Anyone shoot a Kel-Tec PF9?

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I agree. The PF9 is more muzzle flip than recoil. I certainly feel it in my hand, but never been sore even after 100 rounds or so. I do prefer shooting it with the pinky extension to reduce the flip some.
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I am glad I am not alone. Here in the Age of the Common Man, things have gotten watered down a bit, and now most of these people who complain about the brutal recoil of a 357 magnum have never actually even fired a full power 357, but instead some watered down mid power 357 at about 1250 fps.

A year or so ago here, someone commented on how brutal the recoil of the Ruger LCP, a 380 ACP, was. This person should hang his head in shame.

I think this is just another manifestation of the decline of our nation. Metrosexualism is eating us away from the inside out.
 
My friend bought one for his wife and the 3 of us went shooting.

It has a terrible trigger and recoils like an airweight J frame. It has acceptable accuracy and ran 100% reliable with all 3 of us.

Surprisingly his wife shot it the best and complained the least about the trigger.
 
Balrog said:
I think this is just another manifestation of the decline of our nation. Metrosexualism is eating us away from the inside out.
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oh no. someone thought on their first outing that 9mm from a 12oz gun had considerable recoil. the sky is falling!:neener:
 
They are great carry guns and the recoil isn't bad at all...like someone said it's more muzzle flip than recoil. I carry one and have shot well over a thousand rounds of different weight slugs with nary a problem.

Once you are used to the trigger and sights "which by the way are great for a small gun" they are very accurate. Anyone considering buying a PF-9 should not worry about this terrible recoil nonsense, it just isn't true. A full power .44 magnum out of a 2 1/2 inch barrel is recoil. A 9mm outta any length barrel isn't recoil!! I would recommend getting the parkerized model.
 
I sense some macho chest thumping in this thread... If you don't think the PF-9 has stout recoil, you're either kidding yourself or you have reduced sensation in your hands. It's a diservice to others to act like it's a soft-shooting gun when, in fact, it kicks pretty hard for a 9mm and you may mislead readers into buying a gun they won't like shooting. No one here has claimed it has "wrist-breaking recoil" but the recoil is harsh compared to most guns of similar caliber. That said, I'm willing to accept an unpleasant shooting experience from this gun because it's so easy to carry/conceal.
 
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recoil is harsh compared to most guns of similar caliber. That said, I'm willing to accept an unpleasant shooting experience from this gun because it's so easy to carry/conceal.
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A lot of people refuse to admit that a handgun is a compromise, particularly a dedicated carry gun like the pf9.
Losing that bulk and weight has a cost, a gun that light firing a duty load can be a snappy little bastard, at least it will be more so than a duty-size pistol with the same ammo.

A pf9 remains on my "want" list, partly because I like little guns that push the limits of what can be accomplished in their chambering and size, and partly because I think KT is a great company deserving my patronage. I'm keeping my eyes open for a cheap used one, because I know I'll need a bag-o-mags, a new IWB holster, maybe a pocket holster, and some ammo for testing to find out what it likes to eat. (and yes, a gun that small is likely to be more ammo picky than a bigger gun ... get over it, there isn't room for the forgiving chambers of mil-spec or cop-market guns)
 
Effigy said:
I sense some macho chest thumping in this thread... If you don't think the PF-9 has stout recoil, you're either kidding yourself or you have reduced sensation in your hands. It's a diservice to others to act like it's a soft-shooting gun when, in fact, it kicks pretty hard for a 9mm and you may mislead readers into buying a gun they won't like shooting. No one here has claimed it has "wrist-breaking recoil" but the recoil is harsh compared to most guns of similar caliber. That said, I'm willing to accept an unpleasant shooting experience from this gun because it's so easy to carry/conceal.
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Chest thumping LOL....

Growing up my 12 year old sister wanted to learn to shoot "guns" like her 5 older brothers and Daddy. She was taught gun safety by my father just like everyone of her brothers before her and started on an old H&R .22 revolver.

She learned fast and quickly became bored with smaller calibers and wanted to shoot the big gun. She was handed a model 29 and told to hold the gun tight and just pull the trigger. She did and the gun went boom and when the smoke cleared all we saw was her laughing about how hard it kicked.

She finished the cylinder all double action the way we were all taught and didn't cry about the recoil, she didn't know that recoil was supposed to hurt. Even though she didn't hit the oil can she wasn't discouraged and by the time she was 13 she could hit anything she aimed at with the big gun...my father left us quite a while ago and all his children received various guns from him but the big gun was left for sis...

On occasion we get together at a family farm and bring guns of all manner including sis who still shoots her big gun as well as any one of her brothers. So it's funny to me to this day when I hear grown men complaining about recoil and handguns. So some of you call it chest thumping, me I know better!
 
