[sincitymedic]

So I picked up a hard chrome P3-AT this weekend. Love it....small.....light.....unfortunately, after getting it back home & disassembling it, I noticed scratches on the barrel & parts of the chrome frame. Called Kel-Tec & they though that was pretty strange for it being a brand new gun. They suggested I send it back & they will replace the barrel & slide for me. First, I am kinda bummed that I will be without my little buddy for a short time. But, on a bright note, it is cool that Kel-Tec stepped up & is taking care of the problem for me.

I am looking forward to shooting the da*n thing! Can someone suggest a good range round for it? I think I remember reading that Kel-Tecs do well w/ S&B's. Am I getting old or is that correct? How about Winchest whitebox or WinCleans?

Thanks to all.....and for the info on site.

 

[Flyer]

Welcome to the Range!
Your P-3AT should like just about anything you care to feed it... and most of us use White Box for general plinking.
For carry I like Cor-Bon's load. VERY potent.
Flyer

 

[sincitymedic]

Thanks for the advice Flyer. I have decided to go with RBCD's. Awesome ammunition......similar to Corbons. Where do you score your Corbons from & what price should I expect to pay?

 

[flyandscuba]

Can you post some pictures of your scratches? Just wondering, but it is normal for some of the hard chrome to be "polished" on the barrel around the top of the chamber and about the middle of the barrel -- where the slide makes contact during firing -- leaving little "shiney" areas. This will occur even with test firing. Correspondingly, you see the same "shiney" marks inside the slide -- just in front of the ejection port.

These are normal wear marks and any top end you recieve from KT will either have them, or will have them once you fire it.

If this is what you have (sorry about the poor pictures -- best I could do in a hotel room) you might want to keep your top end -- which has been test fired on your frame -- rather than get one that might not be as well matched. If they've asked you to send the entire gun in, it will be test fired when you get it back -- and will have, to some degree the marks as illustrated in my pictures.

I might add that I have not had a chance to fire my HC P-3AT yet, so the wear marks are from Valerie firing one magazine at the KT factory after swapping out my blue top end.

Although the same contact is occurring in the blued guns, the visible effects are more pronounced in the hard chrome version. It looks to be more of a "polishing effect" rather than removing the hard chrome from the surface. Once it is done to this degree, it should not continue to significantly increase. I see it on my P-357/P-40 too -- that has 1000s of rounds downrange.

Hope this helps...

 

[J.R. Bob Dobbs]

Nice pix!

 

[sincitymedic]

fly&scuba,

Excellent pics......I will compare them with my actual gun when I get home tonight. Thanks for taking the time to post those.

:cheers:

 

[sincitymedic]

posting pic

fly&scuba,

how do I post pics in the message body?

 

[flyandscuba]

The easiest way is to use the "add attachments" when posting or replying.

The other way is to use the Img button to enter the address of a photo you have hosted on the web.

 

[bullseye]

Face mask

Flyandscuba
I use a disposable face mask when my indoor range has a lot of shooters. Works great and is not in the way....and they are inexpensive!
Bullseye (alias Cheap Charlie)

 

[sincitymedic]

fly&scuba (et al),

Sorry I didn't follow up.....I had some trouble w/ posting pics. In any case, my HC KT has the same markings as yours does. This makes me feel much better. Took her out for a spin at the range & she performed like a champ.

I got the Bersa extension from JR Bobs Dobbs & that does make it even more comfortable. The only thing thus far I am not too hot on is the belt clip. Installed it & haven't shot w/ it yet. It seems to make the gun a little harder to grasp. I question if it will but into my index finger or web b/t index finger & thumb. Should be interesting to shoot & give it a try, though. I am not a big fan of "the clip" in general, but this guy is so small & light, it is hard to pass up at $12.

Thanks to all for the continued help. :drink: