[rmxer85]

Father in law is looking for a carry gun and wanted to try my Kel-Tec PF-9. So we stepped out back to squeeze off a few rounds through it.

Well...we only got one off.:hand1:

The round went off, the gun cycled fine, but the trigger did not reset. He handed me the gun, I pulled the magazine and ejected the round from the chamber. The trigger is now just kinda dangling loosely.

No action at all out of the trigger. It just swings freely back and forth.

Any ideas before I send it back to Florida?


(BTW...he's decided to get a Kimber Ultra Carry instead:hand10

 

[pgrass101]

It sounds like a spring broke.

Kel-Tec will make it right, get them to inculde another mag or two, tell them that they probably lost a sell to you Dad and see what they can do to win him back.

 

[Rustynuts]

Check for this!

I thought they had fixed this and I just got a bad batch of springs. Several around the time I bought mine a year and half ago had this problem.

The spring is too long for this design IMO. They copied the P3AT hammer spring layout down the back of the grip. Wish it was striker fired, or used a 1911 style flat spring.

 

[Rustynuts]

PS, just get them to send the spring (actually the whole hammer assembly if I remember). There's assembly videos online for this or the P3AT which is similar. Fairly easy to do with a couple pins removed and drop the new assembly in. Just be careful when hooking the new spring around the bottom pin as you don't want to overstretch it.

 

[puncho]

I would send it to the factory for service so they don't try to blame you for future problems...

 

[mr surveyor]

another thing to check for is the trigger pin that actually holds the trigger to the trigger assembly. Turn the gun upsidedown and check to see if the metal pin on the back-base of the trigger is well up into the hole. If not, then take a punch or other small diameter object and push the pin into place.... once in place either leave well enough alone, or add a drop of clear fingernail polish into the hole to retain it.

Otherwise, I would suspect the transfer bar spring has come loose. The slot in the bar was not machined deep enough on some of the previous models, and the trigger spring would jump off. To get to it the frame has to be (at least partially) removed from the grip. It can be done as a dyi project, but if the problem is with the trigger bar I would suggest you send it back to the "mother ship" for repair. While it is there, they will replace any other part(s) necessary to bring the gun into factory spec equal to one just off the assembly line.

Like 'em or not, KelTec is a great customer service bunch and they do havd a sincere desire to keep their products up to date and running.

Good luck with it.

surv

 

[rmxer85]

I just checked the spring...its fine.

However, the trigger "magically" reset when I put the slide back on and everything was working just fine. Then suddenly went back to not working.

....(cue Twilight Zone music)....

Shake the gun and push the trigger forward it works....once.
As soon as the slide cycles it goes dead again.
...repeat process, same result.

.........:scruntiny:.........

Definitely going back to the mothership.

 

[jwhite75]

Send it to Florida...act irritated and voice the loss of sale to your dad. They will make it right and then some probably.

 

[packinnova]

It sounds like a spring broke.

Kel-Tec will make it right, get them to inculde another mag or two, tell them that they probably lost a sell to you Dad and see what they can do to win him back.

You know, I really hate to sound like a broken record here, and I know darn near everyone is going to jump on me for it...but it's not like it's a surprise or anything.

A question or two...
What is Keltec going to do for you when you need that gun in an emergency and it doesn't go boom or cycle properly or the darn trigger goes floppy or whatever other myriad of problems these things have?
Are they going to rush to the scene in their superman cape with a box full of springs, pins, tools, and a tv remote with a pause button so they can do a full "fluff and buff" on your busted piece of plastic in the middle of a gunfight, then un-pause and shoot the BG for you?

Just saying....

 

[Vaquero 45]

You know, I really hate to sound like a broken record here, and I know darn near everyone is going to jump on me for it...but it's not like it's a surprise or anything.

A question or two...
What is Keltec going to do for you when you need that gun in an emergency and it doesn't go boom or cycle properly or the darn trigger goes floppy or whatever other myriad of problems these things have?
Are they going to rush to the scene in their superman cape with a box full of springs, pins, tools, and a tv remote with a pause button so they can do a full "fluff and buff" on your busted piece of plastic in the middle of a gunfight, then un-pause and shoot the BG for you?

Just saying....

