garyhan
Member
Three years ago, when the Kel Tec Pmr 30 was announced, like many I was fascinated by the concept of an ultra lightweight, full sized, .22wmr autoloader with a 30 shot magazine. An ideal trail and small game/varmint pistol it seemed. In looking over the design it occurred to me that such a pistol should have adjustable sights, and be threaded for a suppressor, but otherwise, everything was there. Anticipating having the pistol in short order, I ordered two spare magazines from the factory, I broke in those two mags to easily load thirty round, then they sat as I waited to get the gun at the very reasonable msrp. Well, that didn't happen.
Finally last week I gave up waiting to be one of the lucky few who found one reasonably priced and paid $596 to obtain one on Gunbroker. When the pistol arrived, I was quite pleased with the appearance. Kel Tec is not a manufactured of deluxe grade weapons, but I found the appearance and workmanship quite pleasing--just don't expect an S&W. On line reviews of these guns have been all over the board, and there is no doubt early guns were often troublesome, so I would not have been surprised to at a dissapointing day at the range, but that did not happen.
I loaded my original mags with thiry rounds, and the two that came with the gun with 20 (haven't taken the time to break them in, but twenty was easy) and headed for the range this morning. The best news first: I fired 200 rounds of CCI 40gr hollow point and fmj with no malfuntions whatsoever.
This included two mags fired as fast as possible. I was frankly surprised and very pleased with this. The pistol feels great in the hand and the hi viz sights present a wonderful and quickly aquired sight picture. I never noticed recoil. I was having too much fun.
Accuracy I deemed to be ok. I am not competition class with a handgun. Groups at 50 feet were about 3". Certainly good enough for jack rabbits. By comparison my groups this morning with my 1950 vintage Colt Woodsman at the same range ran a little under 2".
The only problem presented was one I had anticipated from the start: the lack of fully adjustable sights. Point of impact at 50' was about 6" high and 6" left of point of aim. Windage can be corrected by loosening the set screws and drifting the front sight. Elevation is a bit more problematical. I have written Kel Tec to see if a higher front sight is available. My desire for a threaded barrel for a suppressor has become a moot point since it has been found the pistol does not function well suppressed. No big deal. a threaded barrel is now available for other muzzle devices.
Overall, I am quite pleased with the Pmr 30. It is a very welcome addition to my gun room even at an inflated price.
gary
Finally last week I gave up waiting to be one of the lucky few who found one reasonably priced and paid $596 to obtain one on Gunbroker. When the pistol arrived, I was quite pleased with the appearance. Kel Tec is not a manufactured of deluxe grade weapons, but I found the appearance and workmanship quite pleasing--just don't expect an S&W. On line reviews of these guns have been all over the board, and there is no doubt early guns were often troublesome, so I would not have been surprised to at a dissapointing day at the range, but that did not happen.
I loaded my original mags with thiry rounds, and the two that came with the gun with 20 (haven't taken the time to break them in, but twenty was easy) and headed for the range this morning. The best news first: I fired 200 rounds of CCI 40gr hollow point and fmj with no malfuntions whatsoever.
This included two mags fired as fast as possible. I was frankly surprised and very pleased with this. The pistol feels great in the hand and the hi viz sights present a wonderful and quickly aquired sight picture. I never noticed recoil. I was having too much fun.
Accuracy I deemed to be ok. I am not competition class with a handgun. Groups at 50 feet were about 3". Certainly good enough for jack rabbits. By comparison my groups this morning with my 1950 vintage Colt Woodsman at the same range ran a little under 2".
The only problem presented was one I had anticipated from the start: the lack of fully adjustable sights. Point of impact at 50' was about 6" high and 6" left of point of aim. Windage can be corrected by loosening the set screws and drifting the front sight. Elevation is a bit more problematical. I have written Kel Tec to see if a higher front sight is available. My desire for a threaded barrel for a suppressor has become a moot point since it has been found the pistol does not function well suppressed. No big deal. a threaded barrel is now available for other muzzle devices.
Overall, I am quite pleased with the Pmr 30. It is a very welcome addition to my gun room even at an inflated price.
gary
