P-11 frame cracked

[MCgunner]

The only way that piece can crack is via mistreatment. There is no load on it. It must have banged into something while being carried or fell on that part of the grip, or something. STILL, Kel Tec will ship the piece free of charge. They may be a little loaded down with production, but they're have a great CS department.

 

[hso]

Thousands of rounds through my P-11 and several hundred through my P3AT without a problem. Should a problem ever develop I'll be happy to share how the customer service experience goes.

 

[Weevil]

Yeah I tend to agree that looks more like damage from a drop than any sort of factory defect or wear and tear from shooting.



I've seen metal framed guns damaged and cracked from a drop on concrete.

 

[Clifford]

I would tend to agree with other poster, the crack is more than likely due to a drop or mishandling.

That said I've seen slowmotion film of other poly firearms during firing and if you look at the dust covers on those weapons you can clearly see the dustcover flexing during recoil even though they don't bear and kind of load. Maybe a small defect in the dust cover during the molding left a weak spot and the constant flexing caused it to crack?

I've read that the early glock's with light rails on the dust cover were ocasionally breaking after lots of firing with a light attached. I'm not sure how common this was but glock did beef up the dustcover in later models. Maybe they saw a possible problem? Just guessing at this point.

 

[bigfatdave]

Yeah I tend to agree that looks more like damage from a drop than any sort of factory defect or wear and tear from shooting

It might have been an invisible/internal crack or flaw, making it easier to crack, I suppose.

 

[clone]

It has not been mistreated other than lots of shooting and getting sweaty during the summer that caused some surface rust on the slide.

For those bashing. This pistol has been flawless until I found the crack. I am willing to bet the crack has been there for some time to have progressed so far. During this time it ran perfectly fine and would likely continue to do so until I get my replacement. My point is, I have owned pistols costing twice as much that didn't run half as well. I am happy with my Kel-Tec and will continue to carry it. Just wanted to share with others my problem to see how common it may be.

I am thinking of doing a bit of testing, if I get a replacment grip, to see if it would in fact take 100 or 200 more rounds. We'll see.

I will call monday and see what they say about this.

 

[clone]

I called this morning and told them my problem. Was told one would be in the mail with a payed return envelope/box for the cracked grip. He also asked what color I wanted. Being as I had planned on buying the green griped pistol (but couldn't find one at the time) in the first place, I chose green.

Excellent service, Kel-Tec gets a nod from me.

 

[millertyme]

That's good to hear, clone. I have been looking at getting a P11 for a few months now, especially since AZ recently became a constitutional carry state. I've put them in my hands, tossed them up and down, taken them apart, and left the store wondering if it could handle a 9mm para loading for long. Maybe you could post in the reloading section what you find out with your light loadings. I have a ton of Red Dot I was considering doing the same with for my practice 9mm rounds.

 

[bigfatdave]

I am thinking of doing a bit of testing, if I get a replacement grip, to see if it would in fact take 100 or 200 more rounds. We'll see.

Very good idea!
Wear gloves, when it comes off it might be energetic.

Heck, if you were near me I might offer some free range time and ammo, so long as I got to try out the P11 (I've been curious about them for a while)

Giving you your choice of color is a nice touch ... amazing how a polite call for help and knowing exactly what's wrong can get you great CS, isn't it?

 

[clone]

Received my grip today and had it installed within 20min. While I had the frame out I thought I might as well clean it as I don't normally take it down this far.

Before I installed the new grip I swung by the indoor range and put 100rds through it with the cracked grip. The crack progressed (about 1mm) to the bottom of the dust cover but didn't go any farther. Id say it would have stood another 100rds, but I didn't have the time.

I like the green grip.

 

[Mike J]

Glad to hear they took care of you clone.

 

[mec]

Highly irreverent thought. I wonder if J&B Weld would work? .

 

[clone]

mec,

Probably, If times where hard and I where forced to it would likely work. It doesn't seem to have much pressure on that part of the frame.

But sense I could get it replaced why not. Plus I ended up with a green grip, so that's a plus.