them, before and after returning them all for service, than I have with the Kahr.
After buying a new black PM9 about May 2007 for personal protection, I was extremely disappointed by reliability problems.
There was a Speer FMJ target ammo the range sold which was somewhat pointed- that would never feed, ever. I used it in an SA XD9 which will cycle nails, rocks, . . .
But even with a variety of rounded FMJ target ammo, the Kahr PM9 every 2-3, sometimes every round, failure to feed, jam on the ramp.
Failure to go into battery common, often, sometimes every shot.
Can't shoot +1. If have round in chamber, regardless how you put it in there, and full mags (I have three 7 rnd and one 6 round mags), got a FF for first 2 to 3 rounds out of mag.
This was still happening after 200+ rounds . The more you shot the gun after cleaning it, the worse the first two problems became.
Sent it to Kahr. Kahr polished the feed ramp, change the recoil spring assembly and returned it with a note saying they shot several mags with no failures.
Immediately the gun would still not shoot +1. With a round in the chamber and a full mag, the first 2 to 3 bullets out of the mags, all 4 of the mags, would FF.
The FF were less frequent but it still would not ever shoot more than 2 mags without a FF. Sometimes the FF would be more often.
The failure to go into battery would reappear and get progressively worse after firing about 4 mags without cleaning.
I fired about 250 more rounds through the PM9 and these problems were rather consistent throughout that time, cleaning the gun after every 5th or 6th mag was fired.
June 2007 I scheduled $700+ of custom work for this at Cylinder and Slide. I received a call this morning, April 18, 2008 (I got a letter at the end of March 2008 to send in the gun, they were ready for it) from the gunsmith working on my PM9, John. He believes he found the cause of the FF problems. The slide is cut at the wrong angle, in fact, instead of so many degrees in one direction, for example such as clockwise from vertical, it was cut at that degree but counterclockwise from vertical. He said that would cause the FF problems. He had already called Kahr with this information and was told to send back the slide. They want to measure it themselves to verify what John found. It looks as if a batch of slides might have been machined incorrectly, or maybe the machining periodically goes out of tolerance to produce this problem. Kahr promised to provide a new slide. I of course have to pay shipping but hopefully this will solve the FF problems both during firing and in the +1 situation.
Maybe there is also a machining issue on that slide that is causing the failure to go into battery.
Mistakes can happen- I bought a new Springfield Armory XD-45 that had FF problems. Turns out there was a bad batch of (improper machining) locking blocks, and that gun had one. They put in a new locking block and the gun is flawless.
But it concerns me that Kahr, for as much at the PM 9 costs, their service department didn't take the time and or have the expertise to identify this problem when I sent it back the first time.
I will say, the accuracy of this PM9 as it was, out to 15 yards, was incredible. And with with a variety of the same type of hollow point bullets fired from the PM9 as was with the XD9, the PM9 has less felt recoil. It was easy to shoot accurately with one hand, right or left. At three yards, it was easy to consistently center mass targets firing from the hip close to the body.
I hope when I get back this now $1500 Kahr PM9, it will shoot reliably including with no failure to go into battery after only 4 mags are fired (that is only 27 rounds, about 1 1/2 mag out of the XD9 through which I have fired more than 500 rounds flawlessly without cleaning, as well as through the XD45).
