Kel Tec P11?

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Oh, about that long trigger pull...

I finally sold it after testing the gun in rapid fire drills. It simply would not let me do it. Double taps are nigh impossible.
 
Light, compact, easy to carry concealed. Heavy DAO trigger, kicks like a mule with serious social loads.

NOT a good range gun, but works for putting 9mm holes in things. For the money though, go for a Taurus. 38
 
Keltec

I've owned both the PF-9 and the PF-11. I MUCH prefer the PF-9. Why? Believe it or not, the PF-9 is smaller, lighter, more accurate AND RECOILS LESS. I can't explain why this is so. Has anyone else noticed this? This is my subjective opinion based on owning a few PF-9's and only one PF-11. All operated well and were reliable while I had them. I fired only Federal 115 grain HP's in all of them. None were "stripped" to clean as they are very clean running pistols with little need for detailed taking down. As an aside, every one I know that has detail stripped a PF-9 has ended up with a jam-o-matic. I say "clean them" but dis assembly was unnecessary for the ones I owned. Just a weird factoid based on my owning them.
 
My brother recently got a used p-11 for a really great price. He has had no problems with it at all. Cycles every type of ammo he's tried including Speer gold dots which he intends to use for SD/HD. It does have a fairly long and heavy trigger pull for a semi (as mentioned before it's a true DAO), but as a DA revolver guy, I can tell you it's really not that bad. Neither of us had issues firing it rapidly, just takes a little getting used to compared to certain other semi-auto pistols, especially SA ones. If you ever shoot DA revolvers on a semi-regular basis, it shouldn't be a concern at all, very similar trigger to a small-frame DA revolver.

All that being said, I would definitely concur that it is a gun to be shot only for proficiency/ammo reliability and then carried for SD or used for HD (or both). The recoil isn't awful, but definitely not something I would want to put 100+ rounds through in a single range trip.
 
I bought my P11 about 9 or 10 years ago, and carried it concealed for about 6 years. Then I finally found a PF9, and was carrying that up until last fall when I finally found an SA XDs.

My P11 functions perfectly. I did do the Fluff & Buff, trigger spring mod, rubber trigger stop, and the wider trigger shoe. The main thing I didn't like about it was that the projection at the top of the grip would come back and land on the second knuckle of my thumb. After about 15-20 rounds it gets pretty sore.

The trigger pull after these modifications was much better, but not as good as the PF9 or the XDs. Reliability was never a problem with mine. and if you contact Kel Tec for parts like the trigger shoe, you get treated like you would want to be treated.

I have now relegated my P11 to a concealed backup gun in the house. For an inexpensive concealed carry gun, there aren't too many that approach it for "bang for the buck". :)
 
The P11 has no manual safety. The l-o-n-g and hard trigger pull makes it extremely unlikely that you will accidently fire the pistol. About 50 rounds is my maximum at a range visit. The snappy recoil and the hard trigger pull (only my Radom P64 has a harder one) start to make my hand and finger sore after that many shots.

I have fired 400 to 500 rounds through it this last year. It is an accurate handgun at ten yards and has NEVER had a failure to feed, fire, or eject even when using the cheapest 9x19mm ammo I could find like Tula steel cased or aluminum case total nylon jacketed rounds.

I cut and installed a short length of black electrical wiring 'shrink wrap' on the trigger and that has made it significantly more comfortable for my trigger finger.
 
One of the few pistols I've owned that I got rid of. Finally got it to be reliable and did the "paperclip" mod to it and got the trigger pull weight down a bit, but the looooong haaaarrrd pull made accuracy lousey.
 
Yep, a trigger shoe helps a lot although a tiny dab of medium loc-tite helps hold it in place.

I've NEVER had a jam, FTF or any malfunction in my Keltecs.....to the naysayers, walk away from them if you don't like them but don't condemn them as something they are not.

I carry everyday and although I own much nicer and more expensive firearms, the keltecs get carried more often.....they fire EVERY time and I don't worry if the finish gets marred.

