# Kel-Tec PMR-30 opinions sought



## Grenadier (Apr 6, 2012)

I am curious to see if any of y'all have been able to play around with Kel-Tec's PMR-30?  

http://www.keltecweapons.com/our-guns/pistols/pmr-30/

It's a semiauto pistol chambered in the .22 magnum cartridge, 30 round capacity (contained in the handle), and has a hybrid locked breech / blowback operation that's very forgiving of a wide range of ammo.  

It looks to be a fun plinker, and one that has a bit more punch than your usual .22 LR pistols (that I still love shooting, and will always love).  I figured that it may be a nice tool to have to teach relatively new shooters who have only had a couple of sessions with my .22 LR pistol, to get used to a bit more punch.


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## rlobrecht (Apr 6, 2012)

Not an opinion on this specific model, but I'm happy with my Kel-Tec PF-9.


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## lklawson (Apr 6, 2012)

They're a freaking blast.  They are light and easy to hold, even fully loaded.  The recoil is very mild; more mild than a .380ACP would be in a firearm roughly the same size.  I have a CZ-70 (all steel .32ACP) which recoils more harshly.  The PMR-30 produces about the same Muzzle Energy as a light "target" .38 Special or a .380ACP from one of the pocket 380's but is many times more pleasant to shoot.  The PMR-30's sights are, frankly, fantastic.  And 30 rounds is a loooong time to reload.

The downsides are: 30 rounds is a loooong time to reload.  I had to keep count to remember how many times I'd shot.  The magazines get very finicky about loading after 20 or 25 rounds and this can cause the first few rounds to fail to feed, even causing significant jams, if you didn't load the last 5-10 rounds in the mag with just the right TLC. Another downside is that .22WMR ammo is just about the same $$$ as range fodder 9mm Luger - while very cheap, it's still not as economical as .22LR and, if ammo cost is the driving factor, might as well go with a light recoiling 9mm chambered firearm.  Also, the .22WMR barks BIG out of the PMR-30 - a great big plume of flame and as much noise as one of the aforementioned center fire calibers such as the .380ACP or a lighter 9mm.

The PMR-30, in my opinion, would make an excellent gun to transition between a target .22LR which was used for learning on (such as the Beretta NEOS) and a larger/heavier caliber center-fire handgun.  I think it makes a great range plinker, though you won't be saving any money if you're a reloader the way reloaders do for 9mm, etc.  I think it makes a great trail & camp handgun.  I think it makes an acceptable carry gun.  I know this is a controversial statement, but if people are OK with .380ACP from a pocket gun like the P3AT or the LCP, then there is no room for complain about the .22WMR from the PMR-30 because the ME and Ballistic Gel performances are similar (and the .22WMR often surpasses the Gel performance of the .380ACP).  Granted, the PMR-30 is nowhere near as easy to conceal as most 380s but no more difficult than any other full sized hand guns such as the much loved (and carried) 1911.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk


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## chinto (May 2, 2012)

depends on what you want it for... what do you want it for??  if for self defense carry... NO WAY!! Way to small a bore diameter!! I would suggest that you should never go smaller then .32 ACP and with that caliber empty the weapon every time!!  380 is better, 9MM  is about as small as I would say you should carry if you have a choice, and go with the .40 or better yet .45 cal weapons for that .  
All that counts in a pistol is bore diameter. you will not have the velocity in a pistol to make any real difference.. its all about how large and heavy the round is.


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## Grenadier (May 2, 2012)

It would be mostly as a fun plinker, but possibly as a varmit gun as well.  

Rest assured, I have other, more appropriate tools for defensive purposes, namely various Glocks chambered in the 9mm and .40.


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## JarkAira (May 3, 2012)

Hi,

I was able to test shoot this gun in gun expo last year and the first impressions were great. It feels nice in your hands although lightweight and the texturization gives a suitable amount of friction. Zytel is a good alternative material for making pistol grips if good wood panel surface is not an option because of price or some other characteristics.

It has a good stock sights and a picatinny rail for optional light/laser assembly, although the one that was fitted in the gun at expo was toi heavy and ruined the balance. Using anything on picatinny should be compensated by adding weight to a grip or in the bottom of magazine as the weapon is such lightweight.

I have not seen before that kind of mechanism in the magazine and actually I have not seen double stacking magazines in .22 weapons but few times before. Feeding the mag was a job that needed to be done carefully, but it did not cause any jams but I dont know how it will operate after lots of feedings.

Well I hate to go through the next rant about trigger mechanism as the same applies to nearly every pistol made today. They just dont make trigger assemblies that can be tuned easily anymore as it would make the cost higher. As the default the trigger pull was too heavy to be used in any competitions and it was not consistent. I can shoot tighter series with my 9mm or .45 ACP because the trigger pull and travel of the G36 is tuned by gunsmith (there were no custom trigger assemblies available) permanently to a way that suits me. It is only near 2.5 lbs at the moment instead of the original 5.5 lbs and the trigger travel is few millimetres longer. In my 9mm both can be adjusted myself along with some other adjustments.

So the four to six lbs trigger pull combined to short trigger travel and light weight of the Kel-Tec pmr 30 causes it to be less accurate than it could be. First thing people should do after buying this weapon or actually any new pistol should be a trip to a gunsmith who can adjust the trigger to a way that suits the user.

I am quite sure that there is something more behind this phenomena of te extinction of adjustable triggers than the obvious reduction in design and manufacture costs. I would not wonder if there is a law in the main market area of the gun that tells the minimum trigger pull for guns because they believe it makes them more safer. I dont believe that heavy trigger pull does reduce accidents as the gun should be on safety when it is not used and it should not be pointed towards people in any practice situation. Also in real situations heavy trigger pull actually causes shots to miss more likely as you have to use more force and the barrel end tends to shift to the direction the users palm is facing.

Also in the case that the gun drops and fires because of that the light trigger pull does not cause the accident as you should handle the gun so that it does not drop from the rooftop. There is somethin wrong with the way of handling the gun if it does drop from hands and even with light trigger pull it does not fire if drop from normal distance from users hands to the floor.

Well that is enough for that issue as the Kel-Tec pmr 30 is actually very good .22 for the price and the hybrid system makes it unique with the rather high capacity dual stacking magazine. Also it is simple to strip and maintain and seems to clean easily and has the picatinny rail and good sights so it makes a good entry weapon that does not have to be changed to other one as the user gets more used to weapons. I would buy one myself if I could do it but due the recent shootings at schools here in Finland it has been quite impossible to get a .22 pistol unless you actually participate in shooting compettions and to a training with club owned gun before. Not even if you already have a license for a 9mm normal pistol and a .45 ACP pistol which is classified as an easily concealable pocket pistol and also permit to carry it in public and work. Also not to mention licenses for long-arms used in hunting. I just dont understand why I could get a license for an example for a shotgun if I wanted one more, but I cannot get a license for a pistol which caliber is smaller and less powerful than the other two I have. The only reason for me to want a .22 is the fact that it is much cheaper to shoot as a hobby than it is with for example .45 ACP as the .22 cost less than 0.05 euros and the .45 ACP costs more than 0.50 euros per cartridge

As most of you seem to be from USA where the gun laws are much allowing than here you might not understand the hell of post 9.11/Breivik/Schoolmassacre gun laws in scandinavia.


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