I live in Florida, so depending on the time of year and attire, I either carry a PF9 or a compact 1911 chambered in .45

The PF9 was designed to be a carry weapon, not a range plinker. Running a 50 round box through it at the range is going to hurt!
But that's the tradeoff for having a lightweight firearm you will carry versus a heavy firearm that stays in your gun safe.
 
@ Remllez: I appreciate your perspective, but I think you're minimizing the effects of recoil. By your own admission, your little sister didn't hit the target when shooting that .44 Mag. She didn't complain about the recoil, but clearly it affected her ability to use the gun effectively. She may have been able to shoot 6 rounds from that gun without complaining, but I'm sure she'd have a different opinion after shooting 200 rounds of it in one session.

My point about "chest thumping" is that disliking recoil isn't the manly-man thing to do, so I think a lot of people try to act like it's no big deal. They like to point out how they shoot 3" magnum slugs and .500 S&W Mag and .50 BMG, so only a wuss would care about shooting 9mm in a pocket pistol. I say if you practice less often or shoot less accurately because of that recoil, then it's not so trivial.
 
Sold my PF-9 at the beginning of the year. Getting around to replacing it with another PF-9, or maybe a Walther PPS .40 if I can scrounge up some extra $$$.

I always used the magazine extension, so I could just barely get my pinky squeezed up onto the grip, so my hand is tight, almost (but not quite) uncomfortably so around the grip. Holding it like that... yeah, it still kicks. The gun recoils, I'm not going to lie about that. But the recoil never BOTHERED me.

I don't know what else to say about that.
 
it kicks pretty hard for a 9mm
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agreed, and it 'kicks' less than a lightweight 1911
Both are definitely manageable but can be unpleasant, especially if you're tense. It's not a great gun but it is a good one and I won't be selling mine anytime soon.
 
Even with the pinky extension on the mag, I can only fit two fingers on the grip. With the pinky extension they fit very well, though. Yes, I have big hands. Recoil wasn't bad at all. I wound up shaving my grip to fit my hand better, removed those ridges on the front and backstrap and shaved the area under the rear of the slide to remove the squareness. That did away with the bruises beside my thumb. It's one of my EDC guns right now. It's a very early serial number, I had a lot of problems with it originally, but after going back to Keltec it was rebuilt with all the updates and is now a very reliable pistol.
 
Effigy said:
I sense some macho chest thumping in this thread... If you don't think the PF-9 has stout recoil, you're either kidding yourself or you have reduced sensation in your hands. It's a diservice to others to act like it's a soft-shooting gun when, in fact, it kicks pretty hard for a 9mm and you may mislead readers into buying a gun they won't like shooting. No one here has claimed it has "wrist-breaking recoil" but the recoil is harsh compared to most guns of similar caliber. That said, I'm willing to accept an unpleasant shooting experience from this gun because it's so easy to carry/conceal.
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Nah, just people need to shoot more big calibers (which 9x19 isn't). Claims that the PF9 will hurt your hand or you won't want to shoot more than 50 rounds at the range are a bit overblown unless someone is a new shooter. Full power .357 out of my g/f's snubby will hurt your hand eventually. The PF9 just likes to flip its muzzle due to the bore axis being higher than I think it ought to be. This contributes a lot to perceived recoil because it can feel like the gun is trying to come out of your grip. The actual recoil force in your hand isn't that much, just more than compared to other 9mm pistols. But 9mm pistols are generally known for very controllable recoil. So, no, the PF9 is not a good gun for a new shooter. Certainly a horrible first gun. But if someone has a bit of experience it is darn fun, just hang on tight!
 
The recoil is very snappy, any looseness in the grip of the gun enhances that. It also has more muzzle blast than a full sized 9 which does increase perceived recoil. I don't think that 50 rounds of 115 grain generic ball isn't going to cause damage to your hand however. I would say the more you shoot it the more accustomed you become to it and the less it will bother you.

It is a great reason to buy the .22 conversion however...:neener:
 
Yes, I've shot one. No, I wouldn't own one. Too many people I know have had problems with them. Spend about $150 more and pick-up a Kahr CM9.......well worth the extra $.

YMMV
 
I have carried and shot one for over 2000 rounds. Snappy yes, unbareable recoil no, accurate yes, any problems no!!! I highly recommend this gun!!
 
I finally got my new out to the range. Between it and a glock 34 I burnt up 100 rds of Swiss made 124g DAG ball with 70% or more going through the kel-tec.

I found the little gun to be quite accurate for what it is and contrary to other posters rather pleasant to shoot.

I had only one malfunction and that was a failure to fire on the last round from the first mag that did go off on the second strike. I suspect ammo.

One thing I did notice is a lot of primer flow back into the flashhole. So much so ejected cases had the firing pin indent blown completely out.


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