Too tough of a trigger pull?? C'mon....it's designed that way as said. Not accurate enough?? Not accurate enough for what? These are not target pistols nor are they intended as plinkers.
 
The trigger pull on mine has taken a long time to get used to, long and hard as others have already pointed out.

The major problem for me is that JHP keep getting caught on the feed ramp either when rackin' the slide or once every 75 rounds or so. FMJ feeds fine. It seems it may be a problem with my mags not staying fully seated. But it does it with all three i have.

I've gone to cz.
 
I find mine to be a solid, reliable little gun. It drops into a front pocket in my jeans with just a basic Mika pocket holster, and conceals well.

Yes, the trigger is long and heavy. It's supposed to be, since that's its only safety, the DA-revolver-like pull.

I do not know why people criticize it for not being what it is not supposed to be. It's not a range gun. I never put more than 20 rounds through it on any one trip to the range, because the only thing I need it for is as a close-in, self-defense, concealed-carry gun.

It digested every kind of ammo with no complaints. The double-stack magazine makes it a bit bulky, though.
 
Mine works fine. You do need to run some ammo through it to check function with your load, as you should with any autoloader. It's a bit chunky and heavy for a pocket gun.
 
Got out to the range with it today. Tride some winchester pdx1 that I had. In a mag of 10, 2 failed to feed properly. So I guess it's not the thing to use, will have to pick up a different type when I get a chance.

Only put 30 rounds through it, 10 of the pdx1, 20 target rounds.

First impression is the trigger is a 110% non issue. It is neither hard nor does it require some sort of modification for 'comfort'. It has a wicked little kick to it. I was shooting steel targets at about 20 yards as that's what was set up on the range... accuracy doesn't appear to be the best, but it's better than the Hi-Point. I'll have to set up some paper and see exactly what it does next time I go out.

All in all, for a small gun, seems quite fine to me so far. Will need more time with it. But it seems it will 'get the job done' just fine if needed for such a thing.
 
I got a P11 when they came out in the 1990s.
I have really beat the thing with double loads.
It has never jammed [except when the case head blows off and that is my fault].

I put a double load in, put the P11 under ground in an ammo box with a trigger string. The gas blew out the box and then is sucked in sandy dirt into the P11. I got it cleaned out, and it runs great.

The P11 for me has been a very tough and reliable little pistol.
I carry the PF9, P3AT, or LCP now, because they are even smaller.
 
I haven't heard anyone chime in from the "you have to spend 2K to have a gun worth having" folks

So I thought I'd chime in.

I bought a Rohrbaugh R9 and it's been flawless through 150 rounds. Mostly 124gr Gold Dots, but also 124gr Lawman, 147gr Gold Dots, and 147gr Winchester Ranger T and PDX.

The R9 can be picky, but once you find ammo it likes it's reliable with that ammo. I'm glad its cycling Winchester 147gr Ranger "T" RA9T because that's my favorite cartridge for SD.

I paid $1,200 for it...
 
Adding to what other people said about the P-11.


I did buy one as a ultra concealed option but it ended up being my main carry....very comfortable, it is the only 12+1 (10 is standard, you can order the 12 round magazine, flush with the grip), light, pocketable, service caliber option out there.

Shootability improves a lot with the pinky rest that can be added to the magazine as an option ($10 if I remember correctly).

Critics to the trigger pull are nonsensical....yes it is heavy ad yes it is very long, but at least is smooth and consistent....you can get used to it, and it is perfectly fine for what the gun is supposed to do....self defence at bad breath ranges, the P-11 is not a range toy and should not be treated/judged as such.

Some new specimen have jamming issues, quickly resolved with the "fluff ad buff" procedure, performed by the company at no cost. Lifetime warranty and excellent customer service.

Finishing is a bit on the utilitarian side (not too serious, after all this is a polymer pistol) but durablity and reliability are excellent. There are many that have been in service for years and years shooting thousands and thousands of rounds.

