Anyone have a Kel-Tec PMR-30?

mlk18 · July 13, 2018, 01:06 PM

Buddy is trying to convince me to buy a PMR-30. Apparently a gun shop he goes to has two of them (OD Green & FDE) and offered him a nice discount if he buys both. He wants me to buy one and him to buy the other and split the discount. I have had 3 experiences with Kel-Tec and all of them some time ago. I owned a pretty nice P11, a total piece of junk PF-9 and a Sub2000 1st gen which was a lot of fun until I broke it (twice) but was durable as an $20 airsoft pistol. Reviews seem to paint the PMR-30 in a favorable light. Has KT gotten their act together are should I run away?

ttarp · July 13, 2018, 01:17 PM

Mine has been quite reliable, and accurate as well. If you fill the magazines up all the way, take your time and heed the manuals instructions, most reliability complaints seem to stem from the magazines. They look like they're built like Nerf guns, and the grip is long front to back, but they're a lot of fun. The trigger is pretty nice too in my opinion. If its not your cup of tea, feel free to walk away, but running simply isn't necessary with the PMR30.

Dr. A · July 13, 2018, 01:50 PM

I bought one a month ago.

With recommended ammo I had 40% failure to fire and with a couple of weeks time got it down to 8%. That wasn't good enough for me so i sent it off and am impatiently awaiting its return (estimated time there is 2 months currently).

PSP · July 13, 2018, 05:51 PM

I've had my PMC for almost three years now. It's turned into one of my favorite fun guns. Well over 1000 rounds and I've had perhaps 3 or 4 blips of one sort or another. I shoot a lot of CCI and Fiocchi 40 gr. So far all ammo has functioned well Armscor was quite underpowered compared to others but functioned fine even though they say don't use it. Now that they are under $400 I consider them buy worthy.

I find ammo for around $9 a box. Not cheap but not outrageous either. I easily go through 100-150 per range visit... too easy in fact... the only drawback to the gun!!

Liked it so much I bought the carbine which is even more fun.

Walt Sherrill · July 13, 2018, 07:50 PM

I've had one for a year or so and shot it from time to time -- maybe 500 rounds through it thus far.

The secret, as noted above, is loading the mags properly. I didn't the first time out -- but re-reading the manual showed me what I was doing wrong.

Fun gun, VERY LOUD (folks will think you're shooting a .50 caliber Desert Eagle), and very, very accurate. It's like a LASER! And what a fireball! Comes with a great trigger.

I bought the gun and some .22 WMR at the same time only to later learn that the ammo I bought wasn't recommended, but it shot fine.

Ammo has never been a problem -- except when I try to find more. It's a bit like hen's teeth. (I find it on sale and buy 10+ boxes at a time.)

I'd consider a carbine version of the gun if they weren't so darned expensive -- you can get a low-end AR for about the same amount.

smee78 · July 14, 2018, 08:05 PM

I have had mine for a while now, trigger feels good and if you follow the loading instructions you should be good to go. Only thing I'm not a big fan of is the heel release, other than this I like the pistol. I bought a bumper for the bottom of the mags and it helps keep me from bumping the release when I have it on my hip. Comes ready for an optic and fully loaded is really light. Its hard to argue with 30 rounds on tap, it just sucks feeding it. The 22mag ammo is close to 9mm ammo prices.

mlk18 · July 15, 2018, 08:08 AM

Thanks everyone for the responses. I went and checked it out yesterday. First I was really surprised at the cost of .22WMR. Even the "cheap stuff" was not really that cheap. The PMR-30 felt pretty good in the hand and did have a nice trigger. While racking the slide the left rear fiber optic filament fell out. Clerk said, stuff like that happens a lot with Kel-Tec, you just need to super glue it back it in. Then the mag release got stuck and the clerk had to take it in the back room for a minute to get it working again. If this PMR-30 was $150-200 I would be okay with some build quality issue, but at $325 I think I will pass.

ttarp · July 15, 2018, 09:20 AM

$325? Wow, even with the issues I'd have been tempted to pick up a second, maybe prices are finally becoming reasonable.

craddleshooter · July 15, 2018, 11:42 AM

I have one going on about two months and I really like it. Really appreciate the 30 round mags but usually just put 25 in each as that is a box of ammo. (does go fast with magazines like that). It is very accurate, very little recoil for as light as it is and a little fireball at the muzzle. I would recommend it if you can find one.

mlk18 · July 15, 2018, 02:18 PM

Seems like $350-375 is pretty standard pricing on them local and on the net. That dealer was offering two for $650. But no matter how great the price if parts are falling off and jamming up it's too much.

Walt Sherrill · July 15, 2018, 07:09 PM

When the PMR-30 were first introduced, it was hard to find one for under $600 -- and a lot of them sold in that price range. Two years later, I finally got one for $425, after being on a waiting list for that whole two years. (On several waiting lists, actually...)

I'm surprised that the price has come down to under $400.

bbqncigars · July 15, 2018, 07:10 PM

The only thing that ever went wrong on mine was a broken take down pin. They mailed a replacement out as soon as I notified them. A fun little gun.

July 13, 2018, 01:06 PM	#1
mlk18 Senior Member Join Date: March 13, 2000 Location: USA Posts: 286	Anyone have a Kel-Tec PMR-30? Buddy is trying to convince me to buy a PMR-30. Apparently a gun shop he goes to has two of them (OD Green & FDE) and offered him a nice discount if he buys both. He wants me to buy one and him to buy the other and split the discount. I have had 3 experiences with Kel-Tec and all of them some time ago. I owned a pretty nice P11, a total piece of junk PF-9 and a Sub2000 1st gen which was a lot of fun until I broke it (twice) but was durable as an $20 airsoft pistol. Reviews seem to paint the PMR-30 in a favorable light. Has KT gotten their act together are should I run away?

