Kel Tech PF9 as a CCW?

[1942 K98]

Im relatively new to handguns, I own a 1944 P38 but that is just a collector piece to me. Ive heard good things about it and was thinking about buying one to use as a concealed carry weapon. I realize there are a million different opinions, but I was looking for some advice on the PF9 or something similar.

Thanks!
Christian

 

[kawtech87]

Ive heard mixed reviews at best with the PF9. Ive never shot one so I cant speak from personal experiance. I was considering one for awhile until I dug a little deeper. I went a totally different route than I started out on and went with a Ruger LCR .357 for pocket carry. Thats only if you like revolvers though.

Personally I would look into a Ruger LC9 or an M&P Shield for a single stack pocket auto.

 

[hps]

I carry the pf9 often. It took a lil breaking in,however after several hundred rds thru her I trust my life to this weapon. Polish the chamber in a back and forth motion, take out the screw holding the spring and extractor in place and a drop of blue loctite on the screw threads and you'll be in business. hold tight and squeeze!! its a handful!

 

[BlueEagle]

I don't own one, but two people that I know do own and carry them.

They are a cheap, unpolished, but solid and reliable handgun. Recoil is stout, but its one of the lightest 9mm's in the industry; recoil comes with the territory.

It should be fine, and if it isn't Kel-Tec has GREAT warranty. And even if you just absolutely hate it; its dirt cheap, you'll only be out like $200, and you'll be able to resell it.

 

[Mackey]

I carry the pf9 often. It took a lil breaking in,however after several hundred rds thru her I trust my life to this weapon. Polish the chamber in a back and forth motion, take out the screw holding the spring and extractor in place and a drop of blue loctite on the screw threads and you'll be in business. hold tight and squeeze!! its a handful!

He's right. I also find that it does better with heavier bullets, I carry it with Remington Golden Saber 147 grain. It's not a fun gun at the range and with about any 9mm load it will smack your hand around a bit. But if you backed me up against a wall ... I'd have to say, save your money up and go one notch higher in price/quality.

 

[1942 K98]

Mackey, what would you recommend?

Christian

 

[nick89302]

I bought one to carry on the rare occasion when my G26 is too thick. Say what you will about their relative widths on paper, but in real life, it makes a difference. I convinced my father to buy one too.

I had a P3AT that was carried a lot, shot a little, and the blued finish on the slide wasn't that durable and ended up with some rust spots. My PF9 wears the same finish so I will Cerakote them before it gets too far into the summer.

I put 5 boxes (250rds) through mine before declaring it fit for duty. I had zero malfunctions. My father did the same and had a FTFeed in the first magazine. Other than that worrisome round, it has worked like it should. It should be noted that he has a lot less experience than I do shooting handguns and it could be that he wasn't ready for the recoil of the little beast. It is stout, and not something that is fun to shoot.

I did the fluff and buff before taking them to the range for the first time.

I considered the LC9, but didn't want the "safety" features that gun has. The benefits of the PF9 over the P3AT are the step up to a real defensive caliber, not that I would want to get shot with anything, but the .380 often doesn't penetrate through 12" of ballistic gelatin. Real sights as opposed to some bumps on the slide. Another round in the gun.

I considered a Kahr as well, but the shop I purchased the PF9 from didn't have one in stock when the PF9 was on sale.

 

[Cannon762]

Going to post my personal experience with the PF9 I owned. Not speaking for all of them. Sorry for the long read:

I bought a new one last year from the good fellas at Beech Grove firearms to be my main summer carry hand gun after reading a few forums about how after a little polishing and preventative maintenance could make it a stellar firearm for the price.

After purchasing it and doing some preliminary cleaning and lubricating I wanted to get a feel for how it functioned before the "fluff and buff" process I would work on later that night. The gun then broke after shooting some standard Winchester white box for less than half an hour. Part of the trigger mechanism wasn't allowing the hammer to fall correctly and stopped it in place. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oINrn6fwQXs"]Here is a video I took that I sent to Kel-Tec customer service[/ame].

Customer service told me that the gun would have to be sent in. When I asked if, given the circumstance it had only been purchased mere hours before if I could have a shipping box sent to me, I was laughed at by the woman. Not figuratively. Literally laughed at. That was the first red flag to me. She then said that it was probably me using the wrong kind of ammo (again, Winchester white-box) because that's "usually the problem" with the guns they receive. She accused me first of using reloaded ammunition, then when I told her it was store bought she blamed it on that store bought ammo usually has a few "dud rounds" in every box. None of this had anything to do with the trigger assembly, but she would have no part of listening to that logic. She also had made a comment that because of it being their busy season I "honestly, I wouldn't expect to get it back any time soon." I asked to speak to a supervisor but was told they were all busy. I asked if I could leave a number, but was told that they don't do callbacks.

Guns break. It happens, I understand. But I had just bought it hours before, and then to have to pay more when it was shipped defective?

I was told to ship the firearm through UPS as "machine parts", and they would get it back to me as soon as possible. "As soon as possible" wound up being three months later. To be honest, I'd forgotten I even had it, and gave it to a friend that seemed smitten with it, only to have him say it was still rife with problems of FTF's and FTE's, though with it being such a finnicky piece to shoot, I figure that could just as easily be shooter error.

