Kel Tecs

[MaxMan]

I have seen that there is no other gun manufacturer that raises more opinions than Kel Tec.
Anybody admit to owning one and what do you think.
George is very innovative and answers some questions no one has asked and supplies products that no one really demanded. I think he does it to satisfy his own ingenuity drive and not as a result of the marketing dept. QC is sometimes lacking I have heard but Product support my own experience has been great.

I confess. I own three (well me and wife)

P 32, P 3at and a Sub 2000. (gen 2).

 

[RoninPA]

I have a number of customers who own Kel-Tecs and are very pleased with them. Have not had to return any for repairs and none of the owners have ever had to return any so far. Price point actually seems pretty good for what you get.

 

[s4s4u]

This one has my interest piqued:

https://www.keltecweapons.com/firearm/pistols/kp50/

 

[BULL'S-EYE]

I own four, and there's no shame in it for me.
They make good firearms of ingenious design, and I appreciate outside the box thinking.

 

[Mike J]

I've only ever owned one Kel-Tec. It was a P-11. I carried it for a few years. It was very innovative for its time & was basically the same size & weight as the double stack micro 9's that are popular now. It wasn't very refined & had a horrible DAO trigger but it was reliable & decently accurate once you got used to the trigger.

 

[mr surveyor]

If not for the original KelTec P3AT, there probably would not have been a Ruger LCP (dubbed by KelTec fans as the "Little Copy Pistol"). George should have been more protective in copyrighting/protecting his designs ....


jd

 

[hittman]

I traded a P3AT for a LCP when they first came out.
Dumb move. Obvious downgrade in reliability.

 

[hittman]

……no other gun manufacturer that raises more opinions than Kel Tec.

Except Glock.
Glock hate is the equivalent of TDS but for guns instead of politicians.

 

[gunzo]

I have 2. A 3AT & a P17. Both very dependable.

 

[MaxMan]

Except Glock.
Glock hate is the equivalent of TDS but for guns instead of politicians.

I think Glock hate comes from jealousy and Fel Tec derision comes from snobbery. ( I don't own a Glock)

 

[pyth0n]

I own 7 Kel-Tec firearms. No complaints. And every one (or idea) has been copied by others because Kel-Tec had a good idea. Kellgren did say he learned the value of s good patent attorney.

 

[Joe Chartreuse]

This one has my interest piqued:

https://www.keltecweapons.com/firearm/pistols/kp50/

I'm liking this one myself. Not sure I could buy it in NJ though. Pennsylvania for sure. Nothing wrong with that price either. I would still need to see some quality reviews for this brand beforehand.

 

[MaxMan]

That has my interest. The ammo price is the big no for me. The heart is willing, but the wallet is weak.
But...CP33 is on my watch list.

One of my likes about the company is the Gen 3 Sub 2k. Basically made in response to customers feedback on the Gen 2. Although number one is this was a man with an idea and he took it and ran with it till it became a competitive company in the firearms market. I wonder when George mills his last part what will happen to the ingenuity side of the company.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

Meh.....folks raise a lot of opinions and don't have issues with Hi-Point either but I'm not rushing out to buy any.....pulled a lot of them off criminals though....

 

[mirglip]

The P17 is pretty amazing. I have three of them. Reliable, accurate and a 3 pound trigger! It only weighs 14 ounces fully loaded with 17 rounds of .22LR.
$192 out the door at Bob Wards. Includes case and 3 mags.
Everyone should have one if it fits your hand.
I also had a P32 and it was satisfactory.

 

[ozyman]

Kel-Tec makes a lot of innovative firearms.
And if they were made by anyone other than Kel-Tec, I would be interested.

It amazes me - it is almost like two completely separate entities; one side comes up with really neat ideas and then the other side says, "We will make it - but only if we can do it for under $26.00 in materials by using recycled extruded plastic and bolts that we picked up at Home Depot."

 

[MaxMan]

Kel-Tec makes a lot of innovative firearms.
And if they were made by anyone other than Kel-Tec, I would be interested.

It amazes me - it is almost like two completely separate entities; one side comes up with really neat ideas and then the other side says, "We will make it - but only if we can do it for under $26.00 in materials by using recycled extruded plastic and bolts that we picked up at Home Depot."

I think innovation comes from the engineer founder. Something that would never come out of a board room or committee,

 

[mirglip]

Kel-Tec makes a lot of innovative firearms.
And if they were made by anyone other than Kel-Tec, I would be interested.

It amazes me - it is almost like two completely separate entities; one side comes up with really neat ideas and then the other side says, "We will make it - but only if we can do it for under $26.00 in materials by using recycled extruded plastic and bolts that we picked up at Home Depot."

I don't think they're that poorly made. I have put about 4000 rounds through one of my P17 Kel-Tecs and there are no signs of impending failure. This is a gun made of two plastic halves screwed together and the screws have not backed out and no cracks anywhere. It looks like a squirt gun but performs great with Mini-mags. This is the ideal backpacker .22.

Any handgun you buy nowadays you have to put $200 into the trigger before you shoot it. This gun costs less than $200 and the trigger is 3# from the factory and ready to go with 3 plastic mags included.
I refuse to badmouth this company.

