The Firearm Blog

[ I am pleased to present the first post in the series of guest posts that will run for the next couple of weeks. This post was written by Aaron Spuler. ]

I’d been looking at the local gun shops over the past few months, but they only have so much selection. The Saxet gun show is in Austin, Texas every third weekend of the month. Hadn’t been to a gun show in a while, and knew that it would be a good opportunity to not only see but get some hands-on time with a variety of different pistols. Specifically, I was looking for a reliable, compact every day carry pistol. I’d been planning on carrying my Bersa Thunder 380, but it is just a little heavy and large for daily carry. There is a variant of the Bersa Thunder 380 intended for concealed carry, but