Well, I got a 1G P3AT today (blued/black sn H03xx). It was at my local Gander Mountain. The sales clerk, who knows me fairly well by sight, whispered to me "You don't want that one, they jam all the time." I said, "Well, how about 20% off then, but no go." Anyway, it looks fairly new. Very dry, with only a little powder residue, maybe from their test firing. Very little wear on the rails, springs are stiff to pull back. My guess is this has only had a couple of mags through it. Came with a belt clip and magazine had a pinky extension on it. Only one thing concerned me. The barrel hood had a tiny angle ground off it, on the right side corner. Is that typical? Don't know much about the 1Gs except what I read here. Anything I should be looking for?
The second digit in the sn is the numeral zero, not the letter "O". KT avoids the letter "O" in their serial number just to eliminate this type of confusion. It's definitely a 1G. It does not have the frankenbolt. The slide is made from the hexagonal steel stock. The slide has the removable guide rod hole component. billj20, Pictures? It looks like every other stock 1G I've ever seen except for the pinky extension. Maybe I can get a shot of the barrel hood, but "angle" on the corner is so tiny, don't know if it will be useful. It seems to have such a low round count (appears almost new), I don't know if I want to shoot it. Even if I had the time.
Found my own answer at mouseguns.com http://www.mouseguns.com/p3atbarr/feedramp.htm These are some beautiful shots of the hood end of the 1G (FG) barrel. You can distinctly see the angle on the right side corner of the hood. Marshall, this is your work, isn't it? Thanks a bunch for a great resource and website, who ever is responsible.
OUTSTANDING FIND, Peaceful. You are now a proud owner of thee lightest, sexiest .380 ever built! I've got two, and I've always got my eyes open for another... Bought a 2G when they first came out for comparison. I gave it to someone in need after finding it reliable after 200 rnds to someone close. The 2G's are nice, but nothing like the original.
Shoot it!! If for nothing else to see if it is reliable. My 1G never was, even with a trip back to KT, fluff & buff, praying to the gun gods, all sorts of different ammo. My 2G is good. Can't say I want to own another 1G.
+1 to rhinokrk's statement. First Gens often require a little more TLC and consideration than the Second Gens do, particularly with regard to ammo sensitivity. They tend to work well with Remington and Magtech, but not like WWB. Don't even think about Blazer or Wolf or anything similar without a brass case. Be patient with it if it doesn't work right away. With a little TLC you too can have the lightest .380 ever made, and have it 100% reliable as well.
Thanks, too bad I didn't snag that 32naa barrel and slide you sold a few weeks ago. It's like the chicken and the egg, I had nothing to put it on then. Don't worry, guys, I will shoot it when I get some time.
I've had my 1st Generation P-3AT now for quiet a few years and it's never had a malfunction since I took it out of the box new. It's never been "fluffed and buffed" either. I wonder just how long I have owned it now? Lets see I've been a member of this forum long before it crashed back in the summer of 2004 'cause I re registered on September 7, 2004. So that's been over 5 years that I've owned the gun since then and I was a member for at least 3 years before that on the old forum. So I guess I've had the gun at least 7 years now. Not bad for a $250 gun. You newbies don't remember the crash of 04, now that was a mess. I wonder if they ever did find the guy that posted the naked picture over and over and over again?
The Asian guy? LOL I made him my avatar for a day or two just for laughs! Cropped for modesty, of course.
