Making a reliable .22 magnum semi-auto has always been a challenge in the industry. Doing so with a pistol is even more difficult. Kel-Tec has had the most successful design with their PMR 30. The PMR 30 has been a success for several years now. Kel-Tec is running at top production capacity of a thousand a month out the door. A lot of people like the idea of a 30 shot, lightweight, .22 magnum pistol. Quite a few like the significant muzzle flash and blast.
Reports from industry insiders at the show are that most reliability problems with the PMR 30 are with magazines. That is not surprising. After ammunition, magazines are the most common source of problems with semi-auto pistols generally. Find a magazine or two that work with your PMR 30 and you are good to go.
The PMR 30 has a bigger sister, the CMR 30 carbine. It has been on the market a year. It is popular, but Kel-Tec is still working up to producing a thousand a month. My understanding is that they have not hit that production point yet. Update: Toby Obermeit, Chief Engineer at Kel-Tec, says they are producing about 200 a week, and hope to double that number. The CMR 30 uses the same magazines that the PMR 30 does.
Kel-Tec also holds a patent for a short, pistol sized 33 round straight magazine for .22 long rifle. .22 long rifle semi-auto design is well understood and simple compared to the .22 magnum. If the market slows down with a Trump administration, and less angst about legislation, we may see a 33 rd .22 LR offered by Kel-Tec.
I would really like to have one of those if the barrel were two or more inches longer. 22 magnum caliber has a range of one and one half miles but you need barrel length to get it there and hit something. In Mohave county many years ago a body was found in the desert. the entry wound appeared to be a freckle on the chest, the exit wound appeared to be a place to store a soft ball on the back. It turned out to be a wound from a 22magnum hollow point. It is a small round but has some great punch.
ReplyDelete