On the cheap, but very impressed..... Worth reading.

[Guest Southern Christian Armed]

Intro: I never do range reports cause everyone is different on how they handle a handgun, but I have to speak out this time....

 

Backstory: Im sure some of you saw on the news or heard of the guy here in greenfield, TN (Eric Mcallister) on Shades Bridge Rd that ran over his dad, tried to shoot his brother, and shot his best friend in the chest a few, three weeks ago. That was two houses down from me and close neighbors. I am a gun nut and my wife always thought I was nuts for keeping one by the couch, bed, shed, etc;. After that happened she asked me to help her get a carry permit. Keep in mind she has never shot a gun, period! That day I had traded for a taurus pt22. She shot it under my instruction and liked it. I just didnt like the idea of any .22 pistols reliability on feeding ammo. I tried to get her to try my 27, 23, 22, anything. She wouldnt shoot it. Moral of the story;

 

I traded for a keltec p11 yesterday. I have always been skeptical of a lower end gun. So before I trade I read all reviews on them (keltec). I found nothing but great customer service, great reliability, not great triggers (cause they werent 3.5 lbs) but didnt want that for her, great accuracy.. So I traded in hopes she would carry a larger caliber. This afternoon she agreed to shoot keltec and sell taurus if she liked it because I signed us up (her and her mother) for a private permit class this week. (dont tell her but I think it has more recoil than my 23 ;)

 

Her first ten shots in the slim, yet double stack mag keltec p11 hit center mass (excpt first flyer would have hit throat on the sillouhette target) all in 8 ring at 21ft (farthest qualifying distance and really farther than an encounter would happen). I was so proud and suprised out of a "keltec". So I loaded another 10rd mag, I limpwristed it, shot it sideways, and shot all blazer crap case ammo. I couldnt get it to fail. I even rode the slide forward to see if it would stop up on a non forceful chambering. It chambered as smooth as my 23. My m and p even stops up on slow easy slide racking.

 

Look, all I am saying is check one out for edc. I was amazed after 150 rds, she asked to shoot my .40 as she liked the keltec 9 so much. For the size, it is one accurate handgun. I kept all 10 rounds one inch left of bullseye in a 3 inch group at 21 ft. I will be looking for one for my edc cause all I ever carried was a 23. Next time you see a "keltec" for cheap, dont discount it.

 

These are just my 2 cents now, maybe 1.5 cents.....

Edited March 4, 2013 by Southern Christian Armed

[RED333]

Nice write up, thanks.

To each their own on "what" pistol.

If it goes bang every time, that is what I need.

[trevorst]

I had a PF9 (pretty sure that's the model of the single stack 9mm...). It shot lights out good, I only sold it because it had vicious recoil for what I wanted in a gun for my wife. Recoil issue was compounded by the fact that it didn't like to be limp wristed at all, an issue my wife may have ran into.

[Romad7]

Good story. We all like to debate brand, caliber, FPS, etc but in the end as long as a person is armed and comfortably so, that is what truly matters. If a person doesn't like their EDC then they won't carry it everyday.

I don't really like my wife's LCP (good gun just not for me) but its perfect for her and that's what's important.

[leroy]

Thanks for doin the review.  The Keltecs are good firearms.  There are lots of 'em walkin around in pockets all over this country.

I count that a good thing.

 

leroy

[Guest PapaB]

The best gun is whatever makes you want to carry it, as long as it goes bang when you pull the trigger. I've never heard of a bad guy asking what brand you're about to shoot him with. Good to hear you found one she likes. Job well done.

[Dolomite_supafly]

If she decides she like the PT22 better there is some great ammo to use for a defensive 22. I have the same pistol and I keep it loaded with Aguila SSS rounds. They are 60 grain bullets that fire out of a standard 22 lr firearm. They have several advantages over regular 22 rounds in a defensive role.
 
First and foremost is reliability. That is because these rounds have a shorter case. As a matter of fact they use the same case as a 22 short. And that shorter case makes it less likely to hang up during extraction and ejection. I have had several guns that will malfunction with regualr ammo but eat the SSS rounds up. The heavy bullet also excerts more pressure on the slide as it cycles which also increases the reliability.
 
Second is the bullet itself is both heavy and long. This helps with penetration. Most 22's use a twist rate of 16 which is plenty to stablize most 22 ammunition but not the SSS rounds. But because the bullets are not stable the SSS bullet will tumble. And because the bullet is .600" long as it tumbles it creates a wound channel that wide. I have chronographed them out of my PLY22 (the same as the PT22 except polymer) and they run ~800 fps which is enough to penetrate 8"+ into ballistic gelatin.
 
Here is a video of the SSS at roughly the same velocity as out of the PT22. Each square at the bottom represents an inch.
http://youtu.be/2T10BMy6oq0]http://youtu.be/2T10BMy6oq0
 
Although not the perfect choice I would have less worries about using a 22 loaded with SSS rounds over one loaded with anything else.
 
And just so you know Stingers are the worst possible round to use in a pistol for self defense. I have chronographed them out of several guns and they rarely reach 1,000 fps out of a pistol Combine that with their 32 grain bullet and you have 22 short performance with a lot of noise. Out of the PLY 22, if I remember correctly, they were less than 900 fps and would not cycle because of the lightweight bullet. Stingers need barrel length to get their velocity to the advertised velocity.
 
The next best 22 round would be the Velocitor by CCI. Only because it is a heavy bullet that has a higher velocity. It is not as good as the SSS but it is better than anything else out there.
 
Dolomite

[hipower]

Dolomite, thanks for the comments on the Agulia SSS rounds. I have a little Pt22 that I traded into and was looking at some of the different 22 rounds available and trying to (find as well) decide what to use out of it.

 

Don't wan't to have it as anything but a last resort hidden gun at home. And no, it's not the only one. Just the last one for my wife to get at in hurry.

[TMF]

I also have a P11 I picked up used in less than awesome shape, bit it goes bang each time I pull the trigger and the wife can operate it just fine. For the price I would recommend it as well.

[tercel89]

SWEET and nice write up  ! Thanks !

[tercel89]

One of my buddies at work carries the same gun on his ankle every day as his back up to our G22 . He has carried it for at least 5 years and it has been flawless. Reading this now makes me wonder about getting one , damn there goes more money LOL !

[Guest Southern Christian Armed]

I will sell you this one tercell89 :) I know I traded you a glock 23 I want back lol. Everyone else, thanks for the response. I thought i'd get a lot of " we heard this before " lol . Im serious tho. I polished the feed ramp cause on wolf hollowpoint it had that nagging drag on chambering. It now feeds any type i have tried with a six year old racking slide and riding it forward. Good gun in my opinion. Only bark is its only 5 ounces lighter than fully loaded g23, but smaller in size  soooo...... Im not a professional gunsmith or do I know everything, but am honored yall liked my write up.

[graycrait]

http://goldenloki.com/gunsmith/keltec/fullrp.htm

 

http://gallowayprecision.com/kel-tec-performance/pf9-and-p11-performance-parts/