P3AT: Fail to Fire or Bad Ammo??

[Lawndart]

I took my little Kel Tec P3AT out to shoot a few rounds of HD ammo.  When I pulled the trigger on the round that was in the pipe nothing happened.  I racked it out, and shot the rest of the magazine (without incident).  I picked the round up that didn't fire and saw that the primer had been dented.  I put it back in the magazine, racked the slide and was able to fire it.  It seemed to me when I examined the round after it didn't fire that the primer was not dented enough to cause the round to fire....but I'm not sure.  Anybody have any thoughts?  I'll probably give Kel Tec a call and tell them my story, if they have anything interesting to say I'll post that as well.

[Brett]

Has the gun been thoroughly cleaned and lubed?  I'm talking about even if it is brand spanking new.

How many rounds threw the gun?  It's not broken in until you have put a couple of boxes threw it.

What about subsequent magazines full, any more FTFs?

If the gun is new and you have not shot at least a dozen magazines full threw it I would not be concerned yet.  If after a dozen mags full you're still getting FTFs with various ammo I would contact Kel-Tec. 

[Lawndart]

Yes it was clean and lubed.  I put about 100 rounds through the weapon prior to this incident without any problems.  And I was mainly just trying to see if the hollow point ammo that I had for it would feed properly before I started carrying the gun 'for real'.   I probably should have put that in my first post.   

[Savage]

Haven't had that problem with my P3ATs. Did have a simular problem with a P-11 when they first came out. I removed the firing pin and cleaned out the FP channel. Seemed to solve the problem. The gun was bought second hand and apparently been over oiled.
Savage

[Brett]

If you have shot about 100 rounds with no problems and have not had any further problems after this one incident I would not be too concerned.  I would run at least 100 rounds of the ammo that you had the FTF with threw it to make sure it is not an ammo issue before relying on it for home defense however.  It could be that that particular ammo uses a harder primer than others or it could have been a bad batch of primers.

p.s.; It's always a good idea to practice clearing drills from time to time just to be ready in case of a FTF/FTE during a crisis situation.  You know, Murphy's law and all.

[slim rem 7]

 well i have too,, many surprises... always on ammo heated to body temp....
 never could figure out why on test shots[to see if what i was carrying was dependable],,, it did that but at the range when i loaded it... invariably it shot well ...they have my gun now and i hope they solve the problem.. i ll report thier findings whether it was my bad or not...
 i have some hornady critical defence i thingk might just be the ticket...
 still got ideas it has something to do with the rnd being at almost 100 degrees at the start of the heating process in firing it
 im thinking the brass may expand more an the casing doesnt come out clean when the ejector grabs it,after first shot,,on carried ammo..
 i liked flat nose winchester 95 grn rnd but i remember seeing scores on recovered rnds in milk jug test.. could be the round loaded but not to cleanly..could have been rough on the gun...in any case if i get it back an it shows me its gonna be dependable..im gonna be one happy man an will post about it..great little light carry gun,,but its got to show me its gonna fire all six rnds,,then i ll carry it again ,an proudly..slim
 ps i only loaded six rnds,as i wondered if mabe the mag spring was the problem at one time...
 edit ...well its back an shooting anything i put in it again

[slim rem 7]

 on these guns im thinking theres many like me..i flush the heck out of it spray it an real liberally with lub...then  flush the heck out of it again,,to clean...this ain t no lawn mower an with guns
especially light guns such as the marlin 60,,,ive regretted taking them down...
 if i cant see whats gonna happen when i remove a piece i won t take it off..
to many unknowns...springs an such that fly out an you can t findum...if you do
 it don t want to go back in there.. didn t say i was a gunsmith... :)slim

[gendoc]

at first it can be exciting, but in time it will become another breath of fresh air!!!