tbreed725
Member
my keltec p3at is my american express card no matter what im doing going to be doing, or attire i can carry it when i can no other weapon. mine has been 100% reliable.
Kel-Tec .380 good or Bad?
- Thread starter tblt
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I own both a P32 and P3AT. I've been pleased with both and carry the P3AT much of the time in summer. Both have been reliable functionally and shoot to POA at 7 yards. I wear cargo pants/shorts most of the time and with the pocket clip, I can secure it in the velcro closure of the front right pocket. It doesn't move around and is accessible while sitting or standing.
XDKingslayer
member
Don't fill the niche the OP asked for? That being a .380 for around $300?
Yeah...shame on me.
LlanoEstacado
Member
I've just had P3AT a few months. As with any self-loader, see what ammo it likes best. No malfunctions so far other than the slide not fully returning to battery after a shot - tap on rear took care of this the few times it happened. Haven't had time to find better funtioning ammo yet. 50 rounds at 7 yards leaves a 4" paperless hole in the middle with scattered flyers all round - shooter error I'm sure. Looks like should be great BUG. In summer, primary carry at times.
I was a "hater" until last weekend, when I bought a P3AT. I went to the store to buy an Airweight J-frame, and walked out with the Kel-Tec.
I'm very happy with my decision. Here's why: I can now carry 100% of the time. That, to me, is a massive selling point.
I've heard lots of reliability problems about the Kel-Tec but mine has 100 rounds through it so far with no errors whatsoever.
I'm very happy with my decision. Here's why: I can now carry 100% of the time. That, to me, is a massive selling point.
I've heard lots of reliability problems about the Kel-Tec but mine has 100 rounds through it so far with no errors whatsoever.
ZeSpectre
Member
Lots of people like the P-3AT
I really wanted to like mine as well, but had a lot of problems and lost confidence in the design so for me it was Goodbye Kel-Tec, Hello Bersa.
I really wanted to like mine as well, but had a lot of problems and lost confidence in the design so for me it was Goodbye Kel-Tec, Hello Bersa.
I have a P3AT (.380) and am impressed. First off, it is a very slim and small pocket pistol. I use the Nemesis holster. It is not a range gun. The trigger guards bangs my trigger finger so it is not fun to shoot more than a few mags through it at a time. If you want to use it for extended target practice get a Makarov or Bersa.
I did a fluff and buff on it and it has run smooth from the first shot.
What surprised me is the reliability and accuracy for this tiny pistol. At seven yards it groups about 2" and that is with almost non-existent sights and sight radius. I have fed it Federal FMJ and Speer Gold Dot HP. No failures to feed or eject yet.
I did a fluff and buff on it and it has run smooth from the first shot.
What surprised me is the reliability and accuracy for this tiny pistol. At seven yards it groups about 2" and that is with almost non-existent sights and sight radius. I have fed it Federal FMJ and Speer Gold Dot HP. No failures to feed or eject yet.
tinygnat219
Member
Mine's been good.
Bobo
Member
I have one with over 2000 malfunctionless rounds through it. Carry it 24/7/365.
Dravur
Member
I have my...
P3AT sitting on my desk right now. If i take the dog out, it gets tossed in the pocket. I retired my Mustangs and now carry this for pocket carry. I have a few hundred rounds through it and it functions flawlessly.
I even let a former Army Spec Forces guy try it out... he got one.
P3AT sitting on my desk right now. If i take the dog out, it gets tossed in the pocket. I retired my Mustangs and now carry this for pocket carry. I have a few hundred rounds through it and it functions flawlessly.
I even let a former Army Spec Forces guy try it out... he got one.
DawgFvr
Member
It works. If you carry it frequently, however, you must clean/lubricate it very frequently. If you fire it much...change out the springs yearly. I made the mistake (only once) of carrying my P3AT in my front pocket for a couple of weeks (like I normally carry my 642) and when I attempted to fire it, on my next range trip, it jammed so bad after one round that I had to drop the magazine in order to extract the spent casing. When I returned home, I had to take a hammer and smack the receiver off. Bottom line...clean/lube it before you carry if you want total reliability. It is what it is...a pretty cheap bottom feeder. The only reason I carry it at all is because it really is so light-weight and convenient. If I ever had to pull it in self-defense...bet I wish I had a .357 in my hand...eh?
