Kel Tec PMR30 22WMR for EDC ?

[williamnewman1]

A buddy of mine was able to pic up a pmr30 a little bit ago and I was able to pick one up just a few days later. Walked into a local pawn shop and there it was in the case with no tag. I asked the salesman about it and he said "wait just a sec I'm printing out the tag". Comes back with a price of $449 and says it is new in the box and from Kel Tec , apparently he ordered them and gets one every couple months.

We took them to my backyard range and put about 100rds through both with no issues. Its a really comfortable gun to shoot and if you do the " push/pull" grip there is nearly no muzzle flip.

I searched on here but to no avail, anyone consider these for an EDC? My only complaint about the gun itself is the mag release , I engaged it once not meaning to. My buddy did not have that issue , but I have gorilla hands. I have a couple ideas to fix that issue, like put a rubber grip on it to push my hand that 1/32" back from the release , modify the release so it is more recessed into the gun , or tighten the release spring.

Also I've never been a fan of rimfire for EDC , others opinions on that?

 

[Dyerbill]

I've been looking at this for a while....as for 22 mag for carry..yes...30 rds...I believe you're safe...my question is reliability.....and availability of ammo

 

[roscott]

The nay-sayers will be along shortly, but if you can find ammo that functions 100% reliably, it would be a sufficient carry gun for most purposes. There are plenty of people out there carrying a 5-shot .38 revolver with "reduced recoil, -P, mouse fart" loads, and I think I would rather have a PMR30 than that...

However, you will be carrying a gun not really designed for self defense scenarios. Most self defense shootings are over in just a few seconds, with very few rounds fired. (Just ask BBI.) A self defense gun needs to be able to deliver several powerful rounds quickly, and be small enough to conceal. The PMR30 excels in that it carries lots of ammo, albeit a very small caliber. You will likely only need a few rounds in self defense, but you need them to count. If you feel it is sufficient for that, it's your life, and you are free to protect it as you see fit.

So IMHO maybe not the ideal carry gun, but you could do much worse.

 

[bonkers1919]

Great gun!! I paid 399.00 at RK 5 weeks ago. They had 4 and I should have bought them all. I have a marlin 883s WMR. Beautiful to have a pistol and a bolt action hambered in 22WMR.

Now if if can sell my HK 416 in 22lr..................

My pistol is only loaded with 25 rounds and I will carry it in the summer. Fully loaded with 30 rounds it weighs 19.6 oz. Lightweight and maximum rounds is accuracy by volume. I FOLLOW the advice in the instruction manual concerning loading the magazine and the type of ammo to use and have had no problems.

Great fun gun and and great introduction gun to younger shooters. One very cool thing concerning the gun is the muzzle blast. Very visible during the day. Kids LOVE that. This is a Great gun to introduce women to shooting also.

One of the best ways to spend 399.00 dollars without my wife knowing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[BehindBlueI's]

The only .22 magnum into a human events I've seen have been of the contact/near-contact head shot variety. They have done the trick in that regard. I don't know how well they would perform in other scenarios, say through a heavy coat and into a rib or the like. They were all fatal, although they sometimes involved a few hours of flopping around until the brain realized they were dead. I don't care enough to look into various available ammunition and the differences, but if I were going to trust my life to it, I'd look into that pretty hard.

My next concern would be the placement of the thumb safety, can you get it off 100% of the time under stress with a possibly compromised grip or while tangled up with a bad guy? Presenting a non-working firearm is very dangerous.

Odds are it'll be fine, but it wouldn't be my first choice. For that much bulk, I'd personally stick with a 9mm - .45 unless arthritis or something like that compromised my ability to shoot standard duty/defense cartridges. The advantages of low recoil aren't much more pronounced than a 9mm, I don't mind carrying a heavier gun, and their are plenty of proven defense cartridges in those calibers. If you want/need a lighter gun or can't tolerate recoil, then it may be your best choice.

 

[88E30M50]

I'm of the school of thought that holds more value on being able to do more damage with fewer rounds than less damage with lots of rounds, so sure, I'll be a naysayer. Will it work? Of course. Will it be the best tool to have if you are facing a 250# drugged up meth head? It would not be my first choice.

 

[dross]

If it's reliable, it would work just fine. 30 rounds to the face should stop anyone. Yes, it's hard to hit the face, but much easier with a full sized pistol with negligible recoil. If a knife or a club is a self-defense weapon, 30 rounds of 22 mag should qualify.

 

[Route 45]

If it's reliable, it would work just fine. 30 rounds to the face should stop anyone. Yes, it's hard to hit the face, but much easier with a full sized pistol with negligible recoil. If a knife or a club is a self-defense weapon, 30 rounds of 22 mag should qualify.

30 rounds to the face. That seems like a realistic defensive encounter.

 

[roscott]

If it's reliable, it would work just fine. 30 rounds to the face should stop anyone. Yes, it's hard to hit the face, but much easier with a full sized pistol with negligible recoil. If a knife or a club is a self-defense weapon, 30 rounds of 22 mag should qualify.

I prefer 11 rounds of 22lr to the face.

 

[dross]

I prefer 11 rounds of 22lr to the face.

I think either choice would tend to discourage bad behavior.

 

[tonybia]

I had thought the same thing about using a PMR30 as a carry gun but after owning one for several months, I could never feel comfortable enough with it either because of gun reliability or ammo quality/consistency. The gun seemed to have some issue or another at one time or another and to me that was not a good combination. I decided to sell the gun. Many more guns in more reliable calibers available. JMHO.

If you are looking for high velocity in a 22 size I highly recommend a gun firing 22tcm. It's a centerfire cartridge with extremely high velocity and most of the 22tcm handguns have high capacity of 17-20 rounds. No recoil,big boom and more reliable guns.

 

[Israel]

The only problem i have had with my PMR is that i keep trying to eject the mag like a normal gun. When shooting i hit the target with every shot. This is not the case with my XDS.

 

[shootersix]

ive carried mine a few times, but not again till I get more confident it its reliability! ive only had 1 range trip with no malfunctions (I bought it in 2013)

if I were you, I'd make sure it feeds all the time, ive had the best luck loading the mag with 25 rounds.

id also load it with speer gold dot, or hornady critical defense/ hornady varmit, but still I'd make sure it will eat that ammo without any hiccups!

its light weight (even loaded) makes it easy to carry, but it is kind of big, when I did carry it, I used a old faithful iwb holster for a glock 19, and I shocked the hell out of the dicks employee with it (I was buying 22 mag ammo) and as I was telling him about it, I told him I was carrying it, I pointed to my 4 o clock and said its tucked under my shirt, I put my finger on the back of the slide and end of the bbl, then the top of the slide, and the bottom of the frame to show him the size (I never took it out) and that I had 25 rounds in it.

one last thing, I see a small red dot sight, I hear that if you mount one, it makes the gun more jam prone. check the ktog forum!

 

[Bigtanker]

30 rounds to the face. That seems like a realistic defensive encounter.

I prefer 11 rounds of 22lr to the face.

Seems a bit more reasonable that a .25 to the ear canal. JMHO though.