[barnstormer37]

Noobie here. 1st trip to the range with my new PMR 30. Wow, I was excited and ready to go put holes in the targets. 170 rounds of 5 different mfr. ammo. later it had over a dozen FTF's, several of them when the action locked open with rounds still in the magazine. A lot of them hung up partially into the breech, denting the casing. No failure to eject that I can remember, but wa-a-a-a-a-y too many did not feed. I started out taking notes, which of 3 magazines, which ammo, etc. Got to be too many failures. Used Federal Champion, Remington, CCI Maxi Mag, Winchester Super X, and some Fiocchi. didn't seem to make much difference which ammo or magazine. I will try again and attempt to be more diligent in my observation and note taking. I just kinda got taken by surprise and got so disappointed that I said to heck with it, too many failures. Yep, I used a speed loader to help get the magazines full (only put 20 in some of them), did the tapping of the magazine to seat the ammo as instructed by Kel-Tec. Thought I did pretty much everything right, results were terrible. I'm used to my 9 MM semi and .22 WMR/LR revolver working virtually flawlessly (neither one Kel-Tec), so I'm baffled as to why I spent almost $500.00 on something that thus far is super unreliable.

 

[Jinkster]

Stop...Breath...Relax...I feel your pain...I just had a bunch of FTF's with 50 of the 1,000rds of new ammo I bought for my new PMR-30 but?...

I'm a former Marine who loves nothing more than to be put in precarious positions that force me to...

"Adapt & Overcome"

The first thing that hits my mind is this...

With any semi-auto pistol I've ever owned?...(and I've owned a bunch)....it was like...

Don't even bother keeping score (read; "Judging The Gun") until the first couple hundred rounds have been pumped through it...and that was even with the greats like the dozen or so Glocks I've owned....they all needeed a few hundred rounds break'in before they came down with a bad case of absolute reliability and 1911's and Hi-powers?....make that at least a 1/2 case or 500rds...whichever comes first.

But there are 3 things I've wound up doing to each and every one of my auto-pistols to get them to the level of dependability I demand and they were....in order...

1. Pump a bunch of Break-In Rounds through it until you can cycle through at least (2) full mags hiccup free in conjunction with...

2. Try several flavors of ammo and figure out which it likes to dine on best and finally?...

3. Clean, Port, Polish, Lube.

Now that said?...if you've done all the above and the firearm is still less than reliable?...there's other things you can do...for instance?...recently (and just like you here) I had a very negative experience with an older model N.I.B. (never been fired) Ruger LCP I picked up for a song...$200...and it gave me fits...same issues as you're having with your PMR...but just a little massaging with some stones and polishing bobs in the right places?....

and now my little LCP is as reliable as the sun...

the center-body-mass shots in the pic below are rapid fire & mag change drills with the little LCP and nary a hiccup and it went bang every time...

I've only had my PMR-30 about a week...and hopefully?..steps 1, 2 & 3 above will cure it's ill's but if it doesn't?...I will dig deeper and not stop until it's 100% even if that means taking things to the same level as my now flawlessly preforming LCP but?...I've not yet met an auto-pistol I couldn't get to behave extremely well...well?...except Desert Eagles. LOL!

Hang in there....shoot....clean....polish...lube...repeat.....and BTW?....

It's also been my experience that the smaller and lighter the caliber?...the more break in rounds it requires to get..."Broke In".

 

[H2OMAN]

Does Kel-Tec test fire any of their new guns before releasing them to dealers?

 

[haugrdr]

Yes...KelTec test fires ALL their guns before shipping. I've watched them do it.

 

[barnstormer37]

"Does Kel-Tec test fire any of their new guns before releasing them to dealers? "

H2OMAN- Yeh, I've wondered the same thing. I sent a message to Kel-Tec pretty much the same as I posted here, included the serial number. Looking forward to getting their reply, maybe they will address the test firing thing. If they have as much trouble finding ammo as the rest of us, it might not be possible for them to do a lot of testing.

 

[haugrdr]

LOL...they have NO trouble finding ammo. They get a couple of full skids of ammo 2-3 times a week....4'x4'x4' skids just full of every kind of ammo you can think of. I have pictures of some of the ammo lockers around here somewhere.


Found some pics.

This is just a few of the many ammo lockers found at Kel Tec....

Racks and bins containing FULL magazines....

Test firing range...they are shooting them as the weapons come off the assembly lines. All day long...6-7 days a week.

Test firing KSG's....

 

[H2OMAN]

Yes...KelTec test fires ALL their guns before shipping. I've watched them do it.

Good to know... thank you!

 

[hank1231]

Was the gun well lubed before you shot it? They tend to come rather dry...
Give it a good scrub and lube it well and try again!

