[sheebapuppy]

Hello, I have been looking at the P3at for a long time but the quality control issues seemingly have been constant with KT. I am looking for something to always carry with me and I have seen a Seecamp at 350 new in box and the P3at on cdnn for 210.00. But I am wondering how many P3's actually work when you get them? I don't want something that I will have to use as a stone and throw it at the bad guy. Does anyone have numbers of these guns produced? If they have 1ook of them out there and ten thousand are bad then they would have a failure rate of ten percent. But it seems to be much higher than that. Even though wealthy folks would say to throw 200 or so away is no big deal I don't want something unreliable to the point of being worthless. Do you folks regret the purchase? Thanks

 

[TxCajun]

See the list under my Avatar? They ALL work quite well. You are NOT buying a Seecamp 380 for that price ($350). They are about $800 but pretty much unavailable. I assume you are talking about a 32 cal. :-/

 

[Brewster6514]

i love mine. it goes with me almost always. only failure that i had was my fault (didn't allow trigger to reset). granted i don't have as many rounds through it as most of the guys here, but i trust it completely.

 

[Dolomite]

Mines required repairs twice in less than a thousand rounds due to short-cut manufacturing procedures and inferior vendor quality control.

Still, I cannot foresee not owning a P3AT - they are THAT superior of a pocket able gun.

The only thing that I'd trade in my P3AT for would be a 100% reliable P3AT. Like a Glock P3AT - if Glock made a P3AT - that would be a no brainer.

So yeah - ask yourself what qualities are most important in a mousegun, a BUG, a range buddy - whatever - and then pocket a P3AT and see for yourself what you think.

And most of them are reliable, they're not that bad Just remember that you're buying a lifetime warranty with a Kel-Tec. As a matter of fact, it's been a week since I sent my slide back for peening and I can't wait to get it back.

 

[sheebapuppy]

See the list under my Avatar? They ALL work quite well. You are NOT buying a Seecamp 380 for that price ($350). They are about $800 but pretty much unavailable. I assume you are talking about a 32 cal. :-/

Yes, you are correct. The Seecamp is the 32 new for 350.00. I also agree that the 380 is better than the 32. Nice image of Festus you have there..excellent show that I still watch. I appreciate your folks insight.

 

[TxCajun]

Nothing wrong with the Seecamps. They are well made guns. The only advantage Kel-tec has over them is price and weight.

 

[TxCajun]

Mines required repairs twice in less than a thousand rounds due to short-cut manufacturing procedures and inferior vendor quality control.

That is really a byproduct of two things, IMO.
1. A sub-$200 wholesale price.
2. An 8 oz 380 acp pocket gun.
There is a reason that no one else makes one.
It is REALLY pushing the envelope like NOTHING else.
Don't hold your breath on the Glock, or anything else for that matter.

 

[rjhauser]

the glock 380 is a brick anyways....

:-/

 

[TxCajun]

Glock 380? I thought they were not sold in the U.S. but hear that a few have made it in. What's the story on that?

 

[The_Fall_Guy]

Welcome to Ktog ;D

All guns have their problems, and a large percentage of Posters only post when they have problems. If you don't have a lot of experiences with pistols, then the P3AT may not be right for you. You may want to get a boring trouble-free P32 or P11.

IMHO you shouldn't buy this gun, unless you are willing to learn how it works, how to maintain it, and when to send it back.

Having said all that, I heart my P3AT 8)

 

[sheebapuppy]

Thanks for the friendly welcome. I am an NRA Instructor and I have lots of normal sized guns but I have always wanted a Kel tec..but then I read about complaints and say no. But you are right, all you hear about are complaints and all guns and anything else made by man has problems. I am sure there are lots of P3at out there that people love. I have family that had a boring P11 and never had a problem at all. I am heavily leaning towards getting a P3at because of this group and the support that seems very helpful like a family should be with their firearms.

Welcome to Ktog ;D

All guns have their problems, and a large percentage of Posters only post when they have problems. If you don't have a lot of experiences with pistols, then the P3AT may not be right for you. You may want to get a boring trouble-free P32 or P11.

IMHO you shouldn't buy this gun, unless you are willing to learn how it works, how to maintain it, and when to send it back.

