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KelTec

{{short description|American firearms manufacturer}}

{{Infobox company

|name = Kel-Tec CNC Industries Inc.

|logo = Logo Kel-Tec.svg

|logo_size = 130px

|logo_alt =

|logo_caption =

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|type = Private

|industry = Firearms

|genre =

|fate =

|successor =

|founded = {{start date and age|1991}}

|founder = George Kellgren

|defunct =

|hq_location_city = Cocoa, Florida

|hq_location_country = United States

|area_served = Worldwide

|key_people = George Kellgren (President)

|products = Pistols, Rifles, Shotguns

|revenue =

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|owner =

|num_employees =

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|homepage = [https://www.keltecweapons.com www.keltecweapons.com]

|footnotes =

|intl =

}}

Kel-Tec CNC Industries Inc., commonly referred to as KelTec (previously hyphenated as Kel-Tec until 2021),https://blog.keltecweapons.com/press/a-reminder-to-our-friends-in-the-press "A REMINDER TO OUR FRIENDS IN THE PRESS" KelTec. keltecweapons.com is an American developer and manufacturer of firearms. Founded by George Kellgren in 1991 and based in Cocoa, Florida, the company has manufactured firearms since 1995, starting with semi-automatic pistolsJohnston, Phil W. "Little Kel-Tec P-11 Pistol Features New, Practical Design." GunWeek. 2001. [http://www.gunweek.com/2001/feature1010.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318000500/http://www.gunweek.com/2001/feature1010.html|date=2012-03-18}} and expanding to rifles and then shotguns. KelTec is a privately owned Florida corporation. George Kellgren, KelTec owner and chief engineer, is a Swedish designer who also designed many earlier Husqvarna, Swedish Interdynamics AB (in Sweden), Intratec and Grendel brand firearms. The company has been developing and manufacturing a wide variety of firearms, ranging from semi-automatic handguns, i.e. pistols, to semi-automatic rifles and shotguns.

KelTec has a reputation in the firearms industry for releasing innovative, and often radically disruptive new designs for firearms, such as the KSG shotgun and SUB-2000, as well as inexpensive, reliable and easily concealable firearms such as the pocket pistol KelTec P32.

History

Some Firearms manufactured by KelTec include the following: P11 pistol (9 mm); the P32 pistol, chambered in .32 ACP (7.65mm Browning) and one of the smallest and lightest pocketable pistols still in production weighing only {{Metric converter|6.6|oz|g}}; the P3AT pistol chambered in .380 ACP (9mm Short) since discontinued; the P-40 chambered in .40 S&W which has also been discontinued; the SUB-9 and the later very popular Kel-Tec SUB-2000, both semi-automatic pistol caliber carbines that readily fold into themselves for easy storage. In addition, the company offers a family of 5.56×45mm rifles known as the SU-16 series.

In November 2005 the PLR-16 was released. The PLR-16 is a long-range pistol design based on key design elements copied from the earlier SU-16 rifle design.

In 2010 Kel-Tec introduced the PMR30, a lightweight, full-size, .22 Magnum 30-shot semiautomatic pistol.[https://www.keltecweapons.com/firearms/pistols/ "Pistols" Kel-Tec. keltecweapons.com] In 2016, Kel-Tec introduced the CMR-30 carbine, based on the PMR30.{{Cite news|url=http://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2016/1/11/tested-kel-tec-cmr-30-22-magnum-rifle/|title=Tested: Kel-Tec CMR-30 .22 Magnum Rifle|last=Horman|first=B. Gil|date=January 11, 2016|work=American Rifleman|access-date=April 9, 2016|via=NRA}}

Additionally, in 2016 Kel-Tec released the KelTec KSG and permanently changed the firearms industry by releasing the highest capacity mass produced shotgun, with a capability of holding 14 rounds of 12-gauge shotgun shells.

