Hello All, My P3AT is about 2 Weeks Old. I purchased it with 100 rounds of RWS FMJ Ammo. Ran through those with zero malfunctions. Now it has turned into a single shot. I've tried Winchester, Blazer, Herters FMJ ( I know, Cheap Stuff). I have also tried Corbon and Fiocchi HP. this is what happens. I have done the F&B, polish and cleaning. I have read about the "Smilies" here are pics of the rounds trying to feed. Do I just need to send it back in for repairs? I really like the gun, but right now my confidence level on it is 0%. My PF9 so far has eaten everything I've fed it. Thanks for any advice.
as your pics show, the spent case hits the case mouth of the next round and knocks the extractor off the spent rim. I would remove and clean the extractor, check to see if button head screw was loose make sure the extractor tip is not worn clean the upper section of the chamber so the spent round can be pulled out easier clean the upper barrel block and inside the slide so the barrel tilts down smoothly since it worked prior, I don't think you need to remove any metal from the barrel hood, but you might want to consider if the above doesn't correct
10-4 I'll break her back down, go over it again, and do as suggested. Will let you know. Thanks. kykeltec.
What he said about tightening the extractor except I'd lean toward sending it back before I take a file to the barrel. In the first picture there's a clear shot of the nick in the brass where the extractor took a chunk out of it. Question: If you load one round and one round only in the magazine then rack it and shoot it does the spent case eject properly? Follow up questions: Two rounds? Three rounds?
Follow Up Results after breakdown & cleaning and making sure ejector screw was seated and tight: 1. Loaded (1) Round in Magazine. Cycled Correctly. I done this 3 times. 2. Loaded (2) Rounds in Magazine. Cycled Correctly. I done this 3 times. 3. Loaded (3) Rounds in Magazine. FTE after Round 2 4. Loaded (4) Rounds in Magazine. FTE after Round 1 5. Full Magazine. FTE after round 1. Unless somebody sees something totally out of skew with these pictures, I'm going to have to send her back to the mother ship. I really think the pro's need to take a look at it. I've gone about as far as my skill levels allow. Anyway, if anybody has any suggestions let me know. Thanks, kykeltec
one last thing that i just remebered that got me on the P32 check the magazine spring to be sure the coil angle matches the follower angle so to push the followe up straight. clean the follower while it is out there is one last "trick" that I use, but it has not been well recieved by others. If the mag spring was correct, I'll tell about putting a shim under the barrel lug to keep it higher during extraction
1. need new extractor 2. barrel feed ramp needs some work (kinda hard for me to explain, if you saw mine, you would understand, but wifey has it right now so I cant get pics) 3. gets new recoil springs
Since it cycles and feeds fine with only 1 or 2 rounds in the mag, but starts to fail as you add rounds to the mag, I suspect a mag issue. Do you have more than one mag? If so, does it do this with all mags?
I haver (2) Mags. Same Issue with each. I'm going to send it back in. I'll keep everybody updated on the outcome. Thanks for the help. kykeltec.
Your first pic and the later one from above perfectly illustrate the classic Kel-Tec failure to extract jam. The pics cannot show the position of the parts at the time the extractor slipped over the case rim as that would require high speed photography to document. Removing a small amount of material from the inside of the extractor would allow that part to move further to the left and grab the case rim move tightly. I think the problem may be that the flat, leaf type spring does not provide as consistent pressure as a coil spring does. Because semi-auto pistols operate at high cyclic rates all moving parts are subject to high "g" forces and hand cycling does not really simulate live fire experiences. Yours are probably the highest quality pics I've ever seen on this site!
I actually understand and comprehend what you're saying, makes perfect sense to me. If this firearm was several years old and had thousands of rounds ran through it, I would probably go ahead and perform an operation or two. I am going to leave it stock, send it back and see what the official explanation is. Thanks, kykeltec. BTW, thsanks for the compliment on the pics.
Can you elaborate? Just my amateur observations, my extractor appears to be in excellent condition with no noticeable wear. It has had less than 250 rounds through it. Does my extractor show abnormal wear or something? Just curious. Thanks, kykeltec
No. Some Kel-Tecs may have abnormal tolerances IMO though. This problem seems to often occur on new guns, most often P-3AT and PF-9. The P-11 uses a coil spring to activate the extractor and the P-32 fires the .32 auto semi-rimmed cartridge which aids in extraction.
a call to KT Service and discribe your problem calmly and if KT doesn't imedatly offer to send you a new extractor, spring and screw; poletily ask for them and they will be something you can check in less than a week. If you send it in, it will be 6 to 8 weeks If the new extractor & spring does not, send it in sorry about being vague and quick in responses, I'm having computer difficulties today
Since it cycles and feeds fine with only 1 or 2 rounds in the mag, but starts to fail as you add rounds to the mag, I suspect a mag issue. Do you have more than one mag? If so, does it do this with all mags? [/quote] That's what I was thinking too and why I was asking about less than full mags. The nick on the brass says the extractor is engaging and I swear it looks like there's a dent in the jacket on one of the following rounds from the rim of the ejecting case, almost like the round is coming up to high out of the mag and blocking the ejection. I was thinking along the lines of checking the seam in the back of the mags for separation or look for a crack, seems like pressure from more rounds on the spring might be causing the mag to open up a little. Just a thought.
I like that idea. Kel-Tec is closed all this week, correct? As soon as I talk to them I'll update. Thanks
