Kel-Tec P-3AT Reviews

by **JayC** » Sun Mar 27, 2011 2:27 pm

Great little gun for the money & yes, the .380 will defend your life. The gun is so light, when you first fire it, you realize how much power a 9mm short (.380) has. Mine has never jammed, but I use quality ammo. I must admit, it is difficult to nail a target with a DA only gun like this. However, in all likehood, Mr. Bad Guy will be close & the Kel Tec .380 will deal with him appropriately !! The Ruger & Taurus are just direct clones. Buy the original from Kel Tec. 5 stars

by **mthasty** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 11:22 pm

Have first generation P3AT, maybe 300 hundred rounds thru it over the years. After firing yesterday and while cleaning the extractor came off. Is there anything that holds it in place I just put it back together but worried about shooting. I know the first gens had problems but none for me but this. Any advice?

by **kkassim** » Thu May 12, 2011 4:10 pm

I carry the P3AT. Practice at least twice a month with it. Never a problem and amazing how accurate you can become with this little gun. One shot killed a coral snake at about 15ft and just last weekend went 2 for 6 on 100 yrd iron pig. Always in my pocket. They only bad thing it is so light that i can't stand to carry anything else. still going strong after 500 plus rounds.

by **Shep86** » Thu May 19, 2011 1:50 pm

I have had my Kel-Tec p3at for about 4 months now and put about 300 rounds through it. Haven't had any malfunctions whatsoever out of it. Have used Remington, Winchester, and Federal FMJ 95g Round Nose and Hornady Critical Defense rounds without any FTF or FTE. Overall great gun would highly recommend! It is my fiance's CCW and mine when i go out w/o her. Overall great gun!

by **tjseveryday** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 9:15 am

Using a pocket holster, this gun is so small it looks like an iphone in my pocket.

Accurate to about 7-10 yards, which is all you should need it for.

It's VERY finicky. It doesn't like JHP, it doesn't like the longer 10-round clip, it doesn't like it if you hold it to firm or too loose.

Overall, it's a good summer shorts carry weapon. But I feel like it might let me down when I need the most.

I would not buy this again.

by **akelelias** » Thu Oct 27, 2011 7:11 pm

Bought a Kel-Tec P-3AT in 2007 and ran approximately 250 rounds through it and all kind of issues. Failure to feed, Failure to eject and stove pipe. I just recently sent it back to the manufacturer (Lifetime warranty) and they replaced the slide, barrel, they polished the feed ramp, and all kind of internal parts. Upon arrival, i shot 50 rounds and got 5 failure to eject using Winchester flat head from wal-mart. No more failure to feed but still jams. Although their customer service is first class, it appears that when you buy this gun it's luck of the draw. You either have a winner or have a terd. I will not trust my life to it. Today, i ran 50 rounds of Remington U1B, 50 rounds of Federal FMJ and 50 rounds of Remington AP round head and got only 2 failures to eject out of 150 rounds total.

by **teufdog79** » Fri Oct 28, 2011 1:04 pm

I've had my P3-AT since Oct 2006 and shoot it without issue. Recently I took my niece and her husband to the range. Everytime he shot my P3-AT, the pistol would jam in one form or another. I would clear the jam, then shoot several rounds without incident, then have him try again with repeated failure. I think the problem is that he's taller and has larger hands than I do, not allowing him to properly grip this small pistol. We had no issues with the other pistols. On another point, I use Speer GoldDot 90gr, GDHP for defensive carry. I have no issue with this ammo when shooting at the range.

by **lastrebel** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 11:30 pm

Just picked up P3at up today wanting a `summer time `pistol. magtech 85 grain jhp +p cleaned it put togther easy .hot packed in lot grease like my ruger lc9 was . cant wait try it pd 240.00 for it I wish was rubber back off handel .this weapon was not desighned some one big fingers maybe kelte should move trigger guard up farther.?

by **Nobby** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 10:54 am

I like my P3AT. It's reliable and easy to carry. However, it's downright painful to shoot. My trigger finger is tenderized after only two mags at the range. Since the frame is so light, the recoil causes the triggerguard to hit my finger after every shot. I realize this is not a range gun but you should still be able to shoot more than 12 rounds at a time without abandoning it for the day. In an emergency I supposed you wouldn't notice the recoil, but the only way to be ready for an emergency is to practice. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to get any meaningful practice with this gun without wearing a glove...which you probably won't be wearing during an emergency!!!).

by **ely-medic** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 9:07 pm

Great gun !!!!!!!!!! only one this small you can (per the manual) run +P ammo thru. after around 2500 rounds 1 fail to feed. (first mag) fits my hand better with the 9 roun mag. 3" grps at 30 feet is my norm 4 or 5" rapid fire. must say with Buffalo Bore 380 ACP +P 100 Grain Flat Nose kick is a bit more than my wife wants but as my CCW loaded with them I tinnk all is well.