What is your thoughts on the PMR-30 for self defense

[thorborg]

I have one I waited nearly a year to get when they first came out. Newthings talking about the bent cases on loading is correct but you learn to correct that. Once over a learning curve and break in I don't have issues with mine. It's the only gun I've ever packed in the woods that you don't notice your wearing since it's so light. If you can see them you can hit them, 75 yard squirrels shooting is realistic. Since I have very big hands the full size feels good in my hands and the longer top with the fibre optics makes for easy alignment.
Since I'm a revolver fanitic you know where I stand on personal protection, somthing about the feel of my lasered 357 SP101 and all the dammage I done with it especially with the new rounds available that inspires a feeling of security, albeit I do carry a Keltec P32 sometimes and find Keltecs about as reliable as any other semiauto hand gun or rifle I have owned excluding my Remington Model 51 which I bought used 30 years ago,has seen service in two wars and still refuses to have a failure no matter what I stuff in it.
All in all, the PMR 30 is likely the most fun gun I own, I thought I'd never sell it but since my eyes are whacko and catarack ridden, with the prices 40calruler says they are commanding, I might rethink that . Then again If i'm losing my sight maybe blindly throwing 30 rounds at the bad guy i'd have a better chance of a random round hitting him (or her just to be fair)

 

[40calruler]

I made a impulse purchase on that PMR but looking at low recoil, fun to shoot, reliable guns after reading all the reviews I think even a 22 mag revolver would be good for the wife. She currently has a SP101 which I would have sold if the PMR had worked out. All I knew of it was that it was something people are willing to pay way beyond MSRP for. For now I think I will get a revolver in .22 for her to practice with that is similar in size to her gun so she at least gets the target time in.
At some point she will find a gun that I trust has enough power and is reliable which is why I really wanted the 3" SP101 to work out. Maybe I can get her to enjoy it more with some low recoil practice with a revolver similar in size in 22mag or 22lr. I would prefer mag as from looking at the rounds the noise is much louder and closer to what she would hear puling the trigger on the SP.
The guy who bought it has been looking for one for years so he has seen the reviews, shot one, and is familiar with the platform. It is better suited in his hands for now as there are not many 22mag auto loaders so that was my first time even seeing one in person.

 

[40calruler]

I have one I waited nearly a year to get when they first came out. Newthings talking about the bent cases on loading is correct but you learn to correct that. Once over a learning curve and break in I don't have issues with mine. It's the only gun I've ever packed in the woods that you don't notice your wearing since it's so light. If you can see them you can hit them, 75 yard squirrels shooting is realistic. Since I have very big hands the full size feels good in my hands and the longer top with the fibre optics makes for easy alignment.
Since I'm a revolver fanitic you know where I stand on personal protection, somthing about the feel of my lasered 357 SP101 and all the dammage I done with it especially with the new rounds available that inspires a feeling of security, albeit I do carry a Keltec P32 sometimes and find Keltecs about as reliable as any other semiauto hand gun or rifle I have owned excluding my Remington Model 51 which I bought used 30 years ago,has seen service in two wars and still refuses to have a failure no matter what I stuff in it.
All in all, the PMR 30 is likely the most fun gun I own, I thought I'd never sell it but since my eyes are whacko and catarack ridden, with the prices 40calruler says they are commanding, I might rethink that . Then again If i'm losing my sight maybe blindly throwing 30 rounds at the bad guy i'd have a better chance of a random round hitting him (or her just to be fair)

Watching youtube I would not want to be on the other end of that thing feeding 30 rounds reliably. Sounds like a .357 and looks to have no recoil. It is the first time I have ever bought a gun before researching the hell out of it. I would like to get some range time with one either way. As I said even its a plinker when they become readily available..if they do I will buy one again for a couple hundred less.

 

[Burt Gummer]

.22 TCM for the win. way cheaper than the fn 5.7 (FN 5.7 is a fantastic firearm but 3x more expensive than it should be) yet still moving a 40 grain 22 bullet at 2400 FPS

I do agree that that the FN pistol is a little overpriced, but worth it. There are other fun/range variants like the MPA/Masterpiece Arms pistol and folding carbine.

The .22 TCM ammo I've seen is about .40/round or about the same price as 5.7.

Never knew about TCM before last week, looks promising. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[ripcity]

I hope to get my hands on a TCM soon. I really enjoy the 5.7, so the TCM would be about the same. I really like the fact that you can change the barrel to a 9mm. Once I get one I will reload for it, so I can keep it affordable to shoot. The hardest part for reloading it will be finding brass.

