Well...it's certainly not a Glock. :
Today I fired 233 rounds of CCI Blazer (aluminum) and 25 rounds of WWB through my new P3AT for my first real range session with it.
I wasn't trying for accuracy so I won't get into the fact that my groups were not what I am accustomed to. I mostly wanted to try and break it in and get some sort of comfort level with its reliability.
Words of the Day - Failure to Extract
Of the 258 rounds that I fired, approximately 50 of them failed to extract. That's right...about 1 out of every 5 rounds failed to extract. Not good. Not good at all. In a gunfight I'd be dead.
I finally discovered that the little screw that holds the extractor spring in place was loose. When I tightened it up the FTE's went away, but the screw would loosen up again about every 18-20 rounds. Unfortunately I didn't discover this until near the end of my range session.
It's disappointing to know that I"m going to have to put Loctite on a brand new gun just to try and get it somewhat reliable. The whole extractor setup seems like a very bad design to me. Why did they change it?
Trigger Reset
During my first 12-15 rounds I kept have FTF's. I'd eject the round and see that it had a light strike to the primer, but no ignition. I finally figured it out.
When I shoot my Glocks, after a round fires I release the trigger just enough to hear it click, then fire again. Better trigger control. I learned that the P3AT doesn't work that way. It WILL "click" and if you squeeze the trigger it WILL drop the hammer, but it won't fire. You have to let the trigger ALL the way out between shots. Not what I expected but I guess I can deal with it.
If You Can't Say Anything Nice, Don't Say Anything At All
The range session wasn't ALL bad. A couple of good things I discovered were:
1) The gun always fires when you pull the trigger (that is, as long as the previous round ejects and you let the trigger all the way out before firing the next round).
2) It had absolutely no problem feeding the Blazer rounds OR the WWB rounds (that is, as long as the previous round ejected like it was supposed to).
3) It's loud enough to scare someone away even if the bullet won't really hurt them.
4) With the target set about 5 yards away I was able to keep all of the shots on the paper. I don't consider that accurate by any means, but for my first time shooting such a small gun it could have been a lot worse.
Considering my intent in getting this gun was for concealed carry, I'm going to have to give it a big F based on what I've seen so far. I've probably fired over 2500 rounds combined through my G17 and G22 without a SINGLE failure of any kind...EVER. I don't expect THAT kind of reliability out of a Kel-Tec, but a 20% failure rate is unacceptable for a defensive handgun.
Any tips on what to do about the extractor spring screw? Can I just put Loctite on it?
Today I fired 233 rounds of CCI Blazer (aluminum) and 25 rounds of WWB through my new P3AT for my first real range session with it.
I wasn't trying for accuracy so I won't get into the fact that my groups were not what I am accustomed to. I mostly wanted to try and break it in and get some sort of comfort level with its reliability.
Words of the Day - Failure to Extract
Of the 258 rounds that I fired, approximately 50 of them failed to extract. That's right...about 1 out of every 5 rounds failed to extract. Not good. Not good at all. In a gunfight I'd be dead.
I finally discovered that the little screw that holds the extractor spring in place was loose. When I tightened it up the FTE's went away, but the screw would loosen up again about every 18-20 rounds. Unfortunately I didn't discover this until near the end of my range session.
It's disappointing to know that I"m going to have to put Loctite on a brand new gun just to try and get it somewhat reliable. The whole extractor setup seems like a very bad design to me. Why did they change it?
Trigger Reset
During my first 12-15 rounds I kept have FTF's. I'd eject the round and see that it had a light strike to the primer, but no ignition. I finally figured it out.
When I shoot my Glocks, after a round fires I release the trigger just enough to hear it click, then fire again. Better trigger control. I learned that the P3AT doesn't work that way. It WILL "click" and if you squeeze the trigger it WILL drop the hammer, but it won't fire. You have to let the trigger ALL the way out between shots. Not what I expected but I guess I can deal with it.
If You Can't Say Anything Nice, Don't Say Anything At All
The range session wasn't ALL bad. A couple of good things I discovered were:
1) The gun always fires when you pull the trigger (that is, as long as the previous round ejects and you let the trigger all the way out before firing the next round).
2) It had absolutely no problem feeding the Blazer rounds OR the WWB rounds (that is, as long as the previous round ejected like it was supposed to).
3) It's loud enough to scare someone away even if the bullet won't really hurt them.
4) With the target set about 5 yards away I was able to keep all of the shots on the paper. I don't consider that accurate by any means, but for my first time shooting such a small gun it could have been a lot worse.
Considering my intent in getting this gun was for concealed carry, I'm going to have to give it a big F based on what I've seen so far. I've probably fired over 2500 rounds combined through my G17 and G22 without a SINGLE failure of any kind...EVER. I don't expect THAT kind of reliability out of a Kel-Tec, but a 20% failure rate is unacceptable for a defensive handgun.
Any tips on what to do about the extractor spring screw? Can I just put Loctite on it?
