KelTec PR57 Review | Top-loading 5.7 Pistol

The KelTec PR57 has been designed from the start as a dedicated concealed carry pistol for self defense. It has a combination of old and new features, with KelTec characteristically starting fresh in its pursuit of excellence at a lower price point. AmmoLand covered the pistol at the Shot Show last year. The PR57 appears to have been selling well.

What potential for accuracy does the PR57 have? On the Internet, answers have been sparse.  Some reviewers note it is easy to make hits on 100 yard targets with the pistol and an optical sight. The rotary system looks conducive to accuracy.

This correspondent watched sales and purchased a KelTec PR57 a little below the suggested retail price of $399 at KYGUNCO. In addition, a Viridian RFX11 1×16 Green Dot optical sight, four additional stripper clips, and an outside the waistband paddle holster by Rounded Gear were ordered directly from KelTec. The accessories cost about $240 with shipping and handling.

The average of 10 measurements on a Lyman Digital Trigger Pull Gage was 3.8 lbs. After a short take up, no stacking was detected. There is about 5/8 inch of travel before let-off.  It is like a very light double action revolver trigger.  The KelTec achieves this because the hammer is partly cocked by the slide. The trigger completes the cocking action and then releases. It is a 1 and 1/2 action.  It is  smooth, but takes practice to obtain the best accuracy. The safety is the long trigger pull.

With factory sights and a rest, five five shot groups at 25 yards averaged 2.65 inches. The groups were plagued with flyers. One four shot group was 7/8 of an inch. The pistol could shoot better than the aging eyes of the shooter.  The pistol shot about 3 1/2 inches high at 25 yards.

Typical 25 yard group from rest with open sights. 

The Viridian optical sight was mounted. Five five shot groups were fired from a rest while sighting in the PR57. At 25 yards the average group, center to center, was 2.01 inches. Five five shot groups, fired at 100 yards averaged 7.6 inches from a rest. There was considerable vertical stringing, which was attributed to an unsatisfactory rest. 23 of the 25 shots fit into an 5 x 8 inch box at 100 yards. The shots were fired deliberately, about a minute per shot.

With a hasty rest position, using a portable bench as support for the hands, five shots were fired at 100 yds at about 3 second intervals. An almost centered group of 9.5 inches was the result. One shot is in the black.

 

The rest used for the initial testing seemed to contribute to vertical stringing. After a Caldwell Pistolero rest was ordered and  received, another test group was fired at 25 yards. There was wind from the left at about 10 mph. The result was a 5 shot group of 1.15 inches at 25 yards.

The inherent accuracy of the PR57 is excellent, far exceeding ordinary requirements of a carry pistol. The trigger has a long but smooth pull.  The stock sights on the example shot high, but the front sight can be replaced. Eventually someone will offer replacement front sights of various heights. The sample tested requires another .026 inches of front sight to be 3/4 inches high at 25 yards. A file could be used to make the final adjustment. It is a flat shooting pistol. With the Viridian optic, the dot is .3 inches higher than the rear sight. Adjusted to a half inch high at 25 yards it is .78 inches high at 50 yards and 1.4 inches low at 100 yards. Aim dead on out to 100 yards. At 150 yards the trajectory is 8 inches low. Consistent hits on man sized target are possible with this pistol to 150 yards.  With a hasty rest, hits at 50, 75 or 100 yards are not difficult.

An Allen wrench can loosen the nut holding on the front sight. 

Five rounds were tested for velocity with a Garmin XERO C1 Pro radar chronograph. All ammunition used in the testing was Fiocchi Range Dynamics 40 grain FMJ bulk pack. The velocities were:  1625.4 feet per second (fps), 1607.6 fps, 1613.6 fps, 1628.5 fps, and 1621.9 fps. This gives an average of 1619.4 fps, and 233 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle. This is about half the energy of hot 9mm load, twice the energy of an average .32 acp load, and 1.5 times the energy of most .380 ACP loads.

Accuracy is a function of ammunition, the pistol, and the shooting platform. The Fiocchi loads in this PR57 have much better accuracy than most shooters are able to use. An optical sight improves practical accuracy for  aging eyes.

After carrying the PR57 for more than a month, it is easy to get used to. The texture of the grip can be abrasive to bare skin. This correspondent looks forward to a holster with better security, for open carry. Loaded with 21 rounds, the PR57 weighs 19 ounces, 11 ounces less than a Glock loaded with 17 rounds of 9mm.  Recoil is much less than a Glock 17, more than a .22 LR from a Colt Woodsman.  There is considerable flash and bang, which may be positive for most self defense situations.

21 rounds is enough for most situations. It is more than most revolvers with two reloads. If you carry another 20 rounds in stripper clips, they are less bulky than many single magazines. Reloading with a 10 round stripper clip is about as fast as reloading a revolver with a speed loader.

The stripper clips for the PR57 must be loaded from the top on the right side. The rounds can be pushed into the fixed magazine with either thumb, but the pistol is held differently with the right or left hand.

KelTec has achieved a remarkable result. A carry pistol with a 21 round capacity, lighter than most pocket pistols, compact, simple to use, easily concealable, more powerful than a .380.  Accuracy is nearly as good as dedicated target pistols. With an optical sight installed, long range hits are easily achieved.

Reliability was good when using the stripper clips to load the pistol. If loading a single round at a time, be sure the cartridges are pushed all the way to the rear of the magazine. During the first 45 rounds of break-in two failure to feed malfunctions were experienced. This correspondent believes the cartridges, loaded singly, were not properly pushed to the rear of the magazine. No further malfunctions were experienced.

©2026 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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