[bdbirddog]

I bought my P3AT back in January and had only fired about 35 rds through it until recently. I decided to go ahead and put some more lead down range to be sure it was well broken in and I wasnt going to have any problems. I went ahead and put another 120 rounds through it with only a few FTFeed, which I was pretty sure were caused by the gun just being really dirty. I hadn't cleaned it since the initial cleaning when I first bought it. I intentionally left it dirty just to see how long it would go before it started jamming. I didn't have problems for about the first 75 rounds, then the slide would just hang up a little bit. A small tap on rear of slide would usually do the trick. This was only once about every other mag or so. By the end of the whole 155 rounds it was happening about once a mag.

I broke it down and cleaned thoroughly. I went back to the range today and fired 2 full magazines rapid fire without a single hangup. I was happy. At the end of the second mag I looked at my gun. The small recoil spring was hanging out the front. Now I'm sad.

I guess she's gonna have to go back to KT. Does anyone know if they will upgrade me to a HC slide? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[TxCajun]

You should be able to just send the slide back in for replacement w/o having the hassle and expense of shipping the whole gun. A chrome upgrade may be possible but will probably cost around $75. Call KT service. 800-515-9983

 

[PshootR]

Sorry about your problem. The "Slide Upgrade Offer", $20 + your old slide gets you a hard chrome slide, expired a couple of years ago, IIRC.
But, it never hurts to ask. Tell 'em you love your P-3AT and are disappointed that the slide failed and, BTW, how much would they charge you to replace your defective blued slide with a new H/C one? Who knows, Kel-Tec likes happy, loyal customers. If you own other of their products you might mention that fact too.

 

[coltwin]

I called KT this week and asked the same thing but was told they no longer offer upgrade exchanges. Consequently, I'm trading my unfired P-3AT for a HC version. My dealer expects one in the next couple of days. I already have a HC P-32 I got for my wife.

 

[bdbirddog]

Thanks for the quick responses. I'll call KT in the morning and see what they can do for me. Hopefully they will upgrade me since they have to replace the old slide anyway. And I'll be sure to mention that I also have a sub2k and am interested in a pf9. Maybe they'll want to keep me happy. Thanks again, I'll give an update after I talk to them.

 

[adamsesq]

I think it would be fair for you to offer the difference in replacement price between the blue and the HC.

-Scott

 

[bdbirddog]

I absolutely agree with you Scott, thats what I intended. I know KT service is supposed to be great, but I don't expect free handouts. Sorry if I wasn't clear earlier.

 

[Guest]

I don't think kt owns anyone a free upgrade. maybe that is why they seem to be clamping down alot more to, as it seems alot on this board seem to ask for freebies. Recoil springs might be cheap but when kt has to package them and take time and labor and postage, those little nickle and dime freebies to us, ends up costing them a bundle. just my opinion. To me kt's "goodwill" is their lifetime warranty, why stretch it????

 

[Southernshooter]

Birddog
I don't know what KT will tell you about a HC slide, When I called they told me $220

 

[TxCajun]

When they discontinued the $20 HC exchanges, for a while the price was something like $70 - $75. An OLD P3AT parts list I have shows the HC slide priced at $90 ( w/o exchange). Surely that has gone up some.

Birddog
I don't know what KT will tell you about a HC slide, When I called they told me $220

I don't think this could be right.
If so, from the News section of the KT site, this would be a better answer:

ATTENTION ALL KEL-TEC FIREARMS OWNERS:

As of 2-21-05 Kel-Tec has suspended all finish upgrades for all firearms. If your upgrade request was made before the above date it will be processed. Kel-Tec will still produce firearms in parkerized and hard chrome finish but no more finish upgrades will be performed. (posted 3-17-2005)

 

[rjhauser]

when I wanted to purchase a second slide for the problematic one I had, I was told 90.00 blue/park or 220.00 hc

they said non negotiable, so my $$ walked. i can not spend 220.00 on a slide when 235.00 gets me the whole gun.

 

[TxCajun]

Boy, no kidding. The old P3AT parts list if have list P3AT slides as blued $70, parked $85 & chrome $90. APW must have doubled their prices when they moved to Alabama... extra shipping costs too, I would guess.

I think Bob Cogan (APW) does them individually for about $75, IIRC. Jocoko would know. Several folks have mentioned that it came out cheaper than the site says, for some reason. Plus, he does a nicer job (prep work) for an individual as oppposed to the mass qualntites done for KT. It's looking like he is the only viable "hard chrome upgrade" available anymore, which reminds me, I have a P32 slide I picked up a while back that I need to send to Jack.

Bdbirddog: Should you decide to go the APW route, wait until you have gotten a replacement slide from KT and you are comfortable that it is good to go before having it chromed. Still, if it ever did have to go back for again for some reason, KT would then replace your chrome slide and/or barrel with hard chrome.

 

[JFB]

Has any one ever asked Bob Cogan (APW) to repair a slide's guide rod hole?

I would think he could, then plate.

 

[TxCajun]

Perhaps he could. It may take a little time ($). :-/

 

[Guest]

Has any one ever asked Bob Cogan (APW) to repair a slide's guide rod hole?  

I would think he could, then plate.

that is a damn good question. I wonder what welding up that hole and redrilling it would cost??Also I wonder what the heat factor of welding extra material in that guide rod hole would do to the over all slide as far as possable warping etc. But still a good question. I doubt if it would be cheap in price as the slide would have to be refinished.

 

[JFB]

It cold also be as simple as making a boring bit to clean up the original drilled bottom hole, opening up the existing through hole and pressing in a harden insert.

 

[Guest]

It cold also be as simple as making a boring bit to clean up the original drilled bottom hole, opening up the existing through hole and pressing in a harden insert.

Sounds so simple... it should work. Maybe we can talk JFB into finding the right insert.

 

[JFB]

It would be basically the same concept as the nylon, but instead of trimming the washer to fit the slide, mill the slide to accept the insert and use a lot more force to push it in. As for material, I was thinking of one of the nickel silicon stainless steels. Antil galling, resistanced to cold forming (peening)

 

[bdbirddog]

Just got off the phone with KT, they said to send the slide in and they would replace it. I asked about trading it for a hard chrome and paying whatever the difference in cost would be. They said that they don't offer any kind of upgrade anymore and she didn't think that they even had any HC slides in stock right now. She recommended I take it to a local plater.(is that a word?) Bummer.

When I get my noisy cricket back fully functional maybe I'll go with APW or something like that. Any one know much about ceraguard? I've only heard a little about it and seen a few pictures that looked nice.

P.S. The lady at KT was very polite, although she sounded a little sleepy. Maybe too much 4th of July celebrating.

 

[adamsesq]

P.S. The lady at KT was very polite, although she sounded a little sleepy.  Maybe too much 4th of July celebrating.

Pizza lull.

-Scott