Product Review: Kel-Tec P3AT (After 6 Years)

Shooting footage! YEET!

I've had this pistol since 2013 and ran it like crazy over the years, easily over a thousand rounds. What a wild ride its been. Today I will do my best to give an honest review and the history of my second EDC pistol.

photo by Oleg Volk

I purchased it in 2012. My first carry firearm was an Armscor .38 spl revolver, the M206. It was heavy, bulky, but it was adequate at the time. 

That wheelgun was on my hip and man bag for more than a year and I felt that a change was needed. 

Back then the Kel-Tec fever was in full swing as it revolutionized the pocket pistol world. Reviews of their guns were all over YouTube like Nutnfancy's P3AT Review. He's controversial, but I think he's a fun guy and has his heart in the right place.

Oleg Volk released iconic photography for the little pocket pistol.


RISE of the .380 ACP

The Ruger LCP made its debut soon afterward. Sites like Brass Fetcher, Poboyspecial and PocketGunandGear were around this era as well. Tests for the viability of the .380 acp helped a lot of firearm owners to rethink this cartridge.

Today it is considered to be the minimum caliber for personal protection.

Specifications

EDC lineup circa 2013

• weight: 7.7 oz

• overall length: 5.2 inches

• height: 3.5 inches

• width: 0.77 inches

• magazine capacity: 6

• caliber: .380 acp

Rough Start

I had to return the pistol to the company that I got it from for a week right after buying it. The gun had at least 1 failure to eject in every magazine for the first 200 rounds. That freaked me out. They fixed it and gave it back to me.

I started carrying it and trained with at least 100 rounds a month. That is a lot as far as pocket pistols go. 

Strong Points

This was indeed the lightest and most concealable pistol that packed a reasonable punch.

The P3AT was so light I could wear it on my BOXER SHORTS or go jogging with the help of that nifty belt clip and soft holster. It could even hide behind a big belt buckle with a little creativity!

As long as I'm awake, I could actually be armed 100% of the time.


Challenges

The pistol's sights were practically nonexistent but that wasn't a problem. I was determined to shoot it well and I was able to reach an acceptable level so it saw tons of range time.

The long trigger pull is part of the firearm's safety so it was a bit tricky for guys like me who are used to single-action triggers. Good thing the break at the end was predictable enough.

Recurring Problems

Trouble seemed to follow me in the form of infamous malfunctions such as the "P3AT Smiley". Google it or click that link to see what I had to endure. There were Failure to Feeds as you'll see in the video below and the FTEs had returned about two years later.

An old friend Huey's Gunsight also FTE issues but I'm really glad he was able to solve it.

not again

I also had light primer strikes, but they only happened on the reloads and magtech ammunition. 

The slide stop takedown pin also broke at least 3 times. I don't live in the USA so I had to wait a few months for me to travel to Oregon and order parts from Florida.

To their credit, Kel-Tek's customer service phone number people are VERY helpful. They even answer their email. I got a few replacement pins for free and I could hear their smile from the other side of the line. Thank you.

A few years after I mothballed the pistol it would finally light strike every single time. I believe the hammer spring had finally worn itself out. Sadly that would mean I would have to order parts from the plant again. 

The Good Times

When it was good, it ran well. Perhaps I was expecting too much out of this little gun. I was running it IPSC style fast and hard. I could ring steel plates at 15 meters, double tapping paper at point blank or in-between no-shoots. I was John-Wicking the thing because I needed to.

I made this video to remind me that there are many P3AT owners who have had nothing but good luck with their purchase. Perhaps they're the majority and I was just unlucky.


Hindsight is 20/20

I don't regret this whole experience even if I still feel a little bad about it because I wanted to make it work. And for a time it did.

This gun would have served me better if I had spare parts that could be delivered to me quickly. They're all minor parts. A few springs and pins, who cares? Well, I live in the Philippines. Oops.

For those who have proper support and who are among the majority of these pistols that work FLAWLESSLY, then you have an ideal backup pistol. There's loads of positive video reviews out there to prove it.

It was a tough relationship, but we made it WORK

All of this has taught me to put reliability out of the box at the very top of my requirements for any gun. Even if its a little heavier, I'll find a way. As long as I can trust it 100%, then its worth the minor inconvenience.

I still haunt the KTOG forums (Kel-Tec Owner's Group) and see that most of the guys there are happy with their purchase, especially with the later production models. 

Since then I've moved on to carrying a fantastic carry gun that has never ever let me down.


Stay vigilant!

I'm on Instagram!

Click here to find my Instagram account

I enjoy photography. There are entire afternoons where I line up my gear and snap a few dozen shots.  My favorite subjects aside from cool gear are my pets, home, and travel.

More than a decade ago there was Flickr which was cool. Today we have Instagram.  As ya'll know by now I'm not really trying to boost my own signal. I'll put some of my stuff there because it makes me happy.

I'm basically using a few platforms to keep tabs on possible outbreaks, contagion, disasters, terrorism, and basically all kinds of boogaloo. For equipment and combat related eye candy and trends Instagram and Pinterest come in handy.

