Kel-Tec P-11 reliability

D

DW Altom

Inactive
Got a P-11 as an alternative to my J-frame .38 ... took it out for some test shooting and got a little worried when it exhibited misfires galore with Sellier and Bellot ammo. About 1 out of 3 rounds I had to pull the trigger twice before it would fire. Everything else seems to work fine, though; no misfires at all on Winchester white box and some other stuff I had. I guess that means I need to stay away from S&B ammo, huh?

I understand early P-11s suffered light hits on primers all the time. This one is a brand new hard chrome slide version. I wonder if I need to send it back or just monitor what ammo I load in it.

FWIW, while it's no P-7 or Glock, I like the Kel-Tec piece just fine for its intended purpose; close up and personal. Trigger pull is a bit long and seems more than its advertised 8.5 lbs weight. Still, at 7 meters I got groups that were just as good as my P-7; like I said, up close and personal.

If I keep it some customizing will take place. Had to do a bit of sanding inside the trigger guard to get rid of blister-raising sharp edges. That, and put on a hi-visibility set of sights ... Ashley Express or something similar. Pretty good for under $300.
 
I recently bought a new P11 too. The first 70 rounds or so, I experienced several misfeeds (but no double-strikes), with three types of ammo: S&B JHPs, Winchester FMJs and Wolf FMJs.

The next 80 rounds, however, it functioned flawlessley with all three types of ammo. I use the Winchesters exclusively for practice now, because they're cheap ($6.50 a box) and leave little residue. (The Wolfs were dirty, but they only cost $4.95 a box.)

[Edited by Curley on 01-17-2001 at 05:20 PM]
 
I have a parkerized late model P-11. In the first couple of boxes through it, it experienced two instances where the slide locked open on a magazine that wasn't empty. It hasn't done it since, and I haven't had any instances of failures to fire. I wonder if my thumb was pushed into the slide lock by the recoil. I've used MagTech (my favorite), Winclean, Winchester white box, American, UMC (dirty, but effective), and I think I put a few aging PMC Eldorado Starfires through it. Mine's a good little gun IMHO. I added a set of Uncle Mike's slip-on grips and the available finger extensions to the magazines. With those additions, it fits my hand like a glove and is very pointable. My pistol is small enough, accurage enough, reliable enough, and light enough for very effective legal CCW. I think it's a keeper.

If you continue to get FTF's, I'd consider sending it back for Kel Tec to have a look at it. I hear their service is great with a good quick turn around.

-10CFR
 
I'm not an ammo expert but I have been told by some that know a lot about it that S&B primers are a bit harder than most. I rented a Glock 26 at a range last year and got some S&B and I had 3 light strikes in a 50 round box. I had 2 light strikes with my P-11 at the range the other week with S&B. Never had a problem with other ammo.
I'm sure there are plenty of people who have never had a light strike with S&B, but just avoid using S&B in your P-11 or just use it for practice.
 
I had a P-11 for about 2 years, and shot it a lot. Absolutely no reliability problems after the first magazine or two.

If you haven't already done so, go to the Kel-Tec Owners Group website, http://www.ktog.org, for everything you wanted to know about P-11s (and P-32s) including tips on maintenance, improvements, etc.

I've since sold the P-11 and got a Star Firestar Plus. (The Firestar Plus is about the same size, 8 ozs. heavier, same capacity, but a LOT easier to shoot well. [Its a small single-action pistol with a very nice trigger.])

Never had problems with the P-11, but while I shoot pretty well with most guns, could never get much beyond mediocre with the P-11 -- primarily due to the long DAO trigger. It wasn't really the gun's fault; it was mine. But I wanted something I could HIT with, and the P-11 wasn't it, for me.
 
Definietly sounds ammo related.

If you get light strikes with other brands, or if you're just not comfortable with the pistol right now... send it back. Shipping costs are cheap compared to Peace of Mind. :D
 
I had one and put 1500 rounds through it. I was never satisfied with reliability. I used S&B, Cor-Bon, Federal, CCI, you name it. It would be fine for a hundred rounds or more, then it would, stove pipe, fail to feed, or the slide would lock back like it was empty before it was. Then the ejector broke. I sent it to Kel-Tec twice and while they worked on it free and pronounced it fixed, but they couldn't seem to understand that it took more than 4 mags worth of ammo to get it to malfunction.

Got rid of it. I would not bet my life on it. One thing I will say, it always fired the first round though, and I liked it. I carry a glock now, and would never carry an inexpensive pistol to defend myself with, unless I had too. After having went through all the trials and tests with several, I learned it's best not to chance it. Play with the Kel-Tec, but depend on something else. Just my opinion. I regret trading my 5 shot Rossi .38 for it.
 
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