KelTec Announces the KP50 and MP50: 50 Rounds of 5.7

KelTec just dropped two new 5.7x28mm pistols at ENFORCE TAC 2026 in Nuremberg, Germany, and the headline feature is exactly what everyone wanted: A bottom-loading, drop-free magazine. The KP50 is the civilian semi-automatic model. The MP50 is a select-fire variant restricted to military and law enforcement. Both feed from 50-round magazines, both chamber 5.7x28mm, and both fix the biggest complaint about the original P50.

The KP50 starts at $899 and should hit dealers in early Q2. Full details on KelTec's blog.

KelTec also released a promotional video that channels some serious John Wick energy. It's one of the better gun ads in recent memory.

(Original photos by Eric B.)

What's actually different from the P50

The original KelTec P50 was a weird gun. Interesting weird, but weird. You had to flip the entire top of the pistol open on a hinge to load the magazine from above, and then close it back down before you could shoot. Reloads were slow and clunky. The trigger was a pistol-style unit that felt disconnected from the rest of the package. The gun looked like something a Bond villain would carry, which was part of the appeal, but the ergonomics were a problem for anyone who wanted to actually run it fast.

The KP50 fixes all of that.

The magazine now inserts from the bottom, underneath the barrel, and drops free when you hit the release. Standard stuff for anyone who's ever reloaded a pistol or a PCC. But "standard" is exactly what the P50 needed. You can dump an empty magazine and seat a fresh 50 rounds without having to crack the gun open like you're reloading a musket.

The other big change is the trigger. KelTec swapped out the P50's pistol trigger for an SU16 rifle trigger group in a fully machined lower receiver. The trigger pull is heavier at 6.5 pounds (the P50 was around 5 pounds), but the feel and reset should be more familiar to anyone who's run an AR-pattern rifle. It's a proper trigger in a proper lower, not a pistol fire control unit jammed into an awkward package.

The charging handle is now an AR-style T-handle at the rear, and it's non-reciprocating. Controls are fully ambidextrous: bilateral safety, paddle-type magazine release under the trigger guard. The gun ejects from a top port, and there's a Picatinny rail on top (interrupted for the ejection window) plus a rear accessory rail section.

The gun still uses FN P90 magazines, which is the same translucent polymer 50-round double-stack rotary design that feeds cartridges through a spiral ramp, rotating them 90 degrees before chambering. The magazines are just oriented differently now. Instead of sitting on top of the action like the P90 (or the old P50 with its hinged lid), they insert from below in a conventional orientation.

The Jungle Clip: 100 rounds on tap

KelTec is offering an optional Jungle Clip system that connects two 50-round magazines back-to-back. When the first magazine runs dry, you pull the assembly out, flip it 180 degrees, and reinsert the fresh magazine. It's the same concept as taping two rifle magazines together, but purpose-built. Loaded with the Jungle Clip, the KP50 weighs 6.5 pounds, which is not nothing for a pistol-format gun, but 100 rounds of 5.7 on tap is a hard number to argue with.

KelTec is also introducing a dedicated speedloader for the 50-round magazines. If you've ever tried to hand-load a P90 magazine past round 30 or so, you know why this matters. Your thumbs will thank you.

Four ways to buy it

KelTec is offering the KP50 in four configurations:

KP50 Pistol ($899): The base model. One 50-round magazine. 18.6 inches overall and 3.2 pounds. This is the entry point.

KP50 Braced ($1,099): Adds a side-folding pistol stabilizing brace, a second magazine, and the Jungle Clip system. The brace brings the unfolded length to 28.3 inches and adds less than a pound.

KP50 Defender ($1,399): The kitchen sink package, exclusive to KelTec Direct. Everything in the Braced model plus a Vortex Crossfire green dot sight, Magpul MBUS flip-up backup sights, and a hard case. If you want to buy one gun and be done shopping, this is it.

KP50 SBR ($1,099): Side-folding stock instead of a brace. Requires an NFA tax stamp and ATF Form 4 approval. Same price as the braced model, which tells you KelTec knows most buyers will go braced to skip the paperwork.

For context, the original P50 launched at $995 MSRP. Getting the base KP50 at $899 with a dramatically improved design is a solid move.

The MP50: KelTec's first machine gun

The MP50 is the select-fire version, and it's a big deal for KelTec as a company. This is the first firearm in their 35-year history designed exclusively for military and law enforcement. They're positioning it as a modern machine pistol, and frankly, they have a point.

George Kellgren, KelTec's founder and chief designer, said it plainly: "There has been very little innovation in the machine pistol category in nearly 30 years." He's not wrong. The MP7 is getting long in the tooth, the P90 hasn't changed meaningfully since the early '90s, and the B&T MP9 and similar platforms are niche products. The MP50 slots into that gap with 50 rounds of 5.7 in a package that fires at approximately 850 rounds per minute on full auto.

The MP50 adds a three-position selector (safe, semi, full-auto), a side-folding stock, and Magpul MBUS flip sights. The rest of the platform is shared with the KP50. Pricing and availability are by request for qualified agencies.

Whether any military or LE agency actually adopts it is another question entirely. The submachine gun/machine pistol market is full of products that look great in catalogs and never see a contract. But the concept is sound, and 50 rounds in a magazine without a drum is a genuine advantage in the PDW category.

If the KP50/MP50 platform looks familiar, it should. KelTec has been iterating on this concept for years. We covered the R50 Defender SBR back in 2023 and the R50 rifle at SHOT 2023. The KP50 is the refined version of everything KelTec learned from those earlier iterations.

Why 5.7x28mm and why now

The 5.7x28mm cartridge has had a strange life. FN designed it in the late 1980s for the P90, NATO considered it, and then it mostly sat around as a novelty caliber for decades. The Five-seveN pistol had a cult following. The PS90 was a range toy for people who liked Stargate. That was about it.

Then a few things changed. Ammunition became more available and more affordable (relatively speaking). More manufacturers started chambering guns in it. KelTec themselves went all-in on the cartridge with the Sub2000 in 5.7x28 and the tiny PR-5.7 EDC pistol. And people realized that 5.7 out of a 9-10 inch barrel delivers genuine PDW-level performance: low recoil, flat trajectory, and decent terminal ballistics with the right loads. The optimal barrel length for 5.7x28mm is right around 9.6 to 10.4 inches, which is exactly what the KP50 gives you.

Fifty rounds of 5.7 in a flush-fit magazine, in a package that weighs 3.2 pounds empty, is a compelling pitch for home defense and vehicle carry. Whether or not you think 5.7 is a serious defensive cartridge (and reasonable people disagree on this), you can't argue with the capacity-to-size ratio.

The bottom line

The original P50 was a proof of concept that happened to be commercially available. The KP50 is the finished product. Bottom-loading drop-free magazines, a proper trigger group, AR-style controls, and a real accessory mounting system. Everything that was awkward about the P50 has been addressed.

At $899 for the base pistol, KelTec is undercutting the original P50's launch price while delivering a meaningfully better gun. The Braced model at $1,099 with two magazines and the Jungle Clip is probably the sweet spot for most buyers.

Whether you want a PDW for home defense, a backpack gun, or just something that makes everyone at the range stop and stare, the KP50 is worth a look when it ships in Q2.