[besartain1]

Guys, I have a PM 45 that I have had for about 10 years and love the gun. Only issue I have ever had was that I can't get it to chamber hollow points. When the slide comes forward, the round will stick on the ramp. Works great with ball ammo just not with hollow points. Any ideas?

 

[spentcase]

Have you tried different HP ammo? Are your mags also 10 years old. Do you cycle those that are fully loaded from time to time to help avoid having the springs set? Is the feed ramp still nice and shiny and unmarred? Could be one or more of several reasons.
And BTW, welcome to the forum.

 

[BillACP]

Welcome to the Forum...outside of the good info spentcase gave, are you using the slide release to chamber a round from the mag per the Kahr user manual or racking by hand?

 

[besartain1]

Have you tried different HP ammo? Are your mags also 10 years old. Do you cycle those that are fully loaded from time to time to help avoid having the springs set? Is the feed ramp still nice and shiny and unmarred? Could be one or more of several reasons.
And BTW, welcome to the forum.

I unload the magazines periodically and let the springs reset. I have about 6 magazines that I rotate. The ramp looks almost new but after it refused to load hollow points, I only used ball. Thanks

 

[besartain1]

Welcome to the Forum...outside of the good info spentcase gave, are you using the slide release to chamber a round from the mag per the Kahr user manual or racking by hand?

I do.

 

[spentcase]

Well, sounds like you're methods are sound. HP ammo is not all shaped the same. Perhaps you should try another profile? Also, how long has it been since you swapped out your recoil spring?

 

[besartain1]

Well, sounds like you're methods are sound. HP ammo is not all shaped the same. Perhaps you should try another profile? Also, how long has it been since you swapped out your recoil spring?

I've never thought of that. I'll order one and see if that helps. Also, will try a different brand and see if that helps. Thanks

 

[spentcase]

Meant to ask, has it ever chambered HP ammo?

You can order parts directly from Kahr on their website. They've got good service and prices. Their site is not as easy as some to navigate but their service is good and in many years of ordering from them I've never gotten a wrong order.

Please let us know what you find out, it's one of the ways that we all learn.

 

[besartain1]

Meant to ask, has it ever chambered HP ammo?

You can order parts directly from Kahr on their website. They've got good service and prices. Their site is not as easy as some to navigate but their service is good and in many years of ordering from them I've never gotten a wrong order.

Please let us know what you find out, it's one of the ways that we all learn.

It never has. I just automatically went to ball because it worked. It's a .45 so ball ammo is still pretty good.

 

[spentcase]

Hmmm, my PM45 doesn't have a problem chambering the HP ammo I've fed it. So unless your recoil spring was weak from the gitgo it might be something else. Or a combination of things. Still, the spring is a cheap experiment and you're likely ready for a new one anyway. Good luck!

 

[Higgy Baby]

If the spring does the trick -good.
If not- fmj is good...it's a 45!

 

[gregdr01]

Guys, I have a PM 45 that I have had for about 10 years and love the gun. Only issue I have ever had was that I can't get it to chamber hollow points. When the slide comes forward, the round will stick on the ramp. Works great with ball ammo just not with hollow points. Any ideas?

Your PM should reliably feed any hollow point load. That it doesn't points to a problem with the feed ramp, magazine, HP load, or combination thereof.

If you don't want to send your PM back to Kahr for warranty service, first thing I'd do is polish the feed ramp, using MCarbo's feed ramp polishing kit -- the best $13 you'll spend.

My PM9 will digest any HP load I feed it, without a hiccup. Ever.

I'd be shocked if it doesn't reliably feed HP ammo after polishing, but if not, then the issue is almost certainly in the magazine(s)... weak spring, or lips out of spec/bent.

Lastly, while I'm not looking to start a debate on stopping power, 45 FMJ is not a load I'd ever use for self defense. It's in the 60% range for one-shot stops, which is 20-30% less than a good HP load. Don't compromise... you can have reliabilty and HP loads, and your Kahr is 100% capable of delivering it. You deserve better than what you're settling for!

 

[45?]

It never has. I just automatically went to ball because it worked. It's a .45 so ball ammo is still pretty good.

My one Kahr a CW-45 feeds anything really.
My 9 Colt 1911s all hate HPs and only like Ball.

Of the two plastic pistols I have the Sig P250 & the Kahr CW45. The little Kahr has taken over 800 rds of Ball S&B
& has eaten every single Hollow point I ever wasted money on over the years LOL. I would have the extractor checked out, it's possible.

 

[Scarpia]

A few months have passed so what did you do to solve the feed problem? I know I'm late to the party, but I suggest using Hornady XTP or other JHPs with a conical shape. Some JHPs are a round nose with a hole. I find the conical shaped tip slides up the ramp into the chamber as opposed to smashing into the ramp as the rounded bullets tend to do. I'm not saying springs and polishing don't matter, they do but shape of the bullet also matters. My Kahrs are the PM9, K9 Elite '98 and CW45. I use Hornady XTPs in all my Kahrs.

Bottom line: A gun isn't a gun unless it chambers a round in one end and ejects the bullet out the other. Use whatever works reliably.