Thursday, December 08, 2005

Mighty Mouse



So that's a Kel-Tec P3AT, and if you're at 1280x1024, it should be show approximately actual size.

In particular, here are the tech specs:

Caliber: .380 AUTO
Weight unloaded: 8.3 oz
Loaded magazine: 2.8 oz
Length: 5.2"
Height: 3.5"
Width: .77"
Capacity: 6+1 rounds
Trigger pull: 5 lbs

Actually my trigger pull is a bit less than 5 lbs, and as good a DAO pull as any other pistol. Of course if it was crap, Kel-tec would fix it. They have an unlimited, no questions asked lifetime warranty, even for a not so hot trigger pull.

Oh, and it was only $210 for the parkerized version (about $40 off the going price and about $135 off MSRP).

So I bought mine at the gun show on the 3rd, then this past weekend I put several hundred rounds through it. During the break-in I never had a failure to feed or eject, never had a stove pipe, and had two ignition failures (both fired on the second pull) with the first box of ammo I ran through it and none afterwards so I'm guessing it was the ammo. I need to put another 250 rds through it for break in and to be REEEEALY sure.

First I just tried out a general shoot and reliability test with 100 rounds of white box. I also grabbed five 20rd boxes of various premium hollowpoint ammo, plus a 50rd box of the canonical .380 silvertip; and I shot all of them for groups to see what it liked best.

At 10 feet, all of the loads were a bit low and to the left for every shooter who tried it. The worst groups were with the remington premium at about 4”, and most of the rest were somewhere between 2 and 3.. except one that went into maybe 1.5”

It was a Winchester, but it wasn’t the silvertip like I expected (though it did come in second). The best groups were from the Winchester Premium Super-X SXT (the relabled black talon); which was actually the cheapest of the premium brands I tried out (though not by much).

Oh and I should mention, it's DAMN fun to shoot. Even with the hottest HP's (1000 fps from a 95gr bullet) it was a handful, but fun and snappy; without pain or too much jump.

I also grabbed a pocket holster and a little IWB, neither of which I particularly like, but both were $10. I’m looking for a decent replacement for each. I also grabbed the little pocket clip attachment, but it cracked while I was attaching it... of course remember Kel-tec has that lifetime warranty...

This little sucker is now my pocket gun/backup gun. Don't leave home without it.

Update: Interesting comparison graphic on the high road forums. I happen to own a Kahr, and it's my small carry piece. I appreciate the extra power of the 9mm and .40, but none of them (except the almost vaporware, damn near platinum plated rohrbaugh) disappear into a jeans pocket.