Kel-Tec PMR-30 Review

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  • rrussotwo

    Jedi Knight
    Jan 12, 2012
    1,421
    36
    Baton Rouge
    I didn't really know what to expect when buying this gun. I like weird guns, oddballs, misfits.

    Due to my weird gun obsession, I've been looking for one for months but didn't want to pay exorbitant GunBroker prices, or the even mildly over retail prices at a local establishment, so wait I did.

    When Accurate Firearms in Baton Rouge had one, I jumped on the chance to purchase this oddity.

    Today was the first time I got to shoot it, and it was amazing.

    Let's break this "review" down into the following categories: reliability, accuracy, and shooting experience.

    Reliability
    On the carefully loaded 25 round magazines that I prepared before heading tot he range, I had no failures in 50 rounds.

    I didn't load 30 because it got tough at 25, I've read this is normal.

    On the subsequent 200 rounds through the gun I experienced just TWO failures to feed.

    I fed it CCI Maxi-Mag 40gr, Federal Premium 40gr, and Remington jhp 40gr. The two failure two feeds occurred on the Federal and Remington.

    I would classify that as amazing reliability for a rimfire handgun.

    Accuracy
    I wear glasses and am waiting for my new prescription lenses to arrive, so judge my accuracy statements accordingly.

    I was shooting larger groups with the PMR-30 than I was with my Ruger 22/45, but smaller than those with my Automag III. With the Ruger at 25' I can put 10 bullets into a 1" bull. With the Kel-Tec at 25' I could only manage to put every round into 2". I need 4" with the Automag.

    Shooting Experience
    This thing is amazing! It just keeps going and going. It has very little recoil, a huge boom, and a two foot fireball that needs to be seen to be believed.

    This is one of the most fun guns I have ever shot with. I laugh every time I read about some person wanting to carry this for SD purposes. A self defence handgun should be mind-numbingly boring, The Kel-Tec PMR-30 is not boring. I had a smile on my face every time I pulled the trigger. I must have looked like a complete buffoon shooting this thing.

    To recap, this gun is amazing to shoot, it is reasonably accurate, and very reliable.

    Pros: light, fun, reliable, accurate, loud, little recoil, huge fireballs, attracts strangers, 30 round magazines.

    Cons: really hard to find, pricey for a Kel-Tec, magazine loading requires strict adherence to the manual's loading process.
     

    JNieman

    Dush
    Jul 11, 2011
    4,743
    48
    Lafayette
    Sounds cool. Sounds like a fun range toy. My dad's buddy has one, but has yet to shoot it. He just buys neat/weird/fun stuff and had to have it.

    For the lulz:
    critical-defense-22wmr-pkg.jpg


    That's right... self defense .22mag.... yea.
     

    rrussotwo

    Jedi Knight
    Jan 12, 2012
    1,421
    36
    Baton Rouge
    It definitely will not hold up to abuse.

    I would not use it for a hammer as I would a Ruger p89.

    It is a VERY clean shooting gun. I don't know why, but after shooting a few hundred rounds through it, the gun looks as clean as it did before shooting.
     

    jcoaster

    Well-Known Member
    Feb 16, 2008
    1,061
    36
    Slidell Louisiana
    Just like to add my 2 cents, got my about 6 months ago and it is my pet ,shoot great light recoil.One of the best shooters i got,even for this old tried eyes.
     

    cableguy

    Well-Known Member
    Feb 22, 2012
    399
    16
    Baton Rouge
    Picking mine up today for a good price. I almost got raped for 650 last week and was almost willing to do so. Glad I found it for MSRP. Thanks for the review. Hope I have the same experience with it.
     
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