New Keltec Sub 2000 review after 500 rounds.

[Guest Xring04]

After wanting one for some time I finally picked up a new Keltec Sub 2000 9mm. I thought that I wanted one that used Glock mags, but after some consideration I settled on the Beretta mag version. (I wanted more options in the future.)

Upon first picking up the little Sub, I was surprised at how light it really was. It handled well, and the stock fit my frame perfectly. After handling the gun in the store I was impressed and decided to purchase it.

Upon getting home I disassembled the gun and was shocked at the amount of grease/cosmoline, coating all the internals. I swear I've seen less goop on Mosins fresh out of the crate. That aside I checked that the bore was clear, and decided to shoot it just as it came and see what happened.

After grabbing a couple boxes of WWB 9mm, and a few mags I was out the door to shoot.

I decided that my first shots would be at about 25 yards. I place the front sight right dead center, and found that my shots all hit about two and a half inches low, but in a nice tight group. I figured this was to be expected due to the sight height, and being sighted for a bit longer distance.

I moved my target to 50 yards and found that my rounds were still grouping nicely but about an inch low.

So out to 100 yards... and the rounds found their mark right on the center of the target making a 3 or so inch group. Not bad. All in all I pleased to see that at least on my Sub, the sights were properly sighted from the factory.

Now I knew that the sights were on, and any misses would be my fault, it was time to get down to the more fun aspect of shooting, plinking, and practicing defensive shooting. The next 450 or so rounds were shot in this fashion.

So after two days of ownership, and 500 rounds, what are my impressions?

First and most importantly, this little Sub is Reliable. I experienced zero malfunctions with the gun. 300 of the rounds fired were Winchester White Box, 150 were Winchester NATO loads, and 50 were Remington Golden Saber 124gr +p. During this test the gun received zero lubrication or cleaning. Even with all the factory goop in the gun, it never failed. It was however, a bear to clean due to this being a blowback gun, and all the goop holding onto the crud from the dirty ammo.

Second impression is that it shoots very well considering that it shoots a pistol cartridge and is so light. I was a bit suprised at how frisky the recoil was during rapid fire. The trigger is not great by any means, but is seems to be getting smoother with use.

All in all I am pretty impressed with the performance of the little carbine.

Uses of the gun.

For me, I plan to used this as a backpacking/camping gun. Since it folds to such a small package (7x16inches folded) and is very light. (4lbs) I think it will be a great backup to a concealed pistol when camping. I like that it uses inexpensive,readily available ammo and mags that I already own.

It is great fun to shoot and easy to take down to clean.

To sum it up.....

The Good.

Reliable

Inexpensive $350

Light and folds to a very small package.

Bridges the gap in accuracy between a pistol and a rifle.

Fantastic warranty.

The Bad.

More recoil than expected during rapid fire.

Fit and Finish are not the nicest in the world, but consider the price.

Blows dirt on your shirt when shooting. Nothing hit my face, just had a bit of carbon on my shirt.

Trigger could be better.

I would much prefer metal sights.

No review is complete with out pics. Forgive the lack of range pics. I left the camera indoors during my range time due to all the rain.

The first pic shows the Sub nestled in my backpack. As you can see it leaves plenty of room for spare mags, tactical trail mix, etc...

Here it is next to a 16 inch Ar with the stock collapsed.

[greenego]

After wanting one for some time I finally picked up a new Keltec Sub 2000 9mm. I thought that I wanted one that used Glock mags, but after some consideration I settled on the Beretta mag version. (I wanted more options in the future.)

Thanks for the review. I have also wanted one of these and was thinking of the Glock Mag. version. What future options would the Beretta Mag version have the the Glock wouldn't?

[Erik88]

Thanks for the review. I have also wanted one of these and was thinking of the Glock Mag. version. What future options would the Beretta Mag version have the the Glock wouldn't?

I was curious about this as well. I have so many Glock mags already that it wouldn't make much sense for me to get the Beretta version.

[JimmyMac483]

For the money, it looks like a great gun. Thanks for the review!

[Guest Xring04]

The Glock version, always has to stay a Glock. The Beretta,Sig, SW versions can be changed to one of the other mag catches by buying the part from KT.

[Mr. Brooks]

That's good to know. I have wanted one of these for a while and I didn't know that they were interchangeable at all.

[hipower]

Thanks for posting your conclusions. I also purchased the Beretta mag version, since I had quite a few left over hicap mags from my last Beretta pistol. I'm not sure I'd need to ever change out the mag type, but nice to know that possibility is available.

Haven't taken mine out yet, hope to real soon.

[greenego]

The Glock version, always has to stay a Glock. The Beretta,Sig, SW versions can be changed to one of the other mag catches by buying the part from KT.

Thanks for info.

