P17 First Impressions
KelTec is rightfully one of many kings of polymer firearms, and the P17 clearly matches the invoice. The gun is usually comprised of a glass-reinforced nylon with minimal metallic exterior of the slide meeting, barrel, springs, and a bunch of screws that maintain your complete factor collectively.
It’s easy and amazingly mild if you get it into your palms. The gun simply doesn’t really feel fairly like some other gun I’ve taken to the vary. It’s strikingly light-weight but gives a beneficiant 16+1 capability. Higher but, the gun comes with three magazines and is suppressor-ready.
The P17 is the type of gun that I’d anticipate finding in a lifeboat when stranded at sea or tucked right into a survival package. It’s reasonably priced, however it gives capability, weight, and value advantages that make it an interesting possibility for a wet “zombie apocalypse” type of day.
Specs & Options
The primary and most evident attribute of this gun for me was the load. At nicely underneath a pound, the P17 is a minimalist design. The gun is hammer-fired with a easy blowback motion. Primary disassembly is just like many different blowback designs, regardless of all of the screws within the body of the gun. Simply maintain down the entrance disassembly tabs, rack the slide rearward, and elevate to drag the slide free. The metallic barrel is fastened, so no have to fuss with that. From a field-cleaning perspective, that solely leaves you with two elements for fundamental upkeep.
Even with the gun’s unassuming weight, the recoil is barely noticeable with .22 LR ammo. I may shoot this gun all day with barely any fatigue. It feels virtually like an airsoft pistol – to be utterly trustworthy – however it’s a pleasure to shoot. The entrance high-visibility fiber-optic inexperienced dot is straightforward to see in excessive solar or shade, and the rear is adjustable and minimize to cut back glare.
The P17 falls into the compact measurement with a really light-weight design that gives simply sufficient grip space for me to get a stable grasp with all fingers. I’ve considerably bigger palms, however the gun remains to be comfy. I discover the addition of Picatinny rail on the entrance a bit formidable for a gun that falls nicely contained in the finances class. Although, I suppose there’s no actual cause to not have the plastic molded for a rail anyway, proper?
The deal with has the basic KelTec “gator grip” paneling. It’s aesthetically pleasing however supplies solely a fundamental stage of “grippiness” to the gun. Given the load and the caliber, controlling the P17 was by no means a difficulty.
Right here’s a listing of the fundamental specs:
Weight (With Magazine): 0.8 kilos
Size: 6.7 inches
Sight Radius: 5.14 inches
Barrel Size: 3.81 inches
Top: 5.25 inches
Width (widest level): 1.21 inches
Set off Pull: 2.44 kilos
Capability: 16+1
Thread: 1/2×28 TPI
The set off pull has a light-weight journey of 0.3 inches, some squish to the wall that’s 0.16 inches, and what I’d name a semi-crisp break. The reset is simply 0.18 inches. It’s solely barely tactile and a bit quiet – little question because of all of the polymer elements – however I by no means had a brief stroke.
There’s a totally ambidextrous security and journal launch. The slide cease/launch is just on the left facet, although I hardly ever used it as a result of I desire to rack the slide. The discharge can be relatively small and awkwardly positioned excessive on the pistol’s body. I determine it’s extra for manually locking the slide to the rear than anything. As a hammer-fired gun, there’s pink paint on the rear of the hammer that acts as a cocked indicator. It’s seen by way of the rear channel on the slide meeting when capturing.
The magazine launch is a paddle-style one, and I discover it’s best to simply use my set off finger to function it. I’ve to barely regulate my grip if I need to launch the journal with my shooting-hand thumb. Paddle releases should not my favourite, however generally they’re the higher possibility. The pistol grip is skinny sufficient that my total hand covers the grip. If that paddle was a button, I’d seemingly criticize it as one thing that’s straightforward to bump on the vary.
KelTec’s polymer satisfaction is on full show with the P17, and even the magazines are non-metallic. For what it’s price, I didn’t discover any put on on the gun after my testing, and the ambi thumb security remained constructive and simple to make use of.
I believe it is truthful to name this a finances gun, however KelTec did open some fascinating doorways by providing it with a 1/2×28 TPI threaded barrel. The gun has that 16+1 capability, is extraordinarily light-weight, and .22 LR chambering may make it a terrific candidate for a suppressor.
There are many screws holding your complete factor collectively. That’s what it is best to typically count on from KelTec. I by no means seen any of them strolling themselves unfastened throughout testing, however I nonetheless advocate checking them after high-volume capturing classes. In the event you discover one that’s getting unfastened, the answer is straightforward. Add a drop of Loctite, tighten it, and transfer on.
Vary Time & Accuracy
I’m sitting at all kinds of .22 LR rounds by way of this KelTec with out cleansing. I took it straight from my gun store to the vary, and I’ve been typically impressed with its efficiency. I’ve air-powered weapons that “kick” greater than the P17. However there are different options that I discover much more interesting.
The sights are easy however quick to make use of in daylight and dimmer indoor ranges. The magazines are straightforward to load, and the slide racks with little or no effort. To date, I’ve skilled three malfunctions throughout 750 rounds. Two had been mild masses that failed to completely cycle the slide.
That ammo was from an previous stash of .22 LR, and I may really feel that the rounds had been considerably sluggish and underpowered. These led to easy-to-clear stovepipe jams. My third and ultimate malfunction was a failure to extract. At that spherical rely, I’m not sad with the reliability for finances bulk-pack .22 ammo. I additionally ran some CCI Velocitors, Federal Punch, and Aguila hollow-point rounds by way of the gun simply to see the way it dealt with non-target masses. Reliability remained stable.
The gun isn’t a bullseye shooter, however it has some accuracy chops. At simply over 5 inches to the sight radius with a brief barrel and light-weight design, it was by no means actually meant to win any accuracy competitions. That stated, most of my pictures fell within the pink at 25 ft, and I ran three mags by way of rapid-fire drills that supplied respectable accuracy and reliability for self-defense functions.
The place Does It Match In?
I’ve this loopy dream that my spouse and I’ll grow to be vary buddies. She’s considerably open to the concept, however she typically dislikes most of my handguns and suffers the frequent curse of being a left-handed shooter. Most weapons, particularly with guide safeties, simply don’t work nicely for her palms.
The P17 breaks the mould for her. It’s virtually the proper coach for inexperienced shooters – righties or lefties. There may be barely any recoil, the sights are respectable and simple to select up in excessive solar or low mild, and the gun is straightforward to load and function.
The design is deliberately fundamental with only a easy blowback motion. It breaks down into simply two essential elements – slide and barrel/decrease – making this hammer-fired pistol fast to scrub and easy to assemble and disassemble with out instruments. I personally by no means cleaned it throughout testing, however it stored chugging alongside. Since there are few metallic elements, I had zero worry of corrosion points as nicely.
Given its extraordinarily light-weight design and affordability, the gun can be a transparent candidate for a go-to plinker, backup, emergency, or survival handgun. I wouldn’t put it on my responsibility belt earlier than going out on a patrol, however it will be a welcome companion in a pinch when weight, capability, and ease are lifesaving qualities.
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