Review – Kel-Tec Sub 2000 Gen 2 – Glock – 9MM

Ok so I had a chance to take out a Kel-Tec Sub 2000 Gen 2 a few times now.  The short of it is I really like it!  I will go over some points below in detail as there are a few things that I don’t like but they could be related to me more then the firearm.  I used the 9mm version but they do make a 40 cal version.  I think the 40 is hard to find in Canada.   They also make a red colour “Canadian Edition” instead of black as well.   Not really sure if it actually is a Canadian Edition or the gun shops just pushing it as that.  I believe you can also select your type of mag it will accept as well.  Either a S&W or a Glock.  I have only seen the Glock version here in Canada but haven’t look that hard to see if S&W is available.

Specs From Kel-Tec Site:

Operating System	Blowback
Caliber	9mm Luger or 40 cal. S&W
Capacity	10 Round (Canada)
Barrel Length	18.5in
Barrel Twist Rate (9mm / .40 cal.)	1:10	1:16
Trigger Pull	9 – 10lbs
Accessory Mount	Picatinny Rail, M-Lok™
Length (Stock collapsed / extended)	29.25in	30.5in
Length of Pull (Stock to trigger)	13.25in / 14.5in
Grip Width	1.25in
Max Height	7 in
Weight (Unloaded, no mag)	4.25lbs
Barrel Threads (9mm / .40 cal.)	1/2″-28  9/16″-24

I am not going to go into the differences between the Sub 2000 Gen 1 and Gen 2 as I have not used the Gen 1 and unless used I don’t think they are being sold anymore in Canada.

So onto my review of the product I will go point to point and then have a final say at the end.

Price:

I have seen the price online/in store from $710-$759CAD with the average price at $729CAD.  To me that’s a good price for this firearm considering what you can do with it and the quality I have seen so far.  Now I am not going to get into the USA pricing…..  We live in Canada and currently have a weak dollar we are all going to have to deal with it.  Sucks but true!

What comes in the box:

The one I was able to get my hands on came in a cardboard box with the Kel-Tec logo on it.  In the box obviously included the firearm in its folded position so packaging was nice and small.  It also came with the manual some Kel-Tec stickers and 1 Glock Magazine.  I am not sure but I thought I read that the USA version comes with 2 mags but I could be wrong.  There is no cleaning kit or sight tools.  But for the price I think thats ok.  The manual seemed to be of good detail and was in colour.

Construction:

The construction of the Sub 2000 Gen 2 as far as I can tell is pretty solid.  It feels very sturdy and is very light!  Only weights about 4.25lbs unloaded.  The bolt and recoil spring seem to be fairly robust.  The below image is of the the GEN 1 but the Gen 2 internals are the same.

GEN 1

When I asked the owner about the construction and durability he did say when he first pulled the gun out of the box and did the first clean there were some spots on the bolt that looked like they had slight rust colour spots in a couple of very small areas.  But after a simple clean with some Ballistol everything came up nice and it has not been seen since nor was there any defects in the metal.

Folding & Unfolding:

The folding and unfolding of the firearm is very positive and when the gun is locked into the firing position it locks really firmly and does not have any wiggle or flex of any sort.  Feels like a regular rifle but much lighter!  When folded it locks into place nicely and is secured with a plastic latching tab that is pulled back to allow the firearm to be unfolded.  This tab could possibly break if you dropped the firearm but to me thats not a big issue as you would still be able to fold it down without any major problems as a result.  When folded down the firearm cannot be discharged.

Buttstock:

The buttstock I do find a little uncomfortable to me it should have a pad or should be angled a bit more for a more comfortable feel when shouldered.  It is a solid piece of plastic  The first time I shot this it left red marks on my shoulder for a week.  The second time I adjusted how I shoot and it left very little markings on my shoulder.  Still not overly comfortable.  But saying that I did put over 350 rounds through it the first time and almost 200 the second.  For this type of rifle I do feel thats a lot of rounds per session and would think this rifles design is not made for comfort but for smaller sessions of shooting or for hunting smaller game.  The buttstock is adjustable so you can adjust the length of pull slightly.  It has 3 positions.

