Keltec P40

stmcelroy

New member
I've read lots of posts discussing the P11. They all describe things that need to be "fluffed and buffed", does anything need to be done w/the P40.

Why buy a P11 in 9mm, when you can get a P40 in .40S&W?

Bought one lately and can easily carry in front coat pocket.

Let me know of any work I must do to make this gun realiable.

Thanks,
Steve Mc.
 
Keltec supposodly has ceased manufacturing the P40 do to reliability issues. The word on the street was that the greater recoil of the 40 versus the 9 in such a light pistol caused it to malfunction if people didn't hold it properly.
When the P40 first came out it used the same magazines as the P9. This was proven to cause feeding problems. Keltec soon came out with a unique magazine for the P40 and cleared up the problem. I believe that existing P9 mags can be modified for use by making a crescent shaped cut on the top front portion.
Keltec also made a 357SIG conversion for the P40s. I don't know if you can still obtain one from them.
 
You didn't say if you had any reliability problems with your P-40. Have you shot it yet?
I spoke to KT about the P-40. They said too many were getting returned that had nothing wrong with them, users were limpwristing. A light gun/powerful round must be held very firmly.
 
I never tried a P-40 but have exchanged a lot of emails with folks who have.

Guys who have some experience with handguns, and with the P-11 in particular, seem to like them pretty well. But an awful lot of folks bought them as their first gun.

The Kel-Tec P-11 and P-40 are not the easiest guns to shoot well, and limp-wristing can be a problem. The long double-action trigger is an issue, too.

(I had a P-11 for several years as my main carry gun. I shoot other guns pretty well, and could shoot the P-11 well when punching paper, but in an IDPA match, etc., I didn't do that well with it.)

The earliest P-40 has a bunch of problems, resolved by the members of the Kel-Tec Owners Group -- most of it was a modification to the feed ramp on the barrel.

There were so many returns of the P-40, for the reasons stated above (primarily inexperienced shooters) that Kel-Tec just stopped production. They're in business to make a profit, and a gun that isn't profitable is bad business.

If you're patient, you'll probably find it a good gun. But be prepared to practice. (But that's probably true of the similar Taurus Millenium guns, too.)

If you haven't been there yet, try visiting http://WWW.KTOG.ORG
 
Thanks for the replies.

No I haven't had a chance to shoot it. Just bought it last weekend at a gun store. Hope to get a chance this weekend.

Had plenty of guns, so limp wristing shouldn't be a problem.

Hopefully it'll turn out to be reliable. Seems like the ultimate gun for size to power ratio. Not to mention it holds 9+1 rounds.

Let you know later this weekend how it shoots.
 
I also own and shoot plenty of handguns and have done so for almost 30 years. I have both a P11 and a P40. My P11 is great, but my P40 has never been reliable (I can only occasionally get through a full magzine without a problem). I've tried it with a variety of ammo, magazines, etc. I've polished the feed ramp (which did help some), but it still jams regularly. I don't think blaming "limp wristing" or inexperienced users is the answer. My P40 often fails to feed the first round from the magazine (pull back slide all the way, release, round jams on feed ramp). I don't think limp wristing explains that. I plan to send my P40 back to Keltec to see what they can do with it (they've been very helpful on the phone and told me to just send it back to them). I hope to make mine reliable because I like the size, weight, and power of the pistol.

But, I would warn anyone considering a P40 to be ready for potential problems. Before buying, I'd try to at least cycle a magazine full of ammo through it manually to see if the rounds jam on the feed ramp (or get the dealer to do it in front of you). Maybe make up some rounds without primers or powder for this test if you can.

Doug
 
If you haven't already gone by the range yet & have the time, a little F&B should help some. This basically accelerates the break-in process. You can polish the feed ramp, slide rails and hammer/slide interface as well has check for burrs or anything that would prevent the slide from moving smoothly.

See http://www.goldenloki.com

Go to the P-11 link and see the "reliability preparation" link and the "lubrication guide". Proper lubrication is important with these guns.

If you have any problems, go to http://www.ktog.org and go to the "Bulletin Board" link. There is a P-40 forum there and there are several folks there that know P-40s inside & out and should be able to help.

Also have read a few postings at that forum about avoiding 180 grain bullets with the P-40.
 
I`m a big fan of the P-11 but I never warmed up to the idea of the P-40. The P-11 with hot +Ps is fairly brisk and I think for me anything hotter in a gun that small and LIGHT would somewhat reduce my ability to make good rapid hits. I`d rather put 2 +P 9mms close together than 2 .40s farther apart. Pluss ammo is cheaper which lets me practice a lot more. Important with little DA only guns. Marcus
 
Those are my thoughts exactly, I shot a P-40 once & didn't care much for the recoil & I wasn't as accurate with it as my P-11 .40 ammo is more expensive too. I'll stick with my P-11 & P-32. I'll have to get one of the new Kel-Tec SUB 2000s before long as well.
 
P-40 reliable?

I have a P-40, and, after doing a lot of work with it, still cannot get it to be reliable. I could accept the 'limp-wrist' explanation if there had not been the plethora of reports about the same problem, and because even KEL-TEC supports the 'fluff-and-buff' job being done by owners. I also have had an opportunity to fire other hot mini-pistols, and have rarely seen a malfunction. Maybe I'm spoiled, but, when I buy a NEW gun, I expect it to work properly out of the box. After all, it'ssupposed to save my life! Even my gunsmith, who resurrects some real junk, says he cannot make them function. (When I brough this up on the KTOG owners board, I got jumped on!) If you have one that works, great. Mine is going to be a paperweight::( Big D
 
I had an earlier P32 and two earlier P40s which were both very unreliable so I got rid of them.

I got another P32 and a P11 a couple of months ago and they are PERFECT so far. I have perhaps 500 rounds through each of them now I guess and no malfunctions.

Also my P40s were far less accurate than my two new KelTecs.

I think the situation is that KelTec has fixed the quality control problems that were previously horrid.

My two new KelTecs are fast becoming my favorite guns and I've had nearly a thousand at this point and shot a LOT more.

I am now a huge fan of the more recently made KelTecs and mine have had no fluff and buff -- they have been perfect so far, just as they came from the factory.
 
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