The first time I saw KelTec’s PR57 was at SHOT in January 2025. At first glance, I wrote it off as a weird little gun that didn’t make any sense. After all, who would carry a gun that didn’t have a detachable magazine?
But the curious side of me wanted to know more about it. After all, it’s not every day you see a handgun that uses stripper clips. I was also intrigued by a handgun chambered in 5.7×28 that could hold 20+ rounds and only weighs 14 ounces.
The 5.7 Round
The 5.7x28mm round was born from a NATO initiative. In the late 1980s, they wanted to replace the 9mm. The goal was a more effective personal defense cartridge. It needed a greater range, accuracy, and armor-piercing ability.
In 1990, FN Herstal introduced the 5.7mm round. It was paired with the revolutionary P90 personal defense weapon (PDW). The popular FN Five-seveN pistol followed in 1998. This unique little cartridge looks like a miniature rifle round. Like the 5.56 NATO cartridge, it is small and fast.
Today, other companies like Ruger and Palmetto State Armory have also made their own firearms for this cartridge. While the 5.7×28 isn’t what I would call a “popular” round, it hasn’t been a flop either. Like some other cartridges, it was popular early on, started to fade, but is now gaining traction again.
A Detailed Overview of the KelTec PR57
The KelTec PR57’s most distinctive feature is its feeding system. It uses an internal magazine instead of an external magazine that can be swapped out quickly. Instead of inserting a magazine from the bottom, this one is loaded from the top with stripper clips. This old-school approach is something that used to be common on rifles, but not on handguns.
Each stripper clip holds 10 rounds, but the gun can handle up to 20 rounds (plus 1 in the chamber) of 5.7mm ammunition. The pistol comes with two of the 10-round stripper clips and an optics plate, which we will talk about later. Besides using the stripper clips for loading the PR57, you can also load single rounds by pushing a cartridge in from the top when the slide is open.
The PR57 uses a short-recoil, locked-breech, rotating-barrel action. Again, this is not a common style used on modern guns. The last handgun I reviewed with a rotating barrel was the Grand Power Q1. The Beretta Storm and Cougar series pistols also use a rotating barrel, but there are not many others.
When you pick up the gun, the first thing you notice is the weight. At less than 14 ounces, it is one of the lightest 5.7mm pistols available.
The trigger is a double-action-only type and has a consistent pull with an average of about 4.5 pounds. I’ll get more into the trigger in a bit.
There is no external manual safety. The sights are fixed and have a simple two-dot style on the rear. It is also optic-ready for a compact red dot sight.
Field stripping the PR57
I guess having a top-loading, stripper clip fed handgun isn’t enough for KelTec. They decided to add their weirdness to the take-down process, too.
As you start to look for a pin to remove or a lever to push when removing the slide, you will find there isn’t one. KelTec designed the slide to come off when you push forward on the trigger.
Yes, you read that correctly. Put your finger behind the trigger and push forward. The slide will come off, and then you can remove the dual recoil springs, trunnion, and barrel.
This, without doubt, sets a record for the fastest field strip on a semi-auto handgun. I timed myself just for fun, and it took me about 1 second.
KelTec PR57 Specifications
- Caliber: 5.7x28mm
- Weight (empty): 13.86 ounces
- Overall Length: 7.16 inches
- Barrel Length: 4.64 inches
- Width: 0.94 inches
- Height: 4.95 inches
- Capacity: 20+1 rounds
- Action: Short-recoil, locked-breech, rotating barrel
- Sights: Fixed, optic-ready
- MSRP: Approximately $399
No extra magazine: Is that a problem?
For most people, the first thing that comes to mind when considering this for a conceal carry gun is the absence of a removable magazine. I get it, pistols are supposed to have removable magazines. if not, we can’t perform our wicked John Wick magazine changes, right?
But for a minute, toss all that stuff aside and think about it compared to other compact conceal carry handguns. Most popular concealed carry (CCW) pistols have low capacities. They typically hold between 7 and 12 rounds and maybe a few more with an extended magazine.
But we also get caught up in the “idea” of something more than the reality of it. As a general rule, I always carry an extra magazine. When it’s a full-size gun… extra magazine. A small, compact gun… extra magazine. But does that make any sense?
When I’m carrying a full-size gun, I have a minimum of 30 rounds between two magazines. With my Glock 43X, I have 20 rounds between both magazines.
So, if I’m fine with a total of 20 rounds in my Glock 43X, why would I not be fine with 20 rounds all in the gun at the same time? If we are not careful, we will find ourselves caring more about the extra magazine than the amount of ammo we carry.
Benefits of not having a removable magazine
Once we push past the idea of a second magazine, there are, surprisingly, some benefits to having a fixed magazine.