Charging Handle:

The charging handle is located on the bottom of the tube in front of the buttstock.  It does not hold open on the last round.  It is a reciprocating bolt.  Some people have said it can hit your hand but I did not find that to be a problem.  You can pull the charging handle back and lock it open by putting the operating handle into a notch that is cut out specifically for that purpose.  The spring is really tight so it can be a bit hard to pull back.  We did notice that it was getting a little easier as we broke the firearm in.

Sighting:

In terms of construction the front sight post could be painted as it can be hard to acquire your target if the area or the target itself is dark.  The back sight post is a peep style post and is made of plastic and does not fold down.  There could be a possibility that the back site could break off if dropped.  The front post is metal and feels very solid.  I have seen a couple reports of the front site post coming loose after a few hundred rounds.  Myself or the owner has not had that happen and I put over 500 rounds through it myself.  It does have windage and elevation adjustments.  When we took it to the range the front post had to be moved to the right a bit but other then that it was good to go.  You can do the adjustments with a flat head screw driver or something similar.  You can mount an optic on the gun but keep in mind you will either have to mount it on the site MLok rails or if you wish on the top rails BUT if you mount it on top you will not be able to fully fold down the rifle.  The optic can be co-witnessed.

Muzzle Break:

It does have a threaded barrel so you can add a muzzle break or if in a country that actually lets their citizens have suppressors one of them can be added.  (Even Europe allows them!)  There is a nut protecting the threaded section of the barrel.  I am not sure if a muzzle break would be a big benefit but I must say for a 9mm this gun is very snappy.  So a break of some sort may help.

Cheek Weld:

The tube where you place your cheek when aiming/firing the rifle is probably my biggest issue with this firearm.  At least for me.  Your cheek rests directly on the metal tube where the bolt and recoil spring are.  Even thought this particular firearm is a 9mm I tell you it has some snap and after a few hundred rounds my check bone and face in that area were tender and stayed that way for a week.  The second time around we did try the silicone accessory that covers the tube but I honestly did not notice a huge difference and my cheek still felt it.  There was only a week in between shoots so maybe after a bit of a break the silicone sleeve may actually prove to be beneficial.  I do have a big head and do have to push my cheek down on the tube hard to allow me to see through the sights so that doesn’t help.  If you have a small face this might not be much of an issue!  I am sure adding a red dot or something would help as you could have it up a bit higher so your cheek would not need to be pressed down on the tube as much.

Rails:

It also has Picatinny rails on the top and bottom and has M-Lok on the left and right of the barrel.  So there is plenty of room to add any needed accessories.

Safety:

The Kel-Tec Sub 2000 uses a cross bolt safety.  I feel the safety provides a positive feel when switch on and off.  But I do find it hard to reach when trying to turn the safety on and off.  But that could just be the shape of my hands preventing me from easily reaching the switch.

Magazine Release:

The magazine release is located in a good spot.  The first time out I did not find the location great for me and found that I had to stretch my thumb and push fairly hard on the release button to make it release the mag.  In fact sometimes I would have to use the other hand to do it or to pull the magazine out.  But the second time around I had no issues with it and the mags came out without a struggle.  Since the firearm was new when we took it out I assume it just needed to be broken in.  The mags do drop when mag button is pushed.  This to was not the case on the first day out.  But was on the second.

Magazines:

As mentioned this is a Glock version and comes with a 10 Round Glock Magazine.  We also had a new 10 Round Magpul Mag on hand.  The Glock Mag and Magpul Mag did not cause any issues with the firearm.  We did find that the Glock Mag was MUCH harder to hand load then the Magpul Mag.  But both were new and now are breaking in nicely.

