Got new parts for my pm9

[jarrod01]

Well, my pm9 had been dropping my 7 round mag almost everytime i fired it (but not my 6 rd. for some reason), and also had the infamous FTB problem when trying to load it either via "slingshot" method, or with the slide release. It didnt matter. So i emailed kahr and dottie wrote me back last week and told me my new parts were on their way. She sent me a new recoil spring and guide rod, 2 new slide stop springs, and a new mag release.

My parts came today (well, technically yesterday) and i just installed them a little while ago. When i took my old recoil spring out and compared it to the new one, the new spring was about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch longer. I couldnt believe the difference. Felt stiffer, too. Also my old mag release had a gouge in the bottom side on the polymer. I dont know why.

Anyhow, i am so glad to have a new (much better) recoil spring. I cant wait to go fire some rounds through it now. Hopefully i wont have the FTB problem anymore, and wont have to worry about limp wristing it. Dottie said in the email, "you should have the new recoil spring, it is black in color, rather than gunmetal". The new spring looked more like gunmetal and my old one looked black, however, i would trust the new one more. The old spring is a little over 2 inches long, while the new spring is almost 3 inches or just over, im guessing.

Hope this helps anyone else who is wondering if they have an old recoil spring. I bought my pm9 brand new in the beginning of august 2005, and according to kahr, it should have had the new one, but it didnt. My serial number is VB6373. So it just goes to show, that even though the gun was meant to have the right parts, bad ones could still be floating around.

[ericboo]

Good to know. I bought mine back in August also, VB466X. I have only had one session with it without any problems, but I will check out my spring to see what I have.

[cjblackmon]

Good deal! That wolf recoil spring should definately slam those 9mm rounds into the breach now. Don't forget to post report when you get back from the range.

[jarrod01]

im not really sure if it is a wolf recoil spring, i think its just the new standard factory spring for the pm9 that kahr is now using. But, i will definately post a range report when i fire it! :)

[cjblackmon]

Originally posted by jarrod01
im not really sure if it is a wolf recoil spring, i think its just the new standard factory spring for the pm9 that kahr is now using. But, i will definately post a range report when i fire it! :)

I think it was their website (I'll have to check) but I've read somewhere that all of their guns are built with Wolf Springs. Don't quote me on that.

[Bigbadben]

Funny, I just came onto this site this morning to ask a few questions about my new Kahr PM9. I saw your post and seems I'm not the only one having this problem where the gun fails to return to battery reliably, especially on the last round. My main spring is definitely no more than 2 inches, so I suspect that's my problem. Good to know there's a fix. I'll bug them for the new spring.

I'm having a different problem with my 7-round mag. It simply won't chamber the first round when the slide is locked back unless I rap on the base of it. So the sequence goes like this: Slide locks back on the empty 6-round mag, I drop the mag and insert the 7-round, then I either pull back on the slide (Glock style) or drop the slide release, the slide does not appear to move, but when I hit my left hand palm against the base of the mag the slide goes into full battery and the gun's ready to go. It appears that the first round gets hung up on the feed ramp and that hitting the base of the magazine dislodges it enough to work. It seems to work every time if I remember to do that, but I have a hard time beliving that's not a problem. Anyone else having this problem?

My six-round magazine seems to give me no trouble, so I may ask Kahr if I can trade in the 7-shot for another 6-shot.

Ben

Oh, and FWIW I have about 300 rounds through the gun and it's still doing these things, so it's not one of those -don't-complain-untill-you-have-200-rounds-through-it kind of things.

[jarrod01]

cjblackmon: thats pretty cool about the wolf springs, i didnt know that. I wont quote you on it, but ill remember that for future reference :)


bigbadben: Yeah, definately hit Kahr up for a new recoil spring. You shouldnt even have to bug them, considering its brand new and has over the recommended break in of rounds through it, they should be happy to send you one at no charge. AND, even my kahr was giving me problems over 200 initial rounds, i ended up polishing the feed ramp and it helped alot. I also use motor oil when lubing my gun up now, i think its a little thicker than regular gun oil. Any motor oil will work, but alot of people seem to like mobil 1 synthetic.

When i polished my feed ramp i used a very high grit sand paper (like 1500 or 2000, cant remember which) and wet sanded the feed ramp until it was smoothed out. Then i used a dremel and a buffing tip and used mothers metal polish compound. You can use any other type of compound they should all work great, i just used mothers because thats all ive ever used. When polishing the feedramp, i cut the sand paper into 1/2" x 1/4" rectangles, and used a pencil eraser to move the sand paper around on the feed ramp. Someone else on here suggested that method and it works good. Do it for a good 10 minutes or so. Then when you buff it, it should shine like chrome. After cleaning the ramp off, lube it right up and it should work as smooth as butter. It really helped reduce my FTB a little bit too (but not all the way). Good luck.

[made2cut]

jarrod01, how does the new mag release work? Mine takes very little pressure to depress and I've often worried about accidental release. Is your new one stiffer or have longer travel?

[jarrod01]

made2cut: funny you should ask, because not 2 minutes before i read this post, i was playing around with my pm9 (but when aren't i anyway? :)) and i noticed that my mag release button does *feel* a little bit stiffer, but i never replaced the spring, just the release itself, so it could be in my head. The clip definately feels like it goes in better and when i feel that "click", its feels solid.

