There are more than 400 million serviceable firearms in the U.S. at the moment, and that number grows every single day. Most of those guns are variations on a few basic themes. John Browning's pistol designs from the early 20th century inspired most of the handguns. Eugene Stoner's work can be seen in many of the semi-auto rifles — Kalashnikov made a few as well. At times, it can seem a bit disheartening to peruse the wares arising from such ubiquitous common stock. And then there is KelTec, and their wildly weird guns, like the SUB2000 carbine.
Driven by the brilliant Swedish-American gun designer George Kellgren, KelTec marches to the beat of its own unique drummer: The company makes polymer bullpup modern sporting rifles, super high-capacity handguns chambered in 5.7mm or .22 Mag, and shotguns that pack 14+1 shells in twin mag tubes.
The KelTec SUB2000 is one of their most innovative designs to date. The SUB2000 GLK 10mm packs serious downrange thump into a reliable collapsible package that is small enough to fit comfortably behind the seat in your pickup truck.
The KelTec SUB2000 Gen3: Particulars
The SUB2000 was first introduced in 2001. I picked up one of their first 9mm versions just because it was so darn strange. You cannot help but be impressed with Kellgren’s vision.
Since that time, the SUB2000 has evolved into its Gen 3 incarnation. The most modern versions fold in the middle and the forend also twists to make the gun stowable in half its length. The rotating forend allows you to stow the weapon with optics and accessories mounted. (Previous models couldn't fold completely with an optic attached.)
To collapse the weapon, you pull down on the trigger guard and pivot the muzzle to the butt.
There’s ample Pic rail space on top for glass, and the forend is festooned with M-LOK slots for accessories. The 10mm muzzle is threaded 5/8x24 and will accept .45ACP sound suppressors. When stowed, the whole shebang is only 16 inches long.
The SUB2000 is available in 9x19mm, .40S&W, 5.7x28mm, and 10mm Auto. These guns feed from GLOCK, Beretta, CZ, Smith & Wesson, SIG SAUER, or FN Five-seveN magazines, depending on the configuration.
That lets you engineer magazine compatibility between the SUB2000 and your favorite handgun in your favorite carry caliber. It was the SUB2000 GLK 10mm feeding from GLOCK G20 mags that graced my range for this review.
KelTec SUB2000: Manual of Arms
This gun is weird, but it’s a good kind of weird. Stowing and deploying the rifle takes less time to do than to describe.
The charging handle reciprocates with the action and is located beneath what you might call the buffer tube in AR parlance — that means it's easy access with either hand. With a little practice, this gun is stupid-easy to run.
Magazines drop free cleanly, and the mag catch is a handy thumb button. I prefer mine with a Magpul Angled Foregrip up front. This nifty trinket gives you something to keep your sensitive fingers safe while simultaneously enhancing control. I mounted a SilencerCo Omega 45K up front to help tame the chaos of the 10mm.
Nothing about the SUB2000 GLK 10mm is familiar. However, it is intuitive. It doesn’t take more than a magazine or two to get the hang of how this bad boy runs.
Why a 10mm?
Greenland began as a bad joke. A prevaricating Viking named Erik the Red christened that big honking island Greenland back in the 10th century in an effort to con his countrymen into settling there. Sneaky old Erik promised his mates a verdant tropical paradise.
However, very little, if anything, about Greenland is actually green. It's more like a mostly frozen wasteland, but it also has some bountiful natural resources. On the surface about all you find in Greenland is polar bears and ice, and those pesky, gigantic bears can be a serious threat to creatures that walk on two legs.
There is a 14-man Royal Danish Navy unit called the Slaedepatruljen Sirius (Sirius Sled Patrol) that performs long-range reconnaissance missions across these frozen wastes.
This merry mob of maniacs uses sled dogs to pull — no kidding — dog sleds that they craft themselves to conduct patrols of up to 2,000 miles in some of the most inhospitable terrain on the planet. In addition to all of the ice, polar bears in that forsaken place have a genuine taste for human flesh.
As defense against these 1,800-pound monsters, these psycho Danes pack M1917 Enfield rifles chambered in .30-06 and 10mm GLOCK 20 handguns.
There has been at least one verified episode wherein one of these guys actually killed a mature polar bear at bad-breath range with his 10mm GLOCK when life went all pear-shaped. I hate it for the animal, but the Danish man was otherwise destined to become bear poop.
That's a long and somewhat gruesome way to say, as far as handgun cartridges go, the 10mm Auto packs some serious horsepower, and the extra barrel length of a carbine only adds velocity.
Tactical Practicalities
The SUB2000 GLK 10mm is a straight blowback firearm. That means the mass of the bolt and rigidity of the recoil spring are carefully crafted to counteract the recoil impulse of the 10mm cartridge. As a result, the gun’s recoil is fairly vigorous.
The standard G20 magazine packs 15 rounds onboard, with larger versions carrying up to 30 rounds available, which will also work just fine with the SUB2000. Considering those big fat rounds are nearly the size of my little finger, that’s a whole lot of heartache in one compact package.
The trigger is a kind of long and mushy, but the gun still prints inside a juice can lid at 25 meters. This is a tactical firearm that also enjoys some serious real-world utility.
