The Kel-Tec P50 is a modular handgun that, if the company wanted to, could be adapted into a carbine, a submachine gun, or a drone weapon. The upper receiver, containing everything but the trigger, can be adapted to remote firing. The lower receiver, with a Picatinny rail and two QD sockets, can be quickly augmented with a folding stock and a vertical foregrip. In its basic form, it looks like a prop from Cyberpunk or Blade Runner.
Kel-Tec P50
Using 50-shot P90 magazines, the P50 overmatches all competitor handguns’ incapacity. Its 9.6-inch barrel fixed firmly in the receiver gives it accuracy beating most match pistols: fired from a sandbag with just a red dot sight at fifty yards, it shot groups under 1.5 inches. Chambered for the punchy 5.7x28mm, the P50 recoils like a 22 rimfire pistol. American Eagle 40gr FMJ leaves the muzzle at 1920fps, 40-grain expanding FN ammunition flies at 1960fps. With relatively low-drag bullets compared to 22WMR, it has a longer point-blank range than a .22 Magnum rifle!
The Kel-Tec P50 is quite light for its size at 3.2 pounds, and quite compact for the barrel length, at 15 inches overall. For comparison, FN P90 weighs in at 5.7lbs empty and is nearly 5 inches longer with only 0.8 inches more barrel length. The Keltec pistol comes with post and notch iron sights recessed within the Picatinny rail, with elevation adjustment on the front and windage adjustment on the back. 13 inches of sight radius and a good balance add up to considerable precision: standing, I can consistently hit a silhouette target out to 35 yards. At 50 yards, hit probability with factory-adjusted iron sights dropped to 50%, With a red dot, however, I had a group less than an inch at 35 yards. The initial test firing was done with the extra-sharp Vortex UH1 but later switched to Swampfox Liberator on a low mount to reduce weight and the reticle height overbore. With 1.5 inch sight over bore height, P50 greatly improves on the P90’s 4 inches.
Under The Hood
The P50’s action is a plain blowback with dual recoil springs above the barrel. The muzzle flip is negligible. The remarkably slight recoil for a pistol firing a high-velocity cartridge is achieved through very long bolt travel, more than double the cartridge length, and through the use of a polymer recoil absorber wrapped around each return spring. The long top rail and the shorter dust cover rails have plenty of room for lights, lasers, and other accessories. The reloading procedure is a bit slower than the P90: run the charging handle to cock the hammer, press the action release lever located above the web of the strong hand to pop over the ventilated steel top cover, which is the actual receiver.
With the cover raised, pull out the empty magazine, place a full one in its place with the ammunition facing up and close the cover. Run the AR15 style charging handle once to chamber the first round. Since there’s no last shot hold-open, it’s likely that the last trigger pull would drop the hammer. While the action can be opened with the hammer down, it should not be closed that way. Running the charging handle also ensures that there’s no misfired cartridge remaining in the chamber. Be careful to keep the sling from getting under the charging handle. The reloading procedure is a legacy of the original design placing a premium on highly dust-sealed internals. Since it only has to be done one-third as often as with a typical 9mm sidearm, so there’s no time lost overall. The pistol ships with two 50-round magazines, enough to cover any realistic defensive fight.
For firing standing, the normal two-handed grip works better than trying to reach the dust cover with the support hand. The included two-point QD sling steadies the pistol well. One end of the sling fits the receptacle on the bottom of the pistol grip, the other on the back of the grip frame. The pistol can be carried on the strong side or across the body and pushed out against sling tension for improved control. There’s no perceptible shift in balance as the ammunition in the magazine is emptied. One-handed firing is good to about 25 yards, with slower shot-to-shot recovery from a slight sideways twist after every round.
The ambidextrous safety lever blocks the sear and disengages the trigger. Personally, I would prefer a locked dead trigger to a floppy trigger, but it’s a matter of habit. The trigger pull is long but light — 5 pounds with a wide trigger face — making it easy to shoot accurately at the cost of reduced feedback through winter gloves. The geometry of the trigger pull works better with a two-handed hold. The reset is nearly at the start of the travel, with a feeling of very light double action. With dispersion at 50 yards just slightly over an inch and 5.7×28 trajectory being very flat, it’s reasonable to expect effective hits past 150 yards, with the velocity still above 1350fps at that range. Hit probability is much higher than could be expected with a conventional pistol. Terminal performance is moderate but has the advantage over slower calibers in being able to defeat soft body armor. High-velocity frangible loads in the 29-32 grain range are better suited for varmint eradication. The barrel length is sufficient for most of the 5.7×28 ballistic potential.
