[Skofnung]

Greetings.

I have a P3AT and it functions fine and has been accurate so far. My problems are twofold:

Even after dehorning the trigger, as few as 20 rounds will rub my trigger finger raw. I have found that the problem may not be the trigger, but the trigger guard rubbing my finger upon recoil. Anyone else have this happen to them? What caan I do about it?

When I pick up my brass, I notice that the extractor has clawed the ever-loving-snot out of the rim, and the mouth of every single case is dented and in some cases burred. I don't reload for this caliber yet, but I had planned to. Brass fired from this gun is close to useless. Again, any experience with this or thoughts that may help?

I want to keep this gun as it fills a very real niche in my carry battery, but if I can only fire 20 rounds at the time for practice before I start bleeding and it keeps tearing up brass (malfunctions in the future?), it may have to go.

Thanks

[wally]

At least you can find the brass from your P3AT, mine launches them into orbit :)

As long as the mouth dents don't prevent the empties from entering your sizing die they don't cause any real problems (WWII era 1911's had a tendency to do this too) as to the boogered rims -- its a large part of why reloads are not a reliable as factory ammo, but again as long as the rims enter your shell holder they should reload just fine -- you'll just get an occaional extraction failure if the extractor lands on the same spot on the rim next time through.

As to the bloody trigger finger, mine improved tremendously after I filed off the moulding "flash" from the bottom inside of the trigger gaurd.

--wally.

[Dave R]

What Wally Said.

(Except my P-3AT does not launch brass into orbit--I can find it.)

I have 4 loadings on some of my P-3AT brass. Yeah, the rims are chewed, but I haven't had any malfunctions yet, knock wood.

[MachIVshooter]

The P3 was not designed to be pleasant to fire, as one could gather simply by knowing it is an 8 ounce .380. And yes, they have very powerful extractors. I see this as a good thing. These little guns do what they were made to, and do it well. But they are not plinkers or range guns. They are mirco compact SD pistols.

[halvey]

Put a bandaid on your finger when you practice. that's what I did.

Yeah, the brass gets chewed up. No way around it really. If you load light loads, it tends to be less beaten up. I figure about 3 loads per case is all I will get, so I am selling my dies and will just shoot factory ammo from now on.

[Wilson 17&26]

Some 600 grit sandpaper applied to the rough inside of the trigger guard can save some skin but a Band Aide can still be helpful with high volume practice. A finger extension as show below (NAA or Bersa) will make things a lot more pleasant.

Bent brass is likely the results of brass hitting the barrel hood during extraction and the Flyer Barrel Hood Modification might be necessary if you intend to reload. There’s a discussion and pictures of this at KTRange.com.

(click to enlarge)
http://www.wilson-genealogy.com/pics/sghcb-fghcgs.jpg (http://www.wilson-genealogy.com/pics/sghcb-fghcg.jpg)

[deputy tom]

I wish I could get a kel-tec to fire 20 rds in a row without a jam.You can dremel out the trigger guard to eleviate the friction on your skin.But if it keeps shooting don't complain.YMMV.tom.

[Gunmeister]

Wilson-- Are those metal triggers on your KT's? Which extension is on the 2cd gen P3AT?
Gunmeister who misses Wilson's clever sayings at the end of his posts.

[Wilson 17&26]

Gunmeister, the triggers are factory polymer. I purchased 10 triggers & 10 trigger pins from Kel-Tec. Then I got CCR to give me a good price on twenty small parts and mix-up a batch of DuraCoat to match the Kel-Tec hard chrome. The whole process including various shipping cost was just under $80. The same trigger fits the P-32 and both generations of P-3ATs. Not a bad $8 upgrade, if I do say so myself.

The Second Generation P-3AT (black grip) has a Bersa extension, which fits without alteration. The FG P-3AT (gray grip) has the NAA, which requires fingernail clipper for proper alteration.

PS Gunmeister, I try to maintain a more business like manor on this forum, so please don’t give me away

[CajunBass]

It's ok Wilson. We know who you are. Go ahead and add something. We'll just make up something if you don't. :neener: