[halfmoonclip]

Hello; I'm new here, tho' I recognize some of the names here from the old KelTec boards.
Got a P380 yesterday and took it for a test hop. From the second magazine, I had repeated slide stop engagements, as many as two a magazine. This encompassed a variety of ammo, including FMJs, Gold Dots, and my own lead truncated cone reloads. I put 100 rounds thru' the gun; it shot well and was accurate.
The good sights, ergonomics, trigger and slide stop motivated my purchase, as I also have an LCP...an LCP that has never misbehaved in over 700 rounds.
I also had one epic jam; a casing was turned 180* in the ejection port and ended up wedged between the barrel hood and the extractor....I mean really wedged; it almost took pliers to get it out.
I'm hoping the jam was a 1:100K event, but the slide stop engagements are not acceptable in a self defense gun...any clues on fix?
I did see some other references while lurking here, but I thought I'd post a new thread.
Thanks in advance, and hello to everyone.
Moon

 

[Ljutic]

Welcome Mooner. My first P380 had this problem with all ammos other than Rem Golden Sabers. I just used the Golden Sabers to work around the problem. My guess is the slide stop spring was weak and allowed the slide stop to pre-maturely engage. It was suggested that the slide stop was potentially the problem so I called Kahr and they sent me another one to try, but after looking at it I never tried it since Kahr had done some polishing on the original slide stop and I didn't think the replacement would help the issue.

My second P380 has been perfect with many different ammos as far as slide stop engagements go.

If the issue doesn't improve, I would call Kahr and request a shipping tag to return your pistol for service.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Ljutic, thanks for the comeback. I posted to Kahr service today, and they are sending me a replacement slide stop.
If the gun is at slide lock and I pull the slide to the rear manually, the slide stop promptly drops down clear of the slide. I hope this indicates that the spring is okay.
I also stoned a bit off the slide stop itself, and I'll test hop that this weekend.
Moon

 

[Kraigster414]

Welcome Moon. Nice to have you with us. I do remember you from the Keltec site.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Thanks, kraigster.
Ljutic, I'm going to test hop the pistol tonight with the slight mod to the stop, and the replacement part should be here early this week.
Had a conversation with a buddy who has a 9mm Kahr that had the same problem, and he replaced the spring to solve the problem. So we may be back to the spring issue.
Moon

 

[Ljutic]

Mooner:

If you take a look around the board you may see a post or two from Jocko on this subject. He suggests removing the slide and inserting a full mag to see if the bullets are activating the slide stop. The real test is that under fire, the top round isn't always seated fully in the rearward position of the mag. Kahrs have a tendency to scoot the top round forward. While not a perfect test, it will give you an idea of where you should work your polishing/stoning magic on the slide stop. Since you have a new one on the way, you can go at it guilt-free since you have a spare coming.

Good Luck.

 

[halfmoonclip]

ljutic, that makes perfect sense, and I agree that the rounds move forward under recoil. I assumed that the taper on the slide was to urge 'em back in place.
I test hopped the preliminary repair, and it helped but did not end the problem. It usually happened on the second or third round out of the mag.
I'm going to post to Kahr tech support regarding the spring. I really like the gun, but after the LCP was dead-nuts perfect out of the box, I'm really disappointed that I have to screw around with the Kahr.
Moon

 

[halfmoonclip]

Update-
A slide stop and spring are on their way from Kahr.
I did find an iddy-biddy CRV T5 that fits the Torx holding the slide stop spring.
We'll see how it all works out.
Moon

 

[halfmoonclip]

The ongoing saga continues....
Slide stop arrived today, and I intstalled it. Four shots, two stoppages...if anything, worse than the first one.

We're not talking anything fancy here; one engagement was with my lead reloads, and the other was with Winchester FMJ.
In perfect honesty, I don't see how the slide stop and rounds can occupy the same space at the same time. Again, there were dings and scratches on the bullets from the slide stop.
The spring is in transit, but I ground off the finger from one stop; gotta find out for sure that the rounds are the problem and not some weird bounce under recoil.
Moon

 

[Fuel4Fire]

Design error! I have had mine back to Kahr 4 times, looking for a new gun now.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Design error! I have had mine back to Kahr 4 times, looking for a new gun now.

I fear you are correct, tho' I can live with it if it works 100% with a manual slide stop. Happened to look at an S&W .380 tonight; it has an automatic slide stop, but the finger on the stop is very short, and it catches a notch on the side of the follower. There really isn't much room in there for the stop finger and the bullet noses.
For a carry gun, I'll live without the stop, comes to that.
Moon

 

[Ljutic]

Design error! I have had mine back to Kahr 4 times, looking for a new gun now.

I fear you are correct, tho' I can live with it if it works 100% with a manual slide stop. Happened to look at an S&W .380 tonight; it has an automatic slide stop, but the finger on the stop is very short, and it catches a notch on the side of the follower. There really isn't much room in there for the stop finger and the bullet noses.
For a carry gun, I'll live without the stop, comes to that.
Moon

The slide stop on my Body Guard 380 has only had one failure to engage after the last round and no issues with premature engagement. I'm probably 400 + rounds through the gun. If you are comfortable going from Kahr's sweet trigger to the hernia inducing (exaggeration) double action trigger on the Body Guard, then that might be a better option if your slide stop continues to engage at inappropriate times.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Drifted the rear sight a bit today for a better zero. I also put a couple mags of my stash of Gold Dots thru' without a problem.

I did have a repeat of the spent casing in the ejection port event; casing spins 180* and gets caught between the breech face and the barrel. It would be a bitch of a jam if someone was shooting back.
Both events have been with my rather mild lead reloads (712 fps), and I'm guessing the problem is not quite enough energy to flip the empty clear of the gun. Factory rounds have not experienced this problem, and I'll up the powder charge by maybe 0.2 grains.
Anyone else experience this particular malf?
Moon

 

[halfmoonclip]

Okay, what I sincerely hope is the end of the saga...
Test hopped the gun; only had time for 24 rounds. Twelve of the pricey Gold Dots and 12 of my now-slightly-warmer lead reloads.
I re-installed the slide stop with finger, and the replacement slide stop spring. I also ground a little off the slide stop finger and polished the end. Not terribly scientific changing two things at once, but I just want it to work.
100% function and no slide stop engagements except at the end of the mag.
I'll shoot it some more next range run, but I'd surely like to think it is fixed.
Thanks, all.
Moon