Having said all that, I heart my P3AT 8)

: :-/ :-/

 

[TxCajun]

In the unlikely event that you missed this thread, there are currently some serial numbers from this past Fall that I would avoid. At least a small percentage of them have had some issues with slide peening around the guide rod hole and a few have actually failed. I think current production is probably fine but would wait a bit to verify those serial numbers:

http://www.ktog.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=104;action=display;num=1174849102

 

[alamo]

Does anyone have numbers of these guns produced? If they have 1ook of them out there and ten thousand are bad then they would have a failure rate of ten percent.

2004 is the latest year figures are available right now. It was the first full year of P-3AT production. The probably made more in 2005 and 2006. Check out the Seecamp and NAA Guardian numbers.

http://www.shootingindustry.com/02pages/SpecRep3.html#Anchor-35882

This table is pistols only, doesn't include revolvers and is U.S. manufacturers only.

 

[radio_tek]

The 2nd generation P3-AT that I own is my everyday carry gun. I have about 400+ rounds fired with no issues. I did not do a Fluff and Buff, just took it out of the box, lubed it a little, loaded and starting shooting. Broke it in with around 300 rounds of WWB ammo, now I just shoot the carry mag and one extra mag at the range about 2 times a month and then give it a full clean and lube. This is not in my opinion a range gun meant to have a high shot round count, but a little powerhouse that is in a class by it self. I feel mine is good enough to bet my life on.

 

[Guest]

probably one good reason glock won't make the 380 like the kt is that they are made in austria and the way the 380 kt is made there is no way it could come into this country under the points system. (the standard glock 380 can't be sold over the counter in this country because it doesn't meet the requirements) I can't see glock making a factory to make 380 minis in this country. The expense would be to great. Now someone like Ruger or Smith certainly could buy kt in a heartbeat and continue with their models as most of kt's models don't conflict with Ruger or Smith anyway, price would certainly go up, but hopefully so would the quality also. IMO

 

[sheebapuppy]

Does the chrome slide make any difference in reliability of the gun? There is a fifty dollar difference in price but if the gun would be better it may be worth it. What about this peening? Thanks

In the unlikely event that you missed this thread, there are currently some serial numbers from this past Fall that I would avoid. At least a small percentage of them have had some issues with slide peening around the guide rod hole and a few have actually failed. I think current production is probably fine but would wait a bit to verify those serial numbers:

http://www.ktog.org/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=104;action=display;num=1174849102

 

[marcopolo]

On the P32 page, TxCajun listed a topic called "Teddy's Rant" that links to noted gunsmith Teddy Jacobson. Teddy compares the KT to the more expensive NAA and he feels the KT is a much better made gun (he even lists NAA owner's comments about problems) Elsewhere on his website Teddy talks of problems with Seecamps.

I think the KT line is quite remarkable. These guns make carrying possible for so many who would otherwise not be able to. For those who can't or don't want to work on them, I think an alternative would be to have a gunsmith tune them. Even if that doubled the cost. it would be a bargain. For people like me who love to tinker with their KT, the fact that you can even do so is sort of an added benefit.

I think we need to keep in mind that, for what these guns cost, nothing can touch them. If people who worry about their quality did a little homework on problems with other brands, I think any margin between KT and higher priced brands would be small.

I suspect the price for Keltecs will rise in the near future as more states allow their citizens to protect themselves with concealed carry and more people avail themselves of the opportunity the Keltecs give them to do so.

 

[marcopolo]

sheebapuppy:

Many feel the hard chrome does indeed contribute to reliability. I look at it as getting a factory fluff and buff as the chrome coating sort of smooths out all the metal parts. Also, if you're going to carry much, the HC practically eliminates the daily care your KT would need to avoid rust.

As far as peening, read the very first topic on this board. Hopefully the problem has been fixed but there are probably a lot of pistols with problem slides still in gun shops.

Marco

 

[alamo]

Does the chrome slide make any difference in reliability of the gun? There is a fifty dollar difference in price but if the gun would be better it may be worth it.  

It can be a bit more reliable to the extent that the surface of the chrome is slicker than the blue version and it can help a bit when the pistol is not lubed well or the lube wears off & crud builds up in a shooting session.

Here a less expensive alternative to chrome that many on this board have done - nickel plating by Jack Fuselier:

http://www.gunsmith.fuselier.com/slideoffer.html

http://www.gunsmith.fuselier.com/