EASY REVOLVER FANS!  NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!

I’ve owned a Keltec SUB-2000, for awhile.  But during that time, I haven’t shot it, or even handled it much.  Life gets in the way…

When I saw that the MCTS club (www.mctsclub.com) had a steel match, AND that there was a pistol caliber carbine (PCC) class, I thought it would be a good chance to give the gun a, “shot.”  This might seem kind of silly to some of you, but I wasn’t fielding this, “virgin,” gun for self-defense (life or limb protection), but to play a GAME.  If it worked under those circumstances, I would use it more, and test it as a viable option for economical and efficient self-defense.  OR, at least as a fun gun to use for shooting games!

A bit about the gun…this is a 16″ barreled carbine, that feeds, through the grip, from Glock 19 9mm (or Glock 17 magazines) and has the unique attribute of being able to be folded in half, for easy transport.  It has a mostly plastic construction, save for all of the load bearing parts, like the bolt, barrel, buffer tube, etc.  It is very light, and handy.  This gun has been out for a number of years, and there are other take down or packable guns that are a bit more sophisticated that this one.  Keltec has a reputation for making interesting guns, that aren’t always reliable or well constructed.  So I wasn’t sure if this gun would work, but I was going to give it a try!  The match was five stages, and each stage was around thirty rounds or less (I only performed one emergency reload the entire match).

Like I said earlier, I had no idea if this gun would run, at all.  I also didn’t know where it was shooting…or if it was zeroed from the factory, and with what.  SO, I set out on the first stage with 33 round Glock 9mm magazines loaded with Tula 9mm ammunition, and waited for the buzzer…

I thought that the way the front sight looked from the factory, it seemed REALLY low.  The front sight blade is made from a translucent, red plastic.  Not like a fiber optic, but like a sliver of a watermelon Jolly Rancher.  The rear is a plastic aperture, that is at the terminal end of a post, that folds down as a part of the folding mechanism.  My first shots on the first stage went very high.  I then altered my hold from a POA/POI (using the top edge of the front slight blade, centered on the plate) to using a six o’clock hold at the bottom of the plate.  The size of the plates varied from 6″ plates, to full size pepper-poppers, to 2″ mini plates.  For the other four stages, I was able to hold correctly and make my hits.

The stages were set up with all steel plates…seems simple, no?  The cool part (and what required strategy) was that the plates had to be hit in the order of RED, then WHITE, then BLUE.  To shoot out of sequence was a time penalty.  Some of the stages used spinning plate racks that are weighted, then start spinning once one of the plates falls off from being hit and then the entire apparatus begins spinning.  It made for a few interesting shots, like when a red plate target is behind the other spinning plate rack with white and blue plates in front of the target plate!

The gun worked well…I was very happy with how it ran.  No malfunctions, and the gun ate the Tula 9mm from Wally World just fine.  I carried my spare magazines in my back pocket, without a magazine carrier, like I would in real life with a long gun.  I have been ridiculed in the past by the tactical ninjas for not wearing a chest rig, battle belt, or other apparatus for carrying spare magazines for long guns, but if the need ever arose in real life, in my action packed adventures as a dentist and parent, I would put the spare magazine in my back pocket, so why not compete that way?  One of the problems I’ve had with carrying magazines in the back pocket is that lint from the pocket lining gets stuck up in the feed lips and causes feeding malfunctions.  This didn’t happen at all with the Keltec.  I will often use a leather or kydex pocket magazine pouch to ENSURE lint doesn’t foul my magazines.

If I could change the properties of space and time, I would make two alterations to this gun.  One would be to have an integrated optic rail fixed to the barrel, that would allow an Aimpoint Micro in a tall, quick detach mount to be put onto the gun after it is put into, “ready,” mode (as opposed to, “storage,” mode).  The OEM sights on the gun work OK for what they are, but a red dot optic would be a much better and easier sighting system to use.  The other alteration would be to have two QD sling swivels shot into the gun so that a 2 point sling could be easily attached, after assembly.

This little sucker weighs four pounds.  FOUR POUNDS!  It’s light and easy to swing around.

After this stage, I decided to full on, “hose grab,” the forend, a la the Magpul/Chris Costa type grip, and the controllability (which is pretty easy, anyway) went WAY up.  Like I said earlier, I just wish there was a way to have a return-to-zero mount for an Aimpoint T1 on it.  It would make it a burner…the man that won the division AND had the best score/time overall shot a 9mm Beretta Storm Carbine with a Red dot.  If you don’t believe that a red dot on a long gun is a force multiplier, you haven’t used one, or  you are immune to science!  I felt like the fat guy in the little coat shooting this gun.  It is compact, light, and short.  In fact, I couldn’t even put it in the ready rack for long guns on the range because it is too short to stay in the rack…so I just leaned it up against the rack itself.  The recoil is quick and sharp, although the muzzle rise is mild.  It’s even better when you really hang onto the forend solidly.

This is the Original Special Operations Equipment Sub2000 chest rig/carry sleeve.  It will hold six magazines, from the Glock 17 size all of the way up to the 33 round magazines by just adjusting the length of the lid with the velcro lined pouches.  There is also a waist strap and another shoulder strap that are removable.  I prefer to wear this rig like a bandoleer, but you can wear it however you like.

Interior of the case.  Holds the folded SUB2000K with ease, and you can even put it away red hot and not worry about it starting the SOE component stitching on fire or melting it.  There is also another velcro hook panel lining the interior that you can mount whatever you like on.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I always have a good time shooting with the folks from Music City Tactical Shooters.  The club owner, Michael Bresson, absolutely busts his butt to make sure that people have a good, fair match, and most importantly, that everyone has a good time.  This match was no different!  I would HIGHLY recommend this club (www.mctsclub.com) to anyone in the Middle Tennessee area looking for a great shooting challenge.  They host IDPA, Outlaw Steel, GSSF, USPSA and 3 gun matches, nearly every weekend of the year.  And I’m convinced that there is NO better way to test your mettle, especially with a new gun, at a busy shooting match.  The stress of not looking like a bag of hammers in front of a crowd (or you significant other) is real.  So check them out!  The results are posted here:  https://www.practiscore.com/results.php?uuid=07548F18-2868-45E6-89A6-DC00DE2F2F2F&page=matchCombined

As for the Keltec, the research continues.  The weekend after, I performed the excellent Gila Hayes, “5x5x5,” drill with the KT carbine, which it passed with flying colors.  I’m debating on whether or not to attempt to improve the front sight (by replacing the red jolly rancher sliver, with a tall piece of red kydex that I could grind to the proper height to shoot POA/POI at 25 yards with 115-147gr ammo…that’s not TOO much to ask for!).

I suppose that there is some utility to carrying a carbine handy that runs the same magazines as your sidearm.  You really, there is no ballistic advantage.  Sure…12″ more of barrel than your average service pistol is great, but having no better a sight system than a pistol, the advantage you’d actually get in a fight, is slight, in my estimation.  But, like a few other guns on the market that can break down into small components, it is handy for travel.  And, if it continues to run well, it might become a lightweight suitcase gun.

THANK YOU FOR READING, AND FEAR NOT REVOLVER FANS, MORE REVOLVER LOVE NEXT ARTICLE!