[dewhorse73]

I bought my P11 used because I liked the thought of 10 rnds of Cor-Bon in such a small package, I was looking for it to replace my snubby 357 mag. Anyway the first 100 or so rounds went fine, except for me trying to learn to stage the trigger!! Anyway ever since then it will have at least 1 FTE per mag, when you look at the shells it is touching the rim but not enough. I wrote to Kel-tec and they sent a new extractor, that did not do it. Is there anything I should look at or just contact the company and send it in. Also does anyone have experience with the customer service at Kel-Tec. Thanks

 

[norfdet893]

Customer service is second to none, they are great. Whenever I hear about this type of problem I am always hesitant to give advice becasue usually the problem is that someone is limpwristing. Kel-Tec's, while very reliable are also very finiky about limpwristing. They require much more wrist strength that most shooters realize or you will encounter FTE's. Occasionally with new guns there are some springs that need to be replaced and Kel-Tec will take care of any parts that need to be exchanged and almost always free of charge. My suggestion is to install a Hogue handall and some sort of finger rest at the bottom of the magazine. I have both a P11 and a P40 but realizing that they need a firmer than usual grip, I have not experienced any FTE's with mine in several hundred rounds. The trigger, while it is unusually long for some will smooth out time but realize that this is the safety of the pistol and when you get used to it I bet you won't notice it. I like my Kel-Tec's and use them regularly as travel guns. Don't give up on it yet. Take it the range more and get used to the gun, I think that soon you will come to realize what a solid investment it was.

Good Luck.

 

[norfdet893]

Oh, by the way I should add that if you want to send it in to Kel-Tec I am sure that they will give it the once over and make sure that everything is within specs. Out of 4 Kel-Tec's that I own (P32, P3AT, P11 and a P40) the P3AT was the only one that I purchased brand new.

 

[oldgranpa]

My only suggestion would be to try other brands of ammo and see if it happens. All ammo brands are made slightly different, some have softer brass for the case and the extractor just sortof tears past the rim leaving a FTE. (In a locked breech design the spent case of some ammo brands may still be expanded tight to the chamber during the first moment of cycling, making extraction more difficult.) Or the rim design may be a little smaller diameter causing the same thing. I've had that happen with some ammo brands.
And then the other thing, your chamber may need to be polished a little. You can do that with some 600grit paper wound around a small stick. Just rub it around in the chamber a few times.
Cheers, and let us know what you find out.
og

 

[Flyer Airborne]

Yep, limpwristing and roughish chambers are the usual cause...
BUT, Cor-Bon ammo is notorious for having thinner rims than most other brands, resulting in inefficient extractor performance.
You might want to run some other brands of hot ammo through your P-11 and see if that helps any.
Flyer