Kel-Tec CNC of Cocoa, Florida keeps
coming out with the coolest, most innovative firearms.
Manufacturing some pretty good guns before, Kel-Tec became a
household name among shooters ten years ago with the
introduction of their super-lightweight .32 auto pistol. The
first gun review that I ever did was on the Kel-Tec .32 Auto,
written back in the year 2000. Smaller than many .25 auto
pistols and half the weight of the most popular .32 at the time,
the little Kel-Tec became one of the most popular pocket pistols
ever built. Following this up with the .380
caliber P3AT and the very
slim PF-9, Kel-Tec has dominated the ultra-light pocket
auto market for several years. Their
unique semi-auto carbines have also gained a cult
following. Not content to just build “me too” copies of
existing designs, Kel-Tec always introduces innovative and
interesting weapons. Their
lightweight 5.56mm carbines are a good alternative to an
AR-15, and I have been waiting impatiently for almost two years
to get my hands on one of their new bull-pup .308 rifles. If it
is as good as I think it will be, it should be another winner
for Kel-Tec.
Back in 2006, I got the chance to review the Kel-Tec
PLR-16, a gas-operated 5.56mm pistol that was a
lightweight, reliable, and accurate pistol that could fill the
role well for a compact close-quarters weapon. The subject of
this piece is the understudy of the PLR-16, called the PLR-22.
Sharing the same profile and several of the same components, the
PLR-22 is a close copy of the PLR-16, but fires the cheap and
abundant .22 Long Rifle cartridge, which could well be the most
versatile cartridge ever invented. It is certainly the most
popular. With good 5.56mm ammunition now costing about forty
cents and up per pop, a 550-round box of good .22 LR ammo can
still be had for around thirteen bucks, which is barely over two
cents per round. The PLR-22 is a natural for those who already
own a PLR-16, but is also a very good pistol in its own right,
being an extremely fun little plinker, and the sample gun proved
to be exceedingly accurate and one hundred percent reliable.
The PLR-22 is a blowback-operated pistol, and
feeds from a box magazine. The pistol uses a clear polymer
twenty-six round magazine, which fed flawlessly with every type
of .22 LR ammo that I tried, and I tried several, from bulk
hollowpoint Federal to Aguila SSS sub-sonic to Wolf
Match roundnose. Everything fed, fired, and ejected perfectly.
The bolt rides inside the polymer receiver on steel rails, and
runs very smoothly. The operating handle is attached to the bolt
on the right side, and reciprocates with the bolt upon firing.
The bolt remains open on an empty magazine, and the red mag
follower readily shows the condition of the weapon. The recoil
spring is located above the barrel, in the same position as the
gas tube on the PLR-16. The rear sight is an easy-to-see square
notch blade, and is adjustable for windage correction. The front
post is adjustable for elevation correction. For plinking, I
mainly used a Trijicon Reflex dot
sight atop the Kel-Tec’s Picatinny rail, but switched
to a scope for accuracy testing. The accuracy exhibited by the
PLR-22 was amazing. I was genuinely surprised by the accuracy of
this weapon, as I was having a hard time trying to hold it
steady across a bench rest, while pulling the relatively heavy
trigger on the Kel-Tec. While the trigger works well, and is
about par for a weapon of this type; it is no match trigger, and
is not the easiest for me to use while trying to see how
accurate a pistol will shoot. The trigger pull measured just
under seven pounds on my sample gun, which ain’t bad for
plinking, but again, a little heavy for bench work. However, the
PLR-22 is not meant to be an Olympic free-style pistol, but it
certainly exhibits competitive accuracy. As can be seen in the
pictures, the Kel-Tec can hold its own against the accuracy of
target guns costing several hundred dollars. Wolf Match turned
in the best performance, grouping ten shots into just
three-eighths of an inch, and the cheap Federal bulk ammo from Wal
Mart that turned in the worst performance of the day was
still match-accurate, grouping into one inch. Everything else
that I tried grouped in between these two. Any pistol that will
group its favorite ammo into an inch is plenty accurate to
please me, but the PLR-22 did that well with its worst, and
again, reliability was perfect.
The PLR-22 accepts many of the PLR-16
accessories, and I attached a set of the Kel-Tec handguards. I
consider these a “must have” accessory for the PLRs 16 and
22. They make it much more convenient and comfortable to shoot
the pistols, and add very little weight. I also was happy to see
that the PLR-22 has a threaded muzzle, and my Tactical
Solutions suppressor worked very well on the Kel-Tec,
greatly reducing the noise signature from the ten inch barrel,
and just adding to the overall fun. Weighing just 45 ounces
empty, and just about 13 ounces more with the handguards and an
empty magazine, the PLR-22 is a handy little weapon, built for
fun, but possessing the reliability and accuracy to fill other
roles as well, such as hunting or defending the homestead from
predators such as foxes and wild dogs. With packs of wild dogs
becoming more of a problem each year in wilderness and camping
areas, the PLR-22 would prove to be very handy and effective
against such threats. While a .22 LR is not the best choice
against criminal attacks, the PLR-22 could fill that role as
well, unleashing a barrage of lead hollowpoints at one or more
attackers, with speed and precision. Whatever the use, the
PLR-22 is a dandy little weapon, possessing top-notch accuracy,
and providing loads of inexpensive shooting fun. I highly
recommend it.
Check out the full line of innovative weapons
and accessories from Kel-Tec online at www.kel-tec-cnc.com.
For the location of a Kel-Tec dealer near you,
click on the DEALER FINDER button at www.lipseys.com.
To order the PLR-22 online, go to www.galleryofguns.com.
Jeff
Quinn
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Open sights.
Picatinny rail atop receiver allows for mounting a
wide variety of optics.
Optional handguard has an additional Picatinny
rail on the bottom.
The PLR-22 proved to be surprisingly accurate, and
100% reliable.
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