Broken Kahr

[DonD]

I'm a little disappointed. I really like my MK9 Kahr. I just had the barrel replaced.

Went to the range a few days ago and cleaned the gun afterward. Was looking at it a few minutes ago and noticed a line at the 6 o'clock position under the muzzle on the slide. At first I thought it was dirt or solvent residue.

Disassembled it and it is a significant crack clear through the metal from the muzzle opening through to the recoil spring hole and directly aft to the end of the material.

I fully realize that this doesn't necessarily reflect adversely on Kahr, anything can happen to any manufacturer but it is aggravating. I'll call Kahr tomorrow to see what they plan. I assume that they will replace the assembly.

Only about 250 rds through it and about 50 of that +P Winchester Ranger. This shouldn't happen. Don :sad:

[c-yack]

Man, that is disappointing; but not the first time I have heard this exact same occurance. A friend of mine had this happen to his MK9. I think he fixed it himself; he has a specialty welding and fab shop. I do not know how old his MK is, so I do not know if it is a noted production flaw or what. I have an MK9 Elite 03 and I think I would be heartbroken if this happened to me. I'm sure Kahr will take care of you.

[jonboy20]

Call Kahr

Dottie Herold
Customer Care Manager
Kahr Arms
130 Goddard Memorial Drive
Worcester, MA 01603

Phone: 508-635-1440
Email: dherold@kahr.com

[don527]

Pics please?

[Kaiser Soze]

Originally posted by don527
Pics please?

Yes, I'd like to see the photos as well. My uncle carries this as his backup unit, so his life could literally depend on this firearm...

As for calling Dottie, she's a great lady, and offered me assistance even though I'm in the Philippines!

[jggonzalez]

I think I had the same thing happen to my MK9. Since I'm not the original purchaser, the gun was not covered under warranty. Here's a pic of the crack on my slide. My gun is currently on its way to Kahr for a new slide ($132).

[whtroyer]

This has happened to more than one mk9 and has been reported here several times. Kahr will replace the slide without any problems. 416 stainless used for the Kahr slide was chosen more for ease of machining than strength.

[hodgkins]

Mine did the same thing.Kahr covered the whole bill, including shipping both ways.

[Kaiser Soze]

Thanks for the photo post!

[jggonzalez]

Originally posted by hodgkins
Mine did the same thing.Kahr covered the whole bill, including shipping both ways.

They said they would have covered it on mine too, BUT I'm not the original purchaser, so I had to pay for repairs. I've noticed a few other manufacturers have the same clause in their contracts. Oh well, I saved more than the cost of the repair by buying it used, so I guess it works out.

[jggonzalez]

My MK9 arrived back from Kahr today. New slide looks like it fits nice and tight. As a bonus, they added a free set of Trijicon night sights. That was unexpected and very much appreciated. I also found a set of wood grips on ebay, so "Gollum" is all fixed up.

Dottie said that they've seen this slide crack happen a few times and believe that the slides affected had heat-treating defects. Regardless, since I paid for the new slide it falls under their five-year warranty, so I consider the problem solved as long as I follow standard maintenance procedures.

[Strider47]

Wow, free night sights. That's pretty sweet!

All I got for my Glock 26 "E" frame replacement was a geeky keychain. ;)

[jggonzalez]

Originally posted by Strider47
Wow, free night sights. That's pretty sweet!

All I got for my Glock 26 "E" frame replacement was a geeky keychain. ;)

I complained a little about how it doesn't matter if I'm the original purchaser or not, a defect is a defect. I kept it polite, but I let them know that I wasn't happy. Dottie is also a sweetheart when it comes to dealing with customers, so I'd say the credit goes to her. I wasn't really expecting anything and I even called her to make sure it wasn't a mistake. I'm really sold on Kahr after this. I hope they come out with a steel-framed T45 or K45.

Now I just need to go shooting. The slide/frame fit looks nice and tight, so I'm optimistic. The gun was really accurate before I sent it in. I'm hoping it still is accurate. The only question mark is the sights. I really liked the bar/dot setup it originally had. I'll have to see how the three-dot setup works for me. If it doesn't work out, I'm going to get an original rear sight and install that, leaving the front Trijicon sight in place. Then I'll have the best of both worlds.

[Strider47]

I hear you re: the bar-dots. They're really quick for me (up close and dirty). I'll probably keep them on my PM9. That said, all my Glocks have Trijicons on them.

[tacticaldawg]

Is the slide cracking a issue with MK9 only? Or does it affect other Kahr, such as PM9?