As I write this, I just got back yesterday
from a quick trip down to Florida to visit the Kel-Tec factory.
I was impressed by what I saw at the Kel-Tec CNC factory.
Everything there is very clean and efficient. State-of-the-art
CNC equipment is set up in a very modern factory, operated by
competent employees who seem to know what they are doing, and to
care about the products which they are manufacturing. Raw bar
stock of steel or aluminum is loaded into a machine, and
finished parts come out the other end, ready to be heat-treated
and finished. The machines work at amazing speeds, and the parts
exiting those machines need little if any human hand-work.
Robots weld parts together into assemblies ready to be finished,
with capable craftsmen (and women) assembling the weapons,
sending them on to Quality Control, then to Packaging.
The only thing missing that is seen in most
other factories is inventory. Kel-Tec does not have nor do they
need a vault to hold the finished weapons awaiting shipment.
With the demand for Kel-Tec products being so high, the weapons
are all sold before being built, and are shipped out when they
are finished. Kel-Tec products are in great demand, and even
operating at a fast, efficient pace, the factory still cannot
meet consumer demand. From what I observed, the situation is
likely to remain as such for a long time, as the demand for the
Kel-Tec pistols and carbines is still very high, and interesting
new products are in the works.
This brings me to the primary reason for my
visit to Kel-Tec; to shoot the new PMR-30 semi-auto pistol. This
new pistol is chambered for the very efficient 22 Rimfire Magnum
cartridge, which is one of my favorites. This dandy little
cartridge offers good penetration, reliable expansion, and low
recoil. I have other 22 Magnum pistols, and enjoy shooting them.
However, the Kel-Tec PMR-30 excites me. This new pistol has a
magazine capacity of thirty rounds, an ambidextrous thumb
safety, and a very good trigger pull. All of this is packed into
a pistol that weighs about 19 ounces, fully loaded! A gun such
as this is a delight to carry all day on the trail, bumming
around the woods or while working, hunting, fishing, or hiking
outdoors. The 22 Magnum cartridge has enough power to repel all
but the large bears. For use against what most of us are going
to encounter in the woods, such as a pack of wild dogs or a pack
of thugs with ill intentions, a fist-full of 22 Magnum
cartridges fired rapidly and accurately will do the job very
efficiently. I often carry a 22 Magnum revolver while afield,
and if this PMR-30 is fairly accurate, it will replace that
revolver on my side. Fully loaded it will carry 31 rounds,
compared to the revolver’s eight round capacity. Almost four
times the firepower, and the Kel-Tec weighs a lot less.
I got to fire the PMR-30 briefly, just
testing the function, but not for accuracy. The pistol ran
really well. Kel-Tec even had a full-auto version with a
buttstock available, and I got to play with that a bit as well.
Production of the PMR-30 is scheduled to start within a month,
and I will have one here for testing for accuracy and
reliability with various brands and types of ammunition.
I have high hopes for this new pistol. It has
the potential to fill a need that really needs filling. If the
production gun lives up to my expectations, I will buy at least
two of them. The PMR-30 will be priced around $460 or so, but
will likely sell for under 400 bucks at the retail level. Keep
watching Gunblast.com for a full review, hopefully very soon.
In the mean time, if you have a high-speed
connection, watch the video. Notice the lack of muzzle rise, and
the smoothness at which this weapon can empty a magazine. One
month; that’s what they tell me. I am highly optimistic, but
the wait is killing me.
Jeff Quinn
