Kel-Tec P3AT failure

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Microgunner

New member
My buddy purchased a Ruger Frontier .243 from us for his 10 year old. They went hog hunting last weekend to try out his new rifle and upon climbing the enclosed tree stand found a rather annoyed raccoon had taken up residence there. He tried yelling, then poking at him with a stick. No luck, so he took out the only handgun he had with him, his constant companion Kel-Tec P3AT. He fired past the raccoon, through the tree stand wall. Raccoon just hissed. So next shot was into the varmint from about 3 feet. Raccoon recoiled, then hissed again. Second shot into the intruder, again recoiled and hissed the ran out the entrance, past my buddy, about 3 feet down the ladder and then fell 10 feet to the ground and scurried off into the woods. Blood all over the stand but the raccoon ran off. I guess he didn't know he was supposed to die.
 
C

Chui

New member
And thus the failure of me to understand why one would pack a .380 - and a Kel-Tec P3AT - into the woods... :confused:

May God help us all.
 
M

Microgunner

New member
Sounds like poor shot placement to me.
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Oh, for sure. But this is a 35lb animal with 2 gut shots at point blank range. The best he could do in the dark (pre-dawn). And he still ran off. Difficult to do better in the dark against an intruder who's shooting back. I'd say a failure of this caliber from that short a barrel.
 
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ar15chase

New member
I dont see any problem packing a 380 in the woods for backup , as long as you have a rifle. When I go hunting a carry a Kel-Tec PF9 9mm on my hip.
 
M

Microgunner

New member
And thus the failure of me to understand why one would pack a .380 - and a Kel-Tec P3AT - into the woods...
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Like I said, it's his constant companion and always has it with him. He didn't expect to use it in the woods but there is a 75 mile trip each way. He's a country boy and when his pants are on there's a pocket knife and his Kel-Tec in them.
 
W

Whirlwind06

New member
Oh, for sure. But this is a 35lb animal with 2 gut shots at point blank range. The best he could do in the dark (pre-dawn). And he still ran off. Difficult to do better in the dark against an intruder who's shooting back. I'd say a failure of this caliber from that short a barrel.
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I guess you could say the threat was stopped. :)
 
M

Microgunner

New member
PS. Neither shot exited the raccoon as far as he could tell because there was still only one hole in the stand from the first warning shot. Poor penetration.
 
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txstang84

New member
Man, that's good, I needed a good chuckle...

I've got a very good friend at home-lives in the sticks. He recently had some kind of strange looking chihuahua-sized vermin (some kind of ticked off groundhog) that required 5 shots from a 9mm to finally keel over and croak. I wish I could remember what he told me it was.
 
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brewster

New member
P3ATs and their equivalents should always be loaded with good self defense ammo, with optimal expansion of 75%+ above the original diameter. Good HPs will expand to almost double that diameter. Although I agree that the P3AT is not a "carry in the woods" gun, but what ammo was he using? Half-charged FMJ handloads?
 
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Sarge

New member
Heck I kicked one out of the tree awhile back, which was trying to climb the 2x4's up into a stand with me. Big old boar coon and he got rather cranky when the first kick didn't dislodge him. I landed the second one though and away he went, making only slightly less noise than if I had just lit him up with the heavy-loaded .45 Colt I was hunting with.
 
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dawgfvr

New member
It could have been a 9mm with the same results. Why do people always think that a side arm is equivalent to a death-ray gun? Side arms, no matter what the caliber, are nothing more than the extension of your fist...whether it be man or beast, be prepared for fist fighting after firing every round.
 
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