PF-9

[sarge48]

I had one. Wanted to love it. The firing pin snapped in half after 400 standard velocity 115's and almost made my semi and full auto. I like what KT is trying to do but for my needs, reliability and confidence I carry a Glock 26 or even my wifes Ruger SR9c. I'm not saying they won't ever fail but doubt you'll ever see a G26 with a broken firing pin. Either pistol is backed up with a J frame Centennial.

Save another $150 or so bucks up and buy a top tier pistol. KTs customer service is great but it will not be there if your pistol fails when you need it the most.

Best of luck.

 

[wnycollector]

I'm surprised the trip back to KT didn't solve the problem.

KT replaced the extractor and buffed the feed ramp. Their customer service is top notch, but the pistol was still not 100%

 

[trigun87]

I love my beat up pf-9, I carry it daily and it works great. I have shot a minimum of 750 rounds threw it and I'm the second or third owner. Like the others I don't shot 147 grain threw it but I will try and see how it works out. Every other type of ammo has been fine.

 

[psyshack]

I agree gym. There is a lot of room for improvement concerning the pf-9. But to be fare. There is also a lot of room for improvement on some of the shooters part at times that own these little fire cracker pistols.

I have shot the heck out of my pf-9. Yes I have cracked the slide at the slide hold back notch. I also openly admit to shooting a heck of a lot super hot reloads through it. Way over book loads. At well over 6k rounds i still carry it daily. It shoots 115, 124's and 147's. It does not jam, miss fire, fail to chamber or extract. And did so right out of the box. It came with the 1st gen metal mag release. It has never dropped a mag during fire.

Some look good and work great out of the box. Some look bad and work great out of the box. ( That would be mine. ) And yet some look bad and don't function worth a crap out of the box. The single biggest issue I have seen with pf-9's out of the box to a poorly machined firing pin bore. I have seen them way off center and at a angle. They then will not fire right at all and require a new slide that KT will send you if you mail your bad slide in. When I sent my cracked slide in I striped it. No sights, firing pin, extractor, nothing. They sent me back a fully dressed out slide less barrel and what i would call a full armor's replacement parts kit.

I will continue to carry my pf-9 and shoot it every time I go to the range. And know if I have even a hint of a issue KT is just a phone call away with new parts in the mail pronto.

At the price point and size I think it's a great idea that only needs a tad more tuning to make it a great pistol.

Here is a series of videos I did on my pf-9.
http://www.youtube.com/user/psyshack1?feature=mhsn#p/u/7/beE1uENqU5Q

 

[hardluk1]

hay gym Buy what you want and hope like heck you get a good one . To darn many of use have had good exerience with our's . Mine had around 2000 rounds total fired thru it with ZERO issues. I don't know if a most 1911 will do that. You do come across like you have a large chip, I mean log to carry. Just tell them your tired of a firearm that undependable and maybe they will give you your money back. And then you can go buy what you want and try to be happy.

Guy I am sure you read all the whinning about taurus this and taurus that. I carried a taurus 85SS for 22 years It is one darn great revolver. Never failed at anything and I have not found anything that could replace it. You might be the guy that buys a pile of taurus poop. Such are the breaks in life. OH KT is the thrid largest firearm maker sold in america. Just sell or return or burn your kt and go on with life.

 

[The Sarge]

I mainly trust my life to Glocks/S&W Wheel Guns or MilSurp (Old Commie) auto pistols.

I got into a few of these KelTecs and found poor quality. Lack of deburring. Holes not in the same location from one gun to the other....etc. etc.

I started "fixing" these things and ended up with a bunch of them. I can get 'em to run good. Some for many many rounds. Some are just habitual problems.

Not much to them really.....so I took it as a challenge and have gotten to the point I can get them to run very well. Takes some bench time....no doubt about it.

Would I buy a new one? Hell no. Do I have KelTec PF-9's that I would trust my life with. Yes I do. And I have a few I would not.

My bottom line on this whole KelTec thing is simple really.

KelTec has limited to no quality control. So what happens is one fella will fix his gun one way and that will not apply to all of them as the tolerances are so lousy...so you end up with 49 kazillion threads on their forum about FTE or FTF etc. Each gun is a individual and not a mass produced product with QC along the process.

If you get a "bad one" then you got a doorstop.

Is KelTec gonna change anything? Hell no. The principals are getting rich with their existing business plan. They are not going to change a damn thing.