 

[H2OMAN]

Kel-Tec Factory Tour (April 2016)

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFjVBzC2er0"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFjVBzC2er0[/ame]

 

[barnstormer37]

Was the gun well lubed before you shot it? They tend to come rather dry...
Give it a good scrub and lube it well and try again!

Yeh, that's my plan. Clean and examine it, lube it and try again. Also going to assure that the magazines are clean, working properly, and are burr free. Think I'll get out an eye loupe and take a look at the feed ramp too. It's just that I'm disappointed that it does not function better right out-of-the-box.

 

[Jinkster]

Yeh, that's my plan. Clean and examine it, lube it and try again. Also going to assure that the magazines are clean, working properly, and are burr free. Think I'll get out an eye loupe and take a look at the feed ramp too. It's just that I'm disappointed that it does not function better right out-of-the-box.

Again...don't feel to badly...I've known friends to cuss, cry and suffer their way through their first 200rds worth of random FTF's and Stovepipes with their new $1,200 1911 format pistols and by the time they pumped 500rds through them?...they were grinning ear too ear and ya couldn't buy the gun from them with your fattest wallet! LOL!

Hang in there man...clean it...breath on it...polish it...smooth up the ramp and port a bit...lube it...show it some love and make it yours.

 

[6-b-kwik]

Hang in there....I got lucky mine ran great since day one

 

[barnstormer37]

Hang in there....I got lucky mine ran great since day one

Good for you. I know there are some good ones out there, that just adds to my frustration. Seems to me that it should work correctly from the git-go. I had too many failures to just chalk it up to being a random problem.

 

[H2OMAN]

Again...don't feel to badly...I've known friends to cuss, cry and suffer their way through their first 200rds worth of random FTF's and Stovepipes with their new $1,200 1911 format pistols and by the time they pumped 500rds through them?...they were grinning ear too ear and ya couldn't buy the gun from them with your fattest wallet! LOL!

I had the same issues with my higher priced Springfield Scout Squad M1A. Multiple failures, 4 warranty repairs, you would have though I bought a Jaguar. Smith Enterprise finally got it to run reliably, but I parted it out and went with M14s that were custom built on forged receivers with USGI parts. Thousands of rounds without a single problem with these custom built rifles.

I am hopeful that my new PMR is one of the good ones out of the box...

 

[6-b-kwik]

Good for you. I know there are some good ones out there, that just adds to my frustration. Seems to me that it should work correctly from the git-go. I had too many failures to just chalk it up to being a random problem.

Only ammo I use is hornaday v max 30grain ran great.

 

[hank1231]

I had the same issues with my higher priced Springfield Scout Squad M1A. Multiple failures, 4 warranty repairs, you would have though I bought a Jaguar. Smith Enterprise finally got it to run reliably, but I parted it out and went with M14s that were custom built on forged receivers with USGI parts. Thousands of rounds without a single problem with these custom built rifles.

I am hopeful that my new PMR is one of the good ones out of the box...

You seem to have the kind of luck I used to have...bad!

I recently purchased a Springfield M1A Scout Squad and, I'm sorry to say, it ran fine for me

 

[Jinkster]

This thread brings up a good point (in my mind anyways) and that point is....

As I reflect back on what was literally 1/2 century of exposure and ownership to an untold amount of auto firearms I (and close friends) have had experience with?....

As cookie cutter as the designs, manufacturing processes and quality control may have been?...with very few (if any) exceptions?....

They've all been a hit or miss proposition (to varying degrees)

IOW's?...when it comes to auto's?....you can get a bad anything...inclusive of the high dollar, top shelf, big name stuff.

The good news is....with perseverance and a bit of helpful wisdom?...any and all of them can be made to run just dandy...the trick is...figuring out what little thing may not be up to snuff.

I once knew a guy who pulled his hair out with a high end custom 1911 and weeks latter sold it to another friend for 1/2 of what he paid....and that guy?...put in a different barrel link and the gun ran flawlessly for years afterwards.

Patience is in fact a virtue when it comes to auto anythings.

 

[H2OMAN]

You seem to have the kind of luck I used to have...bad!

I recently purchased a Springfield M1A Scout Squad and, I'm sorry to say, it ran fine for me

Most M1As are good right out of the box, I just happened to get the one that wasn't. It's the only gun I ever had bad luck with... my perseverance to make it work lead me to Smith Enterprise and that's how I found out just how good these rifles can be.

Being aware of issues & potential problems before spending your money is really nice... having access to KTOG, and fellow members that have been there & done that is priceless. With all that I have learned on this forum, and my decades of experience with guns, I am confident my new PMR will run fine right out of the box. I ordered the PMR30-505 the same day I ordered my pistol because I knew a little extra pressure & velocity would be a good thing, and I really wasn't interested in the fireball.