July 14, 2018, 08:05 PM	#6
smee78 Senior Member Join Date: July 14, 2008 Location: South Carolina Posts: 2,918	I have had mine for a while now, trigger feels good and if you follow the loading instructions you should be good to go. Only thing I'm not a big fan of is the heel release, other than this I like the pistol. I bought a bumper for the bottom of the mags and it helps keep me from bumping the release when I have it on my hip. Comes ready for an optic and fully loaded is really light. Its hard to argue with 30 rounds on tap, it just sucks feeding it. The 22mag ammo is close to 9mm ammo prices. __________________ We know exactly where one cow with Mad-cow-disease is located, among the millions and millions of cows in America, but we haven't got a clue where thousands of illegal immigrants and terrorists are

July 15, 2018, 07:10 PM	#12
bbqncigars Senior Member Join Date: February 1, 2009 Location: Iowa Posts: 525	The only thing that ever went wrong on mine was a broken take down pin. They mailed a replacement out as soon as I notified them. A fun little gun. __________________ "Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most." A. Brilliant

July 13, 2018, 01:17 PM	#2
ttarp Senior Member Join Date: January 4, 2013 Posts: 888	Mine has been quite reliable, and accurate as well. If you fill the magazines up all the way, take your time and heed the manuals instructions, most reliability complaints seem to stem from the magazines. They look like they're built like Nerf guns, and the grip is long front to back, but they're a lot of fun. The trigger is pretty nice too in my opinion. If its not your cup of tea, feel free to walk away, but running simply isn't necessary with the PMR30.

July 13, 2018, 01:50 PM	#3
Dr. A Senior Member Join Date: July 17, 2007 Location: Salina, KS. Posts: 215	I bought one a month ago. With recommended ammo I had 40% failure to fire and with a couple of weeks time got it down to 8%. That wasn't good enough for me so i sent it off and am impatiently awaiting its return (estimated time there is 2 months currently).

July 13, 2018, 05:51 PM	#4
PSP Senior Member Join Date: June 2, 2006 Location: Bowling Green Virginia Posts: 4,487	I've had my PMC for almost three years now. It's turned into one of my favorite fun guns. Well over 1000 rounds and I've had perhaps 3 or 4 blips of one sort or another. I shoot a lot of CCI and Fiocchi 40 gr. So far all ammo has functioned well Armscor was quite underpowered compared to others but functioned fine even though they say don't use it. Now that they are under $400 I consider them buy worthy. I find ammo for around $9 a box. Not cheap but not outrageous either. I easily go through 100-150 per range visit... too easy in fact... the only drawback to the gun!! Liked it so much I bought the carbine which is even more fun.

July 13, 2018, 07:50 PM	#5
Walt Sherrill Senior Member Join Date: February 15, 1999 Location: Winston-Salem, NC USA Posts: 6,348	I've had one for a year or so and shot it from time to time -- maybe 500 rounds through it thus far. The secret, as noted above, is loading the mags properly. I didn't the first time out -- but re-reading the manual showed me what I was doing wrong. Fun gun, VERY LOUD (folks will think you're shooting a .50 caliber Desert Eagle), and very, very accurate. It's like a LASER! And what a fireball! Comes with a great trigger. I bought the gun and some .22 WMR at the same time only to later learn that the ammo I bought wasn't recommended, but it shot fine. Ammo has never been a problem -- except when I try to find more. It's a bit like hen's teeth. (I find it on sale and buy 10+ boxes at a time.) I'd consider a carbine version of the gun if they weren't so darned expensive -- you can get a low-end AR for about the same amount.

July 15, 2018, 08:08 AM	#7
mlk18 Senior Member Join Date: March 13, 2000 Location: USA Posts: 286	Thanks everyone for the responses. I went and checked it out yesterday. First I was really surprised at the cost of .22WMR. Even the "cheap stuff" was not really that cheap. The PMR-30 felt pretty good in the hand and did have a nice trigger. While racking the slide the left rear fiber optic filament fell out. Clerk said, stuff like that happens a lot with Kel-Tec, you just need to super glue it back it in. Then the mag release got stuck and the clerk had to take it in the back room for a minute to get it working again. If this PMR-30 was $150-200 I would be okay with some build quality issue, but at $325 I think I will pass.

July 15, 2018, 09:20 AM	#8
ttarp Senior Member Join Date: January 4, 2013 Posts: 888	$325? Wow, even with the issues I'd have been tempted to pick up a second, maybe prices are finally becoming reasonable.

July 15, 2018, 11:42 AM	#9
craddleshooter Junior member Join Date: March 9, 2018 Location: NY Posts: 90	I have one going on about two months and I really like it. Really appreciate the 30 round mags but usually just put 25 in each as that is a box of ammo. (does go fast with magazines like that). It is very accurate, very little recoil for as light as it is and a little fireball at the muzzle. I would recommend it if you can find one.

July 15, 2018, 02:18 PM	#10
mlk18 Senior Member Join Date: March 13, 2000 Location: USA Posts: 286	Seems like $350-375 is pretty standard pricing on them local and on the net. That dealer was offering two for $650. But no matter how great the price if parts are falling off and jamming up it's too much.

July 15, 2018, 07:09 PM	#11
Walt Sherrill Senior Member Join Date: February 15, 1999 Location: Winston-Salem, NC USA Posts: 6,348	When the PMR-30 were first introduced, it was hard to find one for under $600 -- and a lot of them sold in that price range. Two years later, I finally got one for $425, after being on a waiting list for that whole two years. (On several waiting lists, actually...) I'm surprised that the price has come down to under $400.