My "Keyholing" Seecamp

K

Kentucky Rifle

New member
Well...my back finally got well enough to go try the Gold Dots in my new Seecamp. It appears Larry Seecamp was right. The Gold Dots make the keyholing problem MUCH better. While not completely gone, most of the bullets are spinning the correct way, instead of tumbling. :) However, there are still a few keyholes in the target at longer distances. I guess it's about the best I can expect from such a short barrel. Functioning was perfect. No misfires at all. The Gold Dots were much more accurate, also. "Head" shots were pretty easy at 10 feet. At five feet...well, church would be out for the bad guy. (If you know what I mean.)

Kentucky Rifle
 
KR, I've been scratchin' my head about that crimp business too. Are the Golden Saber bullets longer than the ones that keyholed badly? It still sounds to me like the rifling twist is wrong for the bullets being used. George
 
Mike and George

Mike: I really couldn't understand completely how the crimp problem with the Silvertips would cause keyholing, either. However, Larry Seecamp told me that when the "uncrimped" Silvertips hit the feed ramp, the bullet set back and caused the tumbling when it fired.
George: The ammunition was "Gold Dot" hollow point ammo. It was slightly shorter than the Silvertip. Also Copper jacketed, where the Silvertips are aluminum. For some reason, the Gold Dots were much better than the Silvertips regarding keyhoing. But there is still some indication that some bullets keyholed. That seemed strange to me. Most bullets hit just fine. A few tumbled.

Kentucky Rifle
 
Larry Seecamp just called.

Surprisingly, my machine just disconnected and the phone rang. It was Larry Seecamp wanting to know if the Gold Dots has solved my problem. This time we talked about 15 minutes. I told him that I had saved yesterday's target and he told me to send it to him and if it shows evidence of keyholing, he'll give me a new pistol.
Seecamp is a great guy. He knows about my back and has a friend who has the same trouble. He is a genuinely nice guy who concerns himself with customer problems. It's amazing!

I'm a little shocked,
Kentcky Rifle
 
My Seecamp had a severe problem with "keyholing" and the rounds would also shed their jackets after passing through cardboard. I still have some of this ammo left and there is NO possibility that they were collapsing. Have you looked at the rifling in your Seecamp? Mine had some very ugly spiral "grooves" running perpendicular to the rifling, just in front of the chamber. I suspect that the real problem is that the soft aluminum jacket is getting cut by this ugly rifling and opening up. If your gun still keyholes, (sometimes), with Gold Dots there is a problem that needs to be fixed.
I never considered trying anything other than Silvertips in mine since the paperwork that came in the box was adamant about the use of ONLY this ammo. I also wasn't one of the lucky few that Larry bothered to call/write/fax.
Sorry if I sound bitter but after waiting years, I expected more from this company.
 
Hey KY Rifle,

Next time you talk to George Kelgren at Kel-Tec, ask him if he's got any new upgrades planned for the P-32.
 
Alamo

I've never spoken with George Kelgren. What made you think I've ever talked to him? My P-32 has had only one problem. That was the metal guide rod deal. It just won't work in my P-32. After I put the stock plastic rod back in, everything worked fine again.

KR
 
No hidden meaning & sorry for the confusion. I was only joshing! You're the only person that I've ever heard of that got a personal call from Larry Seecamp. I figured that anyone that got a call not once but TWICE from Larry Seecamp must have great connections!! Hard to tell if someone is kidding by these postings.

He is supposed to be quite eccentric and a lot of correspondence to the company goes unanswered. I can vouch for that. I won't bore you with the whole story but I had a Seecamp on order from a gun shop that went out of business that I had put down a deposit on. I wrote Seecamp several times and even Fedexed a letter & never got a reply. They don't answer the phone, you can just leave a message or fax them something.

Did you ever get the new recoil springs from Kel-Tec for your P-32? I had to get a part for my P-11 so I went ahead and got a new hammer spring for my P-32, I heard it was a little stronger than the older ones. Haven't tried to put it in yet & compare it to the old one. Also ordered some extra P-32 recoil springs - .50 cents each. I called them last Monday and got them yesterday. They will ship orders under $10 by regular mail.


[Edited by alamo on 02-25-2001 at 10:29 PM]
 
Alamo

Glad we got THAT cleared up. And yes, I guess that you might be able to call him a little eccentric. I guess I am too. (Just ask my friends.)
I've heard from him three times now, including the time he sent me a free mag, a Seecamp Patch for my shooting jacket, and an enameled Seecamp Pin for my lapel.
However, I think our connection might really be an unhappy one. He has a friend who, like me, has a bad back.
This friend, like me, was told surgery was the answer. Now, after the surgery, instead of intermitant pain, the pain is constant. Just like me.
Sometimes, it's not so bad. Other times, I can't tie my own shoes. Seecamp told me that his friend couldn't return to being a cop. A hit in the wrong area means paralysis. Just like me. Sucks. Waiting for the other shoe to fall.

Kentucky Rifle
 
Sorry to hear about your back problems. Sounds like a bad situation. Be careful.
If you happen to talk to Larry Seecamp again, ask him about the Seecamp .380. I read articles in Gunworld & American Handgunner over a year ago about it and that's the last I've seen or heard of it.
Did you ever get the recoil springs from Kel-Tec? I ordered some along with a few other parts. I just finished installing them in a friend's P-32 here at the office. Just 2 of us here, we market group health insurance to small to medium sized businesses.
 
Tupperware/Alamo

Tupperware: I sent the target on friday via regular first class mail. (In a tube.) The postal counter guy said that if I sent it via priority mail it would get there saturday and I figured nobody would be home. He told me that by sending it first class, it would get there sometime today. Anyway, he hasn't called yet. I'll post when he does call. I don't expect it will be right away, but I do expect him to call. Sorry that your experience was so bad. I know it must be rough to be faced with that kind of disappointment.

Alamo: Yes, I did ask him about the .380. He just said they were "still testing". I think that the little pistol gets quite a battering from the .380 cartridge. Last night I set a .32 next to a .380 and the .380 is quite a bit larger. I think I read the same article you did. The author said that, "If blindfolded I don't think that I could tell the difference in the recoil of the Seecamp .32 and .380". Well, maybe not. However, it sure seems like there would be a BIG diffeence in recoil in a pistol that small. Another thing I read and found interesting was that the .32 and the .380 Seecamps are the same size!
No, I didn't order the new (and stronger) recoil springs for my P-32 yet. I'll try to take care of that tomorrow. Thanks for reminding me. My P-32 is loaded with Magsafes, and I'm sure a stronger recoil spring will be of great benefit if I have to shoot any more Magsafes.

KR
 
Stopped by a gunshop briefly today. They had recently gotten some new Seecamps - $600. I know you did better than that KY Rifle. I took a look at them, has been awhile since I held one. They sure are nice and you can even feel the size/weight difference from an Autauga/Guardian. The Autauga is 2 ounces lighter than the Guardian & Seecamp has about an ounce on it.

Looking forward to seeing what the Guardian .380 looks like. I'm guessing it may be about a Beretta 21 size. Maybe Larry Seecamp will have to make his .380 a little bigger. I remember the "Gun World" article where he stated that that the Seecamp .380 has an expected life of 1,000 rounds.
 
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