=Lightest, thinnest semi-automatic 9 mm pistol=

File:Kel-Tec_PF-9.png

The PF9, a flat 9×19mm single-column magazine semi-automatic pistol based on the earlier P11 and P3AT designs, was upon its release in 2006 touted as the thinnest and lightest 9 mm pistol ever mass-produced.[http://kel-tec-cnc.com/pf9.html "PF-9." Kel-Tec. Kel-Tec-CNC.com] The PF9 was retired in 2022 and replaced with the P15.[https://blog.keltecweapons.com/press/keltec-introduces-p15-striker-fire-pistol "P15 Press" Kel-Tec. keltecweapons.com]

="High-Efficiency Rifles"=

At the 2007 SHOT Show held in Orlando, Florida, Kel-Tec introduced a series of new "High-Efficiency Rifles" called the RFB, standing for "Rifle, Forward-ejection, Bull-pup."[http://kel-tec-cnc.com/news.html "News." Kel-Tec. Kel-Tec-CNC.com] The RFB is a gas-operated semi-automatic rifle with tilting breech block locking mechanism, loads the 7.62×51 NATO cartridge and uses metric FAL magazines; the RFB "family" consists in a series of bullpup rifles with three barrel lengths (18" barrel carbine, 24" sporter and 32" target versions), and a patented forward-ejection system via a tube placed over the barrel that ejects the spent case forwards, over the handguard of the rifle. This eliminates a major drawback of bullpup rifles, which is that they may not be readily usable by left-handed shooters.[http://kel-tec-cnc.com/images/downloads/RFB_Flyer_SHOT_2007_web.pdf "Brochure: Kel-Tec RFB High-Efficiency Rifle." Kel-Tec. SHOT Show 2007] Distribution of the RFB rifles in the USA was scheduled for February 2009; as of 2013, it has been publicly released for sale. As a further Revolution of the Bullpup, the RDB (Rifle Downward-ejecting Bullpup) was released in late 2015.{{Cite web |url=http://www.keltecweapons.com/our-guns/rifle/rdb |title=RDB |access-date=2016-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160824130204/http://www.keltecweapons.com/our-guns/rifle/rdb |archive-date=2016-08-24 |url-status=dead }}

Products

Kel-Tec breaks down their product line into three main categories: pistols, shotguns and rifles.{{cite web|title=Our Guns|url=http://www.keltecweapons.com/our-guns/|publisher=Kel-Tec|accessdate=20 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121219141238/http://www.keltecweapons.com/our-guns/|archive-date=19 December 2012|url-status=dead}}

=Pistols=

=Shotguns=

=Rifles=

  • KelTec R50 FN 5.7x28 (P50 in rifle form)
  • KelTec SUB-2000 9mm/.40S&W/5.7x28mm
  • KelTec SUB-2000 CQB (integrally suppressed SUB-2000)
  • KelTec SU-16 5.56 NATO
  • KelTec SU-22 .22 LR
  • KelTec RFB 7.62 NATO bullpup
  • KelTec CMR-30 .22 WMR
  • KelTec RDB 5.56 NATO bullpup{{Cite web |url=http://www.keltecweapons.com/our-guns/rifle/rdb |title=RDB |access-date=2016-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160824130204/http://www.keltecweapons.com/our-guns/rifle/rdb |archive-date=2016-08-24 |url-status=dead }}

Gallery

Image:Kel-Tec-P-11.jpg|P11 9 mm with loaded magazine

Image:Kel-Tec P-32 (Yaf).jpg|P32 .32 ACP

Image:KTP3AT.JPG|P3AT .380 ACP

Image:Kel-Tec PF-9.png|PF9 9mm blued finish with gray grip

File:Kel-Tec SUB-2000.jpg|SUB-2000 9 mm with 15-round Beretta magazine

File:Kel-Tec SUB-2000 folded.jpg|SUB-2000 9 mm, folded

Image:Kel-Tec PLR-16.jpg|PLR-16 5.56×45mm with compact forend and Levang linear recoil compensator

Image:Su-16.jpg|SU-16A 5.56×45mm

Image:Kel-Tec SU-16C fixed.jpg|SU-16C 5.56×45mm, with stock in fixed position

Image:Kel-Tec SU-16C folded.jpg|SU-16C 5.56×45mm, with stock in folded position

Image:SU16-PistolGrip-SideExtendedA.jpg|SU-16C 5.56×45mm, with after-market collapsible stock, pistol grip, and telescopic sight

File:Keltecrfb.jpg|RFB 7.62×51mm, with holographic weapon sight and sling

File:Ksg.jpg|KSG 12 Gauge

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{commons category|Kel-Tec CNC Industries}}

  • [http://www.keltecweapons.com Official KelTec firearms site]
  • [http://olegvolk.net/gallery/technology/arms/keltec Hi-res photos of KelTec firearms] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616132117/https://olegvolk.net/gallery/technology/arms/keltec/ |date=2021-06-16 }}

{{Kel-Tec firearms}}

Category:Companies based in Brevard County, Florida

Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1991

Category:Firearm manufacturers of the United States

Category:Cocoa, Florida

Category:1991 establishments in Florida