I've had my P3AT for a month or so now and finally had a chance to fire it today. I bought some WWB at Walmart because it was all they had. I fired approx 50 rounds and had absolutely zero problems other than trying to find my brass. I was worried about the flat nose feeding well but didn't have any problems. Accuracy wise it was fine from 10 yards or so. I haven't had a lot of experience but hit the target almost every time I pulled the trigger. I have a feeling the gun is much more accurate than I am but I'll get better. I really expected a harder kick from the gun but it was actually a lot of fun to shoot. I tried shooting it one handed and had no problem and was really surprised about how tame the recoil was. I was kind of worried about how some here and elsewhere said that it was a handful. Now I want a PF9 to go with it. Now I'll clean it and oil/grease it and shoot the rest of the box.
Sounds like you're off to a good start. Yeah, put some more WWB or other ball ammo through your gun and if all continues to go well you can start proving the gun with your SD ammo. For most of civilians beyond 10 yards we should, if possible, be disengaging. I personally feel that if you can do it safely most of your practice/drills should be 5 yards and in. Even if you can't live fire you can get a lot of close in practice using snap caps and do so just about anywhere. Just make sure there are only snap caps in your gun. Just make sure there are only snap caps in your gun. Just make sure there are only snap caps in your gun. etc. Like you I expected more felt recoil from the P3AT then what I first experienced. Non the less I still wound up putting grip pads and a grip sleeve on both my P3ATs. Bill K.
Like BillK, I don't practice too far out with the P3AT, but I do go to 7 yards as that's one the things I've read about over and over as being a critical distance. It was even mentioned as such in my CCW class years ago. Mine kicked more than I thought it would but then the fact that it was beating the first joint in my trigger finger had a lot to do with that feeling. Oh, and I broke mine in with the WWB flat nose jobs and expected trouble but I never had a single bobble the whole time.
I believe that 7 yards being a critical distance has to do with the amount of ground an attacker can cover and the person on defense having time to react. The average man can cover 21 feet of ground in 1.5 seconds. The average man cannot draw a gun from concealment in under 2 seconds. 55% of gunfights take place 0-5 feet. 20% of gunfights take place in 5-10 feet. 20% of gunfights take place in 10-21 feet. 95% of gunfights take place in 0-21 feet. (Source- FBI) Info take from this informative site... http://www.truthtree.com/selfdefense.shtml Bill K.
I would practice at 7 yards most of the time. Some practice at longer distance might be good too. One thing I've learned is if you practice at longer distances it will make the shorter distance shooting very easy. So if you normally shoot at 7 yards anything closer should be easy for you. Like they say you should practice as you would fight. Start from your normal mode of carry, draw and fire. JMO CJ
Nice looking pistol . . . and it looks somewhat familiar too. [/quote] Actually mine still looks a lot better than yours so being the nice guy that I am... I'll trade you even, my grips for yours. Do we have a deal? Really do like the looks of your grips. Who makes them? Can they be purchased online? Bill K.
Nice looking pistol . . . and it looks somewhat familiar too. [/quote] Actually mine still looks a lot better than yours so being the nice guy that I am... I'll trade you even, my grips for yours. Do we have a deal? Really do like the looks of your grips. Who makes them? Can they be purchased online? Bill K. [/quote] You are a nice guy! They have "Uncle Mike's" molded into them. I have not seen them for sale anywhere for a while, but I keep hoping. The match between the pattern on the Uncle Mike's rubber grip and the Kel-Tec P-3AT grip is remarkable. I would like another myself. I'll do a little searching and let you know about any successes.
I thought mine shot nice and easy without much kick too. Then I loaded with Buffalo Bore and found out what recoil is all about. First pull nice cut opened up on trigger finger from trigger guard! OUCH! Second pull magazine popped out because gun slammed into thumb and hit it. Third shot my 17 year old son pulled trigger and handed gun back and asked to shoot something else. I am going to try a set of the Wolf springs between 13 and 16lbs. Find which one tempers the blast a little and stick with it. With regular range ammo though these little rockets are a blast to shoot. I practice at 21 feet. Accuracy is pretty good. Out at 45 not so great. But my eyes are not what they used to be either.
Great cautionary tale about Buffalo Bore. And I though Santa Barbara was hot . . . silly me. Think sticking with my Remington Golden Sabers is a good idea! ;D
BB claims it is +p but since there is no standard for +p 380 what they mean is it's loaded as hot as you can safely load a 380 round. DPX I have noticed is also flash suppressed powder and the bullet weight is less 10 grains and while it seems to have more snap than regular range ammo it does not feel like the gun blew up in your hand like the BB. Excellent expansion on that copper bullet too. I have a multi- size spring kit from Wolf and am going to the range tomorrow to see which lbs spring works best without throwing brass 20' across the room.