 

[Gopher]

I've only ever owned one Kel-Tec. It was a P-11. I carried it for a few years. It was very innovative for its time & was basically the same size & weight as the double stack micro 9's that are popular now. It wasn't very refined & had a horrible DAO trigger but it was reliable & decently accurate once you got used to the trigger.

I had its Grandaddy, a Grendel 380. Sold it to a local Chief of Police, and he carried it as a court gun for years. That said, I had a P11 that was awful. It would feed and run well, but I could not get on target at 7 yards. I replaced the sights, the recoil spring, and everything else in the catalogue, and we (multiple shooters) never could get it to hit POI. It and a Taurus PT945 turned into a Glock 30. :cool:

 

[reuben_j_cogburn]

I own three.. would not hesitate to buy another......

 

[bowzette]

The P17 is pretty amazing. I have three of them. Reliable, accurate and a 3 pound trigger! It only weighs 14 ounces fully loaded with 17 rounds of .22LR.
$192 out the door at Bob Wards. Includes case and 3 mags.
Everyone should have one if it fits your hand.
I also had a P32 and it was satisfactory.

Yep. Got one also. $200 from Academy during period of no sales tax in Florida. No shipping, no FFL fee. It has been flawless and a great buy.

 

[Armybrat]

My hard chrome P32 was a sweet shooter, but I traded it towards a Ruger Super Blackhawk……

 

[gunzo]

I traded a P3AT for a LCP when they first came out.
Dumb move. Obvious downgrade in reliability.

Uncanny,, copying a reliable pistol then installing malfunctions. Sadly, not surprising.

 

[reuben_j_cogburn]

My hard chrome P32 was a sweet shooter, but I traded it towards a Ruger Super Blackhawk……

View attachment 99663
View attachment 99664

That P32 looks nice... that finish really looks great... I have a .32 as well, and really like it... carry it often (in town).... Now I see the problem with my 44... the stainless is rubbing off!!!

 

[XUSNORDIE]

the stainless is rubbing off!!!

Ummmmm :unsure:

 

[wheelgun1958]

I had its Grandaddy, a Grendel 380. Sold it to a local Chief of Police, and he carried it as a court gun for years. That said, I had a P11 that was awful. It would feed and run well, but I could not get on target at 7 yards. I replaced the sights, the recoil spring, and everything else in the catalogue, and we (multiple shooters) never could get it to hit POI. It and a Taurus PT945 turned into a Glock 30. :cool:

Grendel P-12 worst gun I've ever owned. Only good use is a trotline weight.​

 

[Yaworski]

I bought a used P3AT. It had some odd issues right off the bat. It worked perfectly with the mag that came with it but I had bought couple spare mags from KelTec and it jammed regularly using the newer mags.

Then one day, while taking the gun apart in my efforts to solve the jamming problem, I launched the recoil springs across the room, never to be seen again. I got new springs from KelTec and the gun has functioned flawlessly with all three mags since. Have no idea why that worked.

I've put around five hundred rounds of very expensive ammo through it without a hiccup.

I did buy an LCP thinking that it would be better because, well . . . Ruger. It wasn't better.

 

[the_leper_colony]

It amazes me - it is almost like two completely separate entities; one side comes up with really neat ideas and then the other side says, "We will make it - but only if we can do it for under $26.00 in materials by using recycled extruded plastic and bolts that we picked up at Home Depot."

If you look at the slides used on the Kel-Tec P11 9mm & P40 40 cal, you might notice that they have kind of an interesting shape (if you picture them in cross section):

That's because the slides were machined from extruded steel hex-bar. Using a standardized extruded shape not only kept the cost down, but (according to what I've read) the extrusion process provides some of the benefits of forging at a much lower cost. Buying off-the-shelf materials isn't always a bad thing, and not unique to KT - the roll pins and standard screws used in Colt AR15s are other good examples.

I've owned 10 or 12 KT handguns, and three of their rifles (so far), and only had one minor issue with the newest rifle, which their customer service folks took care of quickly, at no cost to me. Speaking of which, if you like Ruger customer service, you'll probably be just as satisfied with KT customer service, based on personal experience & everything I've read!
:-)

 

[hittman]

I regret selling my P11…. Have tried to buy it back but no luck.

 

[reuben_j_cogburn]

I had its Grandaddy, a Grendel 380. Sold it to a local Chief of Police, and he carried it as a court gun for years. That said, I had a P11 that was awful. It would feed and run well, but I could not get on target at 7 yards. I replaced the sights, the recoil spring, and everything else in the catalogue, and we (multiple shooters) never could get it to hit POI. It and a Taurus PT945 turned into a Glock 30. :cool:

I also owned a grendel .380 it worked well but was kinda bulky... I gave it to a friend to use as carry/backup gun... my P11 is accurate enough for it's intended purpose.... I've killed a few treed porcupines with it.....

funny story on my P11..... a friend picked up a ruger .40 striker gun to replace his chiefs special... he was complaining about the trigger.. I tried it... it was fine... I told him I could fix his trigger in 10 seconds and it wouldn't cost a dime... so I pulled out my P11, cleared it and handed it to him... he took the gun and squeezed..... and squeezed...... and squeezed.... finally the hammered cocked far enough to drop... he gave me a funny look.. handed it back and, as far as I know, never complained about his trigger again....