My sister just got her ccw permit, but she still doesn't have a pistol and I stumbled across a kel-tec pf-9 the other day at a gun show. For the type of carrying she will do and the very affordable price point of under $300 is it a good reliable carry gun?
PF9's tend to be kind of hit or miss. Some run like like Swiss watches and some run like crap. If your not used to a DA trigger the trigger can be a bit hard to master and because of the extreme light weight they are generally not terribly fun to shoot. That being said, if you get a good one it can be a great a carry gun. If your willing to spend a couple bucks more the Kahr CM/CW series have a better trigger and are generally said to be of higher quality while still keeping close to the specs of the PF9.
Mine has been perfect. No problems whatsoever. My 17 yo son shoots it well and very accurately.
It is plain jane, but does the job. IMO, a bargain at $270.
I don't own one, but Rollo's description is accurate from all accounts. If you get a good one it's great; if you get a bad one, well you know. One thing though is that Keltec's service is excellent.
One more thing ....the gun is only 12 oz. and it can beat your sister up pretty good if she's new to shooting. There are better choices out there. Look at some of the Ruger line of guns. For $100 more, she can get an LC9 which is about the same size as the PF9, but 17 oz. and reliable.
I concur with the previous posters. I own a PF9 now and have had good luck with mine. That being said they are not considered by most to be fun to shoot and they can be easy to limp wrist due to the light weight. If she was my friend or family and a new shooter, I would suggest something else, a little more user friendly. The S&W Shield sounds promising but hard to find. Maybe a Kahr CW9/CM9? Ruger LC9 is a good candidate as mentioned.
Most of them work well. The guns that don't run will be made right by kel tec's customer service department. The important thing is making sure the gun you have works. You can't just buy the thing and carry it assuming it will work. Instead you have to take it to the range and make sure the gun will work with the ammunition you intend to carry. They aren't perfect, but they work- sometimes it just takes a little effort to get it that way.
Mine was a problem from the start. Sent mags back to factory for new ones, Sent the weapon back once came back with a new extractor and still had issues. Left it with a local gunsmith that polished the feed ramp, removed a burr from the new extractor. It shot fine for about 200 rounds, then had issues again.
They are temper mental and are a harsh gun to shoot for anyone. Definitely not a gun you want to shoot several hundred rounds thru at the renage, and with the tempermental issues, they, in my opinion are not dependable enough for self defense carry.
Traded it to a local gun shop for a new XDS. Have over 1000 rounds thru the XDS, no issues. Range ammo, self defense ammo, eats it all! And, with the 5 round mags and the
Pearce grip extensions I put on it it is easier and more gentle to shoot then the PF9.
Traded it to a local gun shop for a new XDS. Have over 1000 rounds thru the XDS, no issues. Range ammo, self defense ammo, eats it all! And, with the 5 round mags and the
Pearce grip extensions I put on it it is easier and more gentle to shoot then the PF9.
I agree with that... the PF9 even though its almost the same size as the XDS to me carries easier but its not near as easy on the shooter... Definitely not a range gun and probably something she wont enjoy shooting. The XDS is more recoil friendly.
I have a PF9 and it works for me. For a new shooter or someone who is recoil sensitive this is not the option. I would opt for a softer shooting 9 mm or even a revolver. If she has a chance to shoot a couple of different guns at a range before purchasing that would be best.
I actually like shooting mine, but it has had a few problems, and I will echo what the other posters have said about it being a poor choice for a new shooter.
I always bring it when I take a new shooter to the range, and they always walk away reconsidering the tiny lightweight gun they thought they wanted (whatever the make). Big guns are just easier to shoot.
IMO the Ruger LCP conceals better, has very manageable recoil, and is accurate if you can live with the .380. In the same price range as the PF-9 is also the SCCY, which seems to be getting quite a bit of traction in the gun magazines lately. It is thicker than the PF-9 (I think it's based on a KelTec P-11), but it feels good in the hand and should be more pleasant to shoot.
I had two of them. The first one was great. After a while I picked up a second one just to have an extra one. After 400 rounds of break-in ( VERY painful by the way ) It still could not get thru a clip with out a jam, FTF or a stove pipe. I sent it back and got a new one but had lost confidence in the gun. I went to the Walther PPS.
Hey Godawg82, how do you rate the Keltec against the Solo and the PPS? I handled a Keltec for the first time the other day at gun show, and the grip to trigger distance seemed extremely short...like it's meant for a 5'4" woman. Do you like the trigger? I owned a P11 and got rid of it simply because of the atrocious trigger, but the P9 seemed better. Anyway, would just like to hear your comparison.
Sorry....busy last night watching the Tide destroy ND. Ha ha.
The trigger on the PF9 is relatively long and of course is double action. So it took me and my son a few minutes to "get used to it". By the second magazine for each of us, we were hitting the center of the target within 3 inches circle from 21 feet.
