Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns That can get a guy killed.....

Decided to pop a few through the Kel-Tec P3AT last night, as I haven't shot it in a while. It did not go bang with W-W SXTs or R-P FMJs, which is all I had on hand.



I don't carry this handgun that much, as my usual carry is a DAO S&W 637, but in summer weather I do slip it in the pocket of my shorts sometimes in a Desantis pocket holster. Up until now, it has never given me a problem. Glad I found out this way, but it was rather disheartening to hear that pitiful little "click".

Perhaps a Ruger version is in my future.....

Yep. Kel-tec says it all�..

Perhaps regular shooting practice with your carry gun should be in your future.

I won't say it wasn't partly my fault for shooting the thing every now and again. Still, it's not like the gun has had a really hard life or anything. Mostly, it has sat in a dresser drawer. I realized last night that it had been a while since I'd fired it and I'm glad I checked it out. My other handguns do get more of a regular workout and are of higher quality. Yes, I should have been shooting it more frequently, but it is also a case of "you get what you pay for".

Have you checked to make sure no pocket lint or other crud got in the action. If the gun is clean, that is a scary scenario for a gun you might depend on in a life or death situation.

I've had five of the .32s and never had so much as a failure to feed with any one of them. Sold them all to friends who are still carrying them.

Bob

If I'm wrong in my assumptions, please disregard this post but the "Ruger version" (I assume you mean the LCP) is light years ahead of the Kel-Tec. The two pistols may resemble each other from a distance but the quality and design of construction is immediate when the two brands are handled side-by-side.

I've witnessed more than one Kel-Tec .32/.380 suffer a breakage (not to be confused with a stoppage/malfunction) during qualification and training events. None of the guns in question had been shot extensively, so the failures were not related to wear and tear.

In contrast, the LCP seems to be a fairly sturdy little platform; my Brother and I have fired about 3,000 rounds through three different LCP's without a single cycle failure, much less a breakage.

I have no axe to grind with the Kel-Tec brand but I wouldn't rely on one of their .32/.380 pistols if I had any choice in the matter.

Good wake up call here. I will go buy some FMJ 380 ammo and test fire mine right away. All it gets for maintenence is an occasional wipe down and some squirts of oil in places of moveing contact.

Never had it bobble with any ammo, but guns like this should be test fired regularly.

I do not shoot mine very much because I have terrible, painful gout in my joints relating to my Kideny failure and the triggergurad on my P3AT comes back and hits my already swollen index finger joint pretty hard and it HURTS, not just a little. But, time to squirt it with some oil again and go give it some sort of workout.

Thanks for the heads up and warning. AND a good reminder

We have several Kel Tec products and like them a lot. P3AT, PF-9, and SU-16. But all guns, including even a Les Baer or Nighthawk or Ed Brown 1911's etc. need to be regularly cleaned and checked for function AND for sure practiced with by thier owners. Off to the range real soon for me with all of my defensive guns.

Those look like light FP strikes on the primers.................likely a gummed up FP spring & FP channel. It doesn't take much to reduce the force to what you are seeing.

Take it apart & clean it thoroughly including the spring & use a pipe cleaner to clean the FP channel from end to end.

Lightly oil after cleaning.

If that doesn't fix it, then you could have a bad (soft) FP spring.

MM

My personal policy is to shoot the gun with the ammo, dust, lint, etc. as carried since the last time it was loaded, without doing any type of special maintenance, manipulation or cleaning before firing. It gives me a more valid test of what the gun can tolerate in terms of daily wear and tear, increases my knowledge base of the gun, and increases my confidence in its reliability.

I hear you. I'll check it out and see what kind of lint/crud buildup there is, clean it, and try it again. Even so, I don't want to stake my life on a pocket gun that is prone to light strikes if a bit of pocket lint finds its way into the gun.

I agree with your approach - that is what I do as well. Especially with 1911s IMO, it is the only way to detect a weak mag spring (hangup chambering 2nd round).

Then get a J-frame hammerless or a Ruger LCR.

I'm wearing a hammerless J-frame right now. The little .380 pistols are easier to conceal for pocket carry though. If I was a bigger guy, I suppose I'd have bigger pockets and could get away with a revolver in more of my clothing.

Depends entirely on clothing. I'm 6'1, about 200. I've been pocket carrying a .44Special 3" revolver for a week at work and no one has noticed at all.

The pocket pistols, when the print, print like a gun. The revolvers, especially the J-frame and LCR, when they print simply look like a bulky set of keys and/or wallet in your pocket.

The downside to Kel-Tec's (IOW them not working) have been pretty well documented here. I have nothing against a cheap gun, but it has to work. I have owned them, I don't now.

I would hate to think a Kel-Tec was all i could afford to carry for self defense.

A pocket holster will help as well.

I carry an airweight to social functions. Even with the non baggy, "why did you buy me these" slacks my wife dresses me in, and the little guy doesn't warrant any concern.

Ok....but what about the revolver

I put a sock in my pocket so folks think I'm packing.