Big +1

I wonder if Kel-Tec's warranty department will pay for the funeral when this common problem occurs during a gunfight, and the good guy loses because of it.

Just like with many other things in life....you get what you pay for.

 

[razorblade]

this exact same situation happened to my steyr m40. I stopped carrying it for personal defense, and went to a 1911.

 

[pgrass101]

You know, I really hate to sound like a broken record here, and I know darn near everyone is going to jump on me for it...but it's not like it's a surprise or anything.

A question or two...
What is Keltec going to do for you when you need that gun in an emergency and it doesn't go boom or cycle properly or the darn trigger goes floppy or whatever other myriad of problems these things have?
Are they going to rush to the scene in their superman cape with a box full of springs, pins, tools, and a tv remote with a pause button so they can do a full "fluff and buff" on your busted piece of plastic in the middle of a gunfight, then un-pause and shoot the BG for you?

Just saying....

This is why I didn't buy a Kel-Tec for my EDC

 

[clarkston_cz]

He is making a far better choice.

 

[mr surveyor]

why is it that every time a poster has a legitimate concern with a firearm, no matter what the make/model, they get blasted with negative responses about their choice of purchase rather than constructive answers pertaining to solving the immediate problem. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think that responses such as "I would have never bought 'brand x junk', and only trust my life to 'brand Y'" add absolutely nothing to the topic at hand. If the original poster opens up the topic with a concern about a particular product and continues with a tirade about the quality control of the manufacturer (as has been done on every gun board on the net), the conversation always tends towards a battle over whether the manufacturers products are worthy of existing in the family of firearms. That normally is the intent of the OP in those cases anyway. But, when there is no hint from the OP that he is leading the conversation to that end, and has an obvious concern about a repairable melfunction, why lead the topic away from it's original intent?

rant off (or at least on hold)

surv

 

[conwic]

I just checked the spring...its fine.

However, the trigger "magically" reset when I put the slide back on and everything was working just fine. Then suddenly went back to not working......

The end of the small spring connecting the trigger to the trigger bar running along the right side of the gun ( which in turn is connected to the hammer) is slipping out of the grove in the bottom of the bar. You jiggle it around by working the slide, it slips back in, but then jumps out again just as easily. Most go back to mothership for a bar with a deeper grove.

Sorry to hear about your problem. I know how you feel; I have a PF-9 back at Kel Tec after it broke it's second firing pin.

Regards-conwic

 

[BikerRN]

Any manmade item can and will fail at some point, even man himself.

This is why I "test" each and every firearm I carry and expect them to fail. That's one of the reasons I carry a BUG. I myself would be sending the gun back to the manufacturer for repair.

After getting it back I would proceed to do a "break-in" procedure on it. I won't go into the whole program here, but have posted it before. Let me just say, it involves 700 - 1,000 rounds if it's an autoloader.

Biker

 

[PastorPack]

Mr. Surveryor, Good rant!

Rmxer85, sounds like you've already decided to send it. I think any decent manufacturer (guns, holsters, etc.) deserves the chance to make it right. Let us know how that goes for you.

 

[J Bowen]

I have had a KT .32 for 5 or 6 six years with no probs as of yet
but have heard from other KT owners of different spring failures.
Agree with BikerRN. Guns are machines and this gun only firing one round
is a good example of why to always carry a backup gun.

 

[Ape]

A big +1 to BikerRN, J Bowen and Mr Surveyor!

I've seen the most expensive and highly held quality guns fail right out of the box even. If it's mechanical, it WILL break at some point!
I've owned and carried my PF9 for a couple of years now, with approximately 3 to 5 thousand rounds through it. I just recently replaced springs and the extractor due to FTE issue's of late. Other than that I have yet to have any problems with it or my wife's P32 or my SU16. Nor have I had any problems with any of my Hi Point range plinkers. Yet my best friend bought a NIB Para Carry that broke the ectractor on the very first mag out of the box! Do I consider Para to be junk???? No! Just a mechanical mishap that you have to expect.

 

[cmb]

I am in agreement with Biker and Ape, any thing mechanical can fail at any time. We must be ready. KT seems to have good customer service, I am sure they will fix it. That is why I have more than one carry gun and also carry a backup. Just send EDC to maker, retreive other carry gun or old EDC and insert into holster!