So my Kahr blew up a little...

[Harleyrider_50]

Spend yer money wise'r next time.....lucky ya still got'a hand

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

The Kahr E9 has a steel frame. It is an economy version of the K9. Very reliable and tough. It serves as a practice/training pistol. I carry a P9 for CCW. If I had run a +P+ round through the P9, it would have suffered the same damage as the OP's pistol.

 

[Doug]

The "remanufactured" ammo may have had a weak spot in the case wall.
The barrel may have been inexpertly "throated" by a blacksmith pretending to be a gunsmith. This could reduce the support of the chamber to the cartridge case.
If the firing pin was stuck forward, it could have fired the round before the cartridge was in the chamber.
I would test it with snap caps to see if the gun will fire out of battery. If so, I would recommend you get one that won't! I don't want a gun that fires out of battery.

 

[ryanbr]

I really can't go full bore after either company in good conscience, when I was shooting something they don't recommend.
If/when I get a fully functional PM9 back up, I'll just go back to the New ammo that its proven so reliable and accurate with.

IN my opinion you need to contact Ultramax as well, If it is indeed an ammo issue there could need to be a recall on this lot number of ammo, might prevent this from happening to someone else possibly.

 

[Fullmag]

Keep updates coming.
If it failed to return to battery then the firing should not went forward. From the pics it seems the round was not chambered correctly. Looks like the slide coming forward slammed fired the round.

 

[JBrockman]

Preparing for a wild boar hunt in Tenn. I was practicing with a Virginia Dragoon .44 mag shooting reloads! decided to try a rapid fire of 6 rounds. on the 4th shot I was surprised by a bright flash of light and alot of smoke, then as I returned to reality felt burning in my face and right hand.Luckily I was wearing my safety glasses, apparently the third round was not a full charge load and only sent the bullet into the barrel just enough for the revolver to turn to the next round which was a full load. need I say more.The gun was repairable and the friend I got the reloads from quit selling them!

 

[downrange72]

I had a similar issue about a year ago. It was a S&W M&P. I felt nearly what you described, but the verdict from Smith was a compressed load. I still feel that it fired out of battery as well. I didn't have much recourse with them since I reload. I was not hurt either, but my hands were as black as coal. The extractor blew out, and trigger as well. The case looked somewhat similar to yours, but it was in two pieces and a funky angle, as if it didn't quite chamber. If they are like Smith, they will ask you to send everything back (they should provide you with shipping labels) to have their metallurgist inspect the gun. I survived my incident with a very very small pin prick in the Left Index Finger. I think I filled my shorts after the incident

Glad you are okay.

 

[Dewidmt]

This is an ammunition failure, pure and simple. Ultramax ammo is just reloads produced by the millions and repackaged. The Kahr performed as it should, with the grip panel blowing out to prevent a major catastrophe.
I had the same exact thing happen to me shooting reloads in a Glock 23. Case side rupture and a stinging sensation, mag blown out of the gun, no other damage. Cleared the weapon, gave it a quick overall check, reinserted magazine and fired the remaining rounds. Things like this happen occasionally, ours is a dangerous sport sometimes, with all the many variables we have to think about. That's why we wear safety equipment!

 

[sharpetop]

You need to notify Kahr and Ultramax. They both will want the batch number of the ammo. It's typically found on the lid of the box. This sounds like an ammo issue, so I hope you didn't throw the box away. The Kahr did what it was supposed to do with an overcharged load.

FWIW, I've fired many rounds of +P and 10-20 rounds of +P+ ammo through my CW9 without any issues.

 

[IndianaResident]

Update 3 Jan 2012:

I just spoke with both companies, and had positive responses from both.

Kahr didn't give me much information, but thought with the side plate missing the gun had performed correctly (as several have said) so I will be sending it back to them at my expense for a gunsmith to examine. They didn't ask what kind of ammunition or powder or anything, but gave me a return number and asked that I put a note to the gunsmith in there. Being remanufactured ammo it will most likely void the warranty, but I'll be putting that on the note, so we will see.

