Casting, MIM and EDM wire

[bearcatter]

Over time NAA has spent lots of green on machinery, so for several years they have been totally in-house with everything but investment casting (?), springs (Wolff), and grips (Hogue and ?). Whoever is doing the casting has apparently caused the considerable delay in my Guardian replacement. So in curiosity I've been looking into who does, or used to do, what.....

I have bits and pieces of info on NAA's Guardian production processes. None of which may be true, but I've spent considerable time on it, reading Googled articles and a number of other forums. If anyone can add to, or correct it, thank you.

NAA started with Pine Tree Castings (Ruger) making the frame castings. Kahr did the machining of frames, and of slides from solid billets. Taurus was making the smaller parts with MIM. NAA was later equipped to do their own MIM. Then NAA expanded their CNC machining and dropped Kahr, after some problems, in 2006. There is also brief mention of some minis (I think Sidewinders and/or Rangers) requiring EDM wire cutting, and of Pine Tree being replaced by a company named Latva Machine in Minnesota. I think they have since also been replaced. No ID of who, that I can find.

[OV-1D]

  With Kahr and Tauras involved I can see problems all over the place , as you can tell I'm no fan of either gun maker , guess I'm too old fashioned and quality minded . If your going to farm things out first find quality outfits not just because of the cheapest or willingness . I'd bet Kahr was doing all the production line with frames that's why not two frames are the same for fittings of all secondary parts . SEE you got me started on another rant , gotta go get my meds AGAIN !!!!  One last thing its a good thing the Pentagon knows quality when spending our monies .

[Cary Gunn]

Hey OV,

Please quit bad-mouthing Kahr.  I love 'em. They make, I believe, two of the best pocket pistols the world has ever seen (the CW380 and CM9).

If Kahr pistols have an inherent problem, it's that some users fail to read and follow the instructions in the company's owner's manuals.  Hand-racking the pistols' slides to chamber a round will virtually always produce a FTF.

As per company instructions, the first round MUST be chambered by locking the slide to the rear with the slide-stop, then tripping the slide-stop lever to allow the slide to slam forward as it strips the first round from the magazine.  Hand-racking, or easing the slide closed to gently chamber a round, will inevitably result in a failure-to-feed, leaving the round sticking slightly out of the chamber and pistol slightly out-of-battery.

But, follow Kahr's instructions by chambering the first round using the slide-stop lever, and the pistols will function perfectly.  The quirkiness, as I understand it, is due to the design elements Kahr used to produce some of the smallest pistols in respective caliber-classes.

Sorry for the rant, OV.  It's just that I love my little Kahrs with the same passion I lavish on my tiny Black Widow.

Happy trails, and hope you don't take offense,

-- Cary Gunn --

[OV-1D]

  No offence taken Cary , to each their own carry . If it starts out with specific instructions how many more are to follow when things go your way I figure . Woulda-coulda-shoulda just doesn't work for me , me alone mind ya . Really happy trails .

[heyjoe]

i wouldnt want a firearm for self defense where i had to be careful about how the slide is released during a reload under extreme stress. to me that model would be appropriate to just being a range gun, then wouldnt have to be so small anyway.

[Cary Gunn]

Heyjoe,

God forbid I'm ever in a gunfight with my Kahrs, but -- if am, and if I need a second magazine full --  all I'd have to do would be to drop the old magazine, insert a new one, and trip the slide-stop lever. 

What could be easier, or faster? 

Sure, in "the heat of the moment" I could foul-up the reload, but, if that happened, it would be due to a lack of practice and familiarity with my carry piece. 

Give me a Kahr and I'll be happy.  I love them because they are significantly smaller than almost any other pistol in the respective caliber-classes (meaning they are HIGHLY pocketable and, thus, more likely to be in my pocket when needed); and they are very reliable, accurate and easy to shoot straight.

Happy trails, again,

-- Cary Gunn --

[heyjoe]

Heyjoe,

God forbid I'm ever in a gunfight with my Kahrs, but -- if am, and if I need a second magazine full --  all I'd have to do would be to drop the old magazine, insert a new one, and trip the slide-stop lever. 

What could be easier, or faster? 

Sure, in "the heat of the moment" I could foul-up the reload, but, if that happened, it would be due to a lack of practice and familiarity with my carry piece. 

Give me a Kahr and I'll be happy.  I love them because they are significantly smaller than almost any other pistol in the respective caliber-classes (meaning they are HIGHLY pocketable and, thus, more likely to be in my pocket when needed); and they are very reliable, accurate and easy to shoot straight.

Happy trails, again,

-- Cary Gunn --

i was just thinking that it would be easier to rack a slide than to push down a lever with your thumb. also in the heat of the moment you racked the slide due to previous muscle memory for other semi autos. you would have a jam.
if it works for you then that is great, i was thinking more of myself and what i would be sure of.

[RogueTS1]

That sounds awfully generic ...................... fully retracting a slide and letting it fly home under its own spring power is the same as when firing or dropping from the slide lock. Sounds to me as if Kahr is trying to put to rest the all too common racking the slide and then "easing" it forward or not pulling it fully to the rear.