The P-3AT is a

locked breech Locked breech is the design of a breech-reloading firearm's action. This is important in understanding how a self-reloading firearm works. In the simplest terms, the locked breech is one way to slow down the opening of the breech of a self-reloadi ...

, double action only,

.380 ACP The .380 ACP (9×17mm) ( Automatic Colt Pistol) is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Moses Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case.Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pisto ...

pistol introduced by

Kel-Tec Kel-Tec CNC Industries Inc., commonly referred to as Kel-Tec, is an American developer and manufacturer of firearms. Founded by George Kellgren in 1991 and based in Cocoa, Florida, the company has manufactured firearms since 1995, starting with ...

in 2003 and based on the P-32. The frame is made of polymer with an aluminum insert, and the slide and barrel are steel. It is the lightest production .380 ACP pistol in the world, weighing only empty, and is roughly the same size as many

.22 .22 caliber, or 5.6 mm caliber, refers to a common firearms bore diameter of 0.22 inch (5.6 mm). Cartridges in this caliber include the very widely used .22 Long Rifle and .223 Remington / 5.56×45mm NATO. .22 inch is also a popular ...

and .25-caliber pistols.

Design details

The P-3AT standard cartridge capacity is 6+1, and Kel-Tec also makes extended 7+1- and 9+1-round magazines for it. Trigger pull is . These attributes have made it popular for

civilians Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...

with

concealed carry Concealed carry, or carrying a concealed weapon (CCW), is the practice of carrying a weapon (usually a sidearm such as a handgun), either in proximity to or on one's person or in public places in a manner that hides or conceals the weapon's pr ...

permits and with

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

s as a back-up or off-duty pistol. The P-3AT omits a

slide stop A slide stop, sometimes referred to as a slide lock or slide release, on a semi-automatic handgun is a function that visually indicates when a handgun has expended all loaded ammunition and facilitates faster reloading by pulling back the slide ...

to keep the size similar to the P-32. The similar size and weight of the P-3AT results in increased felt

recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force r ...

over the P-32 due to the more powerful .380 ACP cartridge (the P-32 fires the smaller .32 ACP cartridge). The Kel-Tec P-3AT is available with blued,

parkerized Phosphate conversion coating is a chemical treatment applied to steel parts that creates a thin adhering layer of iron, zinc, or manganese phosphates, to achieve corrosion resistance, lubrication, or as a foundation for subsequent coatings or pai ...

, or matte chrome slide. The polymer frame is available in black, grey, navy blue, or olive drab green solid colors, as well as 'Urban Blue/Grey' and 'True Timber'

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

. Current production is the second generation model, with improvements over the first generation. The most easily distinguished difference between generations is the extractor. The first generation has a traditional external extractor parallel to the side of the gun, while the second generation has a button-head hex screw to the rear of the extractor, which is at an angle to the side of the gun. In a 2004 ''Guns & Ammo'' review, Wiley Clapp said, "Ingenuity is often nothing more than a combination of existing principles applied in unique ways. Kel-Tec's new P-3AT has no single feature that is not established in modern pistol design, yet it has no competition in its niche." However, competitors soon introduced models with very similar features, including: the Ruger LCP, Kahr P380, S&W .380 Bodyguard and the Taurus 738 TCP.Taurus Product Page

References

External links

Official siteInstruction manual
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Kel-Tec P3AT Discontinued in Lieu of Kel-Tec P15 - Firearms News: KelTec P15 9mm Pistol: New for 2022
{{.38 Caliber Semi-automatic pistols of the United States .380 ACP semi-automatic pistols