Range Report: Ruger Mk II Target & Kel-Tec P-11

[Dorrin79]

Well, went to the range yesterday morning with my new ruger MkII (Target model with 5" bull barrel) and the Kel-Tec P-11 I picked up in January.

Much to my disappointment, the Ruger absolutely hated Federal Classic High Velocity rounds. I was getting 2-3 jams per clip. Fortunately my neighbor tagged along with his MkII, and brought a bulk pack of Federal hollowpoints. It ate those like candy.

Accuracy - Great! Mine, with factory sights, was shooting 1 - 2 inch groups offhand at 15 yards. My neighbor's, fitted with an Aimpoint 2x magnification red-dot scope, was making a single 1/2 inch hole with each 10-shot string, at ranges of more like 25 or 30 yards.

Feel/fun factor: Very High! The gun was a blast to shoot. It fit my hands well, had great pointability, and minimum noice/recoil.

As for the Kel-Tec, I still can't hit anything with it. The best I was able to do was a 3 inch group at seven yards with slow aimed fire (and even then, the group was 3 inches left and low to the point of aim). Firing quickly it was more like an eight-inch group.

Feel/fun factor: Minimal. The combination of ridiculously long and heavy trigger pull with stiff recoil and muzzle flip make it my least favorite gun (among those I own) to shoot.

More practice neccessary, I guess.

 

[yzguy]

some stuff you can do to improve the trigger of the P-11:
http://www.1bad69.com/keltec/triggermods.htm

I have a MKII and a P-11 and love both... The P-11 does take some getting use to, to be accurate, but works great for it's intended purpose.

 

[Pico]

P-11 is not a range gun

The P-11 is not the best choice for a range pistol past 10 to 15 yds. It is CCW all the way. You have to look at it as a bullet ignitor first and foremost. Go for the mods esp the trigger stop and any other items yzguy suggests. To me it's a blast to shoot the little bugger. Much better all around than my Colt .38 snubbie to shoot. Not that's a POS, if you think the P-11 is hard to hit a target with... I can't hit anything over 5 feet away with this little Colt.

BTW, 3 inches at 7 yards will still win a gunfight bro.

I don't have a Ruger .22 yet but it is on my list. Anybody else have comments on this one? I thought about just getting the Kadet .22 conversion for my CZ 75 BD instead.

Pico

 

[Blackhawk]

With its low weight, short sight radius and long, heavy trigger, you MUST develop good trigger control to master the P-11.

To make fast and accurate shots with it, you MUST adopt a firm two handed grip where your wrists are offset and each hand locks together to make a very rigid firing platform.

There are three things you can do to train yourself to shoot a P-11 accurately and fast:

1. Dry fire practice with a dime on the slide behind the front sight. When you can consistently aim and fire without the dime jiggling, you're showing good trigger control.

2. As above with a cheap laser pointer secured to the gun and zeroed on a doorknob or other small target 7+ yards away. When the dot stays within the small target throughout the firing process, you're getting there.

3. Get a P-32 little brother for your P-11. When you master aimed shots with it from 15 yards, you will find that you're suddenly a P-11 expert just from mastering something harder to shoot accurately.

I recommend that you do all three things...!

 

[10-Ring]

I've had my Ruger Slabsides for years & absolutely love it Unlike your tho, it prefers the Federal Classics...actually, I haven't found a round it hasn't liked

 

[bubbygator]

If you add a good pistol-scope for hunting to your Mk2, you'll be able to hit anything you can see out to better than 50 yards. When I bought my 2nd Mk2, I left the scope off just for more challenge. A great gun.

 

[Dorrin79]

yzguy -

I'm going to have to try one (or all) of those trigger mods on this thing. As it is I just don't feel comfortable with it. Unfortunately, I also don't feel comfortable carrying anything less than 9mm for CCW, which puts me in the position of having to learn how to use the P-11 (or getting a Kahr, but they are expensive and heavy)

I'll keep practicing, and see about spending this weekend cutting down the firing spring and doing some sanding and polishing on the various components. (Besides, Kel-Tec will fix it if I break it, right?)

Thanks for the responses

 

[mini14jac]

Learning to shoot a P11 will give you better trigger control on all the guns you shoot.
But, I've had two, don't have one now.
Never learned to like the trigger, even after the mods.

Try moving up to 10-12 feet.
That is more of a realistic gunfight distance.
When you start getting good groups there, you can move back.

The Ruger MKII is always the favorite of my wife and daughters when they accompany me to the range.
It's a classic!

We shoot the 550rd value pack ammo from Walmart.
The gun likes it. We get about 1 dud per 100rds.
Get some extra mags, and you'll be amazed how quickly you can make 550rds disappear.

 

[yzguy]

Yes they will fix it (although I question if the would replace say a messed up hammer that was ground on), but I would buy a couple of spares of the parts you modify for 3 reasons.
1 they are cheap
2 if you mess up once you have another try
3 if you mess up twice, then you still have the original part.
(also if you order one of something many times I have received 2)

also if you order all the parts at once you still only get charged like $4.95 for shipping, but if you mess up that $.50 trigger and don't have a spare, then a new one will cost you $5.50 (shipping and the part) and a few days wait....