I have a Kahr K9 with a defective barrel - the plating has flaked off in small pieces in the inside chamber surface, and I'm reading that Kahr may replace the barrel since this is a known problem with defective plating manufacturing.

I called them about ordering a new barrel (before learning about the flaking problem), and I asked them if the barrel was a plug-n-play affair or if it would need to be "fitted". They told me that ALL semi auto pistol barrels needed to be fitted. Uhhhh, I've never heard of Glock barrels needing to be fitted, so why do Kahr barrels need to be fitted ? Are tolerances off THAT much that barrels generally need to be fitted ?

So I'm obviously ignorant about fitting barrels in browning style tilt barrel designs:

1) If Kahr replaces the barrel, or if they don't replace it and force me to buy a new one, does this barrel really need to be fitted ?

2) If the barrel does need to be fitted, is this something I can do myself with basic gunsmithing hand tools ? Or does Kahr need to do it, or an experienced gunsmith ?

3) If Kahr fits the barrel, can they do that with just the slide, or do they need the frame as well ? Shipping a slide greatly simplifies shipping rules and reduces shipping cost, since I wouldn't be shipping a "gun".

As an aside, I found this flaking had deposited inside the striker pin channel and nearby crevices, when I disassembled the gun for a cleaning and lube. I'm glad I did, I had no idea that plating failure could get into critical areas such as these.

Any and all advice and/or education much appreciated.

The K-9 has a 3.5" barrel and may need to be fitted, but, if it does, it is usually just a few strokes of a small file, no big deal. A little looseness at the chamber end means less repeatability at the target so a slightly oversize replacement barrel (by a thousandth or two) is good in my opinion. The Kahrs that I have had (three) are pretty tight at the chamber end from the factory and just loose enough at the barrel end to let the barrel tilt when it cycles.

I have a PM-40 (3" barrel) that is no fun to shoot, but it is accurate. I shot a 3.5" group at 25 yards standing two handed yesterday with it. Hadn't shot it in a month.

I say go for the replacement barrel and fit it yourself, if it needs it.

Joe

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
I've never heard of Glock barrels needing to be fitted, so why do Kahr barrels need to be fitted ? Are tolerances off THAT much that barrels generally need to be fitted ?

The question here should have read...

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
I've never heard of Glock barrels needing to be fitted. Are tolerances off THAT much that barrels don't need to be fitted ?

I haven't dealt with Kahr in many years, but when I did it was for a cracked slide. They paid both ways and had the gun back to be in about a week. They even installed the new (new in package) aftermarket front sight I sent along with it.

Well I sent off the barrel and slide to Kahr today, to see if they will properly address the flaking off of the plating in the barrel chamber. I hope they will replace the barrel or re-plate the chamber. I talked to the tech guy and he wouldn't acknowledge they had a problem with barrel plating, even though it's all over the internet, I hate it when they do that. If they do something stupid and charge me for it without actually fixing the broken plating, I won't be happy about it. Here's hoping for the best.

I got the slide and barrel back from Kahr today. I was hoping they would replace the barrel, but instead, they coated the inside of the chamber with something that looks like Bondo - the stuff they use on car bodies. I know it's not really anything like that, but whatever it is, I just hope it holds up and doesn't affect the accuracy or reliability. And it's not evenly coated. It looks like a hack job. If any of that doesn't go well, I'm gonna be unhappy about it. They also coated the outside of the barrel with something - I don't know what it is, because I can't tell the difference between of the modern coatings like vapor deposition, NP3, Cerakote, whatever. I just hope it's not damn paint. The barrel used to be a nice stainless look, that's all gone now. But until I shoot it, I'm going to reserve final judgement, but if i had to vote now, I'd vote not happy about it.

This really blows, sounds like they did a crap refinish job instead of either a quality refinish or a replace. Is this what they're doing with others that have the issue, based on other forums you've read? I would personally reach back out to them, maybe email a pic to their customer service and if you don't have luck trying going at them on social media (post pics on their FB page or something). Hopefully they didn't make you pay for any of this.

pics? I was thinking of picking up a k9.

If you're unhappy with it after shooting it, return it to KAHR again. KAHR normally has excellent customer service. Escalate to a CS supervisor if need be.

Will do. I'll get to the range soon and we'll see how it goes.