Ultramax customer service immediately transferred me to a man named Larry, who was very helpful. He asked for lots of details and for the lot numbers. The ammo I had was from either 1991, and he explained that it was most likely a problem with the roll sizes, which would change where the pressure went. He said in the company's early days this was not monitored like it is currently, and several employees were let go because of it.
I obviously can't speak to the authenticity of that information, but their following actions make me think this is a pretty decent company.
Without hesitation he offered the following:
1) Paid postage for a return of all my Ultramax ammo, including 2 boxes I had in another caliber
2) Money back for all of that ammo or new, replacement ammo (specifically mentioned all would be FMJ)
3) Covering my postage of my gun back to Kahr, and any repairs or replacement costs of the gun if the gunsmiths think its too far gone.

While I don't claim to be an expert in reading people, Larry seemed both concerned and ready to help. I'll be taking the replacement ammo option and giving it another try as I bought into the company line of "a lot has changed in 20 years".

I'll post again when I hear more information from Kahr.

 

[Bane_FTW]

Well, it's good to hear that they are both trying to be as helpful as possible. That is definitely a plus on their companies.

 

[jgreiner]

Glad you are okay. They should replace it. Period.

 

[bud1976]

That sucks and is very scary. Glad to hear you are ok.

 

[indykid]

That is really nice to hear that Ultramax is being so great about it. I have heard that Kahr customer service was also very good. It sounds like you are going to have your issues taken care of very nicely.

After reading about your PM9 popping a side panel, I pulled mine out and never noticed that there is a thin spot in the plastic shaped just like you would expect a blow-out door to be shaped. More reason to understand why they are so expensive. Don't know many pistols designed with fail-safe built in!

Thanks for keeping us posted as things progress!

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

It certainly is nice when you run into good Customer Service!

I've dealt with Kahr CS myself, twice, for related issues. No complaints what-so-ever on my end.

I've also dealt with Fiocchi's USA CS dealing with an issue that turned out not to be their problem. They, too, bent over backwards to help me (to be sure that it wasn't their product causing the issue...which it wasn't).

Very very glad things are working out for you, OP. Very glad.

Be sure to send nicey nice grams to folks if you can!

-J-

 

[ryanbr]

Update 3 Jan 2012:

I just spoke with both companies, and had positive responses from both.

Kahr didn't give me much information, but thought with the side plate missing the gun had performed correctly (as several have said) so I will be sending it back to them at my expense for a gunsmith to examine. They didn't ask what kind of ammunition or powder or anything, but gave me a return number and asked that I put a note to the gunsmith in there. Being remanufactured ammo it will most likely void the warranty, but I'll be putting that on the note, so we will see.

Ultramax customer service immediately transferred me to a man named Larry, who was very helpful. He asked for lots of details and for the lot numbers. The ammo I had was from either 1991, and he explained that it was most likely a problem with the roll sizes, which would change where the pressure went. He said in the company's early days this was not monitored like it is currently, and several employees were let go because of it.
I obviously can't speak to the authenticity of that information, but their following actions make me think this is a pretty decent company.
Without hesitation he offered the following:
1) Paid postage for a return of all my Ultramax ammo, including 2 boxes I had in another caliber
2) Money back for all of that ammo or new, replacement ammo (specifically mentioned all would be FMJ)
3) Covering my postage of my gun back to Kahr, and any repairs or replacement costs of the gun if the gunsmiths think its too far gone.

While I don't claim to be an expert in reading people, Larry seemed both concerned and ready to help. I'll be taking the replacement ammo option and giving it another try as I bought into the company line of "a lot has changed in 20 years".

I'll post again when I hear more information from Kahr.

Glad to hear you spoke to both compnies, glad they are standing up not giving you any run arounds! +1 for both

 

[Skyhawk]

Glad to hear the companies are living up to decent standards of responsibility. Glad to that you're OK. The Kahr performed as it should have. From the look of the cartridge case it was clearly over-charged. The barrel of the gun probably suffered some damage. And thanks for Keeping us posted.

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

Thanks for the update. It is nice to read that both companies are going above and beyond to provide excellent customer service.

 

[forkliftdave]

Your lucky! Could of been much worse