 

[brentb636]

22 Magnum is a marginal self defense round at best. It's still way better than a knife in most folks' hands, but even a .380 is way more effective. The PMR-30 itself is a remarkable firearm - low recoil, high capacity, light weight. It has one issue that would keep me from carrying it - feeding issues. If you shoot the gun long enough with the magazine loaded to capacity it will eventually fail to feed. The rounds will bunch up in the magazine and the top one will not raise high enough for the bolt face to strip it from the magazine and load it into the chamber. Some folks will tell you that it's all in how you load the magazine, but to me that's a moot point. The magazines are simply not reliable enough to be part of a proper carry gun. Sure is fun at the range though, and it would probably a great varmint gun.

Probably a lousy carry gun, BUT I don't you or I , or anyone else would survive being hit by even 10 rounds of .22 WMR ammo. I question whether the gun is reliable enough, not whether the caliber, with repeated hits, will take out an aggressor . I know darn well that 8 rounds of .22 LR will take out a bad guy. The Mossad showed that repeatedly.

 

[Flopsweat]

Probably a lousy carry gun, BUT I don't you or I , or anyone else would survive being hit by even 10 rounds of .22 WMR ammo. I question whether the gun is reliable enough, not whether the caliber, with repeated hits, will take out an aggressor . I know darn well that 8 rounds of .22 LR will take out a bad guy. The Mossad showed that repeatedly.

I can get to Cleveland from here on a moped, but I'm unlikely to do it if I have the option of taking a car or better yet a plane. A person with physical limitations or very limited access to firearms or a member of Mossad might have a perfectly good reason for carrying one. I wouldn't encourage the OP to do it, which is why I said what I did. Please don't think that I don't respect the lethality of 22 WMR - I very definitely do. When I start young kids out with a 22, I shoot a hole in a phone book to show them what they are dealing with. When I handle a 22 or 22 WMR, I treat it the same way I do any other caliber. It's a firearm.

 

[40calruler]

22 mag is a decent round. Consider your wife refusing to learn to shoot with anything with recoil and a 22 mag she turn out enjoying. Knowing there is something in the house she will pick up and be accurate and confident in is important to me even if I have to lower the round to a 22 mag. With 30 reliable rounds I would not mind her having it but the point when I asked was not about me having one for self defense. It was about that gun and only that gun after looking at how much people charged and how many people on waiting lists for it I was curious what was so special about a 22 mag pistol.
Like I said I bought it on a whim and there are many here who have them or have shot them and can best tell me the reason people are so desperate for one. I also asked if it was a good varmint, hunting gun and from what I have gathered it would be best suited for a small game, farm varmint gun when out in the fields....As well as a really cool plinker.

 

[chemist]

C'mon, guys, the .22WMR is way more round than any squirrel needs, this side of Chernobyl or Fukushima! That round is a deep-penetrating killer, but any rimmed cartridge is a crapshoot out of a box magazine.

What I've learned over the years is that high reliability beats high-tech any day of the week. That .22WMR looks so good on paper, but if every mag jams once or twice, it's totally worthless for SD. Give me my old-fashioned, detuned, low-speed, .45ACP plunker and I'll be completely confident, even if I'm limited to "only" 7 or 8 rounds before reloading!

 

[Rix]

Mine hasn't had a failure yet, including with the ammo it says NOT to use. lol.
S0 I wouldn't feel bad carrying it.
And I paid for it at 320 bucks and had it ordered. It showed up a month to the day later, for 310.
Mine is not the first gen that purportedly had issues. They revised the barrel and supposedly helped both accuracy and feeding.
YMMV

 

[etrain16]

Mine hasn't had a failure yet, including with the ammo it says NOT to use. lol.
S0 I wouldn't feel bad carrying it.
And I paid for it at 320 bucks and had it ordered. It showed up a month to the day later, for 310.
Mine is not the first gen that purportedly had issues. They revised the barrel and supposedly helped both accuracy and feeding.
YMMV

Was that within the last 18 months? I don't know anyone that will take BO on those, regardless of price. Who did you go through and are they still taking orders at that price? I want one, but not for $600+

 

[gimpyhunter]

I guess I'm the only person here that carries one daily and has for a while. I did do a lot of research before I bought it. I did not make the same mistakes most do. I do not shoot rifle ammo. I shoot personal protection rounds made for short barrels. During my research, I learned of some suggested modifications to prevent all the problems listed in this thread. Keltec even has videos on the subject. I have four clips, all loaded with 30. One for each vehicle and two for me. Not one failure to fire or misfire since stopping the rifle ammo and doing the minor mods to the clips. I can hit my target and this would be lethal in my hands. Don't need to carry multiple mags daily.