KEL-TEC P50 5.7 Space Gat Handgun
Live Inventory Price Checker
KEL-TEC P50 5.7x28mm 9.6" 50rd Pistol w/ Threaded Barrel - Black
KYGUNCO
$
745.79
KEL-TEC P50 5.7x28mm 9.6" 50rd Optic Ready Pistol - Tan Polymer
KYGUNCO
$
745.79
KEL-TEC P50 5.7x28mm 9.6" 50rd Optic Ready Pistol - Green Polymer
KYGUNCO
$
784.71
Kel-Tec P50 5.7x28mm Pistol
Rainier Arms
$
1299.95
Kel-Tec P50 5.7 X 28 9.6 Barrel 50-Round 2 Mags
GrabAGun
$
685.99
Kel-Tec P50 Tan 5.7 X 28 9.6 Barrel 50-Rounds
GrabAGun
$
751.99
Live Inventory Price Checker
KEL-TEC P50 5.7x28mm 9.6" 50rd Pistol w/ Threaded Barrel - Black | KYGUNCO | $ 745.79 |
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KEL-TEC P50 5.7x28mm 9.6" 50rd Optic Ready Pistol - Tan Polymer | KYGUNCO | $ 745.79 |
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KEL-TEC P50 5.7x28mm 9.6" 50rd Optic Ready Pistol - Green Polymer | KYGUNCO | $ 784.71 |
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Kel-Tec P50 5.7x28mm Pistol | Rainier Arms | $ 1299.95 |
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Kel-Tec P50 5.7 X 28 9.6 Barrel 50-Round 2 Mags | GrabAGun | $ 685.99 |
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Kel-Tec P50 Tan 5.7 X 28 9.6 Barrel 50-Rounds | GrabAGun | $ 751.99 |
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Muzzle flash is transient and small, at about 4 inches long and 1.5 inches high, and doesn’t intrude into the sight picture much. The barrel is threaded 1/2×28 for any muzzle device. P50 ships with a knurled thread protector. While a sound suppressor won’t reduce the bullet flight noise, the crack from the supersonic wave generated by a small projectile isn’t as injurious to the shooter’s ear standing inside its propagation cone. Most of the steel .22 suppressors are rated for 5.7×28 and reduce the report very nicely with only a small shift in the point of impact, thanks to the rigid barrel.
Disassembly is extremely simple, with no small parts or loose springs to worry about. With a cartridge tip, pull the recoil block forward and away from the receiver. The recoil springs, their guides, and the bolt all come out as a single unit. After that, the charging handle comes out of the back, providing full access to the chamber. The field-stripping is thus complete. Reassembly is in reverse order and takes only a few seconds. Ejection is up and to the front right, so left-handed shooters can use it with no concerns about hot brass.
Besides looking like a futuristic blaster, P50 brings significant capability in a small and light envelope. Significantly more accurate than 9mm machine pistols or their semiauto lookalikes, it sports a bigger magazine, better accuracy, and longer effective range. And it’s a lot of fun to shoot.
Check out more Firearms innovations from Kel-Tec: Kel-Tec P17
About Oleg Volk
Oleg Volk is a creative director working mainly in firearms advertising. A great fan of America and the right to bear arms, he uses his photography to support the right of every individual to self-determination and independence. To that end, he is also a big fan of firearms. Check out his world-renowned photography and his YouTube channel.
Very cool gun and being a Kel Tec, probably a lot of fun to shoot. But anyone considering one should stop and think about the cost and availability of ammo.
Today 5-22-21 I find it at $1.60 each, making it an $80 magazine load! Surely when the 9mm/5:56/.45/.22lr ammo is back in supply, the price will come down as they add volume in production. How long? 1-2 years from now?
today on 10-11-21 you can buy American Eagle for $39.99 at IRUNGUNS. After adding shipping I would estimate about $1.00 a round.
Yes, PSA also has the ammo, yes a bit expensive, but so is shooting 50BMG.
You need an AMEX Black to afford shooing it.
That’s why I never shoot my SBR’d P90S
Cuanto?
Kel-Tec lists it at $995.00 on their website.
No way would I gamble that much on a KelTec anything.
Kel-Tec is the Tommy Wiseau of gun companies. the guns inargueablely look terrible, yet they possess a distinct alien charm to them.
Nice except there’s no ammunition for that in the Midwest
And what you can find was going for $80 a box of 50. So how much fun can one afford ?
For sure plus the way they blow through ammo testing stuff seems like no problem for them !?
Shiz – they can blow thru ammo for the tests since someone else is paying for it.
Where can I get a gig like that? I do have more than a bit of experience and training with guns and have been known to turn a good phrase or two…….
