My wife recently decided she needed a pocket pistol, so the other day we took a trip to the range with my Gen 1 P3AT, along with a loaned LCP and DB380 for her to try. During testing, we both experienced a bit of trigger slap from my P3AT each time a round was fired, causing a slight bit of pain in the trigger finger. If you've ever shot a Century AK, you'll know what I mean. Neither of the other two pistols exhibited this. It's been a few years since I've shot the Kel Tec, but I distinctly recall this happening from day one because my wife nicknamed it the "owie gun" after she shot the Kel Tec. For the pistol's intended purpose, the condition makes no difference to me, but to her it was a deal breaker. I'm curious if anyone else has had the same experience and if there is a remedy. During cleaning that evening, I found some minor gouging inside the barrel running the same direction of the rifling. It's hard to describe them without photos. I'm not sure where those marks came from, but I'm wondering how it's going to affect accuracy. Thoughts?
Try putting some eletrical shrink tube on the trigger you should be able to find it almost anywhere. I did that with my PF9 and it seemed to help alot, I used 2 layers. Some people have sanded or reshaped the trigger but I don't know if that would help. The marks in the barrel probably won't cause any accuracy problem but it's hard to say for sure. The P3 is far from a target gun so if it shoots well I wouldn't worry about it. If you can take some good pictures you could try sending them in an e-mail to KT and post them here to be sure. CJ
My P3AT beats the snot out of the first joint on my trigger finger unless I place the middle of the pad of my fingertip (trigger finger) on the center of the trigger, then I don't have a problem. On the other hand, this doesn't feel very natural to me, but I do shoot it accurately that way so I don't care. If I grab it fast, draw and shoot, the first joint is on the trigger and that's when it takes a beating, but it does take around 20 rounds before it starts to bother me so in a S.D. situation it'll be a moot point. Accuracy seems to be the same regardless of which way I shoot it.
Funny, it's just the opposite for me. If I shoot the P-3AT with the pad of my index fingertip (as I shoot my other handguns), it gets a little uncomfortable after 4 or 5 mags. However, if I put the trigger right behind my first knuckle, I don't notice any discomfort and accuracy, for what it is with the P-3AT, is about the same. I mentioned this to my wife and she also found it much more comfortable to shoot with the trigger behind the knuckle. We don't have large hands or long fingers, so maybe that has something to do with it?
Many trainers will advise to shoot single action pistols with the pad of the finger and double action with the 1st joint. ymmv.
Yeah, I know the proper way and as I said, it beats the snot out of my finger, but feels right when I shoot it. The reason is that it's so darn small, putting the pad of my finger on the trigger leaves my trigger finger really hanging out there in the breeze. It even looks odd. I have very small hands and small fingers, but they are pretty long.
I was taught in Marine Boot Camp in 1960 to use the pad of the index finger to pull the trigger straight back , that if you use the first joint , you would milk the trigger and pull off to the right if you are right handed . And I have been doing it that way ever since whether with a rifle , shotgun, pistol or revolver .
Well, at least I know others have experienced the slap. Sounds like it's common so I won't worry about it. Thank you for the replies. Planning on having GoldenLoki perform the remainder of the reliability prep on my pistol, so I'll ask him to check the barrel and get his opinion on the markings.
