Stupid Mistake - Slide locked halfway on pistol - CW-380

Here's what happens. If you remove the slide lock and install the slide up to the point where it gets stuck, you will have just run over the top of the locking cam. That cam fits up against a ramp on the inside of the slide plate. With that in place you can pull the trigger all the way, but the cam will not move downward to free the slide. If you move the slide back a bit it will. But I don't think you can move it back far enough to clear the cam if the lock is already butting up against the rear of the barrel lug.

This means the only way to remove it is the way you did it Higgy. Not desirable, but I believe it would be the only way. Pushing the slide against a workbench as I suggested earlier would not move it back enough to clear the cam and allow it to descend, because the barrel lug is already tight against the slide stop.

I agree....definitely not a desirable method.

Higgy Baby said:

I think the barrel lug will hit the lever.....but?...its spring loaded and you should be able to push against it- like you said.

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Wait now. I didn't think of this, and missed the meaning of this post at first. Given that the barrel can be held tight against the slide stop, but the slide can move backward against the recoil spring pressure and independent of the barrel, then one should be able to move the slide rearward far enough to clear the locking cam and allow it to move down when the trigger is pulled all the way to the frame! The trick would be to put pressure only on the slide while staying clear of the barrel, and moving it (the slide) to the rear. Right?

You all have found the issue. All that is required is to finesse the sear so that it can rotate down. I believe that some folks have slipped some form of a shim in from the rear of the slide, others have removed the frame side plate to access/move the sear!

This can be done without breaking anything!

Problem is though Lefty that the locking cam fits tightly against the bevel, or ramp on the inside of the slide's rear plate (back). Until the slide is move farther backward than it sits when the barrel lug first contacts the slide stop it cannot move downward. What Capt. Steve should try to do is push the slide further to the rear, just as if he is racking it, while pulling the trigger. This should allow the slide to move just enough to clear the cam (sear) and allow it to move down. Once that happens, with the trigger still held against the frame the slide should come forward and off.

I think it must be done in such a way that the slide is moved back enough to clear the cam, and then the trigger is pulled so that the cam then drops. Otherwise if the trigger is all the way back and the slide clears the cam, the cam may not drop, as it is passive once the trigger is all the way back.

There is an explanation that has been posted before, it may well have been on the Kahr Talk forum! IIRC, there were photos included!

Again, IIRC, it is an easy fix when understood! I don't have time to search for it but, I know that it is on one of these two forums! There have been two different methods used to overcome this boo-boo!

I found it! On the Kahr Talk forum, there is a sticky thread with pics! This is a clear explanation of the fix!

cant get slide to come off...

Actually quite simple!

Good find Lefty, thank you. If you read it closely Post #32 actually contains three ways to free the slide, or more accurately three ways to accomplish getting the cocking cam to descend, in order to free the slide. I copied the pictures and text just in case I forget all this (in a week or two), and find myself in the same situation.

Oh, and thank you too topgun for taking the time to also find one of the ways that will work!

You are welcome! Sorry that it took me some time to find it, I have been a little under the weather lately!

We enjoy helping each other to have a good shooting experience with all of our firearms :tongue-new::grin:

Thats really good news........

So...spentcase was right!...... "prying the slide lock lever out with a screwdriver is not be the most desirable way to accomplish this".

CaptSteve said:

Ok, just got off the phone with a gunsmith at Kahr. The group basically got it. slip a paper clip with the tip bent 90 degrees about 1/8" or dental tool under the right rear of the slide and rotate the cocking cam rearward! It's the silver "bar" opposite the ejector in my photo. Apparently the trigger is disconnected from it when the slide is in that particular position with the slide stop inserted.

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Thanks to everyone for your help. I hope this will stop people from damaging their pistols!!!

Got my baby back in my pocket. I'm a happy guy.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

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I locked my slide up doing same thing. I can't get paper clip to release it

Ouch!.....you may have to give them a call.

Higgy Baby said:

Ouch!.....you may have to give them a call.

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Yeah, I emailed customer service and he's going to check with the repair department on what it's going to cost me. I swear these Kahr pistols are a more pain in the ass than they are worth. I have Beretta and Walther semis and they shoot right out of the box. I can't believe Kahr even makes a pistol that you could jam up the slide to where it's damn near impossible to get it back off.

Excelwell said:

Yeah, I emailed customer service and he's going to check with the repair department on what it's going to cost me. I swear these Kahr pistols are a more pain in the ass than they are worth. I have Beretta and Walther semis and they shoot right out of the box. I can't believe Kahr even makes a pistol that you could jam up the slide to where it's damn near impossible to get it back off.

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I should just sell this CW380 and cut my losses and get myself one of these Taurus .380 revolvers. I have two Taurus revolvers now, The Judge Defender and a 38 Special +P. Both go bang EVERY time you pull the trigger. https://www.taurususa.com/revolvers/small-frame-revolvers/taurus-380

Excelwell said:

I locked my slide up doing same thing. I can't get paper clip to release it

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Excelwell said:

Yeah, I emailed customer service and he's going to check with the repair department on what it's going to cost me. I swear these Kahr pistols are a more pain in the ass than they are worth. I have Beretta and Walther semis and they shoot right out of the box. I can't believe Kahr even makes a pistol that you could jam up the slide to where it's damn near impossible to get it back off.

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Excelwell said:

I locked my slide up doing the same thing. I can't get paper clip to release it

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The cocking cam isn't a "silver bar" it is number 15 on the schematic diagram. It looks like a small cam on a car's camshaft. I can't see it anywhere when looking down through the mag well. https://www.kahr.com/PDF/kahrmanual.pdf

Higgy Baby said:

Ouch!.....you may have to give them a call.

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Finally got the slide to release! Hallelujah. Figured out where the cocking cam was and got it pulled back and the slide then slid off the front.

Higgy Baby said:

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I emailed Kahr support after using the paper clip to pull the cocking cam rearward to release the slide and he told me that you can take off the plate on the right side of the gun and use a flat-tip screwdriver to flip the cam back. Which would have been a lot easier. So if anyone else runs into this same issue that is how to fix it