Defensive Carry banner

Kel tec PF9

7K views 44 replies 41 participants last post by  Gary T 
#1 ·
This is not a troll for "my gun is better thsn yours". It my opinion of the product.
I have owned may guns in my 40+ years of firearms and carry weapons. My present carry guns are: 642 Smith or Colt Mustang stanless.
My friend who is an avid road motorcyclist wanted a easily concealable seemi auto to be worn under his leather jacket. He bought aPF9 at the gun showlast Sunday. we went for some range time to break it in. He put 100 rounds thru and no failures. Ammo was winchester 124 grain FMJ ( wallys world.)
After he finished, I asked to try it.I have never shot this gun before. HAve fondled one at a gun shop, but never live fired it. Loaded 5. Silouette target at about 7 meters. All 5 in a 3' group, no failures, 1 shot per second (range rules)
The second 5 was a 2" group. I was getting used to the trigger.
Thats as good as I do with teh 642 or Mustang, as they are also max conceal guns.

Recoil. That was in my mind since he bought it. He and I are about 5.7 with a faw extra pounds.
He said the recoil was on par with his glock compact 9. I compared it to the smith. Using 124/125 GR "range ammo (fmj)" the recoil was about the same. With the smith using 125 JHPSWC +P (winchester "FBI loads") the smith was noticibly heavier in recoil, but thats expected. We did not have +P 9 ammo. The recoil with Federal "PDA personal defense ammo, AKA Hydrashoks) seemed on par with teh range ammo, and no failres.

The gun was shot right out of the box and very "virgin". No modes, cleaning or oiling.

I am going to buy one in the future for my EDC carry. I love the smith and its totally reliable, however, and auto "hides" better, being flatter.

Again, this is not a "my gun is better than yours" thread.
r
 
See less See more
#2 ·
From what I've read, the Kel-Tec seem to be a hit or miss issue. Those who have the hitters love them; those with the missers hate them. Considering the internet rationality, I suspect the majority of them get hitters. And most of the missers could most likely be easily turned into hitters. But people like to complain more than they like to praise. It draws more attention. Too many just want the attention.
 
#12 ·
This is really the only consistent negative comment I have heard regarding the PF9.

Have not personally shot one myself, I feel there are better options. Not at the same price point though.
.
.
.
 
#9 ·
i think that everyone who has had a misfeed or jam with the pf9 should grip the gun like a man and then you'll see that most of the "problems" with it is due to people holding and firing it like their other, bigger 9's they're used to shooting. the fact that you are using the same 147gr +p jhp(me too) ammo in your 4in barrel as in the pf9, is the reason to make such an adjustment. i speak from my own experience. i was used to shooting a p228 and an xdm 3.8. i got the pf9 and immediately had stove pipes, and spent cases getting pushed into the barrel instead of ejecting. i started doing some research and came across limp wristing. now i grab the pf9 quite a bit tighter than any other of my pistols. all i get now is bullet holes in targets and smiles. i truly love this little thing. and it's probably my favorite gun to shoot. and it's with me everyday as primary, or bug.

p.s. no pistol was subjected to fluffing or buffing during the making of this story.
 
#10 ·
I used a two hand and one grip. However, I know auto weapons, as I had a 1911 way back when.....
reliability.
You have to believe in whatever you carry. I started out CCW with a charter undercover ove the 1968 vintage, as the second owner. It was owned by a retired Texas sheriff. They were abokut 2/3 the price of a smith chief special (Model 36), and the lacking of finish was obvious in comparison.
However, it went bang every time I pulled the trigger and was accurate enough for self defense.
For any auto pisto;s I own, they get at least 200 rounds before it sees a holster. I break it in with "range ammo". Then after being "broken in", I try a couple of mags of carry ammo, usually hydrashoks. The mouth of the hollow point is large, and if anything is going to hang up in the feed, it will be them. Then, if it passes all, I clean it and carry it.
Revolvers, a couple of boxes of range ammo. Carry ammo, I go thru one cylinber full, then carry it.
DO NOT carry anything you don't trust. In a combat situation, theres no second place winner in a gunfight...........

While I said the recoil is not not objectioable, this was based on 10 shots. I am sure I would beg to differ after a hundred rounds, however, so would the smith 642. They are both very light CC guns, with powerful ammo.
 
#16 ·
After a very dissapointing Kel Tec P3AT, i ended up selling it due to i could not trust it. The PF9 has always caught my eye, but am not sure if i could trust Kel Tec again... I understand that there is going to be a lemon every now and again, but i dont personally like the idea that i have to "fluff and buff" something to make it work properly.... that job should have been done at the factory floor before it left the line. So for me, i will stick to my J frames for now. Good luck with yours, i hope it serves you well. Keep us updated.
 
#18 ·
I chose the PF9 and carry it every day that I can. It has a bit of bite when you shoot it but it is not a range gun. I did have an issue with mine when new (also with Springfield 1911, FNP9, and Taurus) but the customer service more than sufficed. I think that it is irresponsible to trash any gun (Taurus gets it most and i had a good experience) but that is what freedom of speech is. However, I wish people would be more reasonable and less flaming when they do so. There are lemons produced by every manufacturer and some have much better customer service than others. I think that if we took the angle that "I had X gun and could never get it to work. Their customer service did not satisfy the issues and I sold the gun." That gets the message out rather than " I had X gun and it was a xxxx piece of crap and their customer service was xxitty" which is defamatory.