[East_TN_Patriot]

I have the Glock .40 version and love it. It's a great little carbine. I added the Kel Tec accessory rail and the Kel Tec stock extension. I did find an aluminum trigger for it and that made a big difference in the feel of the trigger pull. I also got a buffer tube cover and charging knob cover from Tacticool. It makes a tremendous difference in comfort when shooting the carbine. If you visit the Kel Tec Owners Group forum, they have a pretty sweet Sub2K Porn thread with lots of pics of mods folks have done to their carbines.

[Spook]

XRing - tks much for the report. I purchased one from Dralarms (great guy to deal with, btw) and plan to take it out the first time this weekend. I have the Glock .40 version. If things go well I want to add a few accessories.

EastTN - got any pics?

[JimmyMac483]

The more that I look and this thread, the more I want one. The gun porn on the Kel Tec Owners Forum might have sealed the fate of $350!

[East_TN_Patriot]

EastTN - got any pics?

Silly me. I should know better by now. :doh:Here ya go!

This shows the location of the Kel Tec OEM rail and some aftermarket rails I attached to the foregrip.

This shows the Kel Tec OEM stock extension and the two add-ons I got from Tacticool.

Here is the aftermarket trigger I got from a fellow who runs AzTac, Inc.

And here is my complete Zombie Defense Kit that includes my 2nd Gen G22, high-cap mags, and RAT3 knife.

[Guest Xring04]

Never thought I would say this about a Keltec but.....

I really like the small add on rails on the original hand guard.

[East_TN_Patriot]

Never thought I would say this about a Keltec but.....

Come on, you know you want to.

Seriously, it's a really cool and practical little carbine. It's a very simple design and runs like a champ. I can't think of very many folks I have heard about who didn't like theirs. A lot of bang for your buck on these Sub 2000 carbines.

The OEM rail attachment is a small one that is just large enough to mount the TLR-2 light. The other three rails were aftermarket and I just drilled some holes in the grip panels and mounted them with screws. Kel Tec makes an actual picatinney rail forend, but it's a little pricey and usually out of stock. I may break down and get one some day, but I like my current setup.

The only downside to these is that it's very difficult to mount optics without giving up the folding feature, which is what originally attracted me to the rifle in the first place. There is a folding scope mount that Kel Tec offers, but it has not gotten very good reviews. There are a variety of homemade mounts and mods that people have tried. I just figure that with the laser and the peep sights, I should be good to go.

Edited June 22, 2011 by East_TN_Patriot

[qwkvert]

Red Lion makes a rail that rotates, allowing you to mount your optic, and rotate the rail(fore end) 90* to fold and store. Cool option.

[BryanP]

Nice. It makes me (almost) regret selling the one I had. I have no idea what the problem was, but no matter how much I adjusted the sights I never could get it zeroed properly so I sold it to another guy who loved it. Maybe it just didn't fit me.

[Guest nysos]

The more that I look and this thread, the more I want one. The gun porn on the Kel Tec Owners Forum might have sealed the fate of $350!

seconded

[Magiccarpetrides]

those are super cool guns...helluva lot cheaper then a 9mm AR and unlike the beretta and hipoint it folds.....DOH! Should have bought one of these instead of going AR crazy.

[dralarms]

Nice. It makes me (almost) regret selling the one I had. I have no idea what the problem was, but no matter how much I adjusted the sights I never could get it zeroed properly so I sold it to another guy who loved it. Maybe it just didn't fit me.

That's because the darn things were sent with the front sight canted, Kel tec was fixing them for free but you had to send it in.

[Steelharp]

That's because the darn things were sent with the front sight canted, Kel tec was fixing them for free but you had to send it in.

Is THAT what's with mine? It started with POI so far left, I thought it was built by a lib! I really had to move the orange sight piece way over...

[BryanP]

That's because the darn things were sent with the front sight canted, Kel tec was fixing them for free but you had to send it in.

Ah, good to know. I don't have any plans to buy another one, but it's good to know what the problem was in case I happen to luck into a really good deal on one.

[strickj]

This makes me want to get mine out.

Sent it in for repair probably three years ago and have never shot the new one they sent

[dralarms]

Is THAT what's with mine? It started with POI so far left, I thought it was built by a lib! I really had to move the orange sight piece way over...

Yep.

Ah, good to know. I don't have any plans to buy another one, but it's good to know what the problem was in case I happen to luck into a really good deal on one.

Good luck. Just don't buy a used one again. They have changed their warranty and now it only applies to the original owner.

This makes me want to get mine out.

Sent it in for repair probably three years ago and have never shot the new one they sent

If you sent it in for the sight problem I'm sure it's right BUT I would check it to be sure.

[Mark@Sea]

Handy piece. Put a flashlight/laser on one (.40), it is now my wifes' "bump in the night" response tool.

[strickj]

If you sent it in for the sight problem I'm sure it's right BUT I would check it to be sure.

It had a broken hinge.

It was one of the earlier models.