The Kel-Tec Sub-2000 is a unique and relatively inexpensive pistol caliber carbine.
What makes it unique is its ability to fold in half at the midpoint into a package
just 16¼” long. At around 5 pounds of weight, it fits and carries easily in just
about any back pack. There is an asterisk to that statement which we will get to
in a few minutes.
It’s uses a simple blowback semi-automatic design. The Sub-2000, aka, Sub2K, has
been around for a number of years. It was redesigned and re-introduced in a 2nd
generation version in 2015.
My readers know that I had a dalliance with another pistol caliber carbine
recently, a TNW Aero Survival Rifle. The TNW ASR was also packable, but through
an easily removable barrel. Anyway, though it was a cool carbine, I had a lot of
trouble with jams. It was difficult to get through a single magazine without
having to stop to clear a jam. I finally decided that there was nothing I could
do to make it run reliably, so it was time to let it go. I replaced it in my
armory with a Kel-Tec Sub2K Gen 2.
I picked it up at the gun show just after they started production ramp up for Gen
2. If you know anything about Kel-Tec, you know that they are a financially
prudent company. They don’t like to take on debt, so their products can sometimes
be difficult to find in the marketplace. They run their production ramp-ups
conservatively, slowly. This is not only so that they don’t have to take on debt,
but also so that they can verify early production quality.
So I was quite pleased to find mine at the gun show, knowing that locating one can
be difficult. The dealer had both 9mm and .40 S&W versions available. But since
there was higher demand for the 9mm, it was priced $80 to $100 more than the .40!
Sure, I would have preferred the 9, but not for that cost premium! I shoot, love,
and reload for the .40, it is a more powerful round (javelina hunting?), so that’s
the one that came home with me.
What is the biggest improvement of the Gen 2 over the first generation? It is a
redesigned handguard with Picatinny rails both top and bottom. There was no good
way to hang accessories on the Gen 1 unless the user replaced his handguard with
an aftermarket one.
The handguard also sports Magpul M-Lok slots on either side. I tried using those
M-Lok slots to mount a flashlight, but I don’t think plastic M-Lok slots work very
well. The trouble I had was that the metal M-Lok nuts dig into the back side of
the plastic when they are tightened. This makes removing the accessory later
problematic, as the plastic does not want to let go of the nut when loosened. I
ended up going a different route with a flashlight that mounts on the Pic-rail
below. This is a much cleaner installation versus having it mounted on the side.
So now, let’s talk about that asterisk, concerning the Sub2K’s ability to fold in
half. To fold it, you pull down on the back of the trigger guard. The trigger
guard pivots down, and this unlatches the barrel from the receiver, allowing the
barrel to pivot at the base of the rear sight. The rear sight folds as the
barrel is pivoted over.
To the right is a photo of my Sub2K when I had a laser under the chin and a
side-mounted flashlight. Look carefully, and you will notice something wrong …
The optic is mounted on the underside of the barrel!
With an optic mounted on the topside, you lose the ability to fold the gun. As
here, one solution is to use a quick-detach mount, remove the optic when you
want to fold it, and temporarily mount it underneath for folded transport. This
works mechanically, but I have not yet done any testing to see if the optic
maintains zero when swapped like this. I’m leary, so after sighting it in, I
have not touched the optic and mount since. I’ve just been pretending it is not
a folding gun. I know that I should do that test one day ...
Also let me mention that I consider mounting an optic on this gun mandatory.
To use the provided iron sights (plastic rear peep sight), to be able to get
my eye to align, I have to push my face down on the buffer tube way too hard.
When you have a blowback bolt heavy enough to be able to handle the power of
the .40 S&W, it recoils relatively stoutly. When your cheek bone is smashed
against that buffer tube, it is not a comfortable shooting experience whatsoever.
An optic sight on a riser makes the gun shootable for me.
As for my choice of optics, I am using a Monstrum Tactical quick-detach riser and
a Primary Arms red dot sight. They are mounted as far back on the handguard rail
as possible, which still yields a forward “Scout Rifle” type of mounting position.
When I sighted in the RDS, I had a totally unexpected observation. Since I reload
for the .40 S&W, I don’t remember why I started my sighting session using Remington
165 gr. factory ammo. Using a benchrest, after a few shots and some tweaking of the
sight’s adjustment turrets, I had a pretty good zero and a satisfyingly tight group
at about 35 yards. Should be good enough for ringing steel at our club shoots. Then
I taped the target and switched over to my handloads using Berry’s 165 gr. plated
bullets. Because they are inexpensive, I have been using plated bullets in my
handloads for many years, but I’ve got to admit that I had never put them on paper
until now. Were my eyes opened! After three shots, I put down the gun and walked
down to the target to find only one hole! Not because they were that accurate, but
rather that in-accurate! Apparently, they were spraying all over the place.
Remington Factory 165 gr. FMJ
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Handloads with Berry's plated bullets
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I had always loaded them as if they were FMJs, but Berry’s will tell you to load
them light, as if they were lead-heads. The plated bullets were simply not taking
the rifling. Since then, I’ve only shot factory FMJ through this gun.
As far as reliability goes, my experience with the Sub2K has probably been something
like 98%. I’ve had a couple of jams, but I can get through most of our competitions
without issues. When I’m doing my part, the gun just rocks. However, in the last
two of our shoots that I’ve run it, I’ve ended up in the cellar of the Pistol Caliber
Carbine class – dead last. Don’t blame the gun though.
For example, in the last Midweek Evening shoot we had, I actually had the best time
of the field in two out of the five stages.
All it took was screwing up one stage. It was a reload stage, and I grabbed one of
my 9mm mags for my pistol and slammed it in. I realized what I had done before
dropping the bolt. I removed the 9-mag, and found my .40 mag in another pocket. But
all that extra time killed me for that stage, and for the match.
