Here’s a photo review of the Kel Tec P-11 9mm pistol. I carry this handgun daily during the warm months. It’s size makes it perfect for carrying IWB or in a medium sized belt pouch. Both my Carhardtt vest and coat have a large inside breast pocket that accommodate this pistol perfectly so I’ve been carrying this handgun quite a bit during the colder months lately as well.
Even though there are many people that don’t care to own any of KelTec’s firearms, I personally think that they have a ingenius way of engineering their products. To Kel-Tec’s credit, these small Kel Tec handguns have become popular with law enforcement as back-up weapons. I can also tell you that I’ve never had a serious malfunction in the eight years that I’ve owned and used them. I did have one problem while manually chambering a particular brand of 147 grain hollow point , the blunt nose of the cartridge got hung up on the feedramp. This isn’t an issue when the gun is cycled by recoil, it only happened to me when hand-cycling the slide with a full magazine.
I’ve purchased more than one of these and haven’t paid more than $180.00 yet. This pistol was on sale when it was purchased and with a little haggling, the final price was $169.00 including the sales tax. These usually come with a hardshell case, cleaning brush, owner’s manual and two 10 rd. MecGar magazines.
The grip is short, leaving the little finger with nothing to wrap itself around. If you absolutely must have a place to rest your little finger, KelTec offers a finger grip extension for the magazine. Higher capacity S&W 59 and 69 series magazines will fit. The longer magazines are a nice feature for the range but ruin the pistol’s concealability.
Take-down for cleaning is easy. Not as fast as Glock but definitely easier than other brands of semi-autos I’ve owned. The take-down pin has been machined to allow the rim of a cartridge to be used as a puller if needed.
Accuracy is no better or worse than any other pistol of this size. The sights are typical 3-dot. A set of Nite Siters are here and waiting to be installed on these sights. (I wasn’t able to get the front sight dot into focus.)
The P-11 has definitely been worth the cost. It has several features that are important to me. The price is easy on the budget. There’s no safety to hassle with. Magazines are inexpensive. It’s made in the USA and parts are readily available. It’s light and small enough to carry in a variety of ways.
Justus
