Greetings All! I have a first gen P3AT that always puts it's first 5 rounds low after a field strip and cleaning. It's always the same with the first shot about 7 inches low (at about 15') and the next 4 placing progressively higher until I'm finally on target by the 6th round. I leave the barrel fairly dry after cleaning but I don't shoot the little guy much and don't want to remove all rust protection between firings. Just wondering if any of you have run across this condition?
interesting.... have you notice if the barrel block gets lower in the slide as you shoot it. another check would be how much can the muzzle wiggle up and down in the slide? for a 7" change in POI at 15' (180"" would require a barrel tilt change of 1/8" (for 3" overall lenght)
At first I was thinking that everything was just settling into place after I had stripped it down completely to replace some springs and give it a thorough cleaning. But the next two times out were the same - first shot real low followed by the next four walking up to the bullseye. All rounds after those 5 stay pretty well centered. There's no obvious wear on the barrel or slide so I guess I'm in for a round of testing to see if it's caused by the fieldstrip or oil in the barrel or just plain cussedness. When I first aquired it I had noticed that it shot low but I had shot one clip of one brand of ammo, which shot low, and the next clip was another brand, which was fine. So, ASSUMING that the problem was with the first brand I bought a bunch of the second brand. Lesson learned - never test accuracy with a clean gun. This also brings up another lesson - My freshly cleaned piece may put its first shots somewhere other than I'm expecting. If it proves to consistently put the first shots low I'll just have to file the fact away in my mind and aim those first self defense shots way higher.
I would bet it's oil in the barrel. Try running a few dry patches through it just prior to firing and see what happens.
I've thought about this a little... May I suggest shooting it a bit more? Sounds to me like you're not used to the grip angle of the KT, and are adjusting to it. Not trying to be an a$$, just makes sense to me.
Well, if you ever need to use it, go for the shortest guy first. My first thought was that it could be you (no offence, it is an unknown to us), but you seem to know what you are talking about. This doesn't sound like your first/only gun. Might I suggest a few tests? Shoot it, clean it, re-shoot it. See if it is reproducable. Have someone else shoot it first. Shoot a real hand banger first (.357snub, .44 or bigger....) and then re-shoot it. Shoot it, then swab the barrel with oil (alot, but not to much) and see if it drops. Let us know what you come up with. Oh, by the way, if you had not noticed, the sites on these are,well, dinky. Have fun, be safe, post pics... Lop
This trick has always worked for me. Every time I go to the range the P3AT always gets shot since I carry it 99% of the time. After shooting the Glock 36 (very small .45) I'll always improve on the P3AT for the day. Also, what kind of sights do you have? Are they the taller/ adjustable (?) ones, or the ones that are flat and almost invisible? My father has an older P3AT and the sights are very different and he has an easier time shooting mine even though the sights are much smaller.
I took my P3AT to the range today. Ran 50 rounds of FMJ without a problem. This gun hits where I point it. It took me a few rounds to figure out how it wanted to be pointed. I like it and it's performance a lot. I am glad I bought this gun. Life is short, be happy
No amount of oil in the barrel would cause it to shoot 7" low at 15 feet!! And a condition where it was not going fully into battery, due to not enough oil on the cam & locking surface of the barrel & slide would make it shoot high, not low, because the barrel would still be tilted slightly UP were it not fully in battery. Methinks it might be the shooter jerking the trigger or flinching until his brain determines it's not going to hurt him after all. rc
