Kel-Tec P3AT magazine story

[Marswolf]

I dropped into a local gun store yesterday just to keep from working. You know how that goes....

Anyway, the owner knows I love the little P3AT. He had sold the last one he had this weekend for a whole bunch more than it should have cost, but that's another story. A guy came in and bought a P-11 and we started talking about holsters. This was a casual day, although I was in a military T, so there was no need for the USP 40 on my side. I had the Kel-Tec IWB. Showed him my Don Hume IWB holster and he liked it.

Then the subject of spare magazines came up. The shop had a P-11 magazine and I casually mentioned that I had a spare P3AT magazine with the finger extension that I didn't care for. I explained that when I carried the gun in my back pocket holster, the extension made it harder to draw the weapon. The flat baseplate worked better, but I couldn't find one when I needed it, so I had to get the finger extension one. The one-round extension for the magazine has the same drawing problem for inside pocket draw, BTW. Just something to keep in mind.

Then we spotted that he had a loose flat base magazine labeled for the P3AT in his case. Asked if he wanted to trade it for mine since it had never been used, just loaded. He agreed and I proceeded to try the magazine he had in my handgun. Fit perfectly, of course. So, I unloaded my old magazine and started to load the new one with my rounds.

The first round went in and then jammed tight in the case as I tried to load the second round. Had to disassemble the magazine to get the round out. Not good!

We finally figured out that the magazine was for the P-32. They aren't labeled for caliber. There is a tiny bit of width difference in the magazine. I'll bet the P-3AT magazine will work in a pinch with .32 caliber ammunition in a P-32, but we didn't try it.

He had some factory bagged P3AT magazines and we still did the trade, but If I hadn't already had those rounds in a magazine, I would have walked out of the shop with a magazine I couldn't use.

So, this is just a warning to check the magazine before you leave the shop if it's not in a factory sealed bag. Even old farts - I mean experienced users - like me can make a mistake if they aren't careful.