Enjoy your PF9 and should you have any issues I hope that you have the same experience with customer service (should you need it) that I did.
 
#22 ·
I have a hard-chrome version... it's been 100% from day 1.
I wouldn't want it to be my only pistol... but it fills a specific niche... a does so very well.
I have the hard chrome and its flawless the 9mm in the Kel tech is a stay at home gun.

I do also have a .32 .380 in Kel tech .

They bolth have been great in my view .

All mine where bought new . the .32 had a slight problem mag lock loose right out of box

took up to plant fixed in less than half hour. My .380 has around 1500/ 2000 rounds threw

lost trigger last range trip took to plant fixed less than hour new trigger with up date

And Oh yes the Kel Tec service is world class hands down :wave:
 
#20 ·
I recently traded a Taurus .38 for this beauty (don't worry...i still have a 642). Used. Blueing showing signs of wear. Broken in. Goes bang every time I pull the trigger. Conceals nicely in the "inside" cargo pocket of the 5.11's I wear for work. I use the beltclip (came with it). I agree with the OP that the recoil is really no worse than a lightweight .38 snubby IMO. I think it's a blast. It is what it is. My EDC.


 
#21 ·
I have both the PF9 and the CW9 and a CW45. I prefer the CW's over the PF personally. I haven't had any trouble out of any of them so it is simply my personal preference as to what I like. Trigger seems better and recoil is easier on the CW series than the PF.

Would I hesitate to carry the PF, or rely on it, nope.
 
#23 ·
I had a pf9. Worst gun I ever owned. It ate itself, on top of reliability issues. My LC9 is a MUCH better gun.
 
#25 ·
Mine shot great for 300 rds..... then one day I decided to shoot it as I hadn't shot it for awhile. Fail ... on every shot..... failed to eject, failed to load, and mag dropped down from the release. I ended up sending it in to KelTec. I don't know what they 'found' but, they replaced everything on the gun except for the barrel. Then new one has remained flawless so far.

I don't see any problem with recoil, etc. on a PF9, nor with shooting it accurately, etc. In comparison to a Kahr CW9, the PF9 has a much better and shorter trigger pull to me. The CW9 is longer in length and grip. But in comparison in costs the PF9 would be a much better deal and to me, and shoots better.
 
#26 ·
I bought my first PF-9 after I hated my Kahr PM9. I shot the KT so much better and it felt better in my hand. I would be carrying one right not, but I fell in love with the Beretta Nano. I still recommend the KT to a lot of people who want a dependable SD 9mm for pocket carry or IWB and don't want to spend a lot. Congrats and enjoy.

By the way, mine hurt like hell with Cor-Bon DPX +P ammunition, but worked great with Hornady Critical Defense standard pressure.
 
#29 ·
I had one and sold it. I only put one mag through it before I did just to feel how it shot though.

Why did I sell it?

Two reasons:
1) Because right out of the box the first time I cleaned it before I was going to take it to the range the parker finish started flaking off. I sent it back and they redid the finish and it was still badly flawed. I called them and they wanted to charge me to redo it. I was like ... are you kidding me :blink: it's flaking off right from the get go :aargh4:

2) Because it was pinching my trigger finger :frown:

So I sold it before the finish became too sloppily ugly :yup:

It was a snappy shooter but nothing I wouldn't have been able to tame but the finish and quality of it ... made it a POS to me ... though YMMV :gah:
 
#31 ·
My buddie bought a pf 9 a while back. I played around with it and found it to be reliable and super easy to conceal. The only negative I had was that after some time on the range my hands were sore, more than with my G27. Still for an easily concealed auto I've considered picking one up myself.
 
#34 ·
These are pocket guns, what do you expect in terms or recoil? Why would you ever want to shoot more than 10 rounds out of it?

Yes for some it can be unpleasant to shoot, but it is not something people carry thinking they are going to be in a prolonged battle. It is something most people WILL carry because I is small and accurate at the distance it is intended to be used. I have heard of some lemons but I have had no real issues with mine. I have eight guns I can select from each day to carry. Some days I am dressed such that I can carry a full size gun. Other days concealment is an issue and the PF9 is perfect. Some times I feel the need for a larger caliber or more ammo capacity and other days I am content to just have the extra protection.

For the price and what it is designed to do it is a great little gun. Maybe not for everybody but a nice gun
 
#36 ·
Im up in the air about it... my wife has one and I think it jumps a lot more than my glock 26 or taurus pt111. We have had no FTF's or anything of that sort. It goes bang everytime, but I find the gun to be too small for my hands. I dont like the plastic grips because they slip a lot. My wife for some reason also keeps hitting the magazine button and dropping mags randomly. Accuracy seems to be right on. Out of the 7 rounds in the mag, i was able to hit 5 out of 7 at 50 yards on a steel target. Its a good gun but just not for me.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top