Hey, Judge Colt! Need some advice on the P-32

dheffley

Judge Colt,As you know, I bought a Kel-Tec P-32 after reading your positive posts on it. I kind of like the gun, but my big old finger just doesn't want to fit in the trigger guard. I actually got stuck in it and had to empty the mag so I could get my finger out. You had mentioned something in another post about heating to plastic and reshaping it. I was wondering if you think a industrial heat gun would do the job, or would it heat too large of an area? Do you think I could kind of streach the plastic? It's of no use like it is.

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JudgeColt

I reshaped the trigger, not the guard. I think it would be tricky to reshape the guard, but the grip is only about $25 if you ruin it. I would not be afraid to try it. A heat gun would be a way to heat the plastic, but I would probably use a small flame to better control where the heat goes. In looking at my P32, it looks like it would be hard to stretch the trigger guard enough to get a lot more room. Stretching it evenly would be a challenge because you are going to have to heat the trigger along its entire length to allow it to stretch enough.While I might try that first, another solution would be to cut the trigger guard where it attaches to the forward portion of the grip frame and heat and bend the forward portion forward and down enough to make the room you need. I would then put a correctly-sized headed nail through the from the inside of the forward portion of the grip frame and into the front leg of the trigger guard, bending it as necessary to get the correct shape. I would then fill in the gap with plastic or epoxy and grind to shape. A little black paint and you could make it look factory. Think Colt Alaskan!Are you sure just thinning the heck out of the guard on the inside and straightening the trigger will not give you enough room?Let us know if you do it and how it turns out.

competentone

Kel-Tec has been pretty responsive for me on the two occassions I've called them.You might want to see if they could make you a custom "grip" with a bigger trigger guard; I think it would only take a minute or two for someone at the factory to "pull" the guard into a bigger loop.If there's a lonely "Customer Service" lady at Kel-Tec, she might be more than happy to try to help a guy with really big hands...It's worth a call.

dheffley

Thanks Judge Colt and competentone,I think I'll contact Kel-Tec first and see what they can do about a custom. If they can't do anything, I think a will try to heat and reform it. Since I worked my way through school as a tool maker, I can probably build a new one in plastick or fiberglass and epoxy it on. I kind of like the little gun, but because of this problem, I can continue to carry my Tomcat and pass this one on to my wife. I'll let you know how it comes out.Thanks,

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JudgeColt

I cannot imagine that Kel-Tec would make a new mold for a one-off custom gun, because molds for injection-molded parts are extremely expensive. The grip frames come out of the mold hot, but not soft (how could they be kept from becoming deformed if they were soft?), so no one would be able to stretch it as it came out. Another thought occurs to me. Have you ever seen a Fitzgerald Special Colt? Fitz cut the trigger guards off even with the front of the trigger so you could just grab the gun and your finger would fall naturally on the trigger without having to be placed inside the trigger guard. If you want to try that, understanding the loss of safety involved, I would suggest straightening the trigger a bit, cutting the guard even with the front of the modified trigger and going that way. You could bend the remaining trigger guard "horn" down as necessary to get the needed clearance. Let us know what you do, and how it works.