Bought my PM9 NIB mid December 2005.  Thus far about 300+ rounds thru it.  I've been having fail to return to battery which is to the point I'll need to send my pistol back to Kahr.  It was VERY sproatic originally, but just started to become a real issue today.

It seems the leading edge of the chamber section of the barrel is becoming malformed from contact with the slide and is creating a hump/lump of metal from the softer(?) metal of the barrel striking with the slide and pushing the metal back and up.  This lump (for lack of a better word...) is making contact with the top of the slide (inside where the barrel is..) and the slide is hanging up/not going back into battery. If you rap the back of the slide, the slide then pushes past this lump if metal and goes into battery and fires, but the slide then hangs up again.

Wish I had my camera to post some pics....best I could do is a quick paint shop by me....you get the idea, I think...



Anyone have any ideas?  I know this extra metal could be ground away, but that only solves the symptom, not the illness, also I am not touching the pistol while it is basically brand new.  I'm sure Kahr will service under warranty without issue.  Just wondered if anyone else had this problem?

Cheers!

This seems to be an issue with the PM9 more than anyother Kahr. I have heard of P9 and K9 doing htis but not as much. You may find more info on it at www.packing.org and on glock talk.

I do not own a Kahr yet, but am getting ready to purchase my first one soon. Sound like Kahr has been very good about fixing the problem. It is called PEENING and occurrs on the barrle hood. Just give Kahr a call and they should take care of it.

Sometimes they install a new barrel, other times its a new top half. I believe it has to do with one or more parts being out of spec. Some people report it after a few hundred rounds, others report it after 1500 or more.

Let us know how it turns out. If I were you I would not touch it since it is still under warranty.

Thanks for the reply.  Agreed on the not touching it thoughts....I'll let them fiddle with it.  I've heard good things about their warranty service.

Will definitely post results!

Cheers!

Never had a problem with my PM9.  About 800 rounds through it and never a problem.

I have a P40.  Seems to have a little of the same deformatiion in that spot.

Does not seem to affect operation of the pistol.

Buck

Called peening, per Kahr Arms.  Shipping the entire slide assembly back to Kahr tomorrow for replacement.

Will post results when I get the pistol back to gether and test fire.

Cheers!

tag.  I only have a couple hundred rounds through mine...

If you take the slide apart (remove barrel and spring) and then look at the top of the slide from the inside, you'll see a small concave/milled area just behind the front sight. That is the area/edge the peened area of my chamber was going into and catching on.  If you rapped the ass of the slide hard enuff, it would push past this "catch area" and go into battery and fire, but again catch on the next cycle of the slide.


Anyway, should this go as planned, I expect this gun to become my favorite in short order!  Size, weight and power and perfect for concealled carry.

Cheers!

I had the exact same problem with my Kahr PM9, only worse. Mine locked up on the first shot out of the box. I had a heck of a time disassembling it to get the brass out and send it back to the factory. They told me it was an out of spec slide problem. They sent it back with a new slide and barrel and a polished feedramp . It has fed everything I could throw at it since them.  Service was top notch and fast. I had the gun back in 1 week. YMMV

Gun back.  They sent new slide, barrel & recoil spring.  Took it to the range, oiled the channels on the slide and started firing.

First thing I noticed was the barrel to slide lock-up is MUCH tighter.  Felt more solid.  Proceeded to fire 120 rounds of 124gr FMJ reloads with not one failure of any kind.  This is more like it!

Then fired 50 rounds of RA9TA Winchester 127 +P+.  More snap (naturally), but not one failure.  Quick strings at 15 yards easily on torso.  I was shooting as fast as I could acquire the front sight.  When I slowed to about one shot a second, all easily within the head of target @ 15 yards.

Draw from pocket holster, off hand @ 8-ish yards while moving laterally without the use of sights (point shooting) all rounds impacted within the chest of target.

NOW I can recommend this pistol.  I was nervous originally when I had the peening problems.  The Kahr people were very helpful and knew just what I was talking about.

For the size, weight and power, if it functions correctly (as mine now does) it would appear to be the ultimate back-up/off-duty/hide-out gun.

Cheers!

Quoted: Then fired 50 rounds of RA9TA Winchester 127 +P+.

IIRC, the PM9 is rated for +P, NOT +P+.

Tim

Gotcha.  Not a normal round for me to target shoot with, but I will carry the hottest round I can handle in the smallest package I can find......I figure the handgun better put up with 50-ish rounds of +P+ without issue...and fortunately it did.  Kinda like shooting +p in the old lightweight snubbies that were not rated for +p. but even the S&W people would tell you off the record, they could handle some +ps without issue.

But, thanks for the input.

Cheers!

Quoted: Gotcha.  Not a normal round for me to target shoot with, but I will carry the hottest round I can handle

Don't blame ya!

Just wanted to warn you.

Later,
Tim

This is after 800 rounds through my PM9.  Thought others might want to see what barrel peening looks like.

http://members.cox.net/ccandies/Kahr-Peening-web-007.jpg

http://members.cox.net/ccandies/Kahr-Peening-web-014.jpg

http://members.cox.net/ccandies/Kahr-Peening-web-017.jpg

http://members.cox.net/ccandies/Kahr-Peening-web-025.jpg

http://members.cox.net/ccandies/Kahr-Peening-web-026.jpg

Exactly.  My PM9 looked like that after about 200 rounds.....and then stopped functioning.  Thus far, the new slide assembly is working 100% right from the factory. Not a single burp or miss.....

I have read a few reports of peening, and from the pics posted above, that's what I would call it.

My PM9 was purchased new, just a few months after they came out.

A few months ago, I crossed the 1500 round mark with mine.
No peening on mine, but I installed a new recoil assembly and spring anyway.

I mainly shoot WWB 124gr, but my carry load is Gold Dot 124gr +P.
I try to shoot a mag of the +P every few months, just to verify functionality.

It looks like a batch of soft barrels must have made it out the door.

Glad Kahr is taking care of these issues.

The PM9 is hard to beat for a concealable, accurate, +P capable, 9mm.

I bought my new PM9 last summer.  Recently, I started having FTF's and it was not racking properly.  Kahr replaced my barrel free of charge.  I guess they had some soft barrels and mine fell under the recall.  After I got the new barrel, it has worked flawlessly.