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Possible Issue When Holstering A CM9..!!!

9012 Views 17 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  xsailer
I came across this article on another forum, its from The Bang Switch on the Military Channel Blog. It seems some of the Kahrs, especially the CM9 can have a problem when holstering the weapon, it can be rendered inoperable. This may not be a problem for your gun, but you should read the article and be sure yours doesn't do this.......The flaw I’m talking about is the guide rod slightly protruding from the front of the slide, which occurs when the weapon is holstered. While it seems as though this is perhaps nothing more than cosmetic inconvenience, it’s actually quite a bit more serious than what you may think. This condition will occur when you either ride the slide home gently, or worse, when you push the slide back slightly while it’s loaded and ready to go (or so you think). Why is this a problem? With the firearm in this condition it’s non-functional. If you pull the trigger the striker will fall forward taking the slide home with it and forcing the tip of the guide rod to fall back into alignment with the face of the slide. The only problem is that this robs the striker of critical inertia and doesn’t leave it enough oomph to ignite the primer. Not a big deal, right? Just “sling shot” the slide, or use the slide stop to release the slide per the instructions in the user manual when you load the gun and all should be good.


Not quite. If you place the pistol in a holster and the friction from it being inserted causes the slide to move back ever so slightly, the tip of the guide rod will pop into this state and render the firearm inoperable. You won’t be able to tell the gun is in a non-functional state until you remove the gun from the holster. That means once you holster the pistol you never know if it’s going to work with you draw it. If you carry the gun in a pocket without a holster (not advisable) you can easily knock the slide back causing the weapon to enter this disabled state.


Thinking perhaps this was something unique to my CM9 I checked out a few more at the gun shop. Sure enough, both that I handled had this same issue to various degrees. One would solidly perch the slide on the tip of the guide rod every time it was slightly retracted and no amount of forward pressure would dislodge it. The other pistol would do it occasionally but not quite as firmly. A slight bump to the back of the slide would dislodge it and return the gun to its normal state.


I’ve not sent the gun back to Kahr yet but I probably will at some point. I believe if a slightly steeper bevel were applied to the cap on the guide rod, or to the hole in the slide in which it rests, the problem would disappear. Perhaps later production models have incorporated this fix, as I mentioned earlier this is one of the first guns off the production line.


It’s interesting to note that the larger CW9 pistol has a straight guide rod, sans the cap on the end, and thus doesn’t suffer from this affliction. I’m not sure what the purpose of the cap is on the CM9, but I would prefer another solution to whatever problem it presumably solves be found.
I don't know how valid this is but its worth a look see by anyone who carries the weapon, to be sure you are always safe !!!!!!!
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I haven't head about this, I tried to get mine to hang up but couldn't.
Yeah it's the first I had heard anything like this, so maybe take it with a grain of salt. I just felt it was better to post it, so if its really an issue for anyone, they would have found out about it.
I think witha good fitting holster it shouldn't be a issue.
I'll agree with that............
I looked at mine and my holsters and wasn't able to recreate this issue.
That's great, just wanted anyone who carried one to check and be sure theirs didn't have that issue.....
This is something that happens with my new CM9. I have yet to shoot it, so it's not broken in yet. But pretty sure this shouldn't happen.
What happens - with an empty mag (haven't tried with rounds in the mag yet), the slide will get stuck here if pushed back slightly. Definitely a cause for concern for me. If I bump it or pull the slide and let go, the slide returns to normal position. Just odd that it's hanging up on the mag.

Is this the same thing the OP was referring to?

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The gun is tight as its not broken in yet, that shouldn't be a problem after that. Lube it well and rack the slide a couple hundred times on both guns even before going to the range, this will help loosen them up a bit. I'm posting a pic of what to look for when reholstering that causes the problem.......click on the link
http://www.thebangswitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/AB3A2989.jpg
Thanks, for some reason it didn't work for me ??
Seems like if you do a press check and the slide goes fully into battery, there should be no problem. Perhaps problem guns have a cap or guide rod hole out of spec or both at the wrong limit of tolerance? Has Kahr said what the problem is on any guns returned for a fix?
Never heard anymore about it....... so it must have been isolated instances that occurred
I checked mine and don't seem to have the same issue. Mine slide was VERY tight when new. I put 200+ rounds thru it and worked the slide a lot and also kept it locked back for a couple of days and its good now. I also release the slide lock when chambering the first round as suggested by Kahr and don't sling shot this gun like I do my 1911's.
Yeah not always easy to rack a round in a kahr like a 1911. If you don't pull the slide all the way back and or ride the slide even just a touch, it won't chamber a round.
When my Cm9 was newer I couldn't rack the slide and have it work. Now though, after 600rds, I have racked the slide occasionally and not had problems, 2 or 3 times in a class. I don't do it though unless I'm in a situation where I need to.
Yours is nicely broken in and loosened up some bob, so that does make a difference. Once you get to the point your at, they run nice and smooth..........also feed just about anything you run in it.........
Yes I was agreeing with you Ron. When it's new there's one way to make it work and that's as Kahr suggests in their instructions.
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