When people talk about the top of the gun heap, the name KelTec is usually not around. We all know they’re not Glock, Smith & Wesson, H&K, Sig Sauer, or any of those guys with piles of fans and legions of dedicated users.
No, KelTec is something else, and it’s something we desperately need in the firearm space.
For one thing, they seem to be the only company actually trying to innovate. While everyone else will introduce their new firearms that are basically just rehashes of their older designs, or new looks with old internals, KelTec is trying new, and sometimes weird, things.
This week, they announced their latest product, the PR-3AT. It’s similar to the PR-57 in that it’s a top-loaded handgun that actually uses clips instead of external magazines. However, chambered in .380, it’s a significantly less expensive gun to shoot. Plus, it’s more compact for concealed carry.
I don’t know how well it shoots, how well it functions, or anything like that. I’ve not gotten my grubby little paws on one, so I can’t say.
What I can say is, “Thank you, KelTec.”
See, in addition to being about the only ones who seem to try to actually innovate, their product line also seems to suggest they’re one of the few companies looking at gun control efforts and doing more than just griping about them and hoping the NSSF and other gun rights groups can beat it.
They’re finding ways around them.
For example, the magazine bans we see throughout the nation tend to focus on external magazines. The thinking seems to be that it becomes easier to say no one is coming after your hunting rifle that way.
So, KelTec has two handguns in defensive calibers that have no external magazine. They’re top-loaded, which isn’t something KelTec invented–the Mauser C96 was loaded the same way–it’s something that fell out of favor. Now, it’s a viable alternative for those who are limited in magazine capacity with external magazines.
Meanwhile, KelTec is also home to the SU-16 rifle, which has the basic outline of a traditional “hunting” rifle, but uses AR-15 magazines. This gets around many bans on so-called assault weapons because it simply lacks the “evil features” that anti-gunners get hung up on. However, unlike something like the Mini-14, it uses standard AR-15 magazines, making it much cheaper to stockpile.
See, KelTec doesn’t seem to be innovating just for the sake of innovating. They’ve created guns that seem to be expressly intended to get around gun control restrictions.
While there have always been a few companies that would do that, none are really the size of someone like KelTec.
Plus, KelTecs are affordable. I know some people don’t like the feel–YouTuber Brandon Herrera has likened their polymer to “recycled Florida beach plastic,” and not without cause–but that’s secondary to me.
Defending the Second Amendment is important. Regaining lost aspects of our rights is important. But also working around the laws put in place is something else we should be doing, if for no other reason than to buy us some time until we can set everything to right.
KelTec seems to be filling that purpose.
So thanks, KelTec. I, for one, appreciate it.
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