 

[gym]

Hardluk1 I never complained about a taurus and have had plenty of them, no any other but 19mm kahr when they first came out.Like I said I defended these guns for years, Like Sarge and a lot of other guys said there is no way you are going to know what you got untill it has a poblem, may be day one may be day 1000, I have worked on a lot of guns, I can even get this pf9 to work, but that's not the point.
I would not advise a new shooter to buy this gun, most folks don't have the time knowledge or ability to diagnose and fix what should be a woking pistol new out of the box. If It's a parts gun or a kit, that's something else, but to recommend this to a guy who is looking for a reliable 9mm for a low price point for protection is just wrong. That's my point.
It could turn a guy off to guns getting one of these as a new shooter. Thank god the lord bless me wit enough funds to have 6, 9mm pistols of this basic size, so it matters not that this one is now out of rotation for good, "even though it now funtions wit 115's in it". I would avoid it. The evidence is out there it's not a chip on my shoulder it's a problem that a company finds too expensive to recall all the guns and fix them.
This is quite common with a popular model of any rpoduct, replacing a few million parts will bankrupt a company, so they avoid it.I have other inexpensive guns that shoot just fine, 2 taurus pistols, an lcp. A few adjustments and they all work fine, some for 15+ years. But honestlly I would recomend a used Glock before this inferior product. I have had 6 Glocks and never had a problem with any of them, Now I am not going into more expensive guns, you can get a 26 for $475.00 and it will go band every time. The money is an insignifcant amount, when weighing it agaisnt your life.Buds was selling police turn ins, and closeouts of similar guns for close t the same amount, If half of us were half right, there should be no argument about if this is a safe gun to carry for self defense.

 

[heeler]

Back in January I was at a large gun show and had my heart set on buying a sub compact carry 9mm.
There was a dealer that carried Kahr and Kel Tec.
I handled the PF-9,Kahr CW9,and PM9.
The CW9 fit my hand well but I did not like it's over all size for pocket carry.
The PF-9 was a bargain at $265.00.
I settled on the PM9 with night sights.
Of course it cost $655.00,which was a mountain of difference in price between it and the PF-9.
However the quality between the two was also a mountain of difference.
I now have 440 rounds through my PM9 without any problems and have used all sorts of ammo through it including 147 grain hollow points.
This is one pistol that I will not part with.
I have read so many stories of Kel-Teks going back to the factory so many times that I am very leary of them.
But I honestly would like to own a P32 for some reason or other.
Recently I looked at a Kel-Tec P3AT as a possible replacement for my now problematic Diamondback 380 but after really comparing it to the Ruger LCP,I bought the LCP.
Although I have heard a lot of good about the P3AT,it frankly looked and felt cheap.
And I have also read a lot of bad about the P3AT.
After cleaning the LCP I took it to the range with four different brands of fmj ammo and fired off 75 rounds without any failures to feed or eject.
It was 100 per cent.
So maybe I am lucky with both the PM9 and LCP but maybe not.
They may just be better built than the Kel-Tek.

Edit to add...One poster asked about the DB9...Well reading about it it over at the DB forum it too has some issues.

 

[pockets]

I own five Kel-Tec pistols; a PF9, a 1stGen P-32 (4th month of production), a 2ndGen P-32, and two 2ndGen P3AT's.
NONE of them have required nor received a fluff'n'buff, none have been returned for repair, all of them have simply functioned 100% out of the box.
Go figure? I'm just the solitary lucky K-T owner I guess? ..... HARDLY!
BTW: I own several dozen pistols suitable for carry use....most of them are certainly more pricey than a Kel-Tec. Most of them are certainly better looking than a Kel-Tec. However, most of the time a Kel-Tec is what I carry; reliable, thin, lightweight, and quite suitable for it's intended role.
.


.

 

[hardluk1]

I still say beleave some people are just not ment to own with some firearms. It does not matter if you had 50 years of carry'n. You hate your KT, just be done with it. My point about Taurus and kahr is there are people that feel just like you about those brands. Contact kt and see if they will buy it back and be done . For a smaller company that built and sold enough firearms to become number 3 in sales last year with as few peoducts as they offer can have some problems. Just like ruger did or taurus ,sw, kimber heck all of them. You will never be happy and should just move along.

 

[MachIVshooter]

If you get a "bad one" then you got a doorstop

No, you have a gun that you send back to KT and they'll repair or replace at no cost to you. Usually pretty quick, too.

Is KelTec gonna change anything? Hell no. The principals are getting rich with their existing business plan. They are not going to change a damn thing.

