G
Guest
·I picked up a new P-3AT to see if I could shed the image of the disastrous 1st generation model I offloaded about 3 months ago.
This one is the newer design (gen 2 ?) with the Frankenbolt. I immediately noticed the differences in design over the gen 1. Apart from the huge extractor, the top of the slide is flat, the guide rod now fits directly into a slot in the front of the slide (one less component to lose), and the sights are now essentially non-existant which was a disappointment. My model has the earth brown frame and a plain blued slide - the box says green but whatever color it is I like it. The gun was also filthy from the factory test firing, and needed a thorough cleaning.
The gun seems "beefier" than the old one, and this morning I took it out for the first test run. I used 20 rounds of Corbon 80 grain DPX, 30 rounds of Remington 88gr "green box" JHPs, and 25 rounds of the super hot Santa Barbara truncated cone open tip FMJs.
The gun ran for approximately 50 rounds without a burp, and then started hanging up on the (dirty) feed ramp on the top round of every other magazine. I actually found this to be very impressive, the old gun couldn't go a magazine without a failure, and one wipe of the feed ramp is all it took to bring it back to full function for the last few rounds.
I also couldn't have shot that many rounds through my old P-3AT, this new one has MUCH less recoil, even the Santa Barbara are now manageable.
Two things really surprised me. The first was the accuracy - I set the target at a measured 55 feet and emptied 2 full magazines plus top-offs in the general direction of the target. People shooting full size 9mms and .40s around me were peppering targets at 25 feet, and there I was with this tiny pocket pistol shooting at something more than twice that distance away. On retrieving the target I counted 14 holes, and the worst score was in the 7 ring. I don't shoot any better than that with my trusty P35. At 20 feet I was getting a sub 2 inch group slightly offset to the right, maybe those sights are ok after all.
The second shocker was the Corbon DPX ammunition. It had the lowest recoil of the bunch, it was very, very mild, and much less powerful than even the light loaded Remington Walmart specials I was using. That's unusual for Corbon, I assume they know what they are doing, but I could stand another half grain of powder in there.
Came home, cleaned it, Dremelled off a couple of frame burrs the shooting gave rise to, gave the feed ramp a very light polish, lubed it with Tetralube, loaded 7 Corbons, slipped it into an Uncle Mike's #1 pocket holster, and it's in my pocket as I type.
PS - I like it, a lot.
This one is the newer design (gen 2 ?) with the Frankenbolt. I immediately noticed the differences in design over the gen 1. Apart from the huge extractor, the top of the slide is flat, the guide rod now fits directly into a slot in the front of the slide (one less component to lose), and the sights are now essentially non-existant which was a disappointment. My model has the earth brown frame and a plain blued slide - the box says green but whatever color it is I like it. The gun was also filthy from the factory test firing, and needed a thorough cleaning.
The gun seems "beefier" than the old one, and this morning I took it out for the first test run. I used 20 rounds of Corbon 80 grain DPX, 30 rounds of Remington 88gr "green box" JHPs, and 25 rounds of the super hot Santa Barbara truncated cone open tip FMJs.
The gun ran for approximately 50 rounds without a burp, and then started hanging up on the (dirty) feed ramp on the top round of every other magazine. I actually found this to be very impressive, the old gun couldn't go a magazine without a failure, and one wipe of the feed ramp is all it took to bring it back to full function for the last few rounds.
I also couldn't have shot that many rounds through my old P-3AT, this new one has MUCH less recoil, even the Santa Barbara are now manageable.
Two things really surprised me. The first was the accuracy - I set the target at a measured 55 feet and emptied 2 full magazines plus top-offs in the general direction of the target. People shooting full size 9mms and .40s around me were peppering targets at 25 feet, and there I was with this tiny pocket pistol shooting at something more than twice that distance away. On retrieving the target I counted 14 holes, and the worst score was in the 7 ring. I don't shoot any better than that with my trusty P35. At 20 feet I was getting a sub 2 inch group slightly offset to the right, maybe those sights are ok after all.
The second shocker was the Corbon DPX ammunition. It had the lowest recoil of the bunch, it was very, very mild, and much less powerful than even the light loaded Remington Walmart specials I was using. That's unusual for Corbon, I assume they know what they are doing, but I could stand another half grain of powder in there.
Came home, cleaned it, Dremelled off a couple of frame burrs the shooting gave rise to, gave the feed ramp a very light polish, lubed it with Tetralube, loaded 7 Corbons, slipped it into an Uncle Mike's #1 pocket holster, and it's in my pocket as I type.
PS - I like it, a lot.
