Kel-Tec PF-9 Week: Day 6 - KTOG

The Blogger problem got me rattled and I forgot to add the following to Day 5 - Links.

There is a plethora of great information on the Kel-Tec Owner's Group PF-9 forum. Seriously. A. Ton. Of. Information.

And Golden Loki Fluff N Buff - the "gold" standard for improving reliability of your PF-9.

Kel-Tec PF-9 Week: Day 5 - Links

Kel-Tec PF9 - link to the manufacturer's website

Matt G's detailed experience with the PF9 at Better and Better - His experience mirrored mine exactly. Firing pin, here today and gone after the next round.

"We struggled with ammo combinations, and this last qualification, noted that it didn't eject well, and then didn't fire. I looked at it, and found that the extractor spring retention screw had backed out, which accounted for the problems with extraction. It also served as the firing pin retention screw, which accounted for the fact that the firing pin and its spring were gone. Not Present. Well, this was fixable. A call to Kel-Tec, and they again sent the parts free of charge. The lady with tech support cautioned us wisely: "Whenever you turn that retention screw, be sure to put some LocTite red on it before putting it back together!" Excellent advice."

Shooting Illustrated's "Skinny to the Nines" - a simple review of the PF9 and other small 9mm pistols. Interesting that they comment that the mag release is right where it should be.

Oleg has some glamor shots of the PF-9 at his Volk Studio Blog. Very cool shots that are worth a two seconds for the page to load. The .22LR conversion he shows is from Twisted Industries. A taste of Oleg's work:

Kel-Tec PF-9 Week: Day 4 - My Holsters

I don't carry all the time, but when I do, odds are it is with the High Noon Hidden Alley IWB. I usually wear something that will cover the gun, but with this holster I have the option of using the "hidden ally" (see the fourth picture below) to tuck a shirt over it. I'm no expert, but the leather seems to be sturdy and is not too thick. The Kel-Tec takes two hands to get it holstered and fits snuggly - no security concerns. Definitely worth the $37 I paid for it.






For those occasions when IWB isn't appropriate or I want to leave it holstered, but not on my person, I use the DeSantis Nemesis Pocket Holster ($18).

Kel-Tec PF-9 Week: Day 3 - Brick's Thoughts

My impressions..

Ammunition and Shooting
I'm not a great shooter and this isn't a very forgiving gun. If I had a better, stronger grip, I suspect the gun would perform better. I've not tried a lot of different ammunition with it, but the Federal 115gr RN seems to work best. It really did not like the Sellier & Bellot JHP (also 115gr I think). The Winchester White Box is marginal, too. When I try the WWB and have any looseness in my grip, I get a fail to feed. Blame me, blame the ammo, but the net effect is the same. The good news is that I'm aware of this, so when I practice, I'm working really hard to build better habits.

I can't complain about the accuracy of the PF-9 as I'm sure I am the limiting factor. I never intend on shooting this at long ranges, but I am comfortably consistent with it at short distances.

Size, Weight, Form
The PF-9 excels when it comes to size and weight. I don't carry all the time, but I don't feel uncomfortable when I do. I've got a pocket holster and an IWB that I use depending on the season and other circumstances.

I do have one issue with the layout of the controls. It doesn't happen all the time, but I occasionally hit the magazine release. The magazine drops just enough to prevent the next round from feeding. If you watched the Hickok45 videos yesterday, you will know he had the same problem.

Quality and Service
After shooting a few hundred rounds, my firing pin jumped out, disappearing in a pile of brass at the range, never to be found again. Some quick research revealed that this is a common issue and a little Blue Loctite will prevent the ejector from coming loose and subsequently freeing the firing pin to fly away. Kel-Tec sent me a free replacement firing pin quickly, but I'm surprised that they've not addressed the issue. It seems a simple fix.


Overall
Despite some issues, I'm happy with the gun. As I get better, it gets better. With the right ammo and a good grip, the gun works consistently. I would be perfectly happy with it if I could figure what I'm doing to make the magazine drop unintentionally.

Kel-Tec PF-9 Week: Day 2 - Hickok45

Hickok45 can really handle this little beast. On some of the shots, you would think he was shooting a .22 instead of a small, light, 9mm. He admits it jumps, but nothing like what it was doing to Nutnfancy (or even worse, me). He does complain that trigger bites his finger. It wears me out, too. Given how hard it is to shoot and how hard it is on fingers, it is no surprise that I don't want to practice with it a lot. He also mentions that problem with mag dropping. It happens to me, but I can't quite figure how I manage to hit the mag release.

Kel-Tec PF-9 Week: Day 1 - Nutnfancy

These videos are what brought the Kel-Tec PF9 to my attention as a good value for an everyday concealed carry gun.

Walther PPS

Hickok45 reviews the Walther PPS. And another review of the PPS. I had already been thinking about one of these even before I tried out Linoge's. I was surprised by how similar the dimensions are between it and the Glock 26. The width being the obvious and largest difference. I'd really like to compare the Kel-Tec PF-9 and the Walther PPS in person. I found this post that has some good pictures of the two guns.

Bullets & BBQ Knoxville Blogger Event

On Saturday, I enjoyed meeting several of the Knoxville area bloggers at Coal Creek Armory for friendly fire and some eats afterwards. It was really nice for me because I've just started this hobby (both the blogging and the guns), whereas some of these folks have been doing it for years. It was an interesting experience in that I had never met them in person before, but I felt like I already knew them through their blogs.

Attendees and their reports (in bold):
Les Jones - Notes from the Blogger Gun Bash
Linoge (plus Better Half joined for lunch) - After Action Report
Lissa
Liston Matthews (dropped by at lunch)
Rich
Michael J. Mollenhour (also joined at lunch)

The gathering also let me try out a few different guns and let others shoot mine. As you see in the post above Les liked my Kel-Tec. He didn't mention it in the post, but he was not a fan of the trigger on the CZ 75 SP-01. We also thought we had a problem with my P22, but it actually was working as intended - you can pull the trigger and the hammer will fall while the safety is on, but there is a block that keeps it from actually firing.

I shot a couple of wheel guns, which was a new experience for me. Les and Linoge told me the models I'm sure, but I didn't catch them in the heat of battle. I also shot Rich's Bersa 380. We had a couple of problems with that one. I had a failure to feed while I was trying it out. A neigbor of mine also happened to be in the lane next to us, so I got to try out the S&W Bodyguard 380. I wanted to fall in love with it, but I didn't. He said it was hard for him to shoot accurately and I was way low and left with it - even with the laser (which probably needed to be adjusted since it had come back from S&W). He had another buddy shooting high right. I'd like to blame the gun, but that's some odd data.

The highlights for me were Linoge's PPS and Les' Browning Buckmark. I shot my Kel-Tec PF-9 pretty well that day, but I'm still looking for an alternative. I really liked the PPS - it is a good size and the manual of arms is very similar to the P22 that I like. This meet-up may end up costing me some money if I decide I need one of those. And thanks to the Buckmark, I now know what a really good trigger is like. Les had some work done to the .22 and it has really paid off. That thing was smooth as silk. The fiber optic sights were a nice upgrade as well.

Thanks to everyone that showed up and shared guns, ammos, and stories.

Picking a Gun, Picking a Holster

Pick a gun for a new shooter. I started with a Walther P22 as my first gun. It is a good trainer for many semi-autos. The sights have a lot of air in them, but it is an easy gun to shoot. The mag release is in the trigger guard, but I actually like it there. I don't recommend starting with a Kel-Tec PF-9.

Pick a holster*.

The author does not mention if he gave the holsters the extreme test.