Took a Kel Tec PF9 to the range today

[U.S. Patriot]

As others have said, give it time to break in, before you send it back. I had another pistol do the same thing, until I ran roughly 200 rounds through it.

 

[Cannon762]

This is totally anecdotal, but it might be something to pay attention to next time you bring your pf9 to the range: I have a friend that has accompanied me to the range before bringing along with him his pf9. I had never shot one before so per usual etiquette he offered me to shoot it. I shot one mag through it and after the last round it locked back. He was suprised because as long as he had the gun it never locked back after the last round. He shot it next and sure enough the slide didnt lock back. I offered him my glock 19 and after the last round it didnt lock back. Now that got me going. I asked him to shoot it again and I watched closely as he shot it. Ah ha! His support hand thumb was ever so slightly resting on the slide lock lever causing the slide not to latch. He altered his grip and tried his pf9 and sure enough the slide locked.
Not to say this is what is wrong with your gun. Joshua

That's actually a really good point, and I was wondering if I was doing that because I HAVE done that on my Walther P99 before, though sadly after checking and changing my grip that was not the problem. Great reply though. I would LOVE to have someone else give it a whirl though, because I'm thinking it may just be my grip is such that I'm unintentionally limp wristing even though I feel I have a solid grip. I'm going to head to Wilbur Wright today and if I see any experienced looking shooters I'll see if they'll oblige me in firing a few rounds.

@US Patriot, I completely agree with you. I was having a little trouble at 25 yards at first, but once I moved up to 15 and saw what techniques were placing bullets where, I found it to be INCREDIBLY accurate. I even tried to replicate a little stress and rapid fire and it was still putting them all within a 6" group, which I was pretty pleased with for my first time out with it, and the nature of the trigger. Once all the bugs get worked out, I can see me carrying this gun over all my others.

 

[451_Detonics]

Seems odd it will lock back manually but not when firing. Could it be shooter induced? Yes but if you are aware of what limp wristing the gun can do I would think you would have a death grip for the last round...lol. When you work the slide manually everything happens as a much slower pace than they do when the gun fires. The slide is held back longer for example and the follower has more time to push up the slide release. You didn't state whether or not you had more than just one magazine but I suspect a magazine problem.

1. Try a different magazine.
2. Take your magazine apart an make sure there isn't any flashing on the follower.

My PF-9 is a very early one and it has been flawless from day one. I have over 3000 rounds through it and an additional 400 rounds of 22 through the conversion. The trigger is butter smooth and after a little emery board work the gun has always been comfortable to shoot.

 

[joshuametivier]

I would love to have a pf9.

 

[Knuckle Head]

I agree with Detonics, the slide release might be a bit slow to rise. My PF9 was like that when I first purchased it and little cleaning plus oil took care of that. Although it never posed an issue because I noticed it before I shot it for the first time, cycling it with snap caps showed similar symptom described. It was new when I purchased it, not sure how long it was collecting dust, who knows....

 

[teddy12b]

I've only put about 200 rounds through the one I have, but they were flawless. I have tried to cycle WWB 115gr ball ammo through it and it seems like that ammo is too long for it to eject a loaded round. As far as firing the WWB ammo it's always functioned perfectly. I like the PF9.

 

[Cannon762]

Alllllrighty! Just got back from Wilbur Wright, this time I bought a small box of Remington and PMC. I did a TON of reading last night, and saw that a lot of novice shooters (not unlike myself) were having the same issue, so I figured I should work as best I could on my grip and technique. I brought my video camera with me so I could look back at "failed" lockbacks and check my form. Doing so, I had the problem solved within 15 rounds.

I was being too concerned with *squeezing* the gun that I wasn't being sure to have 100% tight coverage. Since it's a smaller gun than I'm used to firing, my long fingers were just kind of overlapping in the front and offering almost no support, allowing the muzzle to pitch upwards, causing the slide to not lock back. After adjusting my grip, I fired the remainder of the ammo without a hitch. So I feel pretty good that I not only got more effective with this handgun, but I learned that my previous grip style was improper and now I have a better handle on it for all my handguns. Learning is fun.

Back to the gun, I had 0 jams, fte's, or ftf's. I did however, on my 10th to the last round, I heard a click and nothing happened. Switched to another round and the same thing. No light strike or anything, just a no-strike. I field stripped the gun and worked the pin back and forth a few times and it looked fine, so I put the gun back together and it fired the last 10 perfectly. I've heard PMC can sometimes eject pieces of primer back into the bolt face and I'm assuming some got stuck in there and jammed on the pin, and I'm not going to fault the gun for that.

Sorry for the long post, just excited because I went from being wary of carrying this gun to loving it. It's still a little rough on my trigger finger, but it's my personal defense gun, not my range buddy. Thanks to all for the advice and help, very much appreciated!

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

Great news. I knew you'd get zeroed in on it. I have big hands and it took me some time to get used to that skinny grip. Fun to shoot though, huh?

 

[Cannon762]

Great news. I knew you'd get zeroed in on it. I have big hands and it took me some time to get used to that skinny grip. Fun to shoot though, huh?

Fun and painful, ha! You should see the bloody mess it left my trigger finger, but I have chubber fingers and I didn't sand down the trigger guard like you're supposed to when I got it, I'm sure once it heals and I take it back out it will be like butter. It is a blast though, I was completely shocked at how accurate it was, definitely more accurate than I am. I was however keeping them all in a 10" target from 25 yards after I got warmed up. That's center mass at far greater a distance I ever hope to use it. 15 yards was a little more fun

I actually just took the slide apart to clean out the firing pin channel expecting to find a couple metal shavings. IT WAS FULL OF THEM. It looked like pencil shavings of little primer flecks everywhere. I'm assuming it's the PMC, I've read that they do that. I'm sure that was the culprit of my misfire.

 

[Archbishop]

I have one and it eats all the cheap target ammo I put in it. No fails so far. Slide locks back OK. I have only put about 350 rounds through it though.

This for me to.