By: Friedrich Seiltgen

We’ve featured a lot of pistols here at Gunpowder Magazine, and some of them are a little costly. Not everyone has the means to pick up the hottest new weapon with optics and other accessories, so we decided to feature something with a lot of bang for your buck.

Today we’re reviewing the KelTec P17, chambered in .22LR. based in Cocoa, Fl, KelTec has a variety of weapons designed for a variety of uses. Many of my law enforcement colleagues are big fans of the KelTec P32 as a concealable backup pistol. The P17 is an entry-level pistol that has many features of the more expensive pistols out there.

KelTec used a lot of polymers to cut down on weight and cost. Indeed, the P17 is priced at $199 and weighs only 14 ounces with a full magazine, but has features of a more expensive pistol. Features like a threaded barrel, ambidextrous controls, a fiber optic front sight, and a 3-slot picatinny rail on the dust cover for accessories.

Many lower priced, and some high-priced, pistols have horrible, cheap feeling triggers, but the P17 has an excellent 3-pound trigger to keep rounds on target. The magazine release is different and uses a lever, which is also ambidextrous, that needs to be pushed down to release the magazine. KelTec is all about safety, and the P17 features ambidextrous safety, paddle-style levers with red dot condition indicators, as well as a port on the rear of the slide that lets you know if the gun is cocked by way of a red indicator on top of the hammer.

The P17 is a clamshell design and uses Glock style takedown levers. The ½ X 28 threaded barrel comes with a thread protector that also acts as a recoil spring retention device.

SPECIFICATIONS

Action Type: Blowback operated, semi-automatic, rimfire

Caliber: .22LR

Magazine capacity: 16

Sights: Rear adjustable for windage and elevation, fiber optic front

Barrel Length: 3.8 inches

Overall Length: 6.7 inches

Height: 5.3 inches

Width: 1.2 inches

Weight: 11 oz. empty, 14 oz with full magazine

MSRP: $199

URL: www.keltecweapons.com

Range day with the KelTec is a breeze. Load up your three, 16-round magazines with some decent ammo and plink away. Whether it’s a first pistol, a home defense pistol, a fun shooting plinker, for the range or a training tool for learning the basics, the P17 has you covered. It’s a dependable little pistol at a super price!

That’s all for now folks! Please keep sending in your questions, tips, and article ideas. And as always – “Let’s be careful out there.”

Friedrich Seiltgen is a retired Master Police Officer with 20 years of service with the Orlando Police Department. He conducts training in Lone Wolf Terrorism, Firearms, First Aid, Active Shooter Response, and Law Enforcement Vehicle Operations in Florida. His writing has appeared in RECOIL, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, American Thinker, Homeland Security Today, and The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International. Contact him at [email protected].