Is the PMR-30 going to lead to a 33-shot 22LR handgun?
Kel Tec has long been in the .22 Magnum business going back some a quarter century to the old Grendel P30 days. However, other than a pistol version of its SU22 rifle, they have been lacking in a handgun chambered for the more plink-worthy .22LR. Well, that may be changing.
Back in 1990, Kel Tec founder George Kellgren was running its predecessor, Grendel firearms in Rockledge, Florida. It was then that he came up with the space-gun looking Grendel P-30. This simple blowback handgun, with a 5-inch barrel, had the benefit of a detachable Zytel plastic magazine that you could cram an amazing 30-rounds into while retaining the capability to fit completely inside the pistol grip. This gun, in turn, spawned the R-31 Carbine series that basically added a stock and 16-inch barrel. Both of these sunsetted with the demise of Grendel in 1995.
Then in 2008, after a 13 year hiatus from the rimfire market, Kel Tec introduced their SU-22, a 4-pound blowback action .22LR carbine based on the company’s successful SU-16 rifle. This gun, with its 26-round magazine was downsized with to a stockless pistol model complete with a 10.1-inch barrel dubbed the PLR-22. They are currently on the books as Kellgren’s only .22LR (keep reading though)
Now the very next year, in 2009, the Kel Tec rebooted the old Grendel P-30 with a more modern ergonomics and better styling. As it was still a .22WMR with a 30-shot detachable box mag, this new gun was named the PMR-30 and is very popular right now. So much so that the CMR-30 Carbine version is much awaited.
However, these pistols are magnum rimfires only.
Is that going to change? Find out in my column at The KTOG