Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns PMR 30 Blows Up

My circle of shooting buddies have all been lusting for the PMR 30, thinking it would make a great nite stand gun for our wives and a cool trail gun for us.
Two weeks ago one of the guys scored one at $100 over MSRP and went straight to the range.

Half way thru the second box (less than 100 rds)the pistol detonated in his brothers hand. He wasn't wearing eye protection but happily his only injury was a stinging hand.

The receiver was shattered, the slide jammed back and bent. The case head was ripped off and the case body welded in the barrel. Being a 22mag this one can't be blamed on hot reloads. Ammo was Federal 50gr. There had been no issues with other rounds til it blew.

Kel Tec has a sort of a recall going on right now on their barrels because of key holing. I've never been thoroughly convinced about their quality. This issue either has to be a Kel Tek problem or a Federal problem. I'm doubting it's Federal.

He was so upset he paid the $72 shipping fee to send it back rather than call Kel Tec first. So far no response from Kel Tek. I'll update here when ever they get back to him.

O

Glad it didn't hurt him any worse than it did.

I've been avoiding Kel-tec as well. Not sure why��..just have.

Sounds like your buddy's brother is very lucky. Too bad it happened.

I thought they'd fixed that problem.

Glad he is OK.

Gets what you pays for. Sub-par guns = sub-par performance.

This kind of stuff is why i have never wasted my money on a KelTec

I'm sure glad I didn't waste my money as well. I can understand a gun blowing up with re-loads but not with factory loads.

If the barrel is intact then it sounds like firing out of battery.

KT certainly does think out of the box on their designs, but sometimes in a box is better.

tex..,

Firing out of battery is what we think too. Kel-tek said they would get back in two weeks. So far nothing.

I've never been in love with Kel_Tek either. No particular reason other than I'm a Smith snob. Did have a friend who bought one of their little .32's and about half way thru the first box the trigger went "CRUNCH". I never had a good feeling about their quality. Several posters on the Campfire have raved about their PMR 30's so I was ready to put down the cash . . . until now.

We assume Kel-Tek will replace the pistol. If you really want one check Gun Broker. My buddy says the day its replaced it will be posted for sale.

I'll post more when KT responds.

O

I fondled one in a LGS last week and it was the first one that I had laid eyes on or hands on. First impression was that it was a water pistol with great sights. It appears to be very lightweight and plasticy which makes me wonder about the QC. It did not have a look of a finely crafted shooter at all but the owner of the LGS said it will not be here long based on the demand for the pistol.

Some guys have talked about the mag capacity of 30 rounds and the fact of a ladies gun with very little recoil as being great selling points. I saw the price of $799 and couldn't find anything in the pistol that sold me, but alas I'm not a 22Mag fan to begin with.

Sorry to hear about the accident with your buddy and hope that Kel Tec makes it good for him. Let us know the outcome.

PM sent, I would love to buy the replacement pistol if that is how Kel Tec handles it. A reapired version of his same gun would be quite allright as well. MARK

.22 mag in a handgun always struck me as a lot of muzzle blast for what are, essentially, .22 lr ballistics.

fixed.

I don't have a PMR-30, although I considered getting one until the prices became ridiculous for the product.
I've always been a wmr fan, and it's served well on the farm as a varmint and pest cartridge. My S&W 648 is one of my favorite handguns.

With the Hornaday Critical Defnse 45gr loads, my last PMR30 was a significant upgrade in power from a 22LR rifle.

I have owned four of these, and sold each one during hard financial times or when prices went nut last JAnuary. Didn't think it would take me this long to find a replacement for less than the NAtional Debt.

Called my buddy tonite. Kel Tek replaced the parts on his pistol and sent it back with no explanation. He sold it locally for an unreal $650 ~ this was not a new pistol but the one that blew up!!!

As for me I have lost desire for all things Kel Tek.

O

I owned a keltec 9mm once that went back twice for the same thing, trigger would not return forward after it fired.

fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice shame on me.

I had one that wasn't reliable. Not a .22, a 9mm single stack. It doesn't matter how handy it is if it won't fire all the time. Supposedly you need to dial them in with a couple hundred rounds or more. I don't trust a pistol that is like that. It's like the old Governments that weren't reliable with anything but Ball Ammo. Worse even.

It is with hope that any armed adversary that I should ever encounter is armed with a Kel-Tec!!!

Every think that this may have been an early version that was never sent in on the recall?

Just a thought

Ive never owned a Keltec but dangit, I want a PMR

Dont understand why they wont make enough to meet demand and drop the price down....MSRP is only $419 last I saw

cra1948...I kind of agree, the .22 Mag in a handgun is loud. But you get .22 LR rifle ballistics, which a .22 LR in a handgun won't give you. There is a huge difference in game performance with a .22 Mag HP from a handgun compared to a .22 LR HP. Years ago when I still lived on the farm, our dog would regularly tree or corner a raccoon, usually in a wooden granary that wasn't raccoon tight. .22 LR handgun didn't have near the effect of the .22 Mag, from a Colt New Frontier with the short barrel (approximately 4.5"). And it still only put .22 caliber holes in the granary floor .