For one, it eliminates a common point of failure. When our handgun malfunctions, we are taught “slap, rack, bang.” This is because the magazine is one of the most likely causes of a firearm malfunctioning. With PR57, that is no longer an issue.
The second thing to consider is the potential for mistakes during a reload in a real incident. Training makes everything better, but that doesn’t mean you will be able to perform a flawless mag change in the middle of a chaotic incident. And even if you do, those few seconds are time you cannot defend yourself.
When you have 20 rounds ready to go without a magazine change, it could be viewed as an advantage instead of a disadvantage. Remember, this gun was designed for self-defense, not the Alamo.
On the range with the KetTec PR57
Ok, so normally when I’m going to review a product, I purposely avoid reading or watching reviews about it. I want to form my own opinion. By the time I got my hands on this one, however, I had already heard some feedback from fellow shooters. Everyone has their own opinion, but the consistent feedback was that the PR57 had trouble cycling American Eagle ammunition.
5.8×28 ammo is not cheap, so this could be an issue for a lot of people. No one wants a gun that only shoots expensive ammo. Of course, I had to see this for myself. AmmoToGo.com provided me with some Federal American Eagle 40 grain, FN GUNR 40 grain Target Ammunition, and Hornady Critical Defense FTX.
Loading with stripper clips
Loading the PR57 using the stripper clips is simple. You do have to keep track of the follower, which is used to push the ammo into the firearm. It’s a small piece that can fall out of the stripper clip, and I lost one of them on the range.
My first and only issue with the PR57 happened when I loaded a full 21 rounds into the gun. The end of the bullet hit the feed ramp and would not allow the slide to close and chamber the first round. I had to pull the top of the bullet up just a little before it would close.
After shooting those, I loaded up and tried again, but had the same results. On my third attempt, I tried loading less than 20 and had no issues. My first thought is the feed ramp needs to be polished, but by the end of my range session, I was loading 20 rounds without any problems.
Smooth trigger with a long journey
The trigger on the PR57 is a little different. I can normally decide very quickly if I like a trigger, but this one took me a while. Once I got used to it, it wasn’t bad for a defensive gun; it just has a long trigger pull and reset. But after all, it’s a defense gun, not a competition shooter.
The trigger pull is about the distance of a double action trigger. It’s surprisingly light and smooth at the same time. A longer trigger pull makes sense because the PR57 uses an internal hammer. It is “deenergized,” however, so it helps reduce the weight on the trigger. Basically, the hammer is partially cocked when the slide is racked. When you pull the trigger, it pulls the hammer the rest of the way back and releases it.
Because there is no external safety or trigger safety, I prefer the longer trigger pull. Because the hammer does not rest in the rear position, the gun cannot fire without the trigger being pulled, so I also feel confident in carrying it for self-defense.
Good groups with the assistance of a red dot
I grew up shooting with good old-fashioned iron sights, and I like them. But for some reason, I did not shoot well with the iron sights on the PR57. After my first couple of attempts, I decided to try mounting a red dot.
The top of the PR57 is rounded, so the red dot looks a little odd on this gun. From the bottom side of the gun, you can see the plate adaptor sticking out on both sides.
For this gun, I wanted a small open emitter optic. Not that an enclosed optic would be bad, but I felt like it would look even more bulky on this smaller, rounded slide. I had a Sig Romeo Zero that I wasn’t currently using, so I used it.
Installing the optic only took a few minutes as KelTec provides an adaptor plate that works with the RMSc footprint. Sighting it in at 10 yards only took a few minutes as well.
Eating up ammo
I started with the American Eagle because I wanted to see if it had the same issues I had heard rumors of. To my surprise, there were zero feeding issues. I fired nearly 100 rounds of American Eagle without a single problem. After that, I moved on to the FN GUNR ammo and then the Hornady Critical Defense.
By the end of my range session, I had just shy of 400 rounds through the PR57 without any cycling problems. Most of my shooting was from 20-30 feet, which is my normal distance for a self-defense handgun.
The recoil is so light, it feels like you’re shooting a .22 with some hot loads… which I guess that’s kind of what this is. Because of the long trigger pull, I had several flyers when trying to shoot fast, but overall, it held a great grouping.
Self-defense worthy?
I’m not sure if the other people I spoke with had a fluke issue, but my experience with the PR57 has been great. I did add some extra oil to the gun before heading to the range, so maybe that made a difference? Either way, it was a blast to shoot.
I wouldn’t have any issues carrying this gun for self-defense, and the Hornady Critical Defense ammo is what I plan to use. It has a hollowed-out spot at the tip of the bullet that is filled with a gel. This will help keep the bullet from over-penetrating and cause more of the energy to impact the target.
For a $399 gun, I’m impressed with the PR57. KelTec has done an excellent job at developing new designs, and this one is a winner in my book. It’s simple, light, reliable, and has virtually no recoil.
