The Rimfire Report: A Retrospective on the KelTec P17 Pistol

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report. This ongoing series is all about rimfire guns, their history, the ammo we use, and, of course, reviews on both new, old, and obscure rimfire firearms. An example of this is today’s subject - the KelTec P17. First introduced after I had become a contributor here at TFB, the KelTec P17 is one of the first of what I consider to be the “new breed’ of rimfire pistols. This new breed mostly consists of examples that have a heavier focus on “fun” rather than strictly being target pistols like the tried and true Ruger MK series, Browning Buckmark, and S&W Victory pistols. Unlike those guns, the P17 was meant to be a super-light, super-affordable, and easy-to-adapt pistol. Initially showcased at my first SHOT Show (2020), today we’ll look at what’s become of the KelTec P17, and a few of my thoughts on the compact plinker itself.

More Rimfire Report @ TFB:

• The Rimfire Report: A Closer Look at the “New” HK G36 22LR
• The Rimfire Report: A 30-Year-Old Box of Federal Lightning 22LR
• The Rimfire Report: Daisy 2202 .22 LR Rifle – BB to Rimfire

The P17 was introduced during a time when the market had snapped back violently from a time when rimfire ammo, and specifically .22 LR, had both gone up in price and simultaneously disappeared from shelves. KelTec likely saw the need for a more affordable training tool for frequent shooters, and that shows with their addition of some features that are only standard on centerfire pistols. Some of the features not listed in the bullet points include an ambidextrous manual safety, an ambidextrous mag release similar to Walther pistols, a 3-slot picatinny dust cover rail, and, best of all, cheap magazines. KelTec’s P17 magazines are about $15 at full price, making it easy to pick up a bunch of them for cheap. There’s nothing groundbreaking here, but later accessories added to the KelTec line would turn it into somewhat of a late bloomer when compared to other offerings like the P322 and TX22.

The P17, like other rimfire pistols, seems to benefit from having good, expensive ammo fed to it. With that being said, I’ve had pretty good success with a few bulk ammo offerings, including Federal Automatch. On that same note, I’ve had conflicting reports from friends whose pistols will not function well with that ammo. KelTec themselves have even admitted that the gun operates best with ammo that has an advertised velocity of about 1,200 fps or greater. On a good day, with the right ammo, the P17 can be a very reliable and fun plinker; on other days, you might regret buying the pistol.

When the pistol is working, it's fun to shoot, and that only got better in the spring of 2023 when KelTec announced the introduction of the new Optics Ready slide for the pistol. This addition to the pistol, in my estimation, was made in direct reaction to the introduction of Sig Sauer’s P322 pistol, which was released on March 22, 2022. Unlike the P17, the P322 came with a cool new slide-mounted optic system to take advantage of the new super-lightweight polymer body RMSc footprint optics that had recently hit the market for subcompact 9mm pistols. However, this addition turned a $200 pistol into an almost $400 pistol, which put it in direct competition with the similarly capable P322, both in terms of features and in price. To this day, you still can’t buy a P17 complete with an optics-ready slide - only an optics-equipped slide is sold separately from the base P17 pistol.

Closing Thoughts

Five years post-launch, the P17 remains a polarizing gem to me. KelTec’s gamble paid off for shooters wanting a cheap, feature-rich plinker, but its budget build and spotty track record still make it a less appealing option for rimfire shooters demanding flawless performance (or at least somewhat reliable performance) from their rimfire guns. It’s not a carry gun for most—its niche is the range, the campsite, or the mentor teaching a newbie. Recent price creeps (now ~$220–$250 retail) and rising competition in the tight market make it even less in vogue, and to me, that means that KelTec is going to have to come up with something new here in the next couple of years.

In closing, I think the P17 perfectly embodies KelTec’s ethos: bold ideas, occasional stumbles, and undeniable value ,regardless of the first two factors. For me, the P17 is a reminder that innovation doesn’t need a hefty price tag—just a willingness to embrace imperfection and simplified design. Whether you’re a fan or a skeptic, the P17 has earned its place in rimfire history as the little pistol that dared and one that I think will be fondly remembered in the years to come. As always, your thoughts are welcome! Thanks, as always, for stopping by to read The Rimfire Report, and we’ll see you all again next week!