Keltec Sub 2000 Gen 2 Review (2017)
Keltec Sub 2000 Gen 2 (40 S&W - Glock) Review (2017)
In my hunt for a pistol caliber carbine that was lightweight and relatively small I only found a few options that fit what I wanted. Ideally, Iâd just get another Marlin Camp Carbine in 45 and call it a day, but those are no longer in production and havenât been for many years. Too many people want too much for them and Iâm not willing to pay 1200 or more for one. So my options came down to pistol carbines in the typical AR platform which I have no interest in because AR platforms are boring and everyone has one. What did that leave me? Beretta offers a very nice carbine called the CX4 which I considered, but the price initially drove me away. Next up was the Keltec with their Sub2000, which has a colored history to say the least, as with most Keltec products.
Being in the gun game for as long as I have you start to learn about certain manufacturers and Keltec definitely was on the list of things to watch out for. Some people have great experience with their weapons, while others donât. Having never owned one myself I figured I didnât have much experience to draw from myself so I kept my mind open. This one in particular was cool because this gun folds on itself, so thatâs the size requirement down. It also shot 40 S&W which is nice because a 40 S&W coming out of a 16 inch barrel has some pretty good power and range to it compared to a 9mm. It also takes my Glock mags which my Glock also happens to be in 40 S&W. Seems like a match made in plastic heaven.
I had read a ton of reviews about this gun and how crap the first generation run of Sub 2000s were. This didnât stop me though, as I ordered a Gen 2 which seemed to fix a lot of the problems and it looked pretty good too. Even the well known Nutnfancy had good things to say about it. What could go wrong?
As it turns out, a lot.
When I had received my rifle I noticed the front sight post was ever so slightly canted to the right. After doing some reading in the manual, they strongly advise you to not touch the set screw for the front sight post at all. So I figured ok fine I can leave it as is and still get a nice sight picture and be accurate with it. Still, a knock against Keltec for allowing this gun to ship this way from the factory.
The rest of the rifle looked and felt good, if very light and plastic feeling. The charging handle is unfriendly and I ended up getting bit by it and it left a nasty little cut in the web of my hand. It didnât help as well that the recoil spring is very very strong which makes it hard to cock the rifle. Combined with a crap charging handle and it makes it very uncomfortable and awkward to use.
Now unfortunately I shoot rifles left handed, and this weapon is not lefty friendly at all. The magazine release in the grip sticks out just enough to be uncomfortable to grasp tightly and is not reversible. The ejection port is also on the right side of the gun but this was not an issue for me at the range. I had read reports that due to the blowback nature of this gun, the gasses would vent directly into my face. Iâve dealt with guns like that before and didnât put much stock into it.
So off to the range! I intended to shoot about 200-250 rounds through it to get a nice break in and see how it shot. I was excited because I expected it to be fun and reasonably low recoil considering its much larger and heavier than a comparable pistol in 40 S&W. I was dreadfully wrong.
 To start, I could not get a sight picture on this rifle without really cranking my head down on the all metal tube (which was by this point pretty hot because I was in the sun most of the day) and taking off my headset hearing protection. I took off my headset and replaced them with earplugs instead. Next, the trigger was pretty average and nothing to write home about but the worst part was the recoil of this gun.
 Iâve shot Mosins that hurt less than this rifle did. Considering the all plastic construction of the buttstock and the very sharp lines in the stock (especially where the sights sit while in folded configuration) there was no comfort to be had shooting this rifle. At the end of 50 rounds I said enough was enough and stopped firing because it hurt so much. I ended up with a nice bruise with the outline of the stock and where the sharp lines cut into my shoulder. The long and short is, the gun is not fun to fire.
The gasses sure enough flowed back into my face but it was exceptionally bad and not something I could do all day, even outdoors. Everytime you took a mag out after firing the smoke took more than a few seconds to clear from the gun itself and sometimes would even rise up and get in the way of the sight picture. I did not expect that much gas and smoke from a 40 S&W, even in a blowback gun like this one. Not even a CX4 Storm carbine makes this much smoke and those are notorious for being dirty guns.
 Accuracy was nothing exceptional. Shooting from a sandbag setup at 25 yards I managed 2.5 inch groups (which were incredibly off target as well, about 6 inches low and 2 inches to the left). I can get better accuracy from my pistols offhand at 25 yards.
 Now for the absolute joke of a front sight post. While adjusting the front sight post I remembered in the manual they said not to mess with the internal workings of the front sight post because of the sheer number of springs and other bits that make it work. I could see why as I tried to adjust this gun. The top post is similar to an AR15 style front sight post but thatâs where the comparison ends. This post was so loose and springy that you could easily break it with your bare hand. The post rotation retention pin did not even spring back up to lock in place after one rotation. Everything about this whole front sight assembly felt springy and wrong. I was able to sight it in eventually but I would wager with enough backpacking and general use, the sights would wander quite significantly. To sum it up, it sucks.
 Now for reliability, this gun functioned perfectly. No hangups, no malfunctions whatsoever.
 For field stripping its certainly not an easy gun to take apart or put back together. Thereâs a crosspin you must knock out of the stock in the back that releases an end cap that makes all the other parts of the weapon (bolt, weight, and recoil spring) fall out. The barrel is quite easy to clean due to the break open folding feature of the gun however. The parts themselves are nothing noteworthy. To reassemble almost requires 3 hands, as getting the plug back into position where you want with the butt is not as easy as it seems as you are fighting against the recoil spring itself. I wish the crosspin had some sort of marking to indicate which way it was supposed to go in, as there is only one way it is supposed to fit but its not readily obvious. Not my favorite takedown.
 Now I hear you clamor and say, what about upgrades? To that I say, by the time I put all the money in upgrades just to make this gun somewhat useable for me, I couldâve just bought a CX4 Storm carbine and be happy with it straight from the factory (because those things are cool as shit). I donât believe in spending for upgrades for a gun that ends up costing more than something at a higher price point already comes from the factory. Additionally, the gun looks ugly with the side mounted optic system and I donât like it.
 Overall, I am very unimpressed with this rifle and with Keltec. It is unique sure in its folding nature but that is just a gimmick when compared to other âqualitiesâ of this weapon. For my intended purpose of a pistol caliber carbine that has interchangeable magazines with a pistol I own, that was lightweight and reasonably compact, this thing shouldâve filled those requirements easily. But it just isnât fun to shoot, isnât terribly accurate, and doesnât feel durable enough. I guess I have to refine what I want in my pistol carbine and look for better options (CX4 here I come).
 As a good friend of mine said, everyone wants a Keltec until they have a Keltec.
 Accuracy: 2/5
 Ergonomics: 3/5
 Trigger: 3/5
 Customization: 4/5
 Reliability: 4/5
 Maintenance: 2/5
 Value: 3/5
 Aesthetics: 4/5
 Fun factor: 1/5














