Erin got a PMR-30 for Testing and evaluation.
I must say that I’ve been intrigued by this gun since I first heard about it. Its a neat design, and has a lot of cool features, and .22 WMR is a neat round that doesn’t cost an arm-and-a-leg, nor is it hard to come by. And all at a reasonable MSRP.
Of course Kel-Tec firearms are not “Safe” for Massachusetts sale, and under no circumstances can non-law enforcement own post 94 magazines that hold more than 10 rounds…and the PMR holds, as its name states, 30 rounds.
Still on her target she had some keyholing issues. This is when the bullet isn’t properly stabilized by the rifling, causing the round to start tumbling (as the base of the bullet has more mass than the tip…so the base will want to go first if not spinning properly) and sometimes leaving holes from the SIDE of the bullet, which look a little like a keyhole.
Turns out its an ammo issue, not the gun. Go have a read, and look at the comments. McThag notes that it doesn’t appear to be a bullet weight issue, so its probably velocity differences between the rounds.
He also notes that once this gun (and potential copycats) hit the market, I suspect ammo will be made specifically for these pistols, much like the specialty .410 ammo made for the Taurus Judge and other .410 revolvers.
In a way, though, it _IS_ a gun issue.
.22 WMR is not a brand new round and Kel Tec designed a gun that doesn’t shoot the ammo being made. Notice the list of “good” ammo is very short?
If the gun proves popular, then ammo will be made to accommodate Kel-Tec’s design.
What I am not finding is .22 WMR having keyholing issues in the numerous revolvers with similar barrel lengths. I think that puts the ball back on the gun.
I hate being the grindingly negative person here.
No you have a VERY Valid point….and knowing that it is Kel-Tec which is well known for their issues of QC, fit-and-finish, and not-ready-for-prime-time innovations, you’re probably very correct.
I could argue that .22 WMR is really a rifle round…but as you said, .22 WMR HAS been a popular revolver round for AGES, and people saying that those .22 WMR revolvers having accuracy issues, or ammo sensitivity is NOT something you hear about at all.
And when you consider the popularity of just the Ruger Single Six alone, which has almost always shipped with two wheels, one for .22 LR and one for .22 WMR, you’d think this issue would be well-documented by now….
Actually, it was precisely the accuracy and keyholing issues I found shooting .22WMR in revolvers that caused me to write off the round as a viable handgun round about 20 years ago. Of course (being a firm Kool-Aid drinking acolyte of the MOAR IZ BETTER! school of ballistics in those days), my primary .22WMR round choice? Um, CCI 40gr Maxi-Mag — same as was giving Erin fits.
If the pressure curve for that loading was designed by CCI for efficient use of a rifle-length barrel for maximum ballistic performance from rifles, my SWAG would be the bullet is being upset after muzzle exit by the gas created by large amount of powder not burned until if hits the muzzle of a pistol barrel. It would have the same basic effect as a badly mangled crown.
It’s ALL on Kel-Tec… They are NOT testing accurately or completely, just doing basic testing and throwing it out there for their CUSTOMERS to do the DT… And just about everyone I know with a Ruger SS has NEVER put the .22WMR cylinder in the gun. Just sayin…
My buddy Marv has never fired a .22LR from his single six!
That’s because he lost that cylinder pretty much the day he brought it home and it remained lost for years (decades?). He found it later, but has never bothered switching back.
OldNFO is correct. As a proud owner of a Kel-Tec P-11, you have to wonder about a company’s “Fan Boy” site where one is “Encouraged” to break out the Dremel (Hattip to THOT!).
Someone at Kel-Tec said “Hey, let’s see if we can get a piece of the 5.7 FN Crowd, but let’s use .22 WMR. It’s close enough, and we don’t have to pay Licensing Fees.”
If I ever win the Lottery, Kel-Tec is one of my “Dream Companies to Own.” So much Potential, so much Failure….
Yup, gun, not ammo.
Kel-Tec made a bad decision on rifling twist, which is always the culprit for keyholing.
They probably tailored the twist for best accuracy with the ammo they tested, but didn’t realize that slightly longer rounds would need a faster twist.
They gave the person testing a faster twist barrel, and the problem vanished ( and she may notice the 30 grain rounds now shoot less accurately – nothing is free ).
Twist is not the only possible culprit.
A loose bore will also give this result and might make more sense given that 30 and 50 grain bullets stabilize but 40’s don’t.
.22 WMR is very near the limit where blow-back operation is not an optimal idea; a loose bore would let some pressure bleed out in front of the bullet making the action a bit less violent.
I also recall that Mr Kelgren’s other high capacity .22 WMR design did not last long and was fraught with issues.