I’m an unashamed KelTec fan. They appear to be one of many few firms doing neat and bizarre stuff. Considered one of their basic, bizarre, however efficient designs is the KelTec Sub 2000, also called the Sub 2K. It’s now in its third era. I’ve owned certainly one of every era, and when the Gen 3 got here out, I preferred the improve however didn’t want one other 9mm carbine. Then KelTec launched the 5.7x28mm model, and it caught my consideration.
The 5.7×28 isn’t a standard pistol spherical, nevertheless it’s not a standard rifle spherical, both. FN designed the 5.7x28mm for light-weight, SMG-like weapons for a Private Protection Weapon venture. The cartridge was designed to defeat mushy armor and supply larger total vary than a 9mm cartridge. The 5.7 appears to be like like a contemporary rifle spherical, simply shrunk.
It incorporates a spitzer bullet and bottleneck design in a small total footprint. What me most was a light-weight carbine possibility that was downright reasonably priced. The KelTec Sub 2000 has at all times been reasonably priced, and for lower than $400, I used to be out the door with my Sub 2000 and my first 5.7x28mm rifle.
The KelTec Sub 2000 Gen 3 – Why 5.7x28mm?
Dwell Stock Worth Checker
The Sub 2000 famously folds in half to cut back the general size to about 16 inches. The folding design makes this one of the vital compact rifles on the planet. It’s extremely small and light-weight, making its handiness its most important energy. It’s simple to stash and retailer, and it makes for a nice truck gun, a tenting gun, or perhaps a self-defense rifle.
With these strengths in thoughts, I assume the 5.7x28mm spherical helps emphasize the rifle’s handiness. The 5.7 spherical enhances all the Sub 2000’s strengths to make the rifle even handier. The spherical provides extra vary than a 9mm spherical and has been confirmed to be pretty efficient.
It doesn’t outperform a 5.56 by any means, however can you set a 5.56 spherical in a rifle this mild, compact, and reasonably priced? Plus, it folds! The 5.7 offers you round 200ish yards of efficient vary, particularly when paired with some type of barely magnified optic.
The small projectile is a strong penetrator, and I really feel {that a} 5.7 generally is a good low-recoil defensive possibility. There are higher choices, however for people who lack higher physique energy and are recoil-sensitive, the 5.7 goes to be powerful to beat, particularly from a rifle.
To me, the Sub 2000 Gen 3 in 5.7 is sort of a trendy M1 Carbine.
What’s New With the Gen 3?
The KelTec Sub 2000 Gen 3 options a number of fixes in comparison with the older generations of the Sub 2000s, specifically the flexibility to make use of optics. The huge change from the Gen 2 to the Gen 3 was native optics-ready functionality. The Gen 2 had a rail, however throwing an optic on it would forestall the rifle from folding.
Numerous optics mounts have been created to keep away from this, and I’m keen on the MCARBO possibility on my Gen 2. The Gen 3 built-in a handguard that rotates when you fold the rifle. It rotates to the fitting or left, and it’s the person’s alternative. This enables the highest of the handguard, with the optic in place, to rotate the optic out of the way in which and fold the gun.
This does imply the gun ditches iron sights completely, however I’m betting most individuals gained’t miss them. I do want the Sub 2000 would rotate 180 levels to position the optic on the identical aircraft because the pistol grip. It presently stands out to the aspect and creates a a lot bulkier package deal than mandatory.
The barrel is threaded, and quite a few .22 cans are 5.7 rated however double-check earlier than you mild it off. Subsonic 5.7 exists and isn’t powerful to seek out. The Gen 3 Sub 2000 has all the identical options because the Gen 2 Sub 2000. This consists of the partial M-LOK rail, the adjustable inventory, and a ton of sling factors.
The usage of the 5.7x28mm spherical makes this a particularly light-weight rifle, at solely 4.36 kilos. The 5.7 fashions use the FN 5-Seven pistol magazines, so 20 rounds are the usual. Sadly, KelTec determined to go along with a ProMag because the included journal. ProMag, simply say no.