If anything, its another fun way to keep my eyes peeled and gather more intel.

Hey cool, this is some kind of a milestone. Thanks for sticking around!



Stay vigilant!

Smashing Coconut Test IV: Marlin XT-22 YR (Youth Rifle)

press "play" to watch the video

The humble .22LR, its the smallest, cheapest, and most readily available cartridge worldwide. We also put it in one of the smallest rifles you could buy. Is it up to the task?

Dear friends, I present to you the Marlin XT-22 YR. I got this for my daughter, and on her first day she was landing hits on 2 inch targets at 35 meters. She was 5 years old at the time. I bought it at PB Dionisio. 

Features:

• Caliber: .22 Long Rifle

• Capacity: 7 shot detachable magazine, compatible with Marlin's 10 round magazines

• Pro Fire Adjustable Trigger

• 12 Inch length of pull suitable for children

• 1:16 twist rate, 16 1/4 inch Micro-Groove barrel 

• Weight: 4.5 pounds 

• Adjustable open rear sights, ramp front sights, receiver ready for scope mounting 

Objectives: 

• Will a youth rifle loaded with subsonic ammo take down the UNDEAD??

• How does it perform with a suppressor?

• Compare loudness between high velocity and subsonic ammunition.

The targets: FOUR coconuts. husk removed. ripe for maximum shell strength

Introduction

Click to zoom

The effective range of .22lr is traditionally between 50 to 100  yards depending on the sighting system or riflescope being used. For this test, we are using the Leapers UTG 4-16x. This is a popular choice for airguns.

Our best groups with Armscor Super Quiet, Standard Velocity, and High Velocity ammunition were a little above 2 inches. Velocities of these averaged 840, 1010, and 1250 fps respectively.

I just used a bipod and these are pretty cheap ammo.  I'd expect to subtract a whole inch off with Eley, CCI, RWS, and other high-quality brands.

I'd love to make a comparison of those sometime.

                      

Bonus: When using our suppressor the groups were slightly tighter and the velocity went up by at least 50 fps. Cool!

Our can is made of T6 Aluminum and CNC machined. In the Philippines, accessories such as suppressors are not regulated by the government. 

that's the semi-auto Kel-Tec SU22 beside the Marlin.
Its accuracy was just below .5 inches compared to the bolt-action rifle

Noise Levels & Accuracy

The loudest and the quietest went head to head: High Velocity VS Super Quiet. The suppressor was not able to mask the supersonic crack of the hot ammo.

Humans and the undead will hear it from beyond 200 meters or more. Unacceptable. 

Bullet drop was also a major consideration between the two. At distances over 100 meters, the drop was measured at 4 inches. It increases dramatically further than that.

The best quality of Armscor Super Quiet is... its quietnes and it works as advertised.

I got a bolt-action rifle so that we could have the stealthiest firearm possible in our collection and I was not disappointed. With the suppressor it was a soft "pop" completely hearing safe. Even Remington "CB" ammo was louder.

Unfortunately it was less accurate. Hey its bulk ammo.

With this round I could make 1/2 inch groups with this at distances below 50 meters, and 2 inches at 100. This tells us from how far we could plant a bullet into a zombie's eye socket.

To put this into perspective, a match-grade bolt action rimfire rifle and good ammo can easily land same-hole shots at 50 meters and 1/2 inch  at 100 meters. That's easily twice as accurate as our rifle. 

Conclusion:

What we have is one of the best zombie hunting weapons around: virtually noiseless, deadly, and accurate firearm that could take out countless brain-eaters with mountains of cheap ammunition.

It is really satisfying when the concept of this platform proves itself in the real world.

"shhhh"

As you will see in the video montage, the photographs were from 2015. My daughter has come a long way since then and is now handling larger firearms. This is her first gun and its great to know that it can help her take down countless hordes with it all by herself. 

Stay vigilant!

The Trauma Kit

"Stop holes, plug holes, make holes..."

- Garand Thumb

"... All men are made of water, do you know this? If you pierce them, the water leaks, and they die."

- Syrio Forel

"May this be of no use"

- Aradesh to the Vault Dweller (Fallout 1)

"You can never have too many tourniquets"

- "D", US Army Ranger

Medical gear was one of the top things on our list when we began this journey. I'm preparing for the unlikely event that we may need urgent medical care. It can happen anytime before or during SHTF. Not only should your home have them, they're a must-have for your emergency bags.

We shall focus on 4 Kinds of Trauma Kits. All of these were designed to address massive bleeding and airway management.

I. Condor Rip-Away EMT Pouch

I first saw it on a video by Ultimate Survival Tips back in 2016. That video was about his 25 pound combat survival loadout. Another cool guy who uses this is Skinny Medic.

Tell you honestly its huge. Look how my hand barely grasps the whole thing. I won't put it on my chest rig because of the sheer size.

The good thing however is that you can tear if off any bag that uses MOLLE panels for quick access. This big fat pouch serves as our trauma and all-around medical supply bag for the family bug out bag.