Personally, I won't buy another one. That's my .02. Like I said, guns break sometimes, I get that, but I felt pretty put out by their customer service. Perhaps it's fine now, I don't know, but that was my (poor) experience with them.

 

[Tydeeh22]

I considered the LC9, but didn't want the "safety" features that gun has. The benefits of the PF9 over the P3AT are the step up to a real defensive caliber, not that I would want to get shot with anything, but the .380 often doesn't penetrate through 12" of ballistic gelatin. Real sights as opposed to some bumps on the slide. Another round in the gun.

GoldenLoki.com


proven tests would like to have a word with you..

 

[BlueEagle]

GoldenLoki.com


proven tests would like to have a word with you..

I think what he was probably referring to is that it just barely passes the minimum in some cases.

Plus, ballistic gelatin cases are absolutely designed to help the rounds pass. You're simulating a round passing through NOTHING other than soft tissue, and then measuring penetration. It's not a real world scenario, unless you have to shoot at a naked man in the open, and you are accurate enough for all your shots to completely avoid bones.

If it just barely makes the minimum of soft tissue, it won't do nearly that well when it has to pass through thick winter clothing, or an arm-bone, or a rib. Its better than nothing, yeah, but in the size that he is looking for, more powerful options are available.

For what its worth, I DO have a pocket .380 that I carry regularly; but whenever possible, I carry something larger.

 

[Tydeeh22]

i thought i was only supposed to shoot (naked) men like 6 times? a 9mm would be too much..

i get your logic blue eagle. pickin up what your laying down.

 

[nick89302]

I think what he was probably referring to is that it just barely passes the minimum in some cases.

Plus, ballistic gelatin cases are absolutely designed to help the rounds pass. You're simulating a round passing through NOTHING other than soft tissue, and then measuring penetration. It's not a real world scenario, unless you have to shoot at a naked man in the open, and you are accurate enough for all your shots to completely avoid bones.

If it just barely makes the minimum of soft tissue, it won't do nearly that well when it has to pass through thick winter clothing, or an arm-bone, or a rib. Its better than nothing, yeah, but in the size that he is looking for, more powerful options are available.

For what its worth, I DO have a pocket .380 that I carry regularly; but whenever possible, I carry something larger.

Thanks for helping me clarify.

If I have a choice between using a 9mm and a .380, I'll take the 9mm. For me, and the way I carry, I can get away with the slight size increase of the PF9 for the benefit of having a more suitable defensive round.

 

[EdC]

I would spend a little more and get something other than the PF9. I believe they are hit or miss. I owned two-one was great out of the box, the other never worked correctly.

What should you get? As far as pocket 9's go, my experience is with the PF9.

I would look into the Kahr CM9, the less expensive version of the PM9. It'll run you about $150 more than the PF9 (Budsgunshop prices).

 

[Regionnus Rattis]

I can't speak of the PF9 but I have the P11. It's been and continues to be a great carry gun for me. But I have now switched to the single stack Beretta Nano, after having broken it in with over 700 rounds.

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

I have a PF-9 that I bought new. I have at least 1000 rounds through it without a problem. I trust my life with it when I want to CC (not very often) but I don't do very much range practice with it. Maybe 50 rounds or so per week.

Snappy little booger so if you get one, get a Hogue grip sleeve and the mag extension. Much easier to shoot that way.

 

[netsecurity]

Shooting the PF9 for me, was like shooting a Ruger LCP, no fun. Not only that, but with all that recoil, I couldn't trust that I would get any accuracy. While it carried better than any 9mm I ever had, I wasn't comfortable trusting my life to this gun. Accuracy to me is paramount, and I'd rather suffer the pain of a thicker gun, to be able to hit my target spot on if the need arose.

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

Shooting the PF9 for me, was like shooting a Ruger LCP, no fun. Not only that, but with all that recoil, I couldn't trust that I would get any accuracy. While it carried better than any 9mm I ever had, I wasn't comfortable trusting my life to this gun. Accuracy to me is paramount, and I'd rather suffer the pain of a thicker gun, to be able to hit my target spot on if the need arose.

That should go without saying. I don't care what you carry if you can't hit anything with it, don't use it. I don't expect to have to use it at antwhere close to 50 yards...

I sold my full size PX4 Storm for that reason. I don't see how to relate size with aim but what do I know?

Like I said, get the Hogue grip sleeve, keep a pretty tight grip and press that trigger just like any other gun. It's snappy but I think it's fun as heck to shoot.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

You get what you pay for. I had one, and it did work. However, the barrel and slide was rusting on me. Even though I kept it oiled. The trigger was long and gritty. It also was uncomfortable to shoot. Meaning the recoil punished your hand when shooting it. I recommend saving up and getting a Kahr, Ruger, etc.

 

[AuburnGuy]

PF9 is my EDC. (Every Day Carry) 0 issues in 700 rounds of brass ammo. I say brass because I have never tried steel in this gun. I carry 16 hours a day. I work construction so always moving, bending, lifting, driving, etc. Love the gun for what it is. A SD gun. It is definitely not a range gun. It will shoot, not exactly fun to shoot, but once you get used to it, it does shoot well. I love the add on clip so no holster needed. Light, Small, and easy to conceal. I like the trigger on PF9 better than P11. My personal opinion even though the P11 was not mentioned.