For $250-270 (the realistic street price of a new P-11) you cannot do better for the money.

An alternative to consider is the "cousin" PF-9, a touch slimmer (but capacity goes down to 7+1) and a marginally better trigger which, I repeat, is a non issue for the purpose this class of handguns are intended for.

So I highly recommend the P-11 within its intended purpose but I stress again that is is a pocket pistol not a range handgun...so I would not recommend it as your only handgun if you like to have some fun at the range once in a while.
 
A friend of mine picked one up about a month or so ago. It was his first semi auto and he honestly cannot hit anything with it. I spent a lot of time handling the gun but only put a few magazines through it.
I thought that it was pretty accurate but you have to like the little guns. My friend does ok with a 4" .357 magnum but couldn't stay on a 3'x3' sheet of cardboard at 7 yards with the P11. This is no exaggeration.
The P11 was reliable right out of the box until Tulammo was used. I don't consider that a deal breaker. I've seen other guns that wouldn't run Tula so it's not a biggie.
The gun just feels cheap to me. I'm sorry if this is your favorite gun and you feel like I'm trashing it.
As others said earlier, the trigger is awful. It's bad, really, really bad. I can't say this enough.
The slide serrations aren't that great either.
I'm just not a fan of this gun. I'd prefer the PF9 any day. The P11 did work ok, I had decent accuracy and the price was right. I could deal with having to use this gun but it's nothing that I would ever buy.
To each his own.
 
I own 2 Kel Tecs for the average person the are belly busters. Compared to a Ruger P95 and many other guns in the same price range kel tec is a poor selection. Most DA only guns are difficult to shoot or unsafe.
 
I have never understood why people complain about it hurting their hands. It's not made to put 100 rds thru at the range. It's meant to save your life when you need it.
Click to expand...

I bought a P-11 many years ago, as my first "self-defense" pistol. Yea, it had a long, heavy trigger pull, but I didn't know any better, so it wasn't a big deal. Not much different than some revolvers I'd shot before.

It had a short sight radius, so sight alignment was important. When I did my part, I could shoot fairly tight groups with it out to about ten yards or so. I never tried any longer shooting with it.

Yes, it kicked. It wasn't bad for the first 50 rounds or so, but I tried to go 100 once, and it left my arm tingling for a day or two. I decided it was a 50 round a day gun.

Back then 9mm ammo was cheap. I'm not sure how many rounds I fired with it, but it was over 1000. WWB, Rem-UMC, Blazer Brass, American Eagle. It didn't matter. It was reliable.

I traded it off eventually. Not because I thought there was anything wrong with it, just because I saw something else I wanted more, but it was about as good a carry gun as I've ever owned. Small, light, reasonably power, reliable, decent magazine capacity.
 
I did get my P-11 to shoot decently with a White trigger stop. It works like a staged trigger and has no effect on rapid firing. Using the trigger stop to stage the trigger on a P-11 I can shoot very small groups. I am not sure I would have the patience to stage the trigger off the stop in a self defense situation. In a self defense situation I would likely spray and pray.
 
Sights are unacceptably cheap, replace them with xs big dots. Trigger is long and heavy, either get used to it or modify it to better suit you. Mags won't drop free, F&B inside the magwell to remove the flash marks in there and it'll be a little better. You might have to heat up the grip and devise an apparatus to 'spread' the magwell out, but only do that if you know what you're doing. Watch the trigger spring and bar, and the ejector because those might be the first parts to break (after many, many, many rounds fired), but KT will send you new ones for free.

Mine has never experienced a single ammo feeding malfunction or similar jam and I've used ran an array of ammo through it. I carry mine everyday/everywhere and there isn't another pistol on the market that can put 13 rounds in this small a package, DAO fire controls, no safeties, etc. For me, it's as close to the perfect EDC as I can find and I've ordered another one.

YMMV
 
To all those that still have one and hate it, shoot me a PM. I'll be glad to take them off your hands....for half price :evil:
 
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