Urban Myth or Reality?

[Ghuqu2]

I have been reading a lot about carry/ mouse guns and there seems to be a consensus that they have a short life span. I read (forgive my forgetfulness or I would have posted links) that the P3AT had a 2k round lifespan and the Kahr PM9 was 5-6k rounds. With a 200 round break-in on the P3AT, thats 10% of its life w/ little useful practice. I want a gun that I can practice w/ a lot if I'm betting my life on it. Are these assertions true?

BTW how many P3AT (and PF9) owners have to "fluff and buff" their gun before they work correctly? How much of a pain in the butt was it to do? Just wondering if I should look elsewhere then Kel-tec.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Chooie]

Most KT owners that did a F&B performed it in lieu of hundreds of rounds of break-in... or are just really anally retentive about their guns (not that it's a bad thing, I'm like that to a point). KT has a wonderful warranty in case things go wrong, or if parts wear out. It's not uncommon to hear about someone receiving an all new gun with their old serial number on it to replace one with irreparable issues. If you don't feel the need, or if you do not have the mechanical aptitude to do a F&B, then just shoot the 200 or so rounds through it to break it in, and rely on the warranty if you ever break it. Keep this in mind, though - you'll seldom put more than 50 rounds through it in a range session. The mind is willing, but the hand just won't take it. With that said, it will take you quite some time to encroach on the 2k-6k round count that these pistols are designed for.

[rocky]

The guns are made to be carried lots, shot less. Training with a full size or larger semi auto will help, then running 50 or 100 rnds thru the smaller semi may be a better practice. Also due to the small size, the recoil is worse.

[azchevy]

I was told my taurus pt-145 wouldn't make it 250 rounds before the frame cracked, or it jammed, or it misfired, etc etc. Then i was told it wouldn't make it 600 rounds. 2000 rounds later, still kicking like when I took it out of the box.

[QKShooter]

I'm not absolutely certain that you have the 2,000 rnd Max Life Span figure correct.
I'm also not sure how much practice you'll need with a belly button close in last ditch self defense firearm.
My opinion is that you should break it in & get the feel of shooting with it.
Practice getting it presented quickly and then basically carry it and shoot it occasionally.

The truthful truth is that the P3AT is a compromise firearm.

It offers you an extremely small highly portable firearm that is incredibly light weight, inexpensive, and unobtrusive and as accurate as is needed for it's intended purpose. That would be to carry it when carrying other heavier, larger, and more powerful firearms would be inconvenient or impractical.
Or it should be carried as a smaller secondary back-up to a primary handgun.
You should try to avoid making it into an all around "every day at the range" heavy duty firearm because it was never intended to be that.
There is a small niche that the P3AT is intended to fill and it does that decently well for the money spent.
You can always hone your basic shooting skills with a more suitable firearm as the basics are the same no matter what specific firearm is in hand.
The P3AT may not be for you. It depends on exactly what you personally need from a specific firearm.
Perhaps a different firearm might fill your individual need better.

[cockedlocked01]

I heard/read that the 9mm Kel Tecs had a limited life span, but the .32s & .380s didn't have that problem. I never heard that the Kahr's had a limited span. My Kahr appears to built so well, I'm surprised it can't handle more rounds.

[Chooie]

Kahr advertises their PM9 as having a 6k round lifespan... which is fine. I care more about how it behaves with the 7 or so rounds that are actually in it when I need it, than how long it will last if I pound on it at the range.

[Whirlwind06]

The P11 has about a 6K life span as well.

[freetrapper]

That is just the intended use of those, and other similar firearms. They have a purpose, it may or may not be right for you.

[obxned]

The only thing I did to my P3AT was smooth a few rough edges on the outside of the pistol. I have shot it a lot, and will keep shooting it whenever I'm at the range. It is an amazing gun and fun to shoot.

I'm at about the 1000 round mark, and can find NO signs of wear or looseness. I'm thinking of replacing the recoil springs just on principle, but I doubt that it is really necessary.

I would guess that 5000 round is a more reasonable life expectancy for this gun. At that point, I would have spent about 10 times as much for ammo as I did for the gun, and I can still just send it back to KelTec for repair.

[denverd0n]

I thought that was an expected lifespan for the springs, not an absolute lifespan for the gun as a whole. Springs are easy to replace.

[Whirlwind06]

On most compact auto loaders, the springs should be replaced every 1000 rounds or so. If not sooner.

[Ping Ping]

Given that I do not declare a gun worthy of carry until 1500 reliable rds, the mice are not for me.

Besides being short lived, IMO they are just no fun to shoot.

[Steve48]

In the P3AT guide, it says it has a 6000 round lifespan. Steve48

[SonofASniper]

Don't forget that 5,000 to 6,000 rounds is a hell of a lot of ammo through any gun. Even one that is made for that many and more. It is not unreasonable to think that any gun may need some maintenance or repair by the time it reaches that mark, especially the small guns.

And like someone else said with small guns, the spirit may be willing to fire a lot of rounds in practice but the hands are not.