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32 Posts
I'm new to Kel-Tec and the PF9 and wanted to share my experience.
I bought the pistol (black frame/blued slide) about a month ago for $275 at my local FFL. I carry a Glock 19 Gen 4 (5000 rds, 100% reliable) most of the year but wanted something small for warmer months to conceal with shorts and a t-shirt. I have a Kahr CM9 (1200 rds, 100% reliable) that I carry iwb in the summer but wanted something lighter and that wouldnt print in a pocket holster. Plus I needed an excuse to buy a new gun, but thats a different subject.
So far my experience has been ok with the function of the pistol, 3 FTE during a 200 rd break-in session, but that was with WWB. Since then it has been 200 trouble free rounds with Federal, Blazer Brass, and Speer Lawman. All FMJ, no HP's yet. Also, 2 KT magazines I bought for it only held 6 rds. I took them apart and found the springs not seated properly. Reassembled and problem solved.
The issue I have is with the finish of this gun. To put it bluntly, it sucks. At least it does on mine. The slide was covered with machining scratches and swirl marks, not to mention a small "dip" in the front of the slide. The grip was sharp edge after sharp edge, along the center seam, on the trigger, and along the front and rear of the grip. But the worst of all was the bluing. It started coming off the slide rails on the frame after the first 200 rds, then I noticed it coming off the slide after 300 rds.
I had enough. I got out the sandpaper, dremmel, bought some Flitz (great stuff by the way) and went to work. I read about the "Fluff and Buff" and decided to add to that a "Smooth and Contour". I started by polishing the barrel to a mirror finish, especially the feed ramp as the threads I read indicated this was a "must". I polished the chamber. I deburred the guide rail grooves in the slide. I deburred the firing pin chamber. I then went to work on the frame and trigger, smoothing with 600 grit all the sharp edges that made this gun uncomfortable to hold and shoot. I then took the dremmel to the pinkie extension and made it the same radius as the grip rather than the "hooked" shape it was. The gun is now actually nice to hold.
My next step at fixing this gun was to sand out all of those machining marks in the slide. I sanded, and sanded, and sanded (by hand) until I had removed the scratches and swirls and then polished with Flitz and Dremmel to a mirror finish. After much thought about what to do next (not really, like 30 seconds) I decided to Cerakote the whole fricken thing. But I wanted a professional finish, one that KT should have been able to do at the factory. And so, that is where my new PF9 is, with a gunsmith who is refinishing it in Stealth Black (frame & grip) and Titanium (slide and controls) Cerakote. It should be done next week and I can't wait to see what it looks like. Hopefully I can post some pics.
Sorry for the rant and bitchfest. I am not trying to bash KT or the PF9. I know you guys love your PF9s and I want to love mine too. My expectations for what I paid were probably too high. I know for less than $300 its not a Glock or a Sig, but I think most of the issues that I experienced and have read about on this site could be resolved with a little more quality control and TLC at the factory. I can't speak for anyone else, but I would have been willing to spend a little more for a product that didn't require home gunsmithing on my part to be reliable. I have heard Kel-Tec customer service is very good, but maybe that is because they have so much practice at it. Just sayin'.
Anyway, I am new to KTOG and the PF9 and just wanted to share my experience so far. And thanks to all those who have shared their experiences and advice because it helped me with alot of the work I did. I will say this...even though I had to Fluff, Buff, Smooth and Contour this PF9, there is something about the satisfaction in doing something yourself that feels good. Now if she looks good and shoots good when I get her back, I will feel even better.
J.
I bought the pistol (black frame/blued slide) about a month ago for $275 at my local FFL. I carry a Glock 19 Gen 4 (5000 rds, 100% reliable) most of the year but wanted something small for warmer months to conceal with shorts and a t-shirt. I have a Kahr CM9 (1200 rds, 100% reliable) that I carry iwb in the summer but wanted something lighter and that wouldnt print in a pocket holster. Plus I needed an excuse to buy a new gun, but thats a different subject.
So far my experience has been ok with the function of the pistol, 3 FTE during a 200 rd break-in session, but that was with WWB. Since then it has been 200 trouble free rounds with Federal, Blazer Brass, and Speer Lawman. All FMJ, no HP's yet. Also, 2 KT magazines I bought for it only held 6 rds. I took them apart and found the springs not seated properly. Reassembled and problem solved.
The issue I have is with the finish of this gun. To put it bluntly, it sucks. At least it does on mine. The slide was covered with machining scratches and swirl marks, not to mention a small "dip" in the front of the slide. The grip was sharp edge after sharp edge, along the center seam, on the trigger, and along the front and rear of the grip. But the worst of all was the bluing. It started coming off the slide rails on the frame after the first 200 rds, then I noticed it coming off the slide after 300 rds.
I had enough. I got out the sandpaper, dremmel, bought some Flitz (great stuff by the way) and went to work. I read about the "Fluff and Buff" and decided to add to that a "Smooth and Contour". I started by polishing the barrel to a mirror finish, especially the feed ramp as the threads I read indicated this was a "must". I polished the chamber. I deburred the guide rail grooves in the slide. I deburred the firing pin chamber. I then went to work on the frame and trigger, smoothing with 600 grit all the sharp edges that made this gun uncomfortable to hold and shoot. I then took the dremmel to the pinkie extension and made it the same radius as the grip rather than the "hooked" shape it was. The gun is now actually nice to hold.
My next step at fixing this gun was to sand out all of those machining marks in the slide. I sanded, and sanded, and sanded (by hand) until I had removed the scratches and swirls and then polished with Flitz and Dremmel to a mirror finish. After much thought about what to do next (not really, like 30 seconds) I decided to Cerakote the whole fricken thing. But I wanted a professional finish, one that KT should have been able to do at the factory. And so, that is where my new PF9 is, with a gunsmith who is refinishing it in Stealth Black (frame & grip) and Titanium (slide and controls) Cerakote. It should be done next week and I can't wait to see what it looks like. Hopefully I can post some pics.
Sorry for the rant and bitchfest. I am not trying to bash KT or the PF9. I know you guys love your PF9s and I want to love mine too. My expectations for what I paid were probably too high. I know for less than $300 its not a Glock or a Sig, but I think most of the issues that I experienced and have read about on this site could be resolved with a little more quality control and TLC at the factory. I can't speak for anyone else, but I would have been willing to spend a little more for a product that didn't require home gunsmithing on my part to be reliable. I have heard Kel-Tec customer service is very good, but maybe that is because they have so much practice at it. Just sayin'.
Anyway, I am new to KTOG and the PF9 and just wanted to share my experience so far. And thanks to all those who have shared their experiences and advice because it helped me with alot of the work I did. I will say this...even though I had to Fluff, Buff, Smooth and Contour this PF9, there is something about the satisfaction in doing something yourself that feels good. Now if she looks good and shoots good when I get her back, I will feel even better.
J.