At appropriate ranges, pigs, coyotes, and whitetails are all on the menu. Charge this thing with some proper social bullets, and it is proof against any and all bipedal threats. When collapsed, the SUB2000 GLK 10mm could conceivably hide inside a book bag. It takes mere moments to deploy and will reliably bring the pain.
Accessorizing the KelTec SUB2000
The SilencerCo Omega 45K is a welded tubeless design that will handle .45ACP, 10mm Auto, or 300BLK both subsonic and supersonic. The can is essentially maintenance-free and does a splendid job of taming the 10mm.
If you live in one of the free states that allows sound suppressor ownership, there is just no excuse for not using one, particularly considering that the onerous unconstitutional transfer tax on such things has gone the way of the dodo.
The optic is a Mepro M22 with an accessory light module. This rascal features a built-in tritium-illuminated reticle enhanced with fiber optics for day use. Additionally, the bolt-on light module offers battery-powered backup for those really craptastic times. Built like a tank, this thing is just the ticket for those high-stress snap shots against charging polar bears.
Trigger Time
The SUB2000 GLK 10mm shoots straight, true, and fast. Out to 100 meters or so, this gun would be pure death against most any appropriately-scaled target. Follow-up shots are intuitive and natural. The rifle will run as vigorously as you choose to exercise it.
Accuracy was more than adequate for utility and hunting purposes. Collapsing and deploying the gun did not seem to adversely affect the gun’s zero as the optic is secured to the barrel assembly. The controls are all intuitive. All that and the SUB2000 really will easily hide behind the seat in your pickup truck.
KelTec SUB2000 GLK 10mm Performance Results
| Ammo | Group Size (inches) | Velocity (fps) |
|---|---|---|
| SIG SAUER 180-gr V-Crown JHP | 1.5 | 1418 |
| Buffalo Bore 180-gr FHP | 1.25 | 1575 |
| Double Tap 150-gr JHP | 1.3 | 1646 |
Group Size is best four of five rounds fired off of a sandbag rest at 25 meters. Velocity is the average of five rounds measured by a Garmin Xero C1 chronograph.
What’s It Good For?
Even if rabid polar bears are not a terribly big problem in your neighborhood, you can still nonetheless find plenty of utility for the KelTec SUB2000 GLK 10mm. Aside from the aforementioned hunting applications, the SUB2000 GLK 10mm would be proof against even the most determined home invader.
As a truck gun or home defense arm, secure the weapon against inquisitive little fingers, stage a couple of loaded magazines nearby, and then rest easy knowing that you retain access to a truly superlative security tool.
In March of 2022, KelTec donated some four hundred 9mm SUB2000 carbines to Ukraine to help them withstand the invading Russian hordes.
While the SUB2000 might not be a my first choice for a general-purpose combat rifle, it would be awfully comforting for an aircrewman or someone who needs to operate covertly. Under those circumstances, the SUB 2000 would be hugely preferable to a conventional handgun or to any gimmicky "survival rifles" out there.
Ruminations
The SUB2000 GLK 10mm strikes a lovely balance between portability, concealability, and proper downrange thump. The gun is both beautifully well-engineered and radically novel. It was also completely reliable during our fairly extensive time together.
From a standing start, I could get the SUB2000 GLK 10mm deployed in less than 10 seconds. The SUB2000 GLK 10mm projects power like a much heftier weapon. It also looks just super cool. We shouldn’t care about that, but we do.
The idea of feeding both a compact carbine and personal handgun a common caliber by using the same magazine seems inspired. The collapsible nature of the SUB2000 GLK 10mm makes the gun all the easier to tote. The end result is some serious peace of mind when out where the Wild Things Roam.
Hook & Barrel Bottom Line: Kel Tec SUB2000 Gen2 10mm
The H&B Bottom Line is a rating system based on seven criteria. Each category is worth five points (or ampersands) for a total maximum score of 35.
ERGOS & HANDLING: &&&&&
Nothing about this gun is particularly difficult. It is well-reasoned and easy to master.
RECOIL: &&&&
Brisk but manageable.
ACTION & RELOADING: &&&&
Intuitive and quick. You might have to reach just a bit for the magazine release, but it is still fast.
SIGHT MOUNTING EASE: &&&&&
Painless. Plenty of space for anything you might want to put up there.
INTENDED PURPOSE: &&&&&
This is a collapsible, hard-use survival gun. It works exactly as advertised.
OVERALL VERSATILITY: &&&&&
The SUB2K does things to which lesser guns might only aspire.
VALUE-PRICE POINT: &&&&&
An exceptional value.
FINAL SCORE: 33/35
KeTec SUB2000 Specs
SPECIFICATIONS: KelTec SUB2K
CALIBER: 10 mm Auto
ACTION: Unlocked Blowback
BARREL: 16.15 inches
OA LENGTH: 16.15/29.2 inches (Folded/Extended)
WEIGHT: 13.86 ounces (empty)
GRIPS: Polymer
SIGHTS: Picatinny Rail
FINISH: Flat Black
CAPACITY: 15-round Box Magazine/30-round Aftermarket Available
MSRP: $599
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