Kel Tec PMR 30 .22mag reliability improvements?

[DustyGmt]

My uncle has two kel tec PMR's that he really likes, I do too although I wouldnt carry one or appoint it for defensive use. I believe it's a really nice plinker due to its quirky reliability and what I believe to be a poorly executed magazine but my uncle is more or less determined to carry it for defensive use so he bought some new parts to improve function and reliability.

I installed stiffer recoil springs, a nice polished metal feed ramp in place of the polymer factory ramp and an improved heel magazine release that holds the top edge of the magazine floor plate tight to the bottom of the grip which helps keep the magazine a little higher and puts rounds feeding in better alignment with the feed ramp.

All these things that were supposed to improve function and the other day I watched him shoot 7-8 30 rd magazines and just about every 4th or 5th round would jam, fail to feed. I dont think he should carry this gun at least for now until he or I find a solution.

I was thinking all these feeding problems could be attributed to the magazine, it is kind of a chore to load the mag properly and sometimes the spring + follower get stuck when loading rounds in so it stands to reason it could be doing the same thing with rounds coming out, like the slide is out running the mag's ability to push the next round up.

Does anybody here have the PMR and have experienced any issues with the gun or magazine. I would love to successfully troubleshoot this problem for my uncle because he likes these guns so much but has little confidence in terms of reliability. Perhaps my next move will be disassembling a few of his magazines and looking for any bur's or bumps that could be affecting function. I would also add that I know for a fact limp wristing wasnt a factor

I suppose it could just be a very finicky gun and has a design flaw, I think it's a really cool gun and a neat idea. Kind of a poor man's FN 5.7 but I favor function over form and wouldnt reccomend it for carry or nightstand duty or whatever. I owned a kel tec that I really liked, the PF9, it was before the wave of micro 9's but I couldnt keep it because it was just a dud in terms of reliability...

 

[12Bravo20]

What ammunition are you using?

The PMR can be very picky on what ammo will work. Mine does not like anything bullet lighter than 40Gr nor does it like any thing but high velocity ammo. I had problems with mine when using CCI 30 Gr Maxi Mags and Speer Gold Dots (too slow at 1050 fps). Once I switched to using 40 Gr CCI Maxi Mags, all my problems went away.

On the magazines.

Yes it is important to make sure that you are loading the magazines correctly. Follow the instructions to a T. It is fairly easy to get rimrock if the magazines are not loaded correctly.

I absolutely love my PMR now that I wisened up and got good ammo that it likes. Stick with good high velocity ammo with 40Gr or heavier bullets and load the magazines by following the instructions and your PMR should work flawlessly. If it doesn't, send it back to Kel-Tec.

 

[DustyGmt]

What ammunition are you using?

The PMR can be very picky on what ammo will work. Mine does not like anything bullet lighter than 40Gr nor does it like any thing but high velocity ammo. I had problems with mine when using CCI 30 Gr Maxi Mags and Speer Gold Dots (too slow at 1050 fps). Once I switched to using 40 Gr CCI Maxi Mags, all my problems went away.

On the magazines.

Yes it is important to make sure that you are loading the magazines correctly. Follow the instructions to a T. It is fairly easy to get rimrock if the magazines are not loaded correctly.

I absolutely love my PMR now that I wisened up and got good ammo that it likes. Stick with good high velocity ammo with 40Gr or heavier bullets and load the magazines by following the instructions and your PMR should work flawlessly. If it doesn't, send it back to Kel-Tec.

Thanks, I'll refer to the manual and see what I missed and pass along the suggestions.

 

[Alte Schule]

What ammunition are you using?

The PMR can be very picky on what ammo will work. Mine does not like anything bullet lighter than 40Gr nor does it like any thing but high velocity ammo. I had problems with mine when using CCI 30 Gr Maxi Mags and Speer Gold Dots (too slow at 1050 fps). Once I switched to using 40 Gr CCI Maxi Mags, all my problems went away.

On the magazines.

Yes it is important to make sure that you are loading the magazines correctly. Follow the instructions to a T. It is fairly easy to get rimrock if the magazines are not loaded correctly.

I absolutely love my PMR now that I wisened up and got good ammo that it likes. Stick with good high velocity ammo with 40Gr or heavier bullets and load the magazines by following the instructions and your PMR should work flawlessly. If it doesn't, send it back to Kel-Tec.

This. I've had a PMR 30 with Burris Fast Fire III red dot for five or six years now and have found that CCI Maxi Mag 40 grain HP, THP and Game Point JSP work just fine as well as Winchester Super X 140 grain HP.

 

[12Bravo20]

This. I've had a PMR 30 with Burris Fast Fire III red dot for five or six years now and have found that CCI Maxi Mag 140 grain HP, THP and Game Point JSP work just fine as well as Winchester Super X 140 grain HP.

Have you had any issues with the Burris Fast Fire causing feeding or extraction problems? I've read that it can be hit or miss if you have problems with the extra weight on the slide. I would love to put a micro dot on mine but do not want any problems.

