Kel-Tec CNC in Cocoa, Florida has for the
past few years introduced some unique and very useful firearms,
such as their .32 and .380
ACP pocket pistols, and their 9mm
and 5.56mm lightweight
semi-automatic rifles. At the 2006
SHOT Show in Las Vegas, I was shown their new
semi-automatic pistol that is chambered for the 5.56mm NATO
cartridge. There are a couple of other pistols so chambered on
the market that are basically shortened AR-15 rifles, but the
Kel-Tec uses a different spring system than the AR-15, resulting
in a more compact weapon. AR-15 based pistols use a spring tube
attached to the rear of the receiver, as does the AR-15 rifle.
Kel-Tec eliminated that spring tube by placing the bolt carrier
return spring around the gas tube, effectively shortening the
pistol by several inches.
The PLR-16 comes supplied with one ten-round
magazine, but will accept any AR-15/M-16 magazine. The charging
handle on the PLR-16 also differs from the AR-15 design. It is
attached to the right side of the bolt carrier, much like the
AR-180. It travels rearward upon firing with the bolt carrier,
and this design also doubles as a forward assist, if needed. I
find this type of charging handle much easier to use than that
on the AR-15 type pistols. The PLR-16 uses an AR-15 type
rotating bolt, and the muzzle is threaded to accept any
AR-15/M-16 muzzle brake or flash suppressor. While the weapon is
pretty compact at just eighteen and one-half inches, it does
fold to make it even a bit more compact for transport or
storage. The manual safety on the PLR-16 is a crossbolt design
that blocks the trigger and sear from movement. Both the upper
and lower receiver sections are made from a reinforced plastic
material, which results in a weight of only three and
one-quarter pounds, empty.
I recently received a PLR-16 production pistol
for review, and have put several boxes of various types of
5.56mm and .223 Remington ammunition through the weapon, along
with a quantity of military surplus ammo from Malaysia, Israel,
and the United States. Throughout all of the shooting,
there was only one failure, and it was because of a bad round,
and was no fault of the weapon. The cartridge that failed to
fire was a twenty year old Malaysian military surplus round that
had a bad primer. Other than that, the Kel-Tec fed, fired, and
ejected perfectly throughout the tests, using a variety of M-16
twenty and thirty round magazines, along with the supplied
factory magazine. No effort was made to clean or lubricate the
PLR-16, and even while dirty, the weapon functioned flawlessly.
The trigger pull measured six and one-half pounds, which is
heavier than I like, but it was smooth throughout its short
travel.
I fitted the PLR-16 with the optional front hand
guard, which I think is necessary to protect the hand from the
heat of the barrel and gas tube, using the preferred hold. I
like to grip the hand guard for a better hold, instead of
holding the weapon by only the pistol grip, or the magazine. It
provides much better control, and I recommend the hand guard to
anyone who purchases the PLR-16. I also attached the optional
sling to the rear of the pistol. This is not a have-to-have
accessory, but it does make it handy to carry the weapon slung
from the shoulder, and offers a bit more support in firing the
weapon.
The PLR-16 comes with a windage-adjustable
square notch rear and elevation adjustable front sight system.
The front sight can be adjusted with the point of a bullet, just
like on the M-16, or it can be adjusted with the optional sight
tool from Kel-Tec. The receiver top also has an integral
standard Picatinny rail to mount optical sights, and the bottom
of the optional hand guard also incorporates a Picatinny rail to
attach flashlights or laser sighing devices, if the shooter so
desires.
The action of the PLR-16 remains open after the
last shot in the magazine is fired, and the bolt is released to
travel forward after inserting a loaded magazine by slightly
retracting the charging handle, and releasing it to travel
forward under spring pressure. The magazine release is of the
AR-15 design. The barrel measures just under nine and
one-quarter inches on the PLR-16. All metal surfaces are
finished in a matte blued finish, and the synthetic parts match
very closely. Another optional accessory tried was a
case-deflecting charging handle, but I had no trouble with
either design.
The PLR-16 is very simple to strip for cleaning.
Pushing out one cross pin allows the pistol grip section to
fold, permitting the removal of the bolt carrier and gas tube,
and allowing access to the breech for proper cleaning of the
barrel.
I tried the PLR-16 with a variety of ammunition,
as mentioned above. While the short barrel does sacrifice some
velocity, it does not lose as much as I expected. For example,
ball ammo that clocked 3088 feet-per-second (fps) from a sixteen
inch barreled AR-15, still achieved a respectable 2670 fps from
the short-barreled Kel-Tec. With or without a flash suppressor,
muzzle flash was not bothersome at all. As can be seen in the
video, the weapon is very controllable in rapid fire. It also
proved to be concealable from under a long duster, slung from my
left shoulder by the optional sling.
At first, I thought of the PLR-16 as a really
fun plinker; something that could be taken out for blasting away
some cheap surplus ammo. The weapon fills this role very well,
and I almost did not even attempt to test the gun for accuracy.
However, I did attach a Trijicon
Reflex dot sight atop the Kel-Tec. I prefer the Trijicon
above all other dot sights, as it never needs batteries, and is
always "on", being powered by tritium. After seeing
how accurate the PLR-16 appeared to be, I sat down at the bench
and fired a few groups with the Trijicon attached. I was
impressed, so I then mounted a scope and tested the weapon for
accuracy at one hundred yards, with very pleasing results. This
gun is much more than just a fun plinker. It has the accuracy
potential for long range hunting, much like a semi-auto Thompson
Contender. It should prove a lot of fun on vermin, and would
do very well for turkey hunting, where legal to use a pistol.
Groups hovered around one inch with good ammo at one hundred
yards, with some surplus stuff grouping about twice that big.
Also, where a close-quarters weapon is required,
the PLR-16 should serve quite well. It conceals reasonably well
under a coat, and fits perfectly and discreetly into a gym bag
or other similarly sized case. It offers a lot of firepower in a
reasonably compact package. Recoil is light, and one can fire
through a thirty round magazine in just a few seconds, if
needed. The PLR-16 exhibited accuracy much better than I had
anticipated. What I had assumed was just a fun plinker,
turned out to be capable of filling other, more serious, roles
as well.
Check them out online at: http://www.kel-tec-cnc.com/.
For the location of a Kel-Tec dealer near you,
click on the DEALER LOCATOR icon at: www.lipseys.com.
Jeff Quinn
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