Kel Tec PMR 30 Overview
The PMR 30 is a very difficult pistol for Kel Tec to manufacture. The first step taken in production of the PMR 30 is for the employees of Kel Tec to venture to a distant and dangerous island to round up Unicorns. Since production of the PMR 30 has began, Kel Tec has lost over 40 employees while they attempted to collect Unicorns for the production of the PMR 30. Once they arrive on the island they must collect a mature male Unicorn and a young female Unicorn. This is much more difficult than it seems, as everyone knows, the only thing that attracts Unicorns is Gypsy tears. Once the Unicorns are successfully captured, the employees take them back to Kel Tec, where they must get the Unicorns to breed. This proves to be equally as difficult as capturing the Unicorns. The only thing that gives the Unicorns the desire to breed is by having Morgan Freeman read them Unintended Consequences by John Ross, completely through in one sitting. Since Morgan Freeman is a busy man, this does not happen as frequently as needed for mass production of the PMR. Fortunately due to increases in technology, Kel Tec has recently had success in projecting a hologram of Morgan Freeman reading, while playing an audio recording of his narration. This has been proven to work 70% of the time, all of the time. Once the female Unicorn is pregnant, she is kept in a special stable, where she watches the TV show Glee non stop, until she gives birth to the newborn Unicorn. The next part is very crucial to production of the PMR, the newborn Unicorn must have one hair harvested off of it for each PMR Kel Tec wishes to produce before it opens it eyes. Usually Kel Tec is successful in harvesting on average 87 hairs from the newborn before it opens its eyes. Once the newborn is able to fend for itself the Kel Tec employees release it back to the Unicorn Island when they return to capture more Unicorns. The Unicorns previously captured then get taken to the KSG production line, and it is unknown where they go from there.
First Impressions
The pistol came in a standard black plastic hardcase. Inside it contained the pistol, two 30 round magazines, an owners manual, trigger lock, and a warning on what type of ammunition to use. The first thing that everyone says when they pick it up is how stupid light that it is. This thing weighs next to nothing, even with 30 rounds loaded in it. The second thing is the feel. It has the same Kel Tec "Naugaplastic" feel, which feels pretty cheap and cheesy. It certainly is a different looking gun, but still somewhat aesthetically pleasing. One thing that stood out was a yellow piece of paper recommending certain ammunition types for it to function reliably.
Fit and Finish
Sites
Once we returned to the big city we found that the only way we could get the .035" Allen locally was to purchase a completely Allen set for $50 and up. As a last resort we went to Harbor Freight and were able to score a cheap kit that contained one for $7. Needless to say this was a major pain in the ass for something that should have never left the factory this way.
Magazine and Magazine Release
The magazine release is a heel style release on the corner of the grip. Unlike most Com-Bloc pistols, the magazines do drop free when you press it.
Trigger
Mechanical and Other Features
The slide looks funky due to the plastic cover on the rear of it. One cool thing about this is you can buy a mount to put a small red dot on the pistol, which would no doubt be pretty ninja to do.
On the left side of the pistol in a location to that similar to that of a Glock is the Slide Stop. It must be noted that this is a Slide Stop only, and not a release. To put the slide back into battery you have to pull the slide to the rear to release it.
Ergonomics
Impressions at the Range
Last weekend I took the PMR out to make sure it was reliable before my dad receives it. I fired a mix of CCI, Winchester Super X, Remington Premier, and Hornady V-Max from the pistol. I had one failure to return to battery using the Super X, but the slide returned to battery as soon as I tapped the magazine of the pistol. However, the Super X still was keyholing. This was a bit unsettling, but once I switched ammo I had no issues. All other ammo types functioned reliably, and on average I could put an entire magazine into roughly a silver dollar sized group at 15 yards. Just for fun I shot at a bucket at the 200 yard mark, and was able to hit it about 50% of the time. Doing this with a pistol is pretty damned fun, and definitely shows the great ballistics of the .22 Magnum.
Something I noticed is this thing throws brass FAR. By this, I mean it even ejects empty cases as far, if not further than an HK91, roughly 20 yards to the right. Even shooting this at noon I could see a fireball from the unburnt powder.
Overall Impressions
- Availability of different ammo types
- Capacity: 30 rounds is pretty awesome no matter who you are (unless you are Dianne Feinstein)
- Fun: You will have a grin on your face shooting this thing, guaranteed
- Low Recoil
- Iffy Quality: Kel Tec is not really known for masterpieces. This along with the front site not being tight, and the naugaplastic feel does not inspire much confidence
- Availability: With not that many of these out in the wild by purchasing one you feel somewhat like a Beta Tester
EZ/GG