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Hi all, I'm considering a smaller and lighter carry gun for the summer and I'm about 90% set on a Kel Tec PF9. I know it comes in 3 slide finishes, Blued, Parkerized, and hard Chrome. My main question is: which finish is the most durable?

If you have a Kel Tec, which finish do you have and how is it holding up for you?

Have any of you with recently made PF9's had any problems?

Thanks.

Keltec PF9 Parkerized: I bought it, stored in a closet a year, pocket carried for about a month recently, finish holds up ok, I hear hard chrome is better, but they were in short supply and I was lucky to find any at all. I have not fired it yet, but I got it because I had a ...

Keltec P-11 used to be blued many many many years ago I think, lol ... had it for years pocket carry it daily, has the belt clip on it too, real reliable, it's my backup with 12 round mag to my Gloick 26, fired it a lot, can't recall ever having a problem, accuracy is good. I got it used, practically worn out looking, no blue on the slide from a police officer who carried it for years off duty and as a BUG.
All I've done is shoot and clean and carry, some minor pitting on the slide which has been there since I got it, ugly lookin' beast, works great. no telling how many thousands of rounds have gone through it, but it's accurate and reliable so I won't change barrels or do anything to fix what isn't broke.

Wish they had tactical sights available for them.

Transplant,
If you don't get enough info here, try ktog.org (kel-tec owners group). I haven't been there in a looong time. But I think they had a thread going that told about problems by serial # range. K-T may have fixed everything by now and the new ones may be problem free.
I have a P11 that is reliable. It has the hard chrome finish and has held up well after years of daily carry. The P32s we have are both hard chrome too.
K-T has excellent customer service if you do have a problem.

Good luck, OE

Get a blued one and duracote it. Or you can wait for the Neighborhood Watch Special PF9 I heard about on sunday.

Had a blued one. Tons of reliability issues when I first got it, but a no-cost to me trip back to the manufacturer solved all issues and it ran great. Very very accurate weapon considering it's size and it was completely reliable once it got re-worked.

I ended up selling it to a forum member about a year ago because I bought a Kahr PM9, which I later replaced with a J frame 38 special. I think I am set on a J frame for back-up / extreme light clothing carry. At least until I see something new and shiny.

I have a keltec p32 I use as a BUG almost 100% of the time. I have one the the older ones that has the spring loaded extractor not the spring steel one they use now. I have heard at least on the 32 that the spring steel extractor has had some issues. That is a turn off for me on that gun myself. If it came with a standard extractor I would likely own one. I guess they wanted to cut weight and cost by a tiny fraction. That said I have never shot one. they feel good in the hand and I think keltec is great bang for the buck.

I have one of the earliest P32s (s/n 005xx) and one of the early 1st gen P3ATs (s/n 005xx), both blued.

With only minimal care, neither has ever shown any inclination to rust. They have held up better than some of my stainless guns.

Actually, you can buy them duracoated now as well.

Thanks for all the input guys. I'm going see whats available for decent prices at the gun show in Allen in a couple weeks. Sounds like all the finishes are fine.

Don't do it. Trigger pull is so hard it is difficult to score good hits. Retaining spring for the mag rusts. Tang bites bad between thumb and forefinger. A Taurus 709 is a better choice.

It's a tool, and I love mine. It has been 100% reliable with ALL ammo tried. It's ugly , it's rough, however it does what I ask it to do. It's light, and goes BANG when I pull the trigger. 8 rounds of defensive 9mm is better than a truck full of rocks ANY DAY.

Napier wrote:Don't do it. Trigger pull is so hard it is difficult to score good hits. Retaining spring for the mag rusts. Tang bites bad between thumb and forefinger. A Taurus 709 is a better choice.

Thanks for the alternative, but I'm not interested in a gun with a safety. I've also looked at the LC9 and just dont want the extra thing to worry about if I need it to fire asap. I'm not going to be shooting it for score so top accuracy isn't my first priority.

Napier wrote:Don't do it. Trigger pull is so hard it is difficult to score good hits. Retaining spring for the mag rusts. Tang bites bad between thumb and forefinger. A Taurus 709 is a better choice.

The Pf9 trigger pull is about half of the P11's. About like a good S&W revolver in DA. I have no problem holding it on target at my practice ranges (3 to 21 yards).

If I had my choice I would get a hard chrome slide with a black grip. Blued ones are susceptible to sweat/rusting if not treated regularly. I have resorted to wiping mine down every evening to prevent rust. Some have used Johnson Paste wax successfully. Be advised that the grips that are "new" colors (other than blue or black I believe) are only surface colors. If the surface color wears off then you have white polymer showing through.

I have never had the "tang bite" as described above even with my large hands. I have had a bit of a problem with the tip of the trigger pinching my finger between it and the guard. An easy slight modification took care of it.

As far as Taurus being a better choice that is strictly personal opinion. My previous experience with Taurus warranty service left a lot to be desired. With Kel-Tec I had replacement parts in hand 3 days after sending an email explaining my problem.

2farnorth wrote:I have never had the "tang bite" as described above even with my large hands. I have had a bit of a problem with the tip of the trigger pinching my finger between it and the guard. An easy slight modification took care of it.

Can you elaborate on this modification? I have this issue as well.

terryg wrote:

2farnorth wrote:I have never had the "tang bite" as described above even with my large hands. I have had a bit of a problem with the tip of the trigger pinching my finger between it and the guard. An easy slight modification took care of it.

Can you elaborate on this modification? I have this issue as well.

There's 3 different ways of doing this: First off with any of them lightly file or sand the seam ridge in the middle of the trigger (and the trigger guard) and lightly round the tip so it doesn't have a "sharp" edge.
The way I used was to put a small section of electrical heat shrink tube on the trigger and heat it form on the trigger. That slightly widens and softens the trigger
The second way is to use a hair drier or small heat gun to open the shape of the trigger guard where it has that "bump" in the pattern. Some have even straightened the trigger a bit with the heat. I haven't been willing to try this yet.
The third way would be to purchase the Northwood aluminum trigger and install it http://www.northwoodcomp.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. I may do this yet.