Jason:
I have never trained under an instructor who carried a Kel-Tec ......... or a Taurus or a Rossi, for that matter. Reliability (meaning "out-of-the-box," documented, track record of going "bang" every time you pull the trigger) is the non-negotiable criterion in picking a self-defense weapon. It would be hard to imagine a less reliable handgun than a Kel-Tec (unless you start looking at Lorcins and Ravens).
Price shouldn't enter into the decision, unless you place a particularly low value on your life. If you can't afford a new quality handgun, buy a used (police trade-in) Glock or HK.
If you aren't willing to make some trade-offs, or accept some minor inconveniences, in your wardrobe selection, your mindset isn't where it needs to be regarding self defense. All handguns are poor choices for self defense (compared to centerfire rifles and shotguns loaded w/ buckshot), and they are often more difficult to shoot accurately than a shoulder-fired weapon. Dropping down to a pocket-sized gun, just because it's easier to conceal, is usually a poor trade-off because it will definitely be harder to shoot well, and it won't hold much ammo. The people who further compound the problem by carrying a pocket gun chambered in .380 or .32 are in serious need of some training that will enable them to reexamine their priorities from an educated perspective.
Newbies all seem to think that all firearms that go "bang" are death machines and that all are equally effective at stopping an attacker. They also seem to be adept at "discovering" the Holy Grail of handguns -- the cheap but reliable CCW weapon. I'm not saying you are one of these newbies, but you seem to be considering some of these choices as a viable options. I would suggest waiting until you have completed a good self-defense based CHP class, or have taken a good "immersion level" defensive handgun class like the one Tom Givens will be teaching in BR this week, before embarking further down the "mouse gun as a primary weapon" trail. If you then have doubts about which weapon platform to choose, I'd suggest sending PM's to some of the knowledgeable members on this board (not saying I am one of them) instead of collecting opinions from a large group of well intentioned folks whose experience is limited to whatever they bought on sale at Academy last year.