On a side note, i noticed that there is some play in the clip when its in my pm9. Not side to side play, but up and down. If I push on the bottom of the clip, it moves up a couple of millimeters, then springs back down when you let go. And I noticed that the way the mag release is designed, it looks triangular from a side view as to allow the mag to slide past the bottom of it, then its flat on the top so once it pops into that hole in the side of the clip, it sticks in and wont come out until you push the button. And the top part of the hole on the clip rests on the top metal piece on the mag release. Anyway, since i noticed that the clip will move up and down when you push on it, i have this habit it pushing on it when i dont need to. I dont know why i do it. I was wondering if by pushing on it, the bottom part of the hole on the clip was pushing on the bottom of the mag release where there is no metal and its all just polymer, if that was prematurely wearing it out like my previous one.

Thats just a theory, im not sure, but it would make sense to me. That could explain that while ive probably only popped clips in and out about 100-200 times (not only shooting, but practicing and messing around with it) that the mag release could appear to have way more wear than that. Every time i needlessly push up on the bottom of the clip, it could simulate wear.

I hope you could understand everything i just wrote. Its hard to explain without pics.

[jarrod01]

Well, i took my pm9 with the new mag release and recoil spring out today before work and put about 50 rounds through it. The 7 round mag shot every time and did not drop out at all. Also, it only failed to return to battery a couple of times, and i am going to chaulk that up to slight limp wristing. My pm9 works alot better now. Although i did somehow manage to drop it while i was out and the end of the slide near the barrel hit a small rock (*kicking myself*) and has a slight ding in it now :steamed: Well, now i guess i have to go buy another one (haha, i wish i had that much cash)

Its not that noticable though, so i guess i can live with it.

[LittleFoot]

Originally posted by jarrod01
She sent me a new recoil spring and guide rod, 2 new slide stop springs, and a new mag release.

forgive my ignorance, WTH is a "slide stop spring"?

[cjblackmon]

Originally posted by LittleFoot
forgive my ignorance, WTH is a "slide stop spring"?

It's the little " C " looking spring that's under your slide stop pin (the pin you pop out to field strip your Kahr) that retains your slide stop pin.

[97guns]

how tough was it to install the new mag release button? i think my pm has the old style because its really easy to hit.

[jarrod01]

97guns: not really sure if there was an "old style" mag release button, but i dont think its bad if its easy to push. If your gun is dropping the mags out when its not supposed to, then it could be bad. Mine may feel tighter than what i remember because my old one was worn, so the new one could have a tighter tolerance because its not worn out. So maybe it seemed tighter because i wasnt used to it.

But if you still feel like replacing it, it wasnt too dificult. The instructions that Kahr sent me said to get a "pick or similar tool" to get the spring out of the button. I didnt have a pick, so i took a large safety pin and bent the end of it with pliers.

You have to remove the clip and i also found it helpful to remove the slide too. That way you can work from one end and see from the other. Get under a bright light too. The spring is just a straight metal rod that bends back and forth that is pressed into the polymer. If your looking at the assembly from the bottom of the grip where the clip goes in, with the slide away from you and the barrel pointed down, then you would want to slide the spring to the right then slightly pull it up out of the groove. Then it will be sitting outside the mag release and you can just push the button out of the frame. Put the new one in and slide the spring back over the groove and it should go down in and spring back into place. The instructions said that it would pop in after inserting the new button, but mine didnt. I had to manually put it back in.

[EldoEsq.]

I just put in my new "black" spring...when the pistol is shooting, no FTB's...but when I am deliberate with pulling back the slide, it hangs up.

Not a real problem, but it makes me nervous. I am used to my G19, where I could load the magazine with sand and the sucker will shoot. The PM9 is my everyday carry...should I be concerned?

[jarrod01]

eldoesq: what do you mean by "hangs up"? Do you mean it fails to return to battery, or the slide sticks back with a clip that still has rounds in it? If you mean you have a FTB, then try pulling it back ALL the way and really letting go of it. Do it kind of fast. Mine works everytime like that now. If you meant that your slide is sticking open with rounds still in the clip, then thats another problem that you might want to contact kahr about.

[EldoEsq.]

The slide sticks back with a clip that still has rounds when I rack it slowly. When I rack it hard, I dont have a problem with the new spring.

I know you are not "supposed" to rack it slowly. I am just not used to a pistol that is so finicky.

[jarrod01]

yeah i know what you mean. My first pistol was a kahr E9. I love it. I bought it used and not once has it ever not functioned. No FTB's, no slide lock back, no jams, no failures to eject the spent shell casing, nothing. It fires everytime. Even when i rack the slide it feels so smooth. Although i dont know how old/used it was when i bought it. Maybe my PM9 just needs more break in time to be like the E9. Or maybe it wont be. Who knows?

[EldoEsq.]

I just finished polishing the barrel, I figure it cant hurt. Maybe it will smooth the action a little bit. Plus it looks awesome! I'm goint to the range on tomorrow. Not expecting real improvement, but it cant hurt.