Reloading your own ammo is the only way to have any sort of decent supply on hand these days and my research has indicated the 5.7 cartridge is unusually fussy to load for. Too many reports of blown up guns for me to even consider getting anything in 5.7.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97NtuM9RDrs
https://www.fivesevenforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=17011&sid=f45353361669b1c59092379d9ac2a4a5
Not sure I would own one since I bought a Ruger 57. The really off putting issue with 5.7×28 is the cost of ammo. My first 5.7 pistol was the FN model which I didn’t keep very long. I bought ammo for it at less than $30 per box of 50 so over a few months I stocked up with 500 rounds, 200 in fmj and 300 in the FN blue point expanding. Last 5.7 ammo I saw was running just under a buck a pop. My Ruger 57 is for home defense & other social work where I don’t… Read more »
WR – if you can find 5.7 that cheap you might want to grab it! It has been running around 90 bucks for a box of the ‘cheap’ stuff around here lately, if not more. If you have access and spare cash, you could turn a tidy profit. NOTE – I am not encouraging price gouging by any means.
Does anyone own a P50 and can vouch for it’s reliabilty? If in fact reliable. How about the FN P90 rifle; reliable?
No problems with my pistol, member at the range had one last week, one of the machine bolts that hold the BCG together came out! I checked my pistol at home and both the bolts are in tight. He is sending it back to KelTec.
Does anyone make a PS90/P90/P50-type pistol/rifle in 9mm? This to me would be more practical than 5.7×28. Any comments?
Never got into the Kel-Tec 80% plastic guns. My son won a 9mm pistol, can’t hit a wall in a warehouse ! I have fired hundreds of guns, NONE have been as inaccurate as that pistol. Lemon ? possible, I will never BUY one. Others love them.
I love the look and concept of this gun, but despite being tormented by “The P50 is now shipping!” emails, text messages, facebook and instagram ads…I have yet to see it, anywhere. I pre-bought 1,000 rounds last year in anticipation for its arrival…nada! I have a google search that will alert me anytime one is posted…STILL WAITING!!
I will buy this when it is released or available.
I waited that long for the P30 22 mag.
I appreciate all the info! Videos firing it without a brace are ridiculous. Just the size of it makes it stupid without a brace. really should have partnered with a 3rd party for a brace at the time of rollout. Their fear of changing laws even when marketing is pathetic. I’ll get excited about this product if 5.7 drops back to 40 cents a round. Otherwise it’s a pointless range toy.
Getting 5.7 ammo has been a nightmare.
I bought several thousand rounds in 2019 and have yet to shot any of it. 🙁
This thing looks super heavy and awkward to shoot.
And mag changes will get you dead.
I’ll have to pass on one of these unless they….. nope. Just have to pass.
I like the concepts shown by a lot of Kel-Tec offerings, but I loathe their erector set/Mattel toy engineering and construction. I have only purchased 2 or 3 over the years, but the most recent, a PMR-30, I never bothered to fire; and seriously considered throwing away unfired. Too many points of the design rely on too close tolerances for functioning, on a seriously cheap-ass constructed plastic and aluminum pistol. I’m not a particular fan of Glock, but they should buy out KekTec and perfect their products.
I have a PMR 39 and enjoy it. It runs well, is reliable with all heavier ammo (40gr) is compact, resists rust, abd isn’t sensitive to need lots of cleaning after shooting! What’s nit to like?
Me, too. (P30)
RTG – if ya haven’t tossed that PMR yet I’ll let ya ‘donate’ it to me ‘-)
Working out the logistics of doing so could be an issue but probably not unworkable. I’m more than willing to adopt unwanted orphans…………….
I enjoy my PMR-30 and would like to try one of these.
I like my CP33 too, added the extended magazine adapter, 50 rounds in one magazine, from KelTec. It loves CCI ammo but not the waxed up Winchester.
i only say love to a person, but i would use that word to describe how i feel about my glock mag sub2K, gen 1. it is fun to shoot, especially with the 32 round fun stick. it is very accurate to 50 yds and my wife can shoot well with it, low recoil. we had pf9 and 11, but i got blisters when at the range from the trigger, traded them in for a couple of glocks. kind of want one of these but am hesitant due to the trigger issue. we will see if i can get my… Read more »
All it needs is a brace, and proper ammunition.
Based on the design, an arm brace, like on the AR-platform pistol, would not work. I do not see, except at the base of the grip, where a brace could be attached.
Can’t buy it in my state, WA. We have had no true mass shooting since I can remember but, you know, there might be someday and we gotta save lives. I hate the gun regulations in my state. Damn near like Californicate.
Oleg, it is GREAT to see you writing an article!! Its every bit as enjoyable as looking at your photography. Keep it coming!!
Fun to shoot, I own it, for a few hundred dollars more then the Ruger 57, I can add the carbine kit with 16″ barrel.Turns a lot of heads at the indoor range.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcWFzflPwLI
Who in space are they going to kill? AT 17,000 MPH a sling shot will bring down a satellite.