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To: kiriath_jearim
We tell our students that they should be able to run 200 rounds of their self-defense ammunition through their carry gun without a single malfunction.

Wonderful, but not necessarily needed.

My Kel-Tec P3AT will shoot 65 to 75 rounds without fail, then will have occasional lockup into battery problems. So what? I clean it and it does another 65 to 75 rounds. Were I to apply their 'standard' I could not carry it. This is BS. It's reliable for much more than the two full mags I have with me. Good enough. It's not a target pistol, it's a close range self defense piece.

It's a .380, and I realize it's not the best round for self defense, but it's adequate. It's main feature is that I ALWAYS have it. It's clipped onto the belt just like the Leatherman tool, with the same effort & thought as putting my cell phone into my pocket. I used carry a larger gun, but I found it to be easy to leave in the car, or at home, because it was awkward, heavy and inconvenient.

A .380 (or .32 or even a .22) in the hand beats a .45 in the car, every time.

18 posted on 01/09/2007 9:34:33 AM PST by kAcknor (Don't flatter yourself.... It is a gun in my pocket.)
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To: kAcknor
I have a Kel-Tec P32 that I used to carry because it is so light and flat. I started practicing more with it and before 1000 rounds I started having jams and misfires. I put a heavier recoil spring in it with limited success.

Inspecting the gun, I find that the barrel locking area is deformed and mushed up. I sort of fixed it with a file but I no longer feel confident in the gun. Also the ultralight hammer seems not quite up to the job of reliably firing a primer. When I asked my dealer about it he said "Hey, this kind of gun was not meant to fire thousands of rounds".

So I'm back to either a .45, Makarov or .38 snubby. They work and they don't wear out.

38 posted on 01/09/2007 10:50:32 AM PST by Sender ("Great powers should never get involved in the politics of small tribes.")
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To: kAcknor

I love the P3AT. Fits in the front Jeans pocket in an Uncle Mike's sidekick scabbard with no problem. Like you said, it's only a .380 but that's way better than nothing. If I'm dressed appropriately to carry something larger, I opt for a Millenium Pro PT145. I like the Ruger KP90 in 45 for bedside duty.


53 posted on 01/09/2007 12:56:14 PM PST by fowb
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