kahr cw380 owners feedback please

[sharpetop]

Did anyone have a lot of trouble with it (Kahr CW380) during the break in period? I've put about 200 rounds through mine and it's starting to loosen up but I still had two FTF's when I last shot it. Both times on the last round in the mag. Mine absolutely will not shoot Winchester white box or Tulammo, I get a FTF almost every round. PMC has worked better and that's been most of what I've put through it now. I'm a little worried reading that other people didn't have this issue so much during the break in period. Is it too early to send it in? Should I give it one more box?

WWB and Tula are the two most complained about .380 ammo on www.kahrtalk.com. Winchester has a flat nose and could lead to feeding issues. Not sure about the Tula as I've never used it.

Try some Remington or Federal with the round nose and I bet your issues will go away.

Mine functions fine with everything I've tried, including WWB.

 

[Lees]

WWB and Tula are the two most complained about .380 ammo on www.kahrtalk.com. Winchester has a flat nose and could lead to feeding issues. Not sure about the Tula as I've never used it.

Try some Remington or Federal with the round nose and I bet your issues will go away.

Mine functions fine with everything I've tried, including WWB.

I know I tried Federal, and I still had problems with it but not nearly as bad as with WWB and Tula. I think I tried Remington, I know I have a box of it, I just can't remember if I put some of it through my G42 or the Kahr. I tried one other type but I can't remember what it was now for sure, I think it was Magtec. PMC has worked the best out of what I've tried. I have read that Kahr says 250 rounds, so I was waiting for that point...I'm hoping mine was just put together really tightly and another 50 rounds will loosen it up enough.

 

[sharpetop]

Have you tried any good self defense ammo yet? I know it's expensive, but it's a bit hotter and will get that slide moving faster, stripping the rounds from the magazine into the chamber with a bit more authority. I'm no expert but I do own 5 Kahrs and they have very stiff recoil springs.

 

[Lees]

Have you tried any good self defense ammo yet? I know it's expensive, but it's a bit hotter and will get that slide moving faster, stripping the rounds from the magazine into the chamber with a bit more authority. I'm no expert but I do own 5 Kahrs and they have very stiff recoil springs.

Like the Hornady critical defense stuff or something? I haven't tried anything like that in the Kahr yet, but I'll give it a shot.

 

[knot4reel]

My CW380 had teething problems out the wazoo. I did all new Kahr prep listed on the Kahr talk forum and it helped some. This little 380 is extremely ammo persnikity. After shooting 240 rounds it was still giving occasional ftf problems. As we all know that is totally unacceptable for an EDC, so back to Kahr it went. Three weeks later it came home with a reworked slide and barrel and new recoil springs. Now runs like a well oiled Singer.

As for defense ammo it likes anything with the XTP bullet. Most owners report that it works well with Hornday Critical Defense also. I understand that how you grip this little guy is of major importance as to how well this pistol performs. Some owners are reporting problems with broken firing pins but their is a well made replacement available if this happens. Hope this helps and happy shooting.

 

[hps]

NEVER an issue

 

[Midskier]

our CW380s - and we've had several - all ran fine on most ammo, any and all defensive ammo worked perfectly, now we only have 1 cw380 in the mix and 1 lcp which had a spring swap to 11lb (if I recall correctly) the lcp still snappier than the cw380, but she can rack the resprung lcp - but not the cw380. a couple years back I shot the cw380 side by side with LCP and body guard - cw was hands down softer shooting than the other 2

 

[sharpetop]

Like the Hornady critical defense stuff or something? I haven't tried anything like that in the Kahr yet, but I'll give it a shot.

Yes, Hornady Critical Defense or XTP, Speer Gold Dot, Federal Hydra Shok or HST. These are a bit hotter and will move the slide faster and strip the rounds out of the magazine with more force. They will also have a bit more recoil, but nothing you can't handle. The CW380 is a very pleasant shooter compared to the Ruger LCP or Kel-Tec P3AT. If that doesn't work email the service dept. at Kahr. www.Kahr.com. Tell them what's happening and you want to try a new recoil spring before sending it in. They should send you one, no cost to you. Please feel free to PM me if any of that doesn't work. Like I said, I own 5 Kahrs and haven't sent any back for repairs.