Contents:
4x 6-inch Israeli Bandages
2x nasopharyngeal airway
2x Quick Clot
2x CAT Tourniquets
4x HYFIN Chest Seals
2x Celox Hemostat Gauze
lots of sterile gauze
trauma shears
small flashlight
Sharpie pen
2x pair of gloves
+general boo-boo kit like band-aids, ibuprofen, diatabs, moleskin tapes, etc.


II. Condor Rip-Away EMT Lite




This is attached to my personal 3-Day Assault Pack. If I need to go somewhere and do something important and dangerous for a few days, this is the backpack that I take with me.

The Lite has the perfect balance of size and carrying capacity. I highly recommend this kind of pouch as it can fit even on your EDC bag. There is no reason why you should not have one of these on you.

Despite the Gucci crowd's disdain for anything Condor, I stand by this product.






Contents:
1 CAT Tourniquet
1x 4-inch Israeli Bandage
1x Z-Pack Dressing
2x Hyfin Chest Seals (compact)
1x nasopharyngeal airway
1x Celox Hemostat Gauze
1 pair of gloves


III. Blue Force Gear Trauma Kit NOW! Micro

Living at the center of my battle belt is the highest-speed & lowest-drag item in my collection. I needed to put the smallest possible trauma kit to keep the belt as light as possible. Its only downsize is that its too small to hold a CAT Tourniquet so I have a separate pouch dedicated to that one TQ on my belt. I have two more on my plate carrier and a pair of trauma shears.

Its so small and well-built, I love it.

Contents:
1x 4-inch Israeli Bandage
1x Hyfin Chest Seal (it actually contains a pair for entry and exit)
1x nasopharyngeal airway
1x Celox Hemostat Gauze
1x pair of gloves

IV. 5.11 Tactical 3.6 Med Kit Pouch

This was my very first medical pouch. When it was new, naysayers criticized it for being too small to contain what people thought was needed for an IFAK.

What people didn't get was this particular pouch was intended for severe trauma. In our case, bullet holes and massive bleeding.

With my setup, it can basically carry what the EMT Lite can PLUS an additional Israeli Bandage. Its an underrated product and the build quality is the usual top notch from this brand. The TQ is also INSIDE the pouch, something that the Blue Force Gear offering cannot do. 

V. Summary

Your medkits should serve a specific purpose, and size is one of the biggest factors on how they will be used. Check out this photo for size and content comparison. Over the years I've had enough opportunities to bring them around and we have settled on the most useful contents for each.

Tactical Combat Casualty Care and the IFAK has come a long way. Today's standards are now mission-specific and minimalist. The contents have also evolved to fit smaller and lighter kits.

That's good news for family-oriented survivalists like you and me. I've tailored our gear according to each member's level of training and we do practice with them on a regular basis.

Make sure to have duplicates that are within reach like putting them in EDC bags, your car, or at your workplace. Anything could happen.


Stay vigilant!

That '70s Nurse!

I never really cared much about medical stuff until I became a family man. My mom was a '70s nurse and we had it good. We always had a well-stocked medicine cabinet at home. She never panicked if we had to deal with something a little worse than the usual boo-boo. 

We saved on countless trips to the hospital for sure!

From time to time I'd show her this little blog, and she'd be amused. She's also my #1 source of medical expertise. Head Nurse is a formidable qualification anywhere in the world, be it the battlefield or at home. 

Like most 80's kids, owning a BMX and a nearby village park meant that mom dealt with all this normal stuff:

• road rashes
• cuts
• lacerations
• at least 3 burns from a bonfire
• firecrackers
• rusty nails
• dog bites
• eye injury
• slingshot hits
• bee stings
• a black eye
• minor infections

Throw in the mumps, diarrhea, chicken pox, measels, and other fun things that children would catch at least once in their lives back then. 

It was a different time.

Mom's not always the nurturing type and we'd get yelled at from time to time if we had some injury that needed her help. 

Trust me, us kids were asking for it most of the time. We were after all Steve-O's generation of fools acting like Delta Commandos in the back yard. 

Crashing our bikes wasn't unusual, it was fairly commonplace. That meant we had to clean & dress our own scrapes so she won't get mad on a weekly basis. 

All this exposure to her expertise also meant we knew how to take care of ourselves and not get freaked out over "a little blood".

*****

And so here I am, all grown up with my own wife and kid to look after. Back when this blog was new I spent most of my time obsessing over food supplies, weapons, and fighting skills. I got my First Responder certificate and gained more skills over the years. Thankfully, my mom likes the newfangled trauma kits we have today. 

There were no chest seals and CAT tourniquets back then. She does know how to deal with tension pneumothorax from the gunshot wounds, massive bleeding, and stabbings from her days at the ER. "Skills over equipment" as some experts like to say, and they're not interchangeable!

                                                                            *****

I just wanted to share this parenting stuff 'coz my boomer folks are the best. They've got the skills we gen X-ers, millenials, and the Yeet generation need to survive WTSHTF.

Stay vigilant!