I had a Keltec 380 and took it to the range one time. Put about 100 rounds through it with no ftf or fte problems. However, it was a very painful experience. The web of my right hand was bruised black/blue for about a week afterwards. I carried it for some time knowing I would not want to practice with it again. While a 380 is not a potent round, I would not want to be shot by one. The keltec has a very narrow grip area, which is nice for the pocket but seems to focus the energy of the cartridge over a very narrow portion of the hand.
Eventually I sold it and have since picked up a S&W MP 340. It has a larger footprint and more weight but also delivers 357 mag, and the recoil is not nearly as bad (for me) as that little keltec. It easily slides into a front pocket but you don't forget it is there like you might with a keltec.
Also, I just recently picked up a Seecamp 32. While a smaller load, it also has more heft (which should reduce recoil) than the keltec 380 and has a superb track record. It certainly falls into the "pocket pistol" category. I plan to try it out this weekend.
Good Luck with your decision.
Eventually I sold it and have since picked up a S&W MP 340. It has a larger footprint and more weight but also delivers 357 mag, and the recoil is not nearly as bad (for me) as that little keltec. It easily slides into a front pocket but you don't forget it is there like you might with a keltec.
Also, I just recently picked up a Seecamp 32. While a smaller load, it also has more heft (which should reduce recoil) than the keltec 380 and has a superb track record. It certainly falls into the "pocket pistol" category. I plan to try it out this weekend.
Good Luck with your decision.
If I had $300 I would be looking for a used NAA Guardian in 32 or 380. I am not a Keltec fan and will never own one of their firearms. I refuse to give a company money that knowingly ships firearms that they know are sub par. How do I know they know, look at all the different changes they have made. They obviously know they have problems. All gun companies will make a lemon but Keltec has one of the highest return rates in the industry and not just because they sell a lot of guns. Make something cheap and anybody will buy it, almost anybody. I realize the 2 and 3rd generations guns are more reliable, the first gen were pieces of junk but Keltec still produced tens of thousands of these, knowing folks will use them to possibly defend their lives. The folks that put their SD weapons through the paces are very rare, how many have jamb o matics just waiting to happen and are trusting their lives on the things. Sorry if you are happy with yours that's fine. My NAA Guardians have been 100% flawless with everything I Have fed them and they are very well made. I have never had to do a "Fluff n Buff" to make them reliable either.
The above is my opinion, so don't try and change my mind by telling me how many flawless rounds you have had through your Keltec, it won't change my mind.
NCH
The above is my opinion, so don't try and change my mind by telling me how many flawless rounds you have had through your Keltec, it won't change my mind.
NCH
alamo
Member
It may or may not. The Seecamp is a delayed blowback type design which will typically have more recoil than a locked breech design like Kel-Tec.
Of course recoil is subjective and the size of the pistol and the grips are different.
Rotorflyr
Member
The only "problem" I had with mine was the mag not wanting to seat fully (unless you really slamed it home), at first I thought it was the mag catch, so I replaced it, still had the same problem. Realized the problem was actually the base pad on the mag having a little too much plastic on it, it would push against the base of the frame. Took the pad off, took a file to it for a few seconds, and haven't had a problem since.
Makes a great bug/"all the time" gun.
Makes a great bug/"all the time" gun.
wuchak
Member
NCHornet said:
I won't tell you how reliable my P-3AT has been but I will ask you if you consider a Kahr a good reliable gun, after all they are $700 vs the $300 for a cheap Kel-tec. Don't forget to throw in at least another $50 for ammo for the Kahr since they come right out and say not to expect the gun to be reliable until you are through a 200 round break in period. The forums are filled with lots of people complaining about them having to go back after the 200 round mark because of problems.
The CZ Rami has had some problems in the .40 S&W chambering. They had to redesign the magazine. Does that mean that all CZ products are junk? The first Ruger SR9's that went out have had problems. Does that mean that Ruger can't have any of your money because they shipped a product they should have know was flawed? How about all the high dollar Kimbers that people have problems with? At the Kimber price point their is no excuse for any failures but lots are reported.