Of course, my 17 yo son did better than I did. The recoil is NOT too bad. I did NOT think the trigger distance was "extremely" short. Since the trigger pull is relatively long, I did not think it was short.
Comparing the PF9 to my Solo or PPS.....big difference. Their triggers are so much better.....not as long, easier to pull and anticipate when the gun would shoot. BUT....accuracy was not too different (ie we could be fairly accurate with all three guns
from 21 feet, which is the common distance for bad guy interactions). The Solo is single action and has a sweet trigger. Love it. My favorite pocket carry gun. The PPS is double action and also has a great trigger. Less recoil but then it is bigger
and weighs much more than the PF9. Borderline too big for pocket carry, depending on size of your pocket.
IMO....the PF9 is a bargain at $270. IF funds are limited, and you want pocket carry 9mm, I would favor this one. IF you can afford $600 or so and want pocket carry, then get the Solo. (don't believe all the negative press online....just use 124gr
or 147gr ammo and odds are you will have a great shooting gun).
Save to get her a better gun. Go to a range that rents guns and try a few different ones. She will need to practice to stay proficiant with it. And the pf-9 wouldnt be my first choice. Check out the new bersa bp9cc. A single stack 9mm that I here is a joy to shoot. Ive got there thunder 380 and its been a great little gun. And bersas customer service is great also. Good lick with your quest.
I have three PF-9's, and I like them for what they are, not for what they are not. Very small and fits easily in a pocket of your choice. I did the Keltec fluff and buff on all three before the range
and have yet to have a failure in any of them. Very accurate, but recoil out of a 12oz gun is substantial as one would expect. They unfortunately, are not a gun for a beginner. The punishing recoil
will be an immediate turnoff to most new shooters as I have found on several occasions.....every new shooter that I let try my PF-9's freaking hated the gun. I guess I'm just a recoil junky at heart.
Better guns for a newbie:
Kahr CM9
Kahr CW9
SW Sheild
Bersa BP9CC (best of the list)
Beretta Nano
..the above listed weapons are much more new user friendly than a PF-9, and will provide them with a very nice firearm that they will enjoy at the range as well as for carry.
My experience is that the PF-9 is a reliable gun. They are a bit hard on the recoil but it isn't intolerable. I can put a couple hundred rounds through it without too much wear on the hand.
As far as learning to shoot the gun. This past weekend another forum member took our CHL class. He was interested in shooting a PF-9, and the CW9 and CW45. After qualification, I let him try them all. From about 10 ft. he put 5 rds out of the PF-9 into the same hole. He did just as well with the CW's too. But by staging the trigger on the PF-9 he shot it equally as well as the Kahr's, which do have a much better trigger.
I don't know what his final decision will be, but I got the impression that he was probably going to go with the PF-9 when he bought a single stack 9.
Again, thanks for letting me shoot those guns this past Saturday. The PF9 surprised me. I'm not bragging by any means, but after reading post after post about the harsh recoil, I was expecting a lot more felt recoil than there actually was. With the firm 2 finger grip of my strong hand, the recoil didn't bother me (the +1 mag extension that is available would give just enough to get the pinky on which would be good since I like all 3 fingers on a grip). I know I was only shooting Walmart Federal 100 round pack 115 gr FMJ's and that 124 gr or 147 gr would have more recoil. I also know that I only shot 5 rounds, and that after a 50 round box I might change my tune...but I don't think so. That said, I would be shooting more rounds out of my G17 than the PF9 at the range because I like the way the G17 shoots.
The CW9 also surprised me in that I thought I wouldn't like the longer trigger pull (compared to my G17), but it wasn't bad at all. The CW45 surprised me the most in that the recoil was very, very controllable for that small of a gun...wow! Since I have longer fingers, I had to use the second pad of my trigger finger because of the small, single stack grips...just gotta adapt. I have the large grip adapter on my Gen 4, and I still have the trigger on the back part of my first pad on my trigger finger.
I'm still undecided on which smaller 9mm I'll eventually buy. I have an idea of what I'm going to do, but I'll start carrying the G17 and see how that goes.
There is no comparison. That's like comparing a Chevy against a Mercedes or a Porsche. That goes for quality AND price.
KelTec is more comparable to a Taurus Slim or a Ruger LC9.
Just make sure she shoots it. If any issues come up Kel-tec will handle it. You can say what you want about their quality (and I'm not going to argue) but they do stand behind their products.
That was one of the finalists for my concealed weapon. I narrowed it down to the pf9 and lc9. I liked how the pf9 felt in hand but i saw to many videos on youtube where the mag release was getting accidently pressed. The mag may not have come all the way out but it was just enough so the it wouldnt chamber a round. That kind of turned this gun off for me. Lc9 has been real good with 100 rounds through it.
-Jason
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