Newb here... Looking at the P-3AT

welcome to KTOG
Whether or not to get the P3AT depends alot on your familarity with auto loaders.  The P3AT can be a challenge and a few people return them to the factory and even then, a few of those never are able to shoot thiers with any realiblity

the P32 is a little more forgiven in it s operation and thus may seem a little more relable to those not inclined

as for my self and a whole lot of others the P3AT has worked fine,  but I would not recomend it to a newbie or some one that is not familair with the mechanisms of the auto loader pistol

as for the article you linked, I read through it quickly and the only question I would have is the "According to online polls, about fifty percent of P3AT owners have said that they have had some problems" this is like the comparison of the health of a community by taking a poll at the local Hospital. those that have problems are more likely to post about it online. Look through post here and count the number that hate the P3AT and compare that to the 1000 P3ATs per WEEK that are put on the market

 

even the P32 is not something I would recomend to a pure newbie (or any autoloader for that fact). But If you become familair with its operation, clean and lube, it would be a good choice.

Is it possible for you to shoot a P3AT, if you can go through a magazine the first time out, you should not have too much of a problem getting a P3AT to work for you

 

post up your location, and maybe we can get a member with one to let you try it before buying it, and make sure that it is a gun you like.....

 

and, in response to your question, why buy a modified pistol from a smith?

some smiths work is no better than anyone elses.

there are complete instructions here for a fluff and buff, which does nothing more than accellerate the break in process.

it is a great way to familiarize yourself with your pistol, and very hard to mess it up.....

welcome aboard.

 

NO that is not what I meant. a brand new any pistol may not go through the first magazine with out a problem. What I meant was that the ergonmics of the P3AT are such it may not function for some people (including those with extensive firearm training with full size pistols) So if some one has a P3AT that has been proven, cleaned and lubed, If YOU can shoot that gun with no problem first time out, then your grip etc will work with this small pistol


I was thinking....Maybe I'm a lot enveyous of the newbies today...You get the oppertunity to start out with all the neat pistols that are one the market today and may never know how good you have it with conceal carry options. Even the classic CC pistols of a few decades back like the Colt Mustang or the Walthers seem like a brick in your pocket

 

read through this info
http://goldenloki.com/gunsmith/keltec/lube.htm
If this is something you have no problem in performing, then that is the first step to having a reliable P3AT

this is a lot more envolved and probably not needed on the current manufacturing, but you need to be willing to perform a few of these task
http://goldenloki.com/gunsmith/keltec/fullrp.htm

If you don't have a problem with the above and don't have great expectations for the first 50 or so shots...go ahead and get the P3AT.  there are folks here that will try to get you through any problems you may encounter includeding the dreaded "limp wristing"

 

Not nearly as complicated as most guns. In fact I would say the P3AT design has reduced the complexity of parts to the minimun. Like no slide stop, no safeties, etc

as for the high complant rate,
yes the last few post here have been complaints (and one is still ongoing) but like I said, the number of complants verses the 1000 per week being sold is pretty low. And I would say a large percentage of the complaints are due to expecting the gun to work out of the box without cleaning and lubing, expecting the gun to be "broke in" from the factory and refusing to perform an inspection and cleaning of machining marks and debri and refusing to lube since their full size pistol worked without such

 

As for the second link "reliablity prep" you should not have to perform any of the task related to removing the frame, trigger, and hammer. I have not performed those my self. I guess I should break down and performed them one day, but I have not had the "need" to myself

 

Glad to do so. You will find a lot of assistance from the members here

But my time on line is about to come to a halt for a while...the Wife has here second wind and It is back to the Mall :'(

 

EDIT: I looked over the two links you were very kind enough to post. That really was great of you. I have a workbench and tools, though not for gunsmithing. However the directions seemed quite easy to follow, and I would not have a problem getting the proper tools and maintenance equipment. My biggest issue is knowing what to do.

So your perspective would be that if a fellow can perform these maintenance tasks, the pistol should not be particularly problematic. THat's certainly encouraging![/quote]

And if there is an issue, GoldenLoki is a valued member here, and would be more than happy to help you, I am sure, if the need arises