# Trouble Ejecting Live Round from Kel-Tec P-11



## Jimbert (Sep 25, 2016)

I have a Kel-Tec P-11. It holds 11 rounds - 1 in the chamber and 10 in the magazine. The double action makes carrying the live round in the chamber safe. It also makes pulling the trigger a bit harder for some folks taste.
When I go to store the weapon I unload the magazine and attempt to eject the live round from the chamber. There appears to be mechanical interference preventing the slide from being pull back at all. After a few attempts the slide will pull back freely and eject the round. It appears to be random.
Anyone have any idea what is going on here?


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## Blackhawkman (Apr 9, 2014)

ammo or dirty chamber/gun. jmo


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## Jimbert (Sep 25, 2016)

Good ammo and clean gun.
Like I said, once whatever it is preventing the slide from being pulled back becomes agreeable it freely slides back and ejects the round.


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

I can't say for sure that any of this is contributing to the problem, but I'll mention it so you can check.

Some pistols seem to require the gun be held in an upright position for manual unloading, so that gravity will drop the barrel down for unlocking and extraction (this is not a problem under the somewhat violent/slam-bang operation experienced during firing). If the pistol is held angled, or sideways (perhaps to guide the ejected round in a certain direction upon ejection), the barrel may not unlock completely from the slide, and you end up having to "jiggle/wiggle" it to get it to unlock. Another contributing factor can be a dry pistol; clean is important, but if you don't have a bit of lubricant on some pistols, the parts don't want to slide past one another very well. A lot of folks that carry don't lube as often as they should, as lube can attract dust/lint and even stain your clothes if it seeps out of the pistol.

Other users have also reported this problem, even right here on this site:

http://www.handgunforum.net/kel-tec/23782-won-t-eject-live-round-p11.html

but in the above case, the problem went away after it was fired a bit.

Questions:

How much has the pistol been fired (approximately)?

What brand, type/model, bullet weight and bullet style of ammo are you using when you have experienced this problem? 
(Note: if it's cheap steel-case blasting stuff, do yourself a favor and get some decent ammo, and the problem will probably go away)


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## Jimbert (Sep 25, 2016)

Thanks. I just tried holding it upright... unsuccessfully. I recently fired the weapon, about a month ago, about 50 rounds, and it works fine. I cleaned it afterwards and used gun oil... leaving a light coat inside and out. I purchased the gun used from my son's friend. So, I don't know for sure how much it has been fired ultimately.

The ammo I use:
Target - Blazer Brass, 9mm Luger, 124 Grain FMU
Hallow Point for Carry - Hornaday, 9mm, 145 gr XTP

I did read that other post, and it did seem to be a similar problem. But, the solution isn't a match. I also emailed Kel-Tec to see what they say. I'll post it here when they reply.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

How do you load the chambered round?

you did say it happens with the plus 1 with a 10 round mag.


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## Jimbert (Sep 25, 2016)

I load the magazine then pull the slide to load the round. I then eject the magazine and load 10 rounds in the magazine.

When I store the weapon I eject the magazine and unload the magazine. I don't want to leave the spring compressed all the time. I then attempt to eject the live round from the chamber by pulling the slide back, but there is interference and the slide cannot be pulled back consistently. I have tried putting the empty magazine back in to see if that would help. It doesn't.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)




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## AZdave (Oct 23, 2015)

pic said:


>


Yeah, a broken extractor would cause jams.


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## Jimbert (Sep 25, 2016)

AZdave said:


> Yeah, a broken extractor would cause jams.


Except it doesn't jam. The round ejects fine when firing and when the slide cooperates.


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## RK3369 (Aug 12, 2013)

Remove the recoil spring and barrel from the slide and put it back on the frame to check the action. Sounds like there is a tiny burr somewhere which is hanging up the slide when you manually move it but not enough resistance to stop it from cycling when fired. These guns are not always the best machined components although they get by. I have had problems with mags interfering with the slide travel before but you said you pulled the mag, so there is some other interference.


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## Jimbert (Sep 25, 2016)

Thanks. I will check. It racks fine with no round in the chamber, though. I have done this multiple times to get used to the tough recoil spring. That is why keeping a round in the chamber while carrying this pistol is desirable.


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## RK3369 (Aug 12, 2013)

if you have any snap caps, check with one in the chamber to see that the extractor is properly seating ahead of the case rim. If it moves easily with nothing in the chamber, perhaps there is a problem with the extractor claw or that it is not seating properly when the gun is in battery.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

Do all the manual extractions have an issue?

The blow back action of a live round might be enough to extract a round.

Imo , I would visually learn and inspect the exraction arm. 

Good luck

:smt1099


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## Jimbert (Sep 25, 2016)

Every time I try to manually extract there are issues. After several attempts it usually works. Not so this last time.

Issues with the extractor claw/arm makes sense.

Thanks.

Kel-Tec replied with questions. We'll see what they say.


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

Another quick thing you could test for: seeing if the round is entering the rifled part of the barrel (a sign the barrel's chamber throat is too short).

Take a single new round that has never been chambered and carefully inspect the bullet just ahead of the case mouth. You want a round that has a nice, clean, unscratched bullet in the area from the mouth of the case to about one-eighth of an inch ahead of the case mouth. If you can, find about 5 rounds that meet this inspection standard.

Go to a safe area (range, preferably) and chamber each round. then try to extract it. If it extracts cleanly and without extra effort, on the first attempt, put it in one pile. If it sticks, and you have to jerk on the slide or mess with the pistol a bit to get it to extract, put it in the second pile.

Take each round in the second pile (those that stuck in the chamber) and carefully inspect them again, specifically looking for a series of scuff marks around the bullet, just ahead of the case mouth. If you see these marks on each round that got stuck, then the chamber throat is so short that the bullet of each chambered round is being jammed into the rifling when it is chambered, and when you try to extract the round, the bullet is wedged into the rifling so tight that it doesn't want to come out.

Rounds that extract okay on the first attempt (pile 1) _may_ have similar marks, but they will probably not be as deep or as noticeable as the marks on the rounds that stick. They are still touching the rifling, but not being jammed into it.

If there are no obvious marks on bullets in either pile of chambered cartridges, then the chamber throat is probably not the problem.

Ideally, the bullet should not touch the rifling of a pistol at all during initial chambering, because it may prevent reliable functioning, raise pressures, or cause the type of manual extraction difficulties you are experiencing. But if the chamber or chamber throat wasn't cut properly, then that could be the problem. If so, this is something the factory will have to fix. This type of problem is fairly rare, but not unheard of.


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## Davidshine (Sep 5, 2016)

interesting to know it


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