KT is constantly changing designs to make them better. They even take input from customers. No, they will probably never see the refinement of a Kahr. That's why they're $269 instead of $699. And that is the business model.

The company produces some of the most innovative guns to see the market in a half century, and they do so at a very reasonable price point. They are the third largest handgun maker in the US now, and simply can't keep up with demand. They're trying, building new facilities, outsourcing when they have to (which has been the root of certain problems), but it's gonna take awhile. It is a small company that had a meteoric rise, and is struggling a bit with meeting demands. Most of what comes out is excellent, but there are lemons, same as any other manufacturer. Difference is, KT really stands behind their product.

I have five presently, will own more. One required minor tweaking (PMR-30), the rest ran fine out of the box (P32, PF9, P3AT, PLR16).

 

[The Sarge]

Wrong. The guns I get have already been back to KelTec numerous times friend.

I strongly disagree with you on the second part of your comment. First one is just plain wrong.
I am happy for them "trying" to build new facilities. I hope they do introduce some QC in their production. It would be new for them. KelTec makes a decent gun for the price. But not many qualified people would recommend for defensive carry for sure.

Home Depot sells organic fertilizer for just a few bucks a bag. Bargain huh? Just cow crap in a bag....but it is cheap therefore must be a bargain utilizing your rational.

 

[MICHAEL T]

I own five Kel-Tec pistols; a PF9, a 1stGen P-32 (4th month of production), a 2ndGen P-32, and two 2ndGen P3AT's.
NONE of them have required nor received a fluff'n'buff, none have been returned for repair, all of them have simply functioned 100% out of the box.
Go figure? I'm just the solitary lucky K-T owner I guess? ..... HARDLY!
BTW: I own several dozen pistols suitable for carry use....most of them are certainly more pricey than a Kel-Tec. Most of them are certainly better looking than a Kel-Tec. However, most of the time a Kel-Tec is what I carry; reliable, thin, lightweight, and quite suitable for it's intended role.
.

I also own 5 KelTec's 1. PF-9 1. P3AT and 3 P-32's and like pocket none needed fluff and buff or returned to factory . I also have many other carry pistols but the KT does the job nicely. My wife has my CW-9 and carries a P-32 She likes it better.

Guess, pockets and I are just 2 lucky people. We have between us 10 working KelTecs Some would say that's a record. I just think good little pistols for the money.

 

[Dollar An Hour]

My P-32 has been flawless. Great mouse gun.

My PF-9 had the plastic mag release, which meant it dropped mags while firing. K-T sent me a new metal mag release & spring that I need to install. I hope this works, because I really want to be able to trust this pistol. Lots of punch in a very small package.

But if it continues to have issues, I'll dump it and move on. Life is too short to have to beta test pistols for a gun company, or pay overnight shipping on a $229 gun.

 

[gym]

I finally dumped mine after neither of 2 gunstores would even take the gun on any basis, and it sat on fl shooters network and Guntrader for 6 months. I traded it in on partial payment "very little" on a new AR carbine. The funny thing was the guy at shoot straight and my gun store both said the same thing, "no one wants these any more", But since you are spending some serious money i'll give you something for it. The last time I took it out it was going along fine and then failure to feed and failure to fire and of course . I looked at the ammo, and there were a few 147's mixed in with the 115's. I loaded a mag of straight 115's and it fired the entire mag. Mine apparantlly was one that had the sizing problem mentioned on their forums, too picky. It's gone and good riddens.The manager of Shoot straight said you did some nice work on this pistol, that's why I took it, I had the slide buffed to a nickle finish and the wrap around sticky grips on it. He looked at it as though he may want it for himself. The two gun stores here in vero won't even carry them.

 

[Nakanokalronin]

Had a PF-9 with thousands of rounds through it without a single hiccup. Sold it because it was when I wanted different guns so it ended up being sold towards another purchase. Slim and light, it was a great carry piece.

Had a P3AT that was 100% flawless in about 1,500rds up until I sold it. Very slim pocketable pistol and so well liked, Ruger decided to copy it. Sold it for the same reason as the PF-9.

I currently have a P238 as my main pocket gun but recently bought a billfold brown P3AT since I liked my other one so much......300 flawless rounds so far.

Other KT products I've owned have been a Sub2000 and PLR-16, both without an issues. KT makes a good product but when a product is sold in large numbers like the P3AT, LCP and other popular carry guns, issues will eventually come up.

 

[J_McLeod]

My PF-9 has never given me problems, despite being feed steel case, 115, 124 and 147gr ammo.