KelTec P17 Range Report

[pharmer]

I got this pistol from my FFL/pawnshop on Monday. No owner's manual included, downloaded all 24 pages from WWW. Most of it is "warnings" most of us are used to. Weighing about 3/4 lb, I had no "elevated expectations" especially with 3 all plastic 16 rd "staggered round" magazines. Take down is like a Glock/PPK, pull slide back while holding takedown button down, pull slide up and that's it.

Took it out today, right from the box it went through over 100 rds of "WallyBox" Federals. 1 rd needed "thumb push" to close slide, I did notice "low power" previous rd. In over 200 rds only 1 other ammo related malfunction, a dented rim which went off on 2nd try 180* on the rim. Ran out of Fed but I had a box of 100 CCI MiniMags, purchased in the 20th century sometime. I fired 60 rds and had to use the thumb of my support hand to close slide every 5-10 rds. CCI bullets are "rounder" shape, gun didn't like them at all.

Pro:
Light, accurate, reliable, great mag capacity, good sights (out of the box it was 6" high-left at 7 yds) Sights are adjustable. Lifetime warranty.

Con:
Loading mags are a pain. Need to push rim down far forward and slide ctg back. No provision for "Thumbsaver."
I had "resistance" after 12 rds. The mags will have a "limited life", feed lips are plastic and loading is hard on them. Trigger is listed as "DAO" in the manual. More than once I was staging the trigger and it went off before I was on target. It is light. Coupled with a light plastic gun it will take some getting "familiar."

I give it a "great buy" at $179. Save your time going through FFL shop and just get it at Academy when it's "in stock" (They're out most times) @$199.

PSA: /// Academy:
P 17: $179 /// $199.95
Ship $ 18
Tax $14.50 /// $15
BGC $ 5.00/// $5
FFL $35

Total $251.50 /// $219.95

I'm keeping mine. Joe

 

[Borderboss]

I like my P17 and have generally had good luck. If you haunt the Kel Tec forum, you'll see a lot of praise and a lot of horror stories that required the gun to go back to the mother ship for repairs.

With the issue you're having, that sounds like a dirty chamber. If you scrub the heck out of it and it still does that, contact Kel Tec. They'll likely have you send it back for some work, which seems to get done quickly from what I can tell from the posts.

On the magazine loading, that forum notes a couple of options. The one I opted for is available through Amazon [ame]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084BT2LRL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1[/ame]. It works great, and is inexpensive.

 

[coltle6920]

Stupid question but did you break it down and clean it? I know my PMR30 is always in need of lube to reduce slide friction. That also might help some of your issues.

If a good cleaning and lube doesn't help then maybe a spring problem if you have to assist the slide closing and you are using quality ammo.

Not to beat a dead horse but I really like CCI Stinger ammo. Has much more power to cycle the slide. I use it on all new firearms.

 

[pharmer]

Not a “stupid question” and no, I just checked the bore for obstructions and shot it. I have a ton of WallyBox Federal which ran just about perfectly. Afterward I did break it down, bronze brushed the bore and lubed the rails for next time. Joe

 

[marct375]

Mine runs very well with CCI and Aguila HV. Keep it clean and lubed. FWIW if you have any problems, the gun is guaranteed to the original owner for life.

 

[alwslate]

Rural King has them on sale periodically. I thought about buying one but could see no useful purpose for it. It seems to be presented as a SD carry gun. No thanks. As a plinker the Ruger Wrangler at about the same price will still be going when the KelTec is a box of parts and will undoubtably shoot closer to point of aim than 6" high left at 21 feet.