Loading Up the Gen 3 Sub 2000
I outfitted my Sub 2000 Gen 3 with a Major Arms MicroPrism with 3X magnification. If I’m taking pictures 5.7, I would as effectively make the most of it. These MicroPrism optics have lower than optimum eye aid, and the optic mounts pretty far ahead on the gun’s rail.
With the optic mounted, I’ve to faucet into my Marine Corps roots and choke up on the gun. We used to name it “nostril to the charging deal with” when coping with ACOGs on the M16A4. Now we have to maintain that very same power with this setup. Choke up on it a bit, and also you get a full view by means of the optic.
I zeroed at 17 yards, which is odd, however there’s a motive. In accordance with the MPBR calculator, a zero at 17 yards will perform to 150 yards and even out to 170 yards with a bit of elevation. With a 17-yard zero, with this optic and ammo, even at 200 yards, we’re solely seeing 10 inches of drop.
This works fairly effectively. I can hit a 10-inch gong at 150 yards from an offhand standing place. I can most actually lob rounds into an IPSC metal goal at 200 yards by simply aiming on the head zone and letting them drop into the chest. When it comes to uncooked accuracy at 100 yards, the gun is okay with 3 MOA teams on common with low cost Fiocchi ammo.
The 5.7mm spherical is sort of correct and flat-shooting. The KelTec rifle platform itself has some limitations.
Taking pictures Straight – Issues
Let’s keep in mind that the barrel on this rifle folds away from the receiver and is encased in polymer. It’s not a free-floating design, and it’s not designed to provide you a ton of precision. The accuracy additionally degrades rapidly when it heats up.
Because the Sub 2000 will get hotter, we see our teams begin to open up considerably. I shot a five-round group at 50 yards, then shot about 80 rounds in 20 minutes and reshot that 50-yard group. The group measurement elevated by an element of 4.
Nobody will brag about this set off and its weight, creep, and grit. It’s like plastic rubbing on plastic. It’s high-quality for the PCC and most related platforms, nevertheless it begins to turn out to be annoying if you’re taking pictures at 100 yards and past.
Operating Uncooked
The Sub 2000 in 5.7 handles a complete lot higher than the unique Sub 2000s. The 9mm and .40 S&W variants are likely to have snappy recoil with a blowback motion and harsh recoil. The 5.7x28mm spherical has nearly no recoil; it’s a lot lighter with no snap to it.
It’s nonetheless direct blowback, however as a result of lighter 5.7 design, it’s not almost as dangerous as different cartridges. Moreover, the recoil spring is a lot lighter, which suggests much less resistance when charging the weapon. Anybody can prepared this weapon.
You may shoot the 5.7x28mm Sub 2000 with ease and ship a lot of rounds on track swiftly. It’s like unleashing an offended swarm of bees. You may press the set off quickly and drain your complete 20-round journal on track with out ever shedding management. From the low prepared, Invoice Drills saved themselves within the 1.7-second vary.
If you’d like a particularly low-recoiling, light-weight rifle for residence protection, the 5.7 Sub 2000 could be powerful to beat. Ditch the prism for a purple dot, and you’ve got a succesful close-range firearm.
Definitely worth the Squeeze?
The one reliability points I had with the gun got here when utilizing the ProMag. When totally loaded, it might typically choke on the primary few rounds. I bought a handful of FN magazines and have had zero malfunctions when utilizing high quality magazines.
In the end, the KelTec Sub 2000 in 5.7x28mm may be the very best Sub 2000 on the market. It’s actually the lightest, essentially the most succesful at longer vary, and has the lightest recoil. The ammo is admittedly pricier than 9mm, however the value appears to be coming down, with fifty-round packing containers generally promoting for round $20.
For those who can spare the additional cash for the ammo, the Sub 2000 in 5.7 is the way in which to go for folding carbines. AmmoToGo was form sufficient to supply ammo for this overview, they usually have some reasonably reasonably priced choices. Hopefully, S&W responds with a 5.7 FPC, and we are able to get a number of extra reasonably priced 5.7 carbines.
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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 firearms teacher.
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