Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Kel-Tec PF-9

Anyone have one of these? Are they any good or junk? Found one slightly used for 250, seemed kind of loose for such a new gun, are they all like that?
Typically im not a fan of mouse guns, but they do have their place i suppose.

Had one. It was okay. For $250, it's not a bad buy. Found it no easier to carry than larger, better guns, so down the road it went.

Mine functioned well. I carry it nearly every day. Its held up well for a couple of years now.


Was easy to carry, could pocket carry in a front pocket without too much trouble although I prefer IWB. Each person has to decide how much weight and bulk is too much. One feature of the size I do like is that I can start out with IWB in the morning and if I decide to shed my jacket, I can switch easily to front pocket carry.

Its not that fun of a pistol to shoot. accuracy is ok.. probably more of a fucntion of the sights, short sight radius and long trigger pull than the inherent accuracy of the pistol. Certainly more than enough for its intended purpose.

The grip is compact (as one would expect) and is abrasive if you do much shooting. When I bought it I went through several boxes (5-6) getting used to the pistol and now I usally just fire off one or two magazines every time I go to the range, maybe twice week. Back when I was shooting 50+ rounds in a session it was rough on the hands.


I don't really consider it a mouse gun, more like a mid size. Its a little big for every day pocket carry, a 9mm+p is a bit of a step up from a 380. In fact I am not so concerned by the lack of firepower the pistol has but more that it doesn't look that imposing, a problem my 45 likely wouldn't have.

NoKnees covered it pretty well. Mine has been 100% reliable so far. Yes, they do have some loose tolerances - and that likely is some of the reason for the great reliability. They are not built to last through years of shooting - KT even states so in the manual. They are meant to be shot a little and carried a lot.

I actually find the PF9 to be reasonably easy to shoot and get good hits at the close ranges I would be likely to have to use it. It serves well as something to carry when you can't conceal a real gun or have to minimize weight. But - if you're not already used to shooting a small DAO in a "fighting caliber", this one might not be a real good one to learn on.

Thanks for the replies. I was considering this for a petit woman with small hands. Concealability is the primary purpose.

I have heard that a man should marry a woman with small hands for reasons I wont mention here. The down side to that is finding a handgun that she can reach the trigger properly.

I know these smaller handguns arent much fun to shoot, but being its not a "shoot all the time, target gun" It would most likely only get used when SHTF anyway. Ringing ears and a sore hand would be the last things to worry about.
Maybe a small revolver would be better?

One good thing to check is how well she can rack the slide. Those little autos can be as hard or harder than some full size ones.

I have one and I agree its not going to be Legendary, but it shoots its a bit rought in my trigger finger kinda pinched scrapes

But it feeds everything I put through it
Hank

I went to the gunshop intending to buy one. I bought an LCP instead.

To me, the PF-9 is one of those neither fish now foul kind of things.

It's a bit too big to be a true pocket pistol and it's not built heavy enough to adequately handle the cartridge it's chambered for,..regarding either controllability or durability.

Basically, they're too little to be a 9mm and too big to be a pocket pistol.

I have one and like it a lot. Fits in my jeans and suit pockets, but I am a larger than average man. Like the others have found mine is reliable and dependable, and I find it easy to shoot and comfortable for what it is. GREAT trigger for a pocket DAO gun, btw.

That's usually a good bet. Model 60 or SP101.

We have had 4 of those Kel-Tec's and nothing but problems with the first 3. The 4 was ok but just not worth the hassle of something breaking or jamming on the pistol like the other 3 did.

Best to get yourself a GLOCK or H&K in sub-compact model and cal. in the 9mm Luger for the lady. These pistols have a great track record period. My wife carrieda Glock model 26 in 9mm until she went to the .40cal later in the Glock 27 sub-compact.
If your gonna bet your life on a pistol, make it one with a great track record and quality built in the first place.

I have a:
P11 9mm
P32 32acp
P40 40S&W
P357 357Sig
P3AT 380
PF9 9mm

I have never had a malfunction.
I bought all them to overload them to see what would happen.
I probably have 1000 hours into working up every powder with every bullet in the P11 to the point of case failure.
I was carrying a PF9 today.

These are not nice guns.
If you want jewelry like guns that project your status, these are the wrong guns.
If you want dead nuts accuracy, these are the wrong guns.
If you want a gun that is fun to shoot at the range, these are the wrong guns for you.

But if you want the lightest, narrowest, cheapest, concealed carry pistol with great reliability, these are the guns that dominate that niche.