You claim that Kel-tec has one of the highest return rates in the industry. That's a rather bold claim and it needs to be backed up with facts. Please provide a link to the credible source of this information that shows the return rates of all firearm manufacturers. I won't hold my breath waiting.
Compared to the hours of work and expense that people put into $1000 1911's to make them reliable spending an hour giving a new Kel-Tec a through cleaning and polishing a few areas with some fine grit sandpaper is not a big deal.
There is no 3rd generation but don't let facts get in the way of your rant. There were issues with some, not all, of the first generation P-3AT's. There are a lot of people with gen 1 p3's that have been 100% guns right out of the box. I know a couple of them. The original extractor doesn't seem to have been up to the job so they put a new one on it. Does the fact that Para makes a big deal out of it's Power Extractor mean that every company that made a 1911 without it has been making junk?
I'm glad you have been happy with your NAA but a quick look on NAA's own bulletin board will turn up owners with problems. Of course there aren't as many since they aren't doing the same volume as Kel-tec. The NAA .380 is not even in production at the moment.
Other than caliber the Kel-tec and NAA are in different leagues. The Kel-tec unloaded weighs in at 8.3oz, 11.8 loaded. The NAA comes in at 18.72oz unloaded, that's 225% the weight of the Kel-tec.
The above is not intended to change your closed and biased mind, it is intended solely to aid others in forming their own opinions.
Jkwas
Member
Getting a P3at was one of the best ccw moves I've made. Carry it anywhere, very light, you don't even realize your carrying. Mine has been reliable with FMJ but didn't like Golden Sabers for some reason. No matter, I've decided on FMJ in this gun for the extra penetration. It does bite a little and wrapping some bicycle tubing around the grips helps a lot. It shoots better than you might think.
BsChoy
Member
I love my keltec...good enough for minute of BG from 7 yds.
HisSoldier
Member
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2007
- Messages
- 1,330
Own one, never again, multiple failures of many kinds. It would be irresponsible to recommend one for primary carry with the history mine has shown.
Halo is for Kids
Member
From my previous post here: http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=3949303#post3949303
The good:
-Light.
-Slim.
-Easy to carry.
-Inexpensive.
-Fairly accurate.
-Reliable, sort of...
The bad:
Looks like I have to send the gun back to Kel-tec. Mine has developed the slide peening issue at 335 rounds. I saved the box tops to keep track.
-200 Winclean.
-50 WWB FMJ.
-40 Speer GDHP.
-25 Remington Golden Sabre JHP.
-20 Federal JHP.
No failures while shooting, just some slow cycling with the Remington HPs. I like the GDHP better than the federals so that is what I carry.
Here’s the pics:
The good:
-Light.
-Slim.
-Easy to carry.
-Inexpensive.
-Fairly accurate.
-Reliable, sort of...
The bad:
Looks like I have to send the gun back to Kel-tec. Mine has developed the slide peening issue at 335 rounds. I saved the box tops to keep track.
-200 Winclean.
-50 WWB FMJ.
-40 Speer GDHP.
-25 Remington Golden Sabre JHP.
-20 Federal JHP.
No failures while shooting, just some slow cycling with the Remington HPs. I like the GDHP better than the federals so that is what I carry.
Here’s the pics:
Clipper
Member
I have both the P3AT and PF-9. My wife has a P3AT. Both P3s are gen1 guns. Hers has been perfect, but I had to send mine back with a binding (though functional) trigger. The .380 is a great pistol, and for a couple years, was my 24/7 piece. However, I was so impressed with mine that I had to try the PF-9, and have been carrying it for a year now. I front-pocket carry in cargo pants. The P3AT is kinda difficult to sight, but if I'm careful, I've reliably shot 12oz Ice Mountain bottles offhand at 25 yards with my Winchester silvertip carry ammo. The best I've done so far with the PF-9 offhand is 1 1/2" at 15 yards. Mainly because I haven't messed around shooting for score with my carry silvertips, but only with WWB hardball practice rounds. Haters can KMA, they're great carry pistols.
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