I've read with interest the various threads listing problems different owners have with their particular Kel-Tecs and invariably, some well meaning soul will throw out the dreaded, "are you sure you're not limpwristing it?" question. Gasp! The term sure has negative connotations, to say the least. It's sort of like, well, an insult to a man to insinuate that he can't shoot a pistol, much less one as small and light weight as the Kel-Tec. Sort of like kicking sand in your face at the beach in front of your wife or girlfriend. My first inclination is to respond with a hearty "heck no!". But upon further reflection, and deep soul searching, I have decided that, yes, it's possible, I may be a limp wrister. My new P3AT has been a challenge to break in. I did the fluff and buff to the best of my limited mechanical ability. I shot a couple of boxes of FMJ through it with some small failure to feeds but I chalked those up to the break in period. Then a recent trip to the range became a shooter's nightmare. I bought a box of 100 grain FMJ reloads from a local company that has an excellent reputation for quality. I've used their ammo for twenty years in other guns and not so much as a hiccup. But this box jammed on every other shot out of the gun. Now, I am wondering is it the gun, the ammo or me? The next day I then went back to the range and used a different ammo. It was better, but still not good. The jams were coming every other mag instead of every other shot. Now, I must add I did not clean the gun after shooting the box of reloads. After this trip to the range I went back home and cleaned the gun really well, then lubed it with oil and grease according to Golden Loki's suggestions. Two days later I went back to the range. Third type of ammo. Better results. But every now and again I was having a jam where the spent round would hang up half way out of the chamber and jam on the new round coming up from the magazine. In fact I could tell just by the feel of the shot that something was not right, in fact looking back now, I think it was my wrists breaking up with the recoil, and I knew something was amiss. I began to think maybe I was limp wristing the gun. I began to push/pull my hands against each other to keep my wrists firm and to my surprise, and delight, no more jams. I now have to figure out how much pressure to apply when trying to shoot the P3AT. In order to avoid the jams, I was pushing and pulling with such force that my arms began to tremble from the pressure. It became a challenge to keep the front sight on target as I was obviously using too much pressure. When I relaxed them too much, the jam took place once again. I suppose this is part of the learning curve for shooting the light weight pocket rocket. Next, I've just got to find myself a twelve step program for LimpWristers. "Hi, I'm Tiger. I'm a Limpwrister".
Suggestions: Avoid reloads and stick with decent qualtity, factory brass cased FMJ for breakin - preferably try several brands. NEVER shoot a dirty gun, especially during breakin. You are complicating matters by introducing multiple potential problems. Some go so far as to stop, clean and relube every 50 rounds. A death grip is not required. Just lock your wrists and let the recoil pivot up AT THE ELBOW - NOT the wrist. It sounds like you are making progress.
Tx's answer is spot on and he has lots more experience with multiple P3's than I do. I suspect there MAY be an internal roughness in the operation of yours. Loki's lube advice is great but think his Fluff and Buff is even better and for some P3's more important in the short term. It's here -- http://goldenloki.com/gunsmith/keltec/fullrp.htm Suggest you go thru step 23 for a start ... I did this lightly two times ...cleaning and shooting between. NoProb thru 1300+
Try watching the shot break. Can you see the flash? Then try watching what happens to the gun. Does it move up at an angle or does it jump straight up? I've found that I don't have to hold the gun in a death grip, just keep my wrists from bending up. When the gun moves straight up instead of pointing up, then I'm doing it right. One thing that helped was using both earplugs and muffs. It stopped me from blinking as the gun went off so I could watch the gun's movement during the shot.
MT81, I just wanted to thank you for the great post. An articulate, thoughtful, and accurate description of the problem from the shooter's point of view. Kind of funny too - post again when you get a chance, you have a way with words!
Just one question..... Did you check your extractor screw to make sure it's tight? That''ll give you FT's all day long if it's loose. If it is put some blue loctite on it and tighten it back down and you'll be good to go again.
Every time I go to the range regardless how many times I have been my thought process is that this is going to smack my hand. I know the feel and what I can do but I need to get past that first shot. I know that may sound funny but it is true. What I do is bring the thumb of my weak hand over my strong ( left thumb over right hand ) to get past that first shot. Then I am ok to one hand the little guy. Dave
