P3AT troubles

[BlkHawk73]

Talked with my father-in-law today. Finally had gotten to the range to shoot a few new pistols he had bought. P90 shot good as did the CZ RAMI (.40) However, his Kel Tec P3AT was horribly inaccurate. He was able to keep the other guns within the 8 ring consistantly. The little .380 though was all over the place. a couple other shooters at the range tried it also and same results. The shots were just everywhere's but on target. This is a brand new gun. Was so disgusted he bought another .380 (Bersa) right then and there (wife's house gun) that one he said shot good. Now he's wondering about the future of KelTec. I won't see him 'til Dec and it may be gone by then.
Anyone else have problems with the P3AT?

 

[Intune]

What range? As in feet, yards, not location I say if it cranks 'em out ok 7 yds or less it's doing it's intended job.

 

[wally]

Yeah, and the sights are kind of starange too, sort of a "Dot the I" type of sight picture that takes some getting used to, Once I did, gun did a good job of keeping them on a paper plate at 10 yrds.

Try it off a rest at a rather large paper to get the sight picture and point of impact right.

Remember its an always with you gun, not a 25yd NRA Bullseye piece.

--wally.

 

[Navy joe]

Black the rear of the gun out with a sharpie marker. I black out the sight mark and the white S/N, too distracting. Put a little orange paint in the front sight divot if you like. use the whole rear of the slide as a sight picture(Cirillo pic) with the target right on top the point of the slide. Mechanically it is very accurate. shooter wise it barks loud, torques around in the hand and sometimes hurts the trigger finger. Look at filing a little of the end of the trigger off so it doesn't poke the finger too bad. Stop flinching, it is a pretty stagey and long trigger. I get 2-3" centered groups at 7yds if I shoot it correctly. While controlled pairs are a little annoying I can get that accuracy with about a .5sec shot cadence. Hard little gun to shoot well, be patient.

 

[Majic]

Could it be he is just having trouble shooting the small pistol? Some people need a lot of practice shooting the really small handguns. Put something bigger in their hands and they do just fine. The bigger your hands the worst it can be trying to control the little KT.

 

[Wilson 17&26]

You could always install a P-3AT P-Sight http://www.ktog.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=2503;action=display;num=1097120816 if you don’t mind the increased height. However, the P-3AT was designed as a bellygun not a target pistol. I usually practice shooting from the waist with bent elbow, not eye level with my mouseguns.

 

[Wilson 17&26]

Another idea is a pinkie extension. Add one to an extra magazine to see if he is more able to control the pistol. The small grip of a P-3AT can generate a bit of movement in the hand which can be corrected with a NAA or Bersa (if your don’t have nail clippers) 380 extension.

 

[Forseti]

At about 15', the P3AT is reasonably accurate...and if you are shooting at someone at greater ranges than that, you've got the wrong weapon....

It is a close range weapon. It is difficult to sight in. I imagine if you actually had to use it, you would not be taking careful, thoughtful shots. More likely, you are going to empty it as quick as possible without much time to use the sights...

In that way, it works just fine...

 

[Majic]

I imagine if you actually had to use it, you would not be taking careful, thoughtful shots. More likely, you are going to empty it as quick as possible without much time to use the sights...

Sounds suspiciously like the "spray and pray" concept.

 

[emc]

Being the satisfied owner of a P-32, there are a few things that I've found to be the case when shooting these...

1. Some break-in is absolutely essential.
2. The "Fluff and Buff" is also essential. Go to KTOG for info.
3. The sights are VERY crude, and take some getting used to.
4. A magazine extension of some sort makes a big difference in control.
5. The nature of the trigger is that it can be easy to pull the gun off target unless you practice a lot.
6. They can be reasonably accurate. My best results from a rest at 27 yards is about five inches.
7. I've done the "Fluff and Buff", added the magazine extension, and installed a 13 pound recoil spring.


FWIW,

emc

 

[Titus]

The bigger your hands the worst it can be trying to control the little KT.

The good news and the bad news with the P3AT is that it's so small and thin. Takes some time to get a good feel for how to hold it best. I don't mind the DA trigger pull, since I'm used to shooting my Pocket Nine, but I could see how that wouldn't help someone who wasn't used to it.

 

[Newton]

I have never met anyone who shot the P-3AT well, but was a poor shot with a larger pistol.

There are however plenty of people who fall apart when faced with the challenge of a 1 7/8" snubbie or the P-3AT.

I started out with the little pocket rocket by shooting at a point on a dirt berm 50 yards away - the rounds hit the ground at about the 30 yard mark. A lot of concentration and a conscious effort to sit that front sight right up on top of the rear sight had the rounds hitting in the general area.

Then I just worked my way back to the 8 yard line. By the time I got there I was putting the rounds in an 8 inch circle which seemed reasonable.

I love this gun because it is such a challenge to shoot well, it can be done but it takes practice, lots of practice.


Newton

 

[bubbygator]

Picked up a new one for $250 at the Palmetto Gunshow this weekend. I had read through the KelTec forums & found a wealth of good info - particularly on "Fluff & Buff". Good reports from many posters after doing F&B (& other) procedures; excellent details of how to do-it-yourself. I figured I would join the crowd.

Sorry, it wasn't to be. I took the gun (HAQxx) straight from the box (no lube) & shot 6 rounds of 5 different ammos: Silvertip 85, PMC 90, Winchester 95, GoldDot 90, HydraShok 90, from 3 different magazines. 30 shots, 30 bangs - - - zero failures. Had 26 shots on-target, with a good grouping about 3" left of bullseye. Couldn't be happier! Those who have shot DA revolver before should have no problem with the long trigger pull; the first part is long, smooth, & easy; the second part is short, crisp, & forceful (not "breaking glass" at all, but still the let-off is pretty nice).

Did I mention that I have bad eyes? I have Crimson Trace lasergrips on all my other guns. But a few years back I used to point-shoot OK with a S&W 60 before lasers came out. So I thought I'd take a chance on the KelTec. The dot-over-dot of the KelTec sights is almost like my old point-shooting - I can't see the sights well, but I know they're there. I can see the target..... results were just fine (from my limited viewpoint).

The ejector marks appear to be a small straight line instead of a small semi-circle, so I suppose I have the new ejector design... I can't see it well enough on the gun to tell.

Then I took out my Kimber UltraCarryII and had 3 FTE's on the 1st mag , so I put that POS away & went home. Sometime you get the bear; sometimes the bear gets you.

To all you folks out there who are "thinking" about it - get one of the newer production & you'll never look back. I've got a new thin, lightweight, pocket companion!

 

[Lennyjoe]

I have never met anyone who shot the P-3AT well

Well, now you have. I am pretty darn accurate out to 7 yds with mine.

 

[denfoote]

I'm surprised Flyer has not chimed in yet!!!

 

[CZ-100]

I have had VERY good luck with my P-3AT. This weekend I passed the 1000 rd mark.

It is ok once to get use to the little bugger.

 

[George Hill]

http://www.madogre.com/images/matchwidowlarge.JPG

It's accurate for what it is. CD Case, pistol, one mag full, 7 yards.
Minute of Liberal.
(the shot to the forehead was what you call a lucky flyer)