[Axeman]

The handbook says to pull out  the assembly pin to remove the slide and barrel for cleaning and oiling. I haven't fired it yet but had planned to today since the weather has warmed up here.  I had assumed the pin would just pull out, but I can't budge it with my fingernails and I don't want to pry on it with a knife blade unless that's how it is intended to be taken out. What am I doing wrong or not doing right? If I can't break the little bugger down and clean it will it hurt anything if I try firing a few magazines as is?  I only have about 25 S&B FMJ rounds and 23 HydroShoks  plus a 25 round box of Yugoslavian FMJ that I found on a dusty corner shelf  at the local gunshop. No one else around here has any .380 ammo of any kind and they don't know when they will get more, not even Walmart.

I  also would appreciate tips on how far to go when breaking it down for cleaning after shooting. Should I just clean and lube the slide grooves and frame rails plus swabbing the bore, or should I go further?  I'm  a bit leery of disassembling a gun that I have no previous experience with.

 

[alioop]

One of the first tips I read (actually saw - search YouTube) was to run the slide back. Hold it with your thumb. It's a bear. Then use a round or flat tip screwdriver to pop the pin out.

...Then I read the owner's manual. No need to do that. Press on both sided of the pin and pop out the pin with a screwdriver or round. It's a wonder what reading the manual can do for one's knowledge. But of course I never do so. I think its a man thing.

 

[haugrdr]

If you have a manual for the P3AT, on page 13 where it talks about pulling the assembly pin...there is a picture showing you how. Use a shell or even a full round of ammo to "pry" the pin loose. We all do that or use something like that such as a screwdriver.

 

[rcmodel]

The slide has to be partially open to unlock the barrel and take pressure off the pin. Stick an empty case in the ejection port to hold it back if you want.

Then, hold pressure on both sides of the plastic grip and "wiggle" the pin with a cartridge rim, flat-blade screw-driver, etc. until if clears the retainer spring.

If you don't hold the grip down it can spring out far enough for the retainer spring to slip out of it's pocket in the frame causing a "bulged grip".

If you use a screw-driver, put some tape on the shaft so it doesn't scratch the slide.

rc

 

[burley]

Hard to see here but there is a bic lighter holding the slide open;

 

[Axeman]

Many thinks guys, that info is a big help.  I guess I don't feel confident fooling around with this thing until I get used to it.  It's so little and dinky looking I feel like I'm gonna break it whenever I put any pressure on it anywhere at all.

I got er all greased up with CLP this afternoon and fired off a box of 25 rounds of S&B fmj plus a magazine of Federal Hydroshoks. I had one stovepipe jam with the 3rd magazine of S&B and one failure to feed with the 2nd round of Hydroshoks. I think the FTF was probably  my own fault because I may not have had the magazine locked in securely. It looked closed but it clicked when I gave it a hard push after the round didn't feed so I'm pretty sure that it wasn't pushed in all the way. I was surprised and pleased by the low recoil.  My .380 Makarov kicks a little harder even though it  weighs about 3 times as much as the KT. I think the difference is that the Mak is a blowback action with a heavy slide and a very strong recoil spring.

I live in the country so I have my own homemade shooting range out back. I missed a 3"x4" target at the 7 yard line with every round of the first magazine, but I got better with each mag and on the last magazine I got 4 hits out of 6 at the 15 yard line. With decent sights I believe the little guy could group very nicely once I got the hang of that trigger, but with the combination of almost invisible sights and my 71 year old eyes I didn't expect to do even as well as I did on that last 6 shot string. Even at that, if I had been shooting seriously in a defensive situation I would have hit warm body with every shot I fired.   What I need most now is more ammo to finish breaking it in, but there is none to be had around here. I am going to order a set of Lee dies and some cast lead bullets and see how lead bullet reloads work in the little guy. I use them in all my other semiautos with excellent results, so they will probably be OK in the KT too.

Overall I'm pleased with the gun based on just the handful of shots I fired. I can't wait to run a couple hundred rounds though it and see how she does.  Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition, PLEASE!

 

[regrip]

Barrel need only be held back about 1/16" to get the pin out, ( just get the pressure off the pin.)

 

[1943]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SkU2eDPBes[/ame]

Here is a link to Youtube that gives a great demostration of field stripping the P3AT.  1943

 

[dgray64]

Many thinks guys, that info is a big help.  I guess I don't feel confident fooling around with this thing until I get used to it.  It's so little and dinky looking I feel like I'm gonna break it whenever I put any pressure on it anywhere at all.

I got er all greased up with CLP this afternoon and fired off a box of 25 rounds of S&B fmj plus a magazine of Federal Hydroshoks. I had one stovepipe jam with the 3rd magazine of S&B and one failure to feed with the 2nd round of Hydroshoks. I think the FTF was probably  my own fault because I may not have had the magazine locked in securely. It looked closed but it clicked when I gave it a hard push after the round didn't feed so I'm pretty sure that it wasn't pushed in all the way. I was surprised and pleased by the low recoil.  My .380 Makarov kicks a little harder even though it  weighs about 3 times as much as the KT. I think the difference is that the Mak is a blowback action with a heavy slide and a very strong recoil spring.

I live in the country so I have my own homemade shooting range out back. I missed a 3"x4" target at the 7 yard line with every round of the first magazine, but I got better with each mag and on the last magazine I got 4 hits out of 6 at the 15 yard line. With decent sights I believe the little guy could group very nicely once I got the hang of that trigger, but with the combination of almost invisible sights and my 71 year old eyes I didn't expect to do even as well as I did on that last 6 shot string. Even at that, if I had been shooting seriously in a defensive situation I would have hit warm body with every shot I fired.   What I need most now is more ammo to finish breaking it in, but there is none to be had around here. I am going to order a set of Lee dies and some cast lead bullets and see how lead bullet reloads work in the little guy. I use them in all my other semiautos with excellent results, so they will probably be OK in the KT too.

Overall I'm pleased with the gun based on just the handful of shots I fired. I can't wait to run a couple hundred rounds though it and see how she does.  Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition, PLEASE!

Hey Axeman, You did real well with those old eyes. I'm about 5 years behind you and don't know if I could hit that well. Closer, it shoots great. I always figured that with this little bugger, I'd be pretty close anyway. One thing to remember. When you dismantle the next time, put a little extra grease on the extractor (the little plastic piece that falls out and causes so many headaches. If you grease it well, it won't fall out! You were right too about the 9x18 Mak recoiling harder, but it's really accurate at longer distances, too. Try making rubber "over grips" out of bicycle tubes and the recoil of each will reduce significantly. I doubled the thickness on the tube on the P-3AT and the grip is slightly larger and more comfortable. Enjoy.

Dave ;D

 

[torrent]

I don't hold the slide back at all and just pull the pin out with the point of my knife blade.

 

[rcmodel]

It would come out way easier if you take the load off of it the barrel cam is putting on it with the slide locked shut.

rc