Kahr break in - is it true?

[charles p]

Read somewhere last night that Kahr recommends firing 300 rounds through new pistols before dedicating it for personal protection.  I think the article was from Shooting Times.  Can I expect jams during the initial break in period?  Wife has had one since Christmas that has never been fired yet - just thoroughly cleaned.  Makes sense for her to shoot it some.

[Don A]

I have a Kahr CW 45, I believe my manual says to fire 200 rds thru it for brake in, I have shoot maybe 100 factory loads in it and 100 of my reloads in it without any problems, still if I had a new gun made by anyone I would want to shoot it some before I would trust it for defense, I am just now thinking about using it for my carry weapon as I have my concealed carry licence here in Okla. I will put a couple hundred factory HP's thru it before I would trust it with my life, if I have a problem with it I will send it back to factory for repair or replacement, for now I will carry my Glock 9mm and my 32acp Guardian for normal day t day carry, Don A Okla.

[Scibaer]

this is from the Kahr website, under the FAQ's ..   Q. What is the "break in" period for my new gun?

                                                                    A. Kahr recommends a minimum of 200 rounds.

all thought, alot of kahr owners say that 200 rounds were not necessary for good and proper function to occur.

[picturerock]

My P9 did require about 200 rounds to smooth out, but now it shoots real nice.

[pneuby]

The MK/PM series of 'micro' Kahrs will more than likely benefit the most from that. However, none of my full-size (can you say that about any Kahr?) models have ever needed it.

[MZ5]

My CW9 has been completely reliable from the first shot fired.  I'm extremely pleased with the gun.  That notwithstanding, I'd suggest following the instructions in your manual, or in any manual if they specified a certain number of 'break-in' rounds prior to relying on the gun for defense.  To me, that's a good idea anyway, just so that you have a chance to familiarize yourself with that particular gun and its characteristics.

[Scibaer]

i can say the same, right out of the box my cw40 and shot and functioned just fine.
knock on wood, but i have not had a stove pipe, jam or failure of any kind.
my cw40 eats anything i feed it, is more accurate then i am and has taken the abuse i have dished out without neery a scratch or ding and continues to go bang when i squeeze when i squeeze the trigger

[blackpowderbill]

I think  that before you carry a new weapon for defense, it is alway a good idea to put a few hundred rounds down the tube just to make sure there are no unseen problems that may arise. The more you can afford to fire the better.

[bpiatt]

+1 on that... 

It's your life we're talking about.  I don't care what the book says, I don't think I've ever carried a gun without getting 4 boxes of ammo thru it without malfunctions. 

CCW guns have to work every time.

[rdmallory]

+2 on that...

you also need to get used to the gun and be confident you can hit with it. 

I own two Kahrs P380 and a P9 I never had any issues with either one of them but still ran the 200 rounds through them before I started caring them.  That being said the P380 does not like week loads. I had loads built up for my KelTec and my Kahr would stovepipe them.

Doug

[Graybeard]

Do ya REALLY want to trust your life to a handgun that hasn't been fired at least 100-200 rounds to prove its dependability? I currently have four that aren't yet in service due to me not yet having made time to assure they are trust worthy even tho I have no doubt they are they still won't see self defense duty until I've thoroughly tested them.

[sybo]

 I have been in the firearm venue for many years and I am also a believer that you should never trust your life with any weapon unless it has had enough rounds through it to prove itself.Also there is no perfect gun, these are tools. Alot of people that are somewhat familiar with firearms will simply purchase a gun and put aside the manual and just"hit the range", the Kahr is one in particular that one needs to learn about. I believe the 200 round break-in is necessary, and pay attention that one doesn't sling-shot the slide when loading a new magazine, push the slide release lever and let the slide force chamber the round.If you follow the few tips the manual gives you will be pleased with their product. I use the PM9 as my most used CCW and almost forget I have it on.Great little gun at 14 oz.  Jim

[Squib]

I DID have a break-in issue with a kahr once

I bought a used one that looked brand-new, the gun had virtually no wear on it and a bit of grit inside.  I believe it had a mag or two of dirty burning and cheap ammo ran through it and wouldn't cycle so the owner pawned it off.  I had to get about 130 (if I remember correctly) through it to get it reliable.  Until I did get into that second box of ammo that gun would jame two or three times per mag, and I was hating it, but after that it was good to go with anything, and hit cans at 25yds--- the trigger breaks in after use and that is #2 after reliability, so go shoot off a couple boxes of winchester whitebox.

[MZ5]

Alot of people that are somewhat familiar with firearms will simply purchase a gun and put aside the manual and just"hit the range", the Kahr is one in particular that one needs to learn about.

This is a good elaboration on what I was getting at in my reply last summer.  You can't limp-wrist a Kahr when manually cycling the slide.  It wants to be handled confidently and almost ...aggressively?

Aside from that, not reading the manual may cause one to not realize that the slide CANNOT be lowered on a loaded round (nor on a piece of fired brass), because the extractor is designed a bit differently than the extractor on, say, a 1911.  Meaning, it needs the case rim to slide up under it as a round is stripped off the magazine.  Trying to drop the slide on a chambered case will cause it to stop short, or possibly to break the extractor.

I like reading the manual. 

[Squib]

also the feed ramps being "split" makes feeding an issue if the gun is limp-wristed, especially when brand new and not broke in enough to cycle smoothe in the first place.