christcorp
Member
I picked up a brand new Kel-tec P11, 2 weeks ago. But yesterday was the first time I had a chance to shoot it, due to going out of town for a couple weeks. With some wheeling and dealing, and some horse trading; my actual cost was approximately $230. (Profit from other items I sold/traded). Anyway, my initial impression.
As with most pistols, there is definitely a break-in period. Maybe I reached it; we'll see. The first magazine had about 5 of 10 rounds FTF. Next magazine about the same. Simply required a "Bump" to the slide to finish putting the round completely into the chamber. By about the 50th round, it was only about 1-2 rounds per magazine. I shot a total of 120 rounds yesterday, and by the last 3-4 magazines full of ammo shooting, I had no FTF issues at all. That was alternating between a 10 and a 12 round magazine. Part of this could also be related to "limp wristing". By the time I was towards the end of my shooting, and more familiar with the recoil and ejections, I was holding the pistol a lot more firmly.
The ejections were definitely confusing when I went looking for my spent brass. I had brass directly to my right, behind me to my right, directly behind me, behind me and to the left, and even a few that hit me on my hat and in my face. However; by the time I got to the last few magazine full, they were no longer hitting me, and most all went behind me and to the right. "Being a lefty, having them come towards my face really sucks"
Accuracy from round #1 through #120 was pretty much the same. Left to right was pretty dead on. With all 3 dots in a line, I was shooting a few inches low at 10 yards. Which for me, is OK, because I prefer to have the front sight a little higher than the rear sight. I prefer to have a 3 dot sight system look like a "Triangle", with the front sight being a "POINTER" instead of a straight line of 3 dots. So for me, raising the the barrel/front sight slightly got me very accurate. And for a short 3" barrel semi-auto, at 10 yards, for defensive purposes, I am not looking for bench rest accuracy. I want to be able to hit a baseball size area "Approximately 3 inches" at 10 yards away. I can definitely do that with the Kel-tec P11. It might get more accurate in time. I expect it will.
I found recoil to be no big problem. Mind you, I was only really shooting 115 grain FMJ winchester white box. However, I did shoot about 25 rounds of various Hollow-Points towards the end, and none of them had any issues. And recoil was about the same on all rounds.
So while most hand guns aren't really a "Fun" thing for me at the range; (That's why I shoot .223 rifles for fun), I wouldn't have any problems shooting the P11 at the range for practicing. I will be going out to the range again during this coming week, and will put another box or two through it. If the gun performs flawlessly like it did for the last 40+/- rounds I shot through it, it will go into my rotation of carry pistols. I will probably continue using Hornady Critical Defense ammo through it. I've experimented with that ammo and I like the results. (Unscientific). Shot through clothing into water jugs. Still expanded like it was suppose to.
Anyway, that's my first impression of the Kel-tec p11. I've heard quite a few good things about it. Definitely light. Fits in my pocket fine; usually cargo pants or even loose jeans. It will definitely fill a niche in my carrying routine. (I carry 4 different pistols depending on the time of year, weather, clothing, etc...) While the frame is the poly type like many of the newer pistols, the slide is an excellent steel. With a full magazine, it's still right around 20 ounces. (14 ounces empty). I love my metal guns, but this pistol definitely has some great attributes. OHHHH. Almost forgot. One of the things I really liked about it, and what made me buy it, was that it was a TRUE Double Action Only pistol. (With a hammer; albeit internal). Which means it has the ultimate safety; similar to a Double Action revolver. Not a big fan of the striker fire method. When you chamber a round in the Kel-tec P11, it does nothing to the hammer or firing pin. It's a true DAO. And the trigger pull is about 8lbs. Stiff enough that you can't accidentally fire it, yet easy enough to fire. Anyway, that's my $0.0248385.
As with most pistols, there is definitely a break-in period. Maybe I reached it; we'll see. The first magazine had about 5 of 10 rounds FTF. Next magazine about the same. Simply required a "Bump" to the slide to finish putting the round completely into the chamber. By about the 50th round, it was only about 1-2 rounds per magazine. I shot a total of 120 rounds yesterday, and by the last 3-4 magazines full of ammo shooting, I had no FTF issues at all. That was alternating between a 10 and a 12 round magazine. Part of this could also be related to "limp wristing". By the time I was towards the end of my shooting, and more familiar with the recoil and ejections, I was holding the pistol a lot more firmly.
The ejections were definitely confusing when I went looking for my spent brass. I had brass directly to my right, behind me to my right, directly behind me, behind me and to the left, and even a few that hit me on my hat and in my face. However; by the time I got to the last few magazine full, they were no longer hitting me, and most all went behind me and to the right. "Being a lefty, having them come towards my face really sucks"
Accuracy from round #1 through #120 was pretty much the same. Left to right was pretty dead on. With all 3 dots in a line, I was shooting a few inches low at 10 yards. Which for me, is OK, because I prefer to have the front sight a little higher than the rear sight. I prefer to have a 3 dot sight system look like a "Triangle", with the front sight being a "POINTER" instead of a straight line of 3 dots. So for me, raising the the barrel/front sight slightly got me very accurate. And for a short 3" barrel semi-auto, at 10 yards, for defensive purposes, I am not looking for bench rest accuracy. I want to be able to hit a baseball size area "Approximately 3 inches" at 10 yards away. I can definitely do that with the Kel-tec P11. It might get more accurate in time. I expect it will.
I found recoil to be no big problem. Mind you, I was only really shooting 115 grain FMJ winchester white box. However, I did shoot about 25 rounds of various Hollow-Points towards the end, and none of them had any issues. And recoil was about the same on all rounds.
So while most hand guns aren't really a "Fun" thing for me at the range; (That's why I shoot .223 rifles for fun), I wouldn't have any problems shooting the P11 at the range for practicing. I will be going out to the range again during this coming week, and will put another box or two through it. If the gun performs flawlessly like it did for the last 40+/- rounds I shot through it, it will go into my rotation of carry pistols. I will probably continue using Hornady Critical Defense ammo through it. I've experimented with that ammo and I like the results. (Unscientific). Shot through clothing into water jugs. Still expanded like it was suppose to.
Anyway, that's my first impression of the Kel-tec p11. I've heard quite a few good things about it. Definitely light. Fits in my pocket fine; usually cargo pants or even loose jeans. It will definitely fill a niche in my carrying routine. (I carry 4 different pistols depending on the time of year, weather, clothing, etc...) While the frame is the poly type like many of the newer pistols, the slide is an excellent steel. With a full magazine, it's still right around 20 ounces. (14 ounces empty). I love my metal guns, but this pistol definitely has some great attributes. OHHHH. Almost forgot. One of the things I really liked about it, and what made me buy it, was that it was a TRUE Double Action Only pistol. (With a hammer; albeit internal). Which means it has the ultimate safety; similar to a Double Action revolver. Not a big fan of the striker fire method. When you chamber a round in the Kel-tec P11, it does nothing to the hammer or firing pin. It's a true DAO. And the trigger pull is about 8lbs. Stiff enough that you can't accidentally fire it, yet easy enough to fire. Anyway, that's my $0.0248385.