You can fit any Glock 17 mag into the gun and even can take the KCI 50 round magazine.  Of course pinned to 10 rounds here in Canada.

Trigger:

The trigger I guess would be rated as OK.  I never really spend much time worrying about the trigger on a gun as long as it goes bang when pulled.  I don’t hunt (nothing against hunting just don’t have an interest) and just shoot targets so its something that does not really matter much to me.  I know the trigger pull is heavy and seems to have a little creep so definitely not a match trigger.

Reliability:

So far I have put over 500 rounds through this gun.  I am not sure what the owner has put through it but there has not been a single problem!  Not one!  (Below I will talk about ammo used)  I would say 500 rounds is a good test of reliability.  The paint on the bolt has some wear marks but nothing major and nothing out of the ordinary.

Ammunition:

I have included a few pics of some of the ammo used.  I used reloaded ammo, steal cased ammo, aluminum ammo and not one failure of any sort.  It ran them all perfectly.  I have read online that some people have had issues with aluminum cased ammo but I ran 50 rounds through it and did not have an issue.  50 rounds is not a large amount but from what I read online people had issues getting 2 in a row.  So not sure what thats about but not an issue here.

Ammo Used:

UMC Remington – 9mm – 115 Grain:  Used 250 rounds without a flaw.  Box Cost $99.99
Might be able to find cheaper but was in a rush same with all the other listed prices below.

Blazer 9mm Luger – 124 Grain – Aluminum Case – FMJ:  Ran 100% shot 50 rounds without a flaw.  Paid $19.99

American Eagle 9mm – 147 Grain – Flat Point FMJ:  Ran 100% but only shot 25 or so rounds.  Paid $19.99

Blazer Brass 9mm Luger – 124 Grain – FMJ – Reloaded:  Ran about 150 rounds of this stuff.  Was a little cheaper at $16.99 a box.  Not one hangup.

Dirty:

One thing I did notice and maybe I am not used to handgun caliber ammo as I have limited experience with handguns/handgun ammo.  But this stuff is dirty.  I am assuming maybe one of the brands I used is a more dirty ammo but most likely the cause is the mags get covered due to the blowback method this firearm uses.  Not really an issue just something that surprised me.

Accuracy:

In terms of accuracy we shot metal targets, pop cans, clay disks from a variety of distances and didn’t have much issue hitting cans and clay disks at 75 meters.  Now when I say didn’t have much issue hitting at that distance I mean besides shooter error.  For a handgun caliber I think 75 yard shots that hit regularly is a decent accuracy on such a small target.  I would say we could probably get 100 meters out of it and still hit targets that size fairly consistently.  Past 100 would probably be possible but with that small round I would think the impact would start to suffer greatly.

Accessories:

I know there are a few accessories for the Sub 2000.  I am not 100% sure on how many you can get in Canada. As mentioned we tried the Gator-Hide Bolt Tube Sleeve.  I will update this review once we try it out more.  It is very well made and am sure it helps with cold or heat against your cheek, just not sure about protection against the recoil/snap against the cheek bone.  I also have seen replacement back sites and of course you can find muzzle breaks and suppressors in countries that allow it.

Cleaning/Field Strip:

Cleaning is not difficult.  Only a few steps to take apart the rifle.  Watch this youtubers video for instruction.  Another nice result of the folding abilities of the firearm is that you can get even better access to the bore and other parts without much effort!

Last Thoughts:

Overall the Kel-Tec Sub 2000 Gen 2 is a great compact option for anyone who wants a lightweight, fairly priced, and so far a very reliable gun.  Easy to take backpacking and or hunting for small game.  The issue with comfort while shooting this gun can be overlooked for me and I must say after 300 rounds it is fairly uncomfortable.  But as I mentioned I don’t think this is really meant for that type of use so the gun cannot be blamed for something its not designed for.  I will update this review once I test the silicone tube cover again.