[Buck]

I noticed a lot of threads on the other board where somebody had feed or eject problems and someone would comment that they should use better ammo.

I haven't seen any recent thread on what is recommended and not recommended ammo for the P-3AT, particularly economical fmj for break in.

Maybe we should post our results good and bad, with what ammo we tried. If that is definitively known, ammo problems can be clearly distinguished from gun problems.

I'll start by saying I've fired about 100 rounds with no failures of any kind. I used generic white box Winchester fmj and HydraShok.

As a sidenote, I just got in some Gold Dots being impressed by gelatin testing on the Marshall board. Compared to the HydraShok it has a larger cavity in the nose but doesn't bite as much as the HydraShok just running your finger over the nose at a 45° angle. I've switched to Gold Dots.

 

[Flyer]

Buck,
Welcome to KTRange!
Ammo does indeed affect the function of your pistol, but...
It's not necessarily the first thing to blame!
My P-3ATs have shot just about everything available. I hate to say it again, but the only problem has been with (ahem) Remington ammo, the UMC brand.
I've always had problems with Remington, even when others were shooting MY gun with MY ammo with NO problems. When they gave it back, it was malfunction city again. So, yours will probably like it just fine.
My favorite round is the Cor-Bon, followed closely by the Hydra-Shok and the Gold Dot. Of course, these are premium defensive rounds, and you'd go broke practicing with them exclusively.
Winchester white box is good ammo, and CCI Blazer works quite well with most guns. Sellior & Bellot is also good, and actually a couple of advantages over other inexpensive rounds... it's usually even less expensive, and is HOT.
In short, it may very well be the best practice round because it replicates the greater recoil of the more powerful hollowpoint loads.
Fiocchi is also good, but doesn't "feel" as hot as the S & B, although quality is excellent.
The only ammo I'd really recommend against using is Wolf, Barnaul, Silver Bear, and others that use steel cases. Not only does this Russian ammo tend to be VERY dirty, it could cause extractor damage and excess fouling from melted varnish, used to coat the steel.
In short, I try to pick my favorite "Serious" round, then find the cheapest ammo that resembles it in shooting qualities for practice. In my experience, S&B and Fiocchi win out here, at least for my chosen loads.
Flyer

 

[Midiman]

I haven't been able to find any Winchester around here... it's my preferred practice/breakin ammo. When I get my 3AT back from ballistic fingerprinting I have a few hundred rounds of UMC which I don't expect stellar results from but I probably shouldn't say that till I see it.. I have a bunch of the Fed. PD .380 and some Corbon. Will test it all in the first outing.

 

[flyandscuba]

Ballistic Fingerprinting??

Man! I'm glad I live in Florida! I guess I could really mess with them by swapping barrels amongst several P-3ATs.....better yet, give them the P-40 to "print" -- only to convert it to the P-357!

Does this mean that your P-3AT is coming into view over the horizon?

 

[KeysBear]

flyandscuba,
Man, do I share your belief that the gov doesn't need to know all that stuff. I wouldn't trust them to not mess things up and come around looking for the wrong guy.

Regards, Keys 8)

 

[angebar]

Everything I put through it has worked (I never tried the steel case ammo, and won't). I fired some yellow box UMC yesterday and it was pretty dirty.
It irks me that my brother can get 100-round Winchester value packs at Wally World and I can't get it in .380. He seems to ike it for the range.
Frankly I would like to buy in bulk (500-1000 rounds) it makes more sense financially. S&B offers it so I may try that next.

 

[KeysBear]

Ammoman has Federal .380BP JHP right now at $135. for 500 rounds. Federal FMJ is $89. for 500.

http://www.ammoman.com

I've had good turnaround service from them.

Makarov.com has .380 Aguila FMJ at $18.00 for 100
They sell many calibers of ammo including .32 ACP, 9mm Luger, and .223 Remington.

I've had good turnaround time from them also.

http://www.makarov.com/cart/vitemammo.htm

Regards, Keys 8)

 

[angebar]

Thanks Keys!
You're not helping the girls cook the turkey????
Barry

 

[KeysBear]

Re:

Thanks Keys!
You're not helping the girls cook the turkey????
Barry

COOK? :shock:
Store bought Honey Baked glazed turkey. Call me a non-traditionalist. They're in the kitchen chopping, slicing, and bumping into each other. Looks dangerous. I'm hiding in the den. :lol:

Regards, Keys 8)

 

[Flyer]

Keys ain't hidin'...
He's watchin' Mrs. Keys do all that twirling, twisting and camigallagalling.
As for ME, I've gotten so good at catching cranberries in my mouth I can throw one at the ceiling as hard as I can and snag it as it bounces back down at about 487 mph.
I plan on being able to catch bullets in my teeth soon.
I'll make the Ultimate Secret Service Agent. I'cn jump in front of the Prez, snag a sniper's slug right outta the air, then return fire at guy from 600 yards with my P-3AT, taking him imme-
Aww, shaddup, Flyer.
Flyer

 

[angebar]

Flyer,
What exactly did you put in those cranberries???

