Description
The Kel-Tec SUB2000 Gen3 10mm is a folding pistol caliber carbine that takes Glock 20 magazines and collapses to about the length of its own barrel. This is the tan Gen3 version, which adds an M-LOK handguard, a rotating forend and a three position adjustable stock to the original design.
Kel-Tec SUB2000 Gen3 10mm Barrel and Muzzle
The barrel is 16.15 inches of alloy steel with a black oxide finish, threaded 5/8×24 at the muzzle. A carbine length barrel does real work with 10mm Auto, pushing velocities several hundred feet per second past what the same load produces from a pistol, which turns a defensive handgun round into a legitimate short range hunting cartridge.
The 5/8×24 thread also puts a suppressor within reach, and 10mm subsonic loads through a can out of a 16 inch barrel are remarkably quiet.
How the Kel-Tec SUB2000 Gen3 10mm folding design works
The barrel hinges upward and folds back over the receiver, latching against the stock. Folded, the rifle measures about 16 inches, which is short enough for a backpack, a range bag or a vehicle console. Unfolded with the stock collapsed it runs 29.25 inches.
The action is straight blowback, which is the right choice here. There is no gas system to foul, no locking mechanism to time and very little to go wrong, and it is why this platform has a reputation for running on whatever ammunition is in the bag.
Kel-Tec SUB2000 Gen3 10mm furniture, controls and magazines
The Gen3 changes are the ones owners of earlier versions kept asking for. An M-LOK handguard with Picatinny rail space top and bottom replaces the old plastic shroud, the forend rotates for the fold, and the stock adjusts through three length of pull positions at 13.25, 13.75 and 14.5 inches.
Magazines are the practical headline. The grip takes Glock 20 magazines, so anything from a 15 round factory magazine to an extended stick or a drum will run, and a shooter who already owns a Glock 20 or 40 can share magazines between pistol and carbine.
Kel-Tec SUB2K10GLKTAN specifications
- Model: SUB2000 Gen3
- Manufacturer part number: SUB2K10GLKTAN
- Caliber: 10mm Auto
- Capacity: 15+1 using Glock 20 pattern magazines
- Barrel length: 16.15 in., alloy steel, black oxide, threaded
- Muzzle threads: 5/8×24
- Action: Blowback operated semi automatic, hinged folding barrel
- Handguard: M-LOK with Picatinny rail space top and bottom, rotating forend
- Stock: Three position adjustable polymer, 13.25, 13.75 and 14.5 in. length of pull
- Overall length: 29.25 in. with the stock collapsed, 16.15 in. folded
- Finish: Tan
- Weight: approximately 5 lbs. 13 oz. with an empty magazine
- UPC: 640832011272
Why a Kel-Tec SUB2000 Gen3 10mm carbine makes sense
10mm Auto out of a handgun is already a serious cartridge. Out of a 16 inch barrel it becomes something else, with heavy hardcast loads reaching velocities that make it a genuine option for hogs and black bear inside a hundred yards.
Recoil in a five pound blowback carbine is noticeable but entirely manageable, and considerably milder than the same load from a pistol. For a trail gun, a truck gun or a camp rifle in bear country, the combination of power, magazine capacity and folded size is difficult to match.
Why Buyers Choose the Kel-Tec SUB2000 Gen3 10mm
Nothing else in this price range folds to sixteen inches, shares magazines with a common pistol and chambers a cartridge this capable. The Gen3 updates fixed the two real complaints about earlier versions, which were the handguard and the fixed stock length.
It is also simple. A blowback action, a hinge and a latch is close to the minimum number of parts a semi automatic carbine can have, and simple things keep working.
It runs Glock 20 magazines, which is most of the argument
The grip on the Kel-Tec SUB2000 Gen3 10mm is a Glock 20 grip, and it feeds Glock 20 magazines. That means the carbine and a 10mm Glock share ammunition and magazines, and it means capacity is only a question of what you are willing to hang off the bottom. The SGM Tactical 30 round Glock 20 magazine turns a folding carbine into something with real staying power, and we hold over seven hundred of them. For capacity restricted states there is a ten round Glock 20 magazine.
Sixteen inches of barrel changes what the Kel-Tec SUB2000 Gen3 10mm does
10mm out of a pistol is already a serious cartridge. Out of a 16.15 inch barrel it gains a substantial amount of velocity that a four inch handgun never gets, because the powder actually finishes burning. That is the reason the Kel-Tec SUB2000 Gen3 10mm exists and it is the reason this is a genuinely useful pack gun in bear country rather than a novelty. Liberty Bear Country is the load built for exactly that job. For heavier conventional bullets, Grizzly 200 grain FMJ flat point is the volume option and CorBon 155 grain DPX is the defensive one.
Other Kel-Tec SUB2000 models we stock
The same Kel-Tec SUB2000 Gen3 10mm comes in black and in OD green, and we hold both deep. If you would rather have a different cartridge on the same folding action, the SUB2000 Gen 3 in 5.7x28mm is the flat shooting, very low recoil alternative.
Who should buy the Kel-Tec SUB2000 Gen3 10mm
The Kel-Tec SUB2000 Gen3 10mm suits hikers and anglers who want a packable rifle in bear country, Glock 20 owners who want a carbine that shares magazines, pilots and boaters with limited storage, and anyone who wants a truck gun that fits in a bag. Add a red dot to the top rail and it is ready.
Learn more from KelTec, or browse the rest of our firearms selection.
Every firearm we list ships to your chosen FFL and is transferred there after a background check.
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