P3AT FTE

[meyer4589]

I took a gamble on a used P3AT at a local pawn shop for $130. I had the chance to take it out over 4th of July weekend and ran a mix of fmj and some various hollow points. All rounds chambered and fired flawlessly, but I had issues with the gun extracting and ejecting the spent casing. The casing would only eject when I dropped the mag and manually racked the slide. This happed about every other magazine and about 2 or 3 rounds in a row. I have already contacted Kel Tec and they told me to replace the extractor, spring, and screw. Has anyone else had this issue? What did you do to correct it? If the new parts do not fix it, I will send it in.

 

[Small's]

i shot mine a few weeks ago and it was doing the same thing with winchester fmj. I dont know if it was the gun or the ammo.

 

[meyer4589]

It happened with every kind of ammo I tired. Brass cased fmj fiocchi and American eagle. Winchester PDX and DRT hollow points. About 150 rounds total

 

[EdC]

I had a Kel-Tec PF9 with similar issues, and I think its a common problem. Kel-Tec told me the same fix-replace extractor spring and screw. Never fixed the problem. In my experience, a Kel-Tec with a chronic issue will never work 100% of the time, unless it can be fixed on the first or second attempt. I had a P3-AT, no issues at all. Had a couple PF9's, and different story.

I'm not sure how to express this the best way, but my belief is that QC is so low on those things that there can be so much interrelationship among the various processes and operations, with many that "just make it," at some point you have to say the problem is the gun itself.

Put another way, a part can cover a wide range of tolerances and still be "in spec." Problem is that when so many of the parts are perilously close to the same edge of tolerance, it can have a cumulative effect. That's how it was explained to me once, anyway, and it makes sense to me.

With Kel Tec, if it's under warranty, the consumer has to keep returning it, getting it back, putting another 100 rounds or so, and having it fail once or twice, send it back, etc. until Kel Tec replaces it.

Oh yeah, replace the extractor, spring and screw, and see if that fixes it. It might. Please report, and good luck.

 

[meyer4589]

Thanks, this is my second Kel Tec. I had a PF9 before that was absolutely flawless and I regret selling it. Hopefully I get this figured out because I actually like this little gun and want to carry it as a back up

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

Had a buddy give me one with the caveat that it was doing the same thing. Turns out when I removed the extractor the slot it sat in was PACKED UP with pocket lint. Just pull the screw and check.

 

[halfmileharry]

Had a buddy give me one with the caveat that it was doing the same thing. Turns out when I removed the extractor the slot it sat in was PACKED UP with pocket lint. Just pull the screw and check.

I was going to say to make sure it's totally clean. Your description sounds like the gun is dirty.
I found out on my P3ATs that lubing the springs help.
The new recoil springs are double spring and stiffer. A box of MagTech fixed that.
While you've got it down make sure you check the spring assy in the handle. They tend to rust and the spring will break. It's common due to the handle letting moisture in

 

[meyer4589]

Do you guys know what size/type of screw head the P3AT has? Looks to be a torx of some sort but I'm not sure if I have one that size

 

[FERLACH]

I own a P3AT, have shot several boxes of differant brands of ammo thru it, and 100% function every time. I think, not sure, that there were 1st and 2nd generations on them.

 

[maverick18]

is the ejector actually present? Sometime they can fall out during cleaning without being noticed........don't ask me how I know

 

[dibdee83]

I had a P32 that had FTE every mag or or two and a fluff and buff and a couple hundred rounds more id the trick. I kinda wish I hadn't sold that little gun.

 

[meyer4589]

Just received the extractor kit and a new recoil spring assembly the other day. Swapped the parts out, going to try and test it out one day this week after work. One thing I did notice was how much harder it was to rack the slide with the new recoil springs compared to the old ones. Maybe that was part of the problem.

 

[sharpetop]

Place a drop of blue Locktite on the extractor screw. It's know to work its way loose when firing, hence, the FTE. Also, don't over tighten the screw, as it's a very soft metal and will break easily. Just snug it up.