P3AT Pitted Barrel

From what I have seen, small imperfections are not uncommon on these guns. When you say pitted, Im assuming you mean little imperfections, not corrosion. These guns arent polished like a smith or a glock, but they also cost considerably less. Can you describe the pitting better?

The barrel looks like a cast bullet that was made in a mold that was not hot enough. It has wrinkles on the surface, it almost looks like it was cast and the landsand grooves in the barrel are very shallow and look like and old military rifle that has been damaged by corrosive ammo

Hmmn, If its damaged, send it back to keltec and they will replace it. They are pretty fast too. I only recommend sending it back because from your description, the rifling may be damaged. Im sure others will post some more info to help you out. If it is working fine you may not choose to send it back, in which case, just keep it clean to keep corrosion from occuring.

My P3 barrel looks great, but my P-11 barrel is pitted and the lands don't look like much. It shoots fine though.

While made from good steel, it's no secret that some KT barrels leave something to be desired.  The lands and grooves are often shallow and sometimes almost discontinued.  Occassionally, there are burrs and messy spots inside the barrel.  Ususally, these imperfections do not affect function or acuracy at the intended range of these guns.  If it is particularly bad, call them.  They'll replace it without question.  

Outside, they ususally look OK.  If it's not parked or chromed, feel free to polish the heck out of the outside with some 600 grit paper.  I don't know what to make of "wrinkles on the surface".   :-/

The last P3AT I bought came with a barrel that to me looked like a mess inside - dark streaks resembling fouling but was not.  Otherwise, the gun shot fine.  Still, being the obsessive compulsive that I am, I sent it back to KT requesting a replacement.  They sent me a brand new brarrel (and no you don't have to send your slide back for fitting - in fact they advised not to).  It looks a lot better inside, still a bit rough in certain areas, but hey, this ain't no target gun.  I think the original barrel would have served me just as well.  Point is, if you are really unhappy with the looks of your barrel, KT will more than likely exchange it for another.  And the wait at the time was only a couple of weeks max.

kraigster414 said:

The last P3AT I bought came with a barrel that to me looked like a mess inside - dark streaks resembling fouling but was not.  Otherwise, the gun shot fine.  Still, being the obsessive compulsive that I am, I sent it back to KT requesting a replacement.  They sent me a brand new brarrel (and no you don't have to send your slide back for fitting - in fact they advised not to).  It looks a lot better inside, still a bit rough in certain areas, but hey, this ain't no target gun.  I think the original barrel would have served me just as well.  Point is, if you are really unhappy with the looks of your barrel, KT will more than likely exchange it for another.  And the wait at the time was only a couple of weeks max.

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Interesting that they told you best not to send the slide because when both of my P3's went back for the trigger pin "walking out" they replaced the barrel and slide and told me that "they are matched"...as long as it shoots ???

I think "matched" is a very loosely defined term when it comes to the P3AT - at least from the factory's perspective.

kraigster. Ur barrel couldnt have been as bad inside as the one on one of my 380. Never seen anything like it. abaolutely the worst of worst. it had more chatter marks in the barrel than one can imagine. It didn't shoot bad but it should have never been sent out looking like that either. It is back at the mothership now trying to get other things straighened out with it NOt sure if kt makes their own barrels or not, but certainly someone is not looking inside the barrels very often IMO.

jocko said:

kraigster.  Ur barrel couldnt have been as bad inside as the one on one of my 380.  Never seen anything like it.  abaolutely the worst of worst.  it had more chatter marks in the barrel than one can imagine. It didn't shoot bad but it should have never been sent out looking like that either.  It is back at the mothership now trying to get other things straighened out with it NOt sure if kt makes their own barrels or not, but certainly someone is not looking inside the barrels very often IMO.

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That's why I raise an eyebrow when I hear they "fit" their barrels to the slides.  I think the factory's position is, if the barrel fits in the slide without the need of a hammer, and can be removed without the need of a crowbar, by golly, it's a good fit.  ;D  Seriously though, your objective is reliability not precision with the P3.  And when these little guns work reliably, they can't be beat.  9 times out of 10, you can get there with little or no tweaking - especailly with the latest 2G guns.

Like you, I have seen some absolutely horrendous looking barrels come out of the factory.  But they shoot fine and for price and what the gun was designed for, you can't really can't get too wound-up about it.  

I guess the barrel/slide match depends on who you talk to. I have heard several times that they prefer to have both the barrel and slide as they like to match them up. Surely that does not mean it is absolutely essential, but there must be some advantage. If I needed a barrel or slide replaced, I would probably send both. Heck, you can't shoot one without the other anyway. Of course it's best to send the whole gun so they can check it out, update parts and test fire it. :-/

TxCajun said:

I guess the barrel/slide match depends on who you talk to.  I have heard several times that they prefer to have both the barrel and slide as they like to match them up.  Surely that does not mean it is absolutely essential, but there must be some advantage.  If I needed a barrel or slide replaced, I would probably send both.  Heck, you can't shoot one without the other anyway.  Of course it's best to send the whole gun so they can check it out, update parts and test fire it.   :-/

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Probably another good reason why not to spend a lot of $ to have your slide and/or barrel super-duper finished. You may end up having to give it up. KT will not reimburse you for what it cost to you to plate, chrome, blue, whatever.