As for loading the mags, like anything else, read the instructions and follow them. Easy as pie.

This replaced my S&W Model 39 in 9mm. That gun got heavy. My PMR with two clips (61 rounds) weighs less than the 9mm with 8 rounds. I carry IWB and it is the most comfortable and lightest weight I can imagine.

31 rounds in the kill zone with an auto that has almost no recoil and no weight is a devastating threat. I don't need to pick someone up off the ground and throw them backwards by yards. I just need an easy to carry light weapon that would do the job if I needed it.

It used to be the FBI said it had the knockdown power of a .38. Perhaps not at long range. But that isn't what I carry it for. However according to a local deputy friend, the 22mag is feared by them because it'll go through their vest. Good thing I'm on their side I guess.

 

[deen_ad]

<Why there aren't any school shootings in Israel! Teacher with long gun slung over her shoulder!!!

Keltec makes some neat guns, Reliable...Not so much. At least the sell the crap out of them.

I've had several KT's and once they were fired some I've never had trouble with them. Even the P-9 with the P-40 conversion and the .357 Sig barrel worked fine. I still have a P-40 with a .357 Sig barrel. It is a handful but it goes "bang" when needed. They quit making the P-40 because there were too many good ones being returned because people we "limp wristing" them.

Deen
NRA Life Member, Benefactor Level
Defender of Freedom Award
NRA Recruiter
Second Amendment Foundation Member
Washington Arms Collectors Member
Arms Collectors of SW Washington Member

"A gun is like a parachute. If you need one and don't have it, you'll probably never need one again!"

 

[deen_ad]

<Why there aren't any school shootings in Israel! Teacher with long gun slung over her shoulder!!!

I have four clips, all loaded with 30.because it'll go through their vest. Good thing I'm on their side I guess.

Where do you get a "clip" for a PMR30?

I like to see the video of them penetrating a vest too.

Deen
NRA Life Member, Benefactor Level
Defender of Freedom Award
NRA Recruiter
Second Amendment Foundation Member
Washington Arms Collectors Member
Arms Collectors of SW Washington Member

"A gun is like a parachute. If you need one and don't have it, you'll probably never need one again!"

 

[gimpyhunter]

Okay, my bad. I meant Magazine.

As for the vest info, I don't know where it is. I was just told that by a deputy. Not really an issue for me.

 

[Rix]

Was that within the last 18 months? I don't know anyone that will take BO on those, regardless of price. Who did you go through and are they still taking orders at that price? I want one, but not for $600+

Sorry, 18 months from when?
lol
the switchover got me screwed up

 

[Zeshio]

If a person only feels comfortable carrying a .22, or nothing, then by all means carry the .22. It just depends on the person. Like others mentioned, it might not be a good self-defense option, but it's better than a poke in the face with a sharp stick (at least I think so).

Usually, when I think of 22 for self defense, I think of something small like a derringer. If you're going to rock a fatty PMR, it seems to eliminate the small carry size benefit of a .22 weapon.

From my understanding, Keltec is a pretty tiny manufacturer. They have issues producing enough firearms to meet demand, probably because they make some interesting looking weapons. Sure, they might not be the most reliable sometimes, but they've got a cool factor a lot of people are drawn to. Just basic economics at that point. Low supply, high prices.

 

[jluck]

<Why there aren't any school shootings in Israel! Teacher with long gun slung over her shoulder!!!



I've had several KT's and once they were fired some I've never had trouble with them. Even the P-9 with the P-40 conversion and the .357 Sig barrel worked fine. I still have a P-40 with a .357 Sig barrel. It is a handful but it goes "bang" when needed. They quit making the P-40 because there were too many good ones being returned because people we "limp wristing" them.

Deen
NRA Life Member, Benefactor Level
Defender of Freedom Award
NRA Recruiter
Second Amendment Foundation Member
Washington Arms Collectors Member
Arms Collectors of SW Washington Member

"A gun is like a parachute. If you need one and don't have it, you'll probably never need one again!"

I've only been around the PF-9's and PMR-30. Of the 5 or six PF-9's in the family all but one have had broken or weak extractor and FTF issues and the PMR-30 is ridiculously finicky with different ammo.

The rest of my opinion was formulated by others experiences, First hand, second and water cooler BS'ing.

 

[Certaindeaf]

22 mag is a decent round. Consider your wife refusing to learn to shoot with anything with recoil and a 22 mag she turn out enjoying..

A Smith model 10 with good grips (for handling.. I hate the factory grips) with target wadcutters has essentially no recoil, considerably less muzzle blast and in my opinion, exceptional lethality/stopping power.