I have been breaking in my 3AT, and am noticing that I am having more than the average FTE problems. I read somewhere on this forum about making sure the extractor screw was tight- it was loose by about a half a turn! I tightened it up, and now the S&B 90gr hardball I was using works great, but the 100gr flat-nose reloads I tried still had multiple FTE issues. Defensive ammo is flawless so far (Speer gold dot JHP) but I can't afford to run 2-300 rounds of this for the trial... My question is should I send the gun back to Kel-Tec to fix the issue or should I try to use some blue loctite on the screw? I am concerned that I will back out the screw too much and the firing pin will move and cause even bigger issues.
I certainly wouldn't send it back for that. Just back the screw out enough to get a drop of blue locktite on the top of the threads. Then tighten it snug and let the locktite cure. As far as ammo, these ultra-light guns can be ammo selective - more so during break-in. I wouldn't worry that it doesn't like your 100 grain, flat nosed reloads. Break it in with 100+ rounds of factory, brass cased FMJ. The S&B is fine. Then get a few mags of carry ammo through it. How many flawless rounds are enough to call it reliable is up to you.
Locktite - yep. Ammo - possibly a finicky gun wanting specific ammo, but since it's still the break in period, I wouldn't factor that in just yet. I haven't read some of your other threads that I can remember. Have you done the fluff and buff? Specifically, do it to the chamber since your spent cases are not coming out. Before even firing a single round, I did the fluff and buff with 400 and 800 grit paper.
Reloads are probably not a good choice for break-in ammo, due to variations in re-sizing, etc. Also, flat nose ammo may not work well in the pistol in any case. Get some decent FMJ commercial (fairly cheap) and run a couple hundred rounds through the gun. You don't need to, and probably should not, break in with expensive defense ammo in any case. After break in, then run a couple of boxes of defensive ammo of your choice through the gun to ensure full reliability. Jim R