 

[Alte Schule]

From what I understand, because of it's lightweight .09 ounces, the Burris FF 3 is the only red dot that will reliably work. I installed mine in '16 so there may be something else out there now that I'm not aware of.

The Tandemkross Picatinny rail is the only rail, I believe, that is recommended for the PMR 30 that ensures reliable function. With red dot the total weight is about 1.5 ounces. Total installation time was 15 minutes.
https://www.tandemkross.com/KelTec-PMR30-Freedom-Rail-Universal-Picatinny-Rail_p_15.html

Only two minor problems I have had after installing the Burris. I zero mine at 50 feet. After five or six magazines I find that I'm shooting low and right so I'll spend about ten minutes to readjust and, after the same amount of ammo being fired, the battery cap may shake loose. You can tell as the red dot moves around when firing. This doesn't happen all the time but enough for me to pass the information along. No FTE or FTF's or magazine induced jams.

Like we discussed earlier using the heavy grain ammunition is a must.

 

[12Bravo20]

Alte, Thanks for the information concerning micro dots. It has been something I have been contemplating for a while now.

Yes all of us that own the PMR have had best luck with heavier high velocity ammo.

 

[Riomouse911]

The two biggest knocks against rimfires for self defense use are:

1) A lack of serious penetration/stopping power compared to larger self defense centerfires housed in similarly sized guns.

You can get a 9mm, .38 Spl or a .380 to fit in almost any rimfire handgun size. They may be heavier and kick a bit more but they’re closer to their wheelhouse, whereas a rimfire is more often than not pushing its limits as a defense gun.

2) Balky reliability with both failures to fire or failures to eject/load. Rimfire priming is occasionally poor in both WMR and the older S,L,LR versions of the .22 family. (Leading to initial-strike failures to fire that will fire if the round is shifted and the firing pin strikes a fresh part of the rim.)

Other times the rimmed cases get hung up in the magazine, the rounds won’t ride up the feed ramp because they’re distorted, lower quality/pushing spec limits ammo is common in bulk or budget packs, etc. Centerfire ammo is almost universally more reliable round to round.

It is for these reasons I’ve always steered people away from .22 rimfire guns for defense, either WMR or the others. (Having a .22 is better than nothing, but in reality they’re worse than almost any other SD gun available IMHO.)

Now if you’re Uncle insists on trusting his life to the PMR, which of course he is ok to do, then he needs to be darn sure it’s 100% reliable before he goes out and expects it to save his bacon. Self defense shootings are really rare, but when you need to save your life you can’t rely on, “I’m really hoping it works this time.”

Good luck finding a cure for the cranky KelTec .

Stay safe.

 

[SHOOT1SAM]

This. I've had a PMR 30 with Burris Fast Fire III red dot for five or six years now and have found that CCI Maxi Mag 140 grain HP, THP and Game Point JSP work just fine as well as Winchester Super X 140 grain HP.

I knew y'all liked 'em BIG in Texas, but never thought y'all would be shooting 22 Mag rounds 100 grains heavier than the rest of us!!

 

[Alte Schule]

I knew y'all liked 'em BIG in Texas, but never thought y'all would be shooting 22 Mag rounds 100 grains heavier than the rest of us!!

YIKES! Corrected......

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

My PMR has been just as reliable as any other pistol I own. I had 2 malfunctions in the first 2 mags and that was because I didn't load the mag correctly, also I only load 25 rounds in each mag instead of 30. I shot 5 or 6 different 22mag ammos in mine and haven't had a problem in 400 rounds or so. Can't say that for my Sig P365...

 

[12Bravo20]

One thing I suggest with the PMR/CMR magazines is to load them with 30 rounds and let them sit a few days when brand new. Whether doing that actually helps or not, I don't know. But it seemed to help with all 4 of my magazines. I also only loaded them to 25 the first few times I shot either the PMR or CMR before loading the magazines to 30. The main things about the PRM/CMR is using quality ammo (40gr or heavier) and loading the magazines correctly.

I am seriously considering getting the American Speedloaders LLC Nest style speed loader. They get good reviews on the Kel-Tec Owners forum.

https://americanspeedloaders.com/product/pmr-30-cmr-30/

 

[sean m]

I've found that only putting 25 rounds in the magazines made my PMR30 run better.

 

[12Bravo20]

Once you have ran them with 25 rounds for a while, they will start functioning better with a full 30 rounds. At least that has been my experience.

 

[Coyote3855]

My wife and I both have Kel Tec PMR 30s. Mine is an early version, circa 2007 and hers is 2018. With the recommended ammunition and magazine loading procedures, both have been reliable. More rounds through mine, but I carry it all the time when working around the property. Did have a failure to feed recently after a ground squirrel shot because I apparently bumped the mag release and it wasn't fully seated. Rack, tap, bang. Not my preference for self defense (Colt Commander LW in .38 Super or Kimber LW .45 ACP in that role) but I wouldn't feel under armed if that's what I had when it was needed.