Kel-Tec

Kel-Tec CNC Industries Inc.
Company type	Private
Industry	Firearms
Founded	1991; 33 years ago
Founder	George Kellgren
Headquarters	Cocoa, Florida, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	George Kellgren (President)
Products	Pistols, Rifles, Shotguns
Website	www.keltecweapons.com

Kel-Tec CNC Industries Inc., commonly referred to as KelTec,^[1] 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 pistols^[2] and expanding to rifles and then shotguns. Kel-Tec is a privately owned Florida corporation. George Kellgren, Kel-Tec 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.

History

Weapons manufactured by Kel-Tec include the P-11 pistol (9 mm); the P-32 pistol (32 ACP); the P-3AT pistol (.380 ACP); the P-40 (.40 S&W)(discontinued); the SUB-9 and the later SUB-2000, both semi-automatic pistol caliber carbines that fold for storage. In addition, the company offers a family of 5.56×45mm rifles known as the SU-16 series.

November 2005 saw the introduction of the PLR-16, 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.^[3] In 2016, Kel-Tec introduced the CMR-30 carbine, based on the PMR30.^[4]

Lightest, thinnest semi-automatic 9 mm pistol

The PF-9, a flat 9×19mm single-column magazine semi-automatic pistol based on the earlier P-11 and P-3AT designs, was upon its release in 2006 touted as the thinnest and lightest 9 mm pistol ever mass-produced.^[5] The PF-9 was retired in 2022 and replaced with the P15.^[6]

"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."^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[9]

Products

Kel-Tec breaks down their product line into three main categories: pistols, shotguns and rifles.^[10]

Pistols

Shotguns

Kel-Tec KSG series
- Kel-Tec KSG-25
- Kel-Tec KSG Tactical
- Kel-Tec KSG Compact
- Kel-Tec KS7
- Kel-Tec KSG410

Rifles

Kel-Tec R50 FN 5.7x28 (P50 in rifle form)
Kel-Tec SUB-2000 9mm/.40S&W
Kel-Tec SUB-2000 CQB (integrally suppressed SUB-2000)
Kel-Tec SU-16 5.56 NATO
Kel-Tec SU-22 .22 LR
Kel-Tec RFB 7.62 NATO bullpup
Kel-Tec CMR-30 .22 WMR
Kel-Tec RDB 5.56 NATO bullpup^[11]

Gallery

P-11 9 mm with loaded magazine
P-32 .32 ACP
P-3AT .380 ACP
PF-9 9mm blued finish with gray grip
SUB-2000 9 mm with 15-round Beretta magazine
SUB-2000 9 mm, folded
PLR-16 5.56×45mm with compact forend and Levang linear recoil compensator
SU-16A 5.56×45mm
SU-16C 5.56×45mm, with stock in fixed position
SU-16C 5.56×45mm, with stock in folded position
SU-16C 5.56×45mm, with after-market collapsible stock, pistol grip, and telescopic sight
RFB 7.62×51mm, with holographic weapon sight and sling
KSG 12 Gauge