P11 Range Report

[Westbound]

I picked up a new P11 this weekend as a carry/home-defense weapon for my wife.  We were off to the range on Sunday to see how it did.
I was pleasantly suprised with the accuracy of this short little gun.  Unfortunately, the shortest distance they offer at my range is 15 yard.  It was a little further than this gun was designed for, but I was able to keep all shots in the black (and I'm NOT a handgun shooter).  My wife did well, it being her first time to shoot a handgun.  I think a couple more range trips and she's going to be a dang good shot.

A couple of issues I found with this gun was that it is very particular on ammo.  It cares not for the wolf brand.  There were 3 out of 15 that were fail to fire.  I think it was primer issues with the ammo.  It ate up S&B and WWB FMJ without a hitch.  What little bit of problems I had with the ammo feeding was cleared up by polishing the feed ramp.
The other issue is the pull weight and length.  After research online, there's not a lot that can be done in this area. 

Overall, I really like this little handgun.  My wife is comfortable shooting it, which is the most important part.
Now I've just got to get my US Marshal friend to quit harrassing me about buying her a "gangbanger" gun 

[woodchuckssuck]

My P-11 is a great little carry gun, as well. I'm carrying in a Sideguard holsters "the slide" OWB belt holster, great holster for an even greater gun! Mine is fed mostly WWB and Remington/UMC 115gr JHP at the range, and is kept stoked with 11 Speer 115gr Gold Dot for carry. I also have a cheap uncle mikes IWB holster for days when I need supreme concealability, but the slide holster does very well.

I highly recommend a Houge Handall Jr. grip sleeve for the gun. they take a little work to get on but really change the guns feel, makes it feel better and gives more grip. Check out  www.ktog.com and you will learn all about these little guns.

and a "gangbanger" gun it is not. I think glock's would fit that role better. Its an affordable ccw as far as im concerned. Much better choice than a .380 or smaller.

[hogshooter]

I bought one with the hard crome slide and i cant get it to feed anything. i took it out and loaded the clip with blazer 115 gr fmj. racked the slide and it hung up . the slide wouldnt go all the way forward .finally got it to close up like it was supose to and the second round wouldnt go in the chamber and looked like the next cartridge had come up to high and was blocking the slide.  i stopped at a gunsmith on the way home and he polished the throutand used a better grade of cartridge and it still wouldnt fee and the slide was still hanging up even without any clip or cartridges in it . i told him it was new and he said i should probably send it back to the factory. i was hopeing that there was something i could do to free up this problemwithout sending it back so i guess i will take it to another gunsmith for a second opinion . the smith that looked at didnt know how to take it apart so he got on line and read how to do it , i dont have much faith in him . i was hopeing someone on here might have some help for me

[Brett]

Is the gun new or used?  Do you have the manual for it?

I would start by field stripping the gun and giving it a good cleaning and check the slide and rails for any burrs left by the machining process.  These areas can be smoothed up with a couple of passes with 600 grit emery cloth.  Lube it up sparingly with a good gun oil and reassemble it.
The manual gives instructions on how to disassemble/reassemble the gun.  It's not really that difficult. If you don't have a manual PM me and I will give you the instructions.

The P11 is a proven performer with a long track record of excellent performance and reliability so don't give up on it.  If a good cleaning and lite buff and lube doesn't get her running like a clock Kel-Tec has some of the best customer service in the industry and will make things right or replace the entire gun.  I second what Woodchuckssuck said about checking out www.ktog.com lot's of good folks with lots of good info there.   
 

[hogshooter]

howdy guys
  brett i took your advice and field stripped it and there were quite a few rough spots on it, so i set to doing the ole buff and polish and now it is running like its supose to. it also is feeding everything have i have stuck in it. i am what ya call a happy camper. if there is anyone out there woundering if the p-11 is any good , i'm telling ya dont be afraid to get one .
    hogshooter

[Brett]

Glad it worked out for you Hogshooter.   

[44 Man]

A couple of comments.  Not many guns like the wolf ammo, this is not limited to Kel-tec!  My wife's Kahr absolutely would not function with it.  The other is the blazer ammo.  If it is the brass cased ammo, it should feed.  Many guns have trouble with the aluminum cased Blazers.  It just does not seem to slide into the chamber like brass ammo does.  44 Man

[Troyboy]

Mine works good enough just can't hit anything with it. Shoots way low and left.

[Brett]

Mine works good enough just can't hit anything with it. Shoots way low and left.

If your right handed that could be an indication that you are pushing the gun to the left and pulling it down at the same time as your squeezing the trigger.  Pretty common problem with heavy DA triggers.   My guess is that you have too much finger on the trigger. If you have been positioning the first joint of your finger on the trigger try using just the pad on the end off your finger to squeeze the trigger next time you go too the range. 

 

[44 Man]

Low and left is also a common indication that you are expecting the 'blast and roar' when it goes off and are pushing it away from you at that instant.   Have someone load a few mags for you and stick a dummy round in.  I'll bet when you come to the dummy, you will see the problem as you push the gun forward and down when it goes 'click'.  Just have to concentrate on the sights and follow through, it's easy to correct with some concentration.  44 Man

[woodchuckssuck]

The trigger takes a bit to get used to, might wanna purchase some Azoom snap caps for it. I have a package, and so far have only been using one of them...they are durable that's for sure! I know that my gun I can pull the trigger so far and i feel it kinda stop a bit, and then I re-aim and slowly squeeze from there out, and it sure makes for more accurate shooting. I shot 10 of my reloads this weekend (loaded up 10 to check out functionality) and I had much better accuracy than cheap FMJ ammo, but Gold dots would likely still outshoot my reloads. I plan on getting some gold dot bullets to reload for practice...and a chronograph to keep my velocity in check so that I know I'm not over-loading.

I even had a guy at the range this weekend trying to tell me that he has seen many kel-tec's just blow apart from factory ammo... Of course, I think he was trying to justify the fact he has a sig 9mm and a XD .40... His XD had more hiccups than any gun I've ever seen. He was shooting reloads but they were still round nose. Ah well, too many people just see a kel-tec and gotta give you a reason they don't like them, because they spent $600 on a gun that cant even run 100%. My $300 (OTD) Kel-Tec is exactly what I wanted. Small, light, reliable and concealable.

Keep that thing clean and well fed.