1340 Rounds
0 malfunctions, 0 stoppages, 0 parts breakage
239 rounds went down range this week, and most were shot to acquire some data. I started with Cold Heat, shooting the gun from a strong side belt holster under my t-shirt. Tough to acquire the little gun but I mostly managed. The first run was 1 hit in 1.78, with a second hit coming in just over the 2-second mark. Subsequent runs were consistently 2 hits under 2 seconds, so I hope my next cold attempt will be better. The top picture is the first Cold Heat. A bit to the left as you can see. Finding the sights on a black background is not an easy thing for my eyes.
I then shot a group at 5 yards and no loss of accuracy was detected, though the group was still a little off center.
Concealed draws at 7 yards were next, with times running between 1.12 and 1.2 seconds. I fumbled one pretty badly and ended up with a 1.74. Such little guns can be pretty unforgiving. Pic below. Even the misses would be in the A zone.
I then did a walk-back drill on a full-size IPSC steel. Single shot hits out to 65 yards. Though there are some peripheral hits, most were pretty good. The head shots were from another drill.
I then ran some Bill Drills form the ready, 1.65 to 1.9 was the range, so a little less consistent than some of the other drills. I attribute that to the tiny grip occasionally making repeat fast trigger pulls more challenging. Or maybe it was just me. Finally, I ran the plate rack at 10 yards from the ready. My 2 hand times were 3.5-3.6 seconds. Strong hand only was surprisingly easy and ran in the 3.7s. The trigger is really a pretty good double action and if you keep it moving, you will do well. One handed, the gun shoots almost as easily as two handed, and support side shooting is just fractionally slower. The gun continues to impress.
Why Kel-Tec has not put a decent set of low profile sights on the gun, I do not know. It is obviously cheaper this way, and for the intended use as a PCP, it probably doesn’t matter much. Regardless, I would much prefer some decent sights and think the gun would shoot dramatically better with them. Is it silly to run this gun from a pancake holster? Of course it is. Is the speed of the gun much of an issue? Of course it isn’t. Will the gun pass the 2000 round challenge? My money says yes.
FYI a shop called innovativearms.com does milling of P32 slides to fit real sights. i have not seen them in person but hear they’re good.
I have tried them on a friend’s gun but unfortuantely they are unwilling to do any at this time.
I would absolutely consider this, but $410 is a hefty price tag. And to second what SLG said, the service doesn’t seem to be available at this time, sadly.
SLG,
I agree with you – I would love to see a “deluxe” version of the P32 with actual sights. The production sights are capable of decent accuracy but as you say, they are difficult to acquire in anything approximating “a hurry.” Real sights would be a game-changer on this little pistol and would change it from simply the best option available to the best option, period (at least for my NPE purposes).
R/S,
Justin