 

[Gnemesis]

I noticed a lot of threads on the other board where somebody had feed or eject problems and someone would comment that they should use better ammo.

I haven't seen any recent thread on what is recommended and not recommended ammo for the P-3AT, particularly economical fmj for break in.

Maybe we should post our results good and bad, with what ammo we tried. If that is definitively known, ammo problems can be clearly distinguished from gun problems.

I'll start by saying I've fired about 100 rounds with no failures of any kind. I used generic white box Winchester fmj and HydraShok.

As a sidenote, I just got in some Gold Dots being impressed by gelatin testing on the Marshall board. Compared to the HydraShok it has a larger cavity in the nose but doesn't bite as much as the HydraShok just running your finger over the nose at a 45° angle. I've switched to Gold Dots.

My take on this is that it is not so much a matter of finding what ammo works this the P-3AT so much as finding out the ammo YOUR particular pistol likes. Thus far I have used Fiocchi and S&B FMJ, Cor-Bon, Golden Saber, Win-Clean BEB in mine, and ALL feed well. My particular pistol just seems to shoot best with Golden Sabers, so for now, that is my carry fodder. As soon as I finish stage 2 of my rampectomy and am certain the smilies are forever banished, I'll be function testing RBCD, which is my preferred ammo in my P-32.

=jeff

 

[Buck]

FYI a white box Winchester supplier :

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ctd/...gid=&mscssid=428Q6M6B83A69GEAFLCWS6T8C42WBWA9

There is a gelatin test on the Marshall board with the P3AT where the Gold Dot penetrated 10.5 inches and expanded whereas the HydraShok and Corbon both plugged up with Carhart and other winter clothing, overpenetrated and behaved like ball, no expansion. My switch is based on that, right or wrong.

 

[KeysBear]

Buck,
I'm a believer in Gold Dot bullet design.

Regards, Keys 8)

 

[DDGator]

I have shot Win White Box, UMC, and Hydrashok -- all without a problem.

 

[CompanyMan]

I broke mine in with 100 rds of Georgia Arms FMJ and 100 rounds of Georgia Arms HP. Not a single issue. Now I have switched over to Winchester Ranger T. Works great. I have not seen any data on it, but Ranger T's perform tops in most other calibers, so I figure it's a good bet until the definitive data comes out.

On a side note, I'm a little P'd about the gun coming with only one mag and spares unavailble, I had to shoot qualification with a pocket full of rounds and keep topping off the mag! Luckily the Armorer took pity on me and let me shoot the backup revolver course rather than the auto pistol course. I simply could not do the mag change portions of the drill.

 

[flyandscuba]

Have you called KT lately -- regarding P-3AT magazines? I heard a couple of weeks ago that they now had them to sell. I bought a couple of extras myself off the www.gunbroker.com site.

 

[CompanyMan]

I have not tried recently, I will Monday, though. I only have to qualify annually w/my BUG, so I don't need 30 rounds on tap any time soon, but I would like at least one spare.

 

[Midiman]

Re:

Have you called KT lately -- regarding P-3AT magazines? I heard a couple of weeks ago that they now had them to sell. I bought a couple of extras myself off the www.gunbroker.com site.

I got spare 3AT mags from Kel-Tec a few weeks ago. Someday, it's rumored, I may be able to use them in something.

 

[oldgranpa]

Ammo check needed??

Maybe I'm worried about nothing, but let me know. I am concerned about poorly made ammo or poorly reloaded ammo being used in the P3AT without the ramp mod. If the primer has not been seated properly and is just slightly higher than the case, could it fire accidentally during a smiley hit? I've never heard of such happening with any semi-auto pistol, even though the breech slams against the cartridge during chambering, but a Swiss company expressed concern about it on some web site I saw once. A properly seated primer is supposed to be .004" below the top of the case. You can see this by laying a straightedge across the top and you should see light under where the primer is.

There are a lot of P3AT owners not on this site who are using the pistol for target shooting unaware of the smiley hit, which must drive the cartridge back against the magazine wall. If cheap, foreign ammo or poorly reloaded ammo with the primer protruding is used, is there a potential problem?? And some brands of primers are reported as being softer than others. There are also brands of ammo being sold by dealers that are reloads.

Am I worried about nothing? Those of you with lots of expertise on using reloads please tell me I'm way off. I hope I am so that our friends at the Kel Tec factory don't get in trouble some day because of the smiley problem.
In the meantime, at least look at the primer end of your ammo if you haven't done the ramp mod on your P3AT yet. I'm not concerned about this if the ramp mod has been made.

og....who worrys too much.