 

[Lees]

Yes, Hornady Critical Defense or XTP, Speer Gold Dot, Federal Hydra Shok or HST. These are a bit hotter and will move the slide faster and strip the rounds out of the magazine with more force. They will also have a bit more recoil, but nothing you can't handle. The CW380 is a very pleasant shooter compared to the Ruger LCP or Kel-Tec P3AT. If that doesn't work email the service dept. at Kahr. www.Kahr.com. Tell them what's happening and you want to try a new recoil spring before sending it in. They should send you one, no cost to you. Please feel free to PM me if any of that doesn't work. Like I said, I own 5 Kahrs and haven't sent any back for repairs.

Thank you for the tips, it would be great if a new recoil spring or ammo would fix it. In a weird way I've enjoyed having a gun that is having issues, I've learned a lot about what to do with the gun when it's not working right, on the range and off.

 

[Lees]

I picked up some Hydra Shok, I didn't realize it's a buck a round! No wonder we always use the regular stuff at the range. I haven't had a chance to run the HS through the Kahr yet. I only bought 20 rounds, should I have gotten more?

 

[BE Mike]

I picked up some Hydra Shok, I didn't realize it's a buck a round! No wonder we always use the regular stuff at the range. I haven't had a chance to run the HS through the Kahr yet. I only bought 20 rounds, should I have gotten more?

My wife uses Underwood Xtreme Defender ammo in her Taurus PT 738 TCP. It functions reliably, packs a wallop and is THE ammo for .380 pistols IMHO.

 

[Lees]

I put 20 rounds of Hornady Critical Defense through without any problems yesterday. At this point I think I've put at least 300 rounds through it. It has loosened up a lot. I am still having a problem with regular rounds where the slide does not return to battery completely. If I manually push it all the way back into place, it will then fire fine. My husband shot it again, about 40 rounds over two days and using both mags, and now that it's more broken in he did not have one problem!

I'm shooting right in the middle of the target, I think my grip is good, so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I feel like I can trust the gun with the self defense rounds in it, but definitely not for me with regular rounds.

 

[BE Mike]

I put 20 rounds of Hornady Critical Defense through without any problems yesterday. At this point I think I've put at least 300 rounds through it. It has loosened up a lot. I am still having a problem with regular rounds where the slide does not return to battery completely. If I manually push it all the way back into place, it will then fire fine. My husband shot it again, about 40 rounds over two days and using both mags, and now that it's more broken in he did not have one problem!

I'm shooting right in the middle of the target, I think my grip is good, so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I feel like I can trust the gun with the self defense rounds in it, but definitely not for me with regular rounds.

Just throwing this out. With the latest two-handed grips being taught today, it is pretty easy to press your hand against the slide. Make certain that you aren't contacting any part of the slide with your grip. That could result in the slide not fully closing.

 

[Lees]

Just throwing this out. With the latest two-handed grips being taught today, it is pretty easy to press your hand against the slide. Make certain that you aren't contacting any part of the slide with your grip. That could result in the slide not fully closing.

Wouldn't that really hurt? This gun is the only one where I've ever gotten bitten by the slide, and I knew it immediately even though it was minor as far as things go. I'm pretty sure I'm far away from the slide, but it's something to think about.

 

[Whip_McCord]

Wednesday while shooting sporting clays, I got to try out my buddy's CW380. It felt good and the trigger was nice. There were some cycling problems during the few mags of ammo I put thru it. I think he only has about 50 rounds thru it, though. The last mag I shot thru it worked w/o issue, so I think it is starting to get better. I have been thinking about getting one of these, but I will wait to see how his gun functions after a good break in period.