The KelTec P17 is a wonderful gun. It’s okay, and after a wholesome break-in interval, mine runs like an absolute champ. I had some points with the sights, particularly not with the ability to alter sufficient to search out the right level of purpose. I didn’t have a lot of a necessity for it, and it was a gun prone to sit at the back of my protected and be unused. Till I noticed the Farrow Tech FT17 PDW Package.
Reside Stock Worth Checker
The FT17 PDW Package breathed a brand new sense of life into an odd however pretty normal .22LR handgun. The Farrow Educate package transforms your little P17 right into a poor man’s MP7. The FT17 package retains the general profile small, however creates a viable and helpful micro-sized .22LR platform. It’s in all probability the most cost effective approach to receive a PDW-type firearm.
The P17 is an inexpensive little handgun, usually straightforward to search out for lower than 200 {dollars}. The FT17 package is available in varied configurations, every with its worth level. The configuration you see right here is the FT17 Professional Package with the aluminum Steadybrace. The usual package lacks the journal holder positioned in entrance of the pistol. This setup retails for $285.
The FT17 – Building and Set up
The FT17 package is primarily comprised of polymer and seems to have been constructed via additive manufacturing, aka fancy 3D printing. These aren’t a few guys with an Ender 3, however what I assume are some high-end commercial-grade machines. I’m admittedly nothing greater than a 3D printer hobbyist, however the work on the FT17 is great.
The brace rails are metallic and easily slide out and in of the FT17 package. There’s a good little bit of motion to the brace rails, nevertheless it’s nonetheless very usable. Set up was fast and simple. KelTec’s use of screws for every part performs a roll within the set up of the package. You take away two KelTec screws and change them with screws that connect the package to the gun.
Up entrance, a screw locks into the rails, and all the package comes collectively simply. I did it whereas struggling via season 2 of The Final of Us and didn’t miss a narrative beat or Marvel-level joke.
The FT17 package integrates a metallic optics rail throughout the highest, which is a pleasant contact. A polymer path would get eaten up over time. A charging deal with hooks to the slide and attaches beneath the package’s body. It’s a small tab that’s straightforward to make use of to cost the weapon and repair malfunctions. Up entrance, there may be loads of room to put in a suppressor or muzzle system.
With the Professional Package, now we have a journal holder that friction-fits a P17 journal into the entrance of the gun. The journal launch and security are nonetheless accessible with the package locked in place. Even the micro-sized bolt launch is simple to entry, however the charging deal with is a greater possibility.
To The Vary With the FT17
A crimson dot is a must have for the FT17. I tossed a pistol dot on, and a riser, and bam, I used to be able to rock and roll. That is imagined to be a PDW, and the concept behind a PDW is that shooters can interact at ranges nicely past that of a standard handgun. Once I say interact, I don’t imply simply hitting the goal, however hitting it with ease and shortly in all kinds of positions. With a 25-yard zero, I went out to 50 yards and began lighting it up.
It was straightforward to hit an IPSC-sized piece of metal, which is a pretty big goal and one I can hit with a handgun anyway. I centered on a row of gongs various from eight to 4 inches. The eight and six-inch gongs had been straightforward fodder for the FT17. The four-inch gong was slightly extra elusive, but when I slowed issues down a good bit, I may hit it.
I may maintain a 33% reduced-sized ISPC goal doing nothing however dinging. At 50 yards, the FT17 was a beast. At 100 yards, it nonetheless proved decently correct. A crimson dot and shaky brace arms make it slightly harder to hit smaller targets, however dinging that IPSC-sized metal goal wasn’t an issue.
Going Quick
We additionally wish to go quick with a PDW and a .22LR braced pistol, which isn’t arduous. There may be barely any recoil and no muzzle rise to talk of. You’ll be able to shoot via a 16-round journal in what seems like no time in any respect. The set off went slack a number of occasions as I fired a whole 16-round journal, which stunned me. You’ll be able to shoot that quick.
I shot a Invoice Drill from the low prepared and landed six rounds of .22LR in 1.5 seconds. I’ll admit that wasn’t chilly. I stored slowing myself down, anticipating extra recoil and a necessity for extra management. Solely after I leaned into the American custom of near-uncontrolled magazine dumping did I minimize my occasions whereas not decreasing accuracy.
Talking of, I shot a ton of failure-to-stop drills with this rig, and it was like gliding over ice. It’s so quick and simple to do. I barely need to see the dot earlier than releasing a fast double faucet of .22LR and ending with a well-aimed headshot.
Reloads had been awkward at first, and reloading from the entrance journal pouch felt clumsy. Nonetheless, it’s a totally totally different motion, and after a couple of apply runs, it went easily. The magazines don’t all the time drop free from the P17, so it’s greatest to tear them out. The friction-fit journal pouch holds the magazines with no downside and releases them with a brief tug.
Does It Have an effect on Reliability?
I had some points with the P17 after my preliminary buy. It appears to require a break-in interval. I used to be slightly nervous that the package would push the P17 again to its extra unreliable nature. Take into account my worries abated. The P17 ran like a clock within the FT17. I had zero malfunctions as I shot via a brick of fundamental Blazer .22LR.
I went via 500 rounds with no downside associated to the FT17. I had a couple of failures to fireplace, which are inclined to occur with rimfire cartridges, and I don’t assume it’s a P17 downside. My P17 has this bizarre difficulty the place the slide turns into sluggish, and I can watch it slowly shut on the subsequent spherical. That downside appears to have disappeared with the FT17 package put in.
The one foremost distinction is that the slide launch doesn’t work nicely with the FT17 package put in. It doesn’t all the time shut, usually stopping midway. That is by no means a difficulty utilizing the charging deal with. The charging deal with is very skinny, and I’ve a small concern of breaking it if I had been too tough, however that hasn’t been an issue, so possibly it’s an unfounded concern.
Cyberpunk 2025
A PDW implies defensive use. When you actually may use the FT17 as a defensive weapon, it in all probability wouldn’t be my go-to. I do assume there’s a place for .22LR within the self-defense dialog, but when I’m going with a bigger platform than a pistol, I in all probability need a centerfire caliber.
There may very well be a spot for this package amongst the recoil-sensitive. It actually has no recoil and packs a punch with 16 rounds of .22LR in a really small and light-weight platform. I might select {a magazine} filled with Velcoitors or Federal Punch for defensive .22LR.
For me, it is a complete enjoyable gun. It’s a PDW wannabe that’s tremendous low cost to shoot. It’s a coaching and apply gun and a gun and package that invokes a sure Cyberpunk styling that breaks it away from being boring. If you would like one thing enjoyable, totally different, and small, an FT17-equipped P17 can get it completed.
KelTec P17 .22LR Pistol – Finest $200 You’ll Spend?
What’s a Private Protection Weapon (PDW) | Video
About Travis Pike
Travis Pike is a former Marine Machine Gunner, a lifelong firearms fanatic, and now an everyday man who likes to shoot, write, and discover methods to mix the 2. He holds an NRA certification as a Fundamental Pistol Teacher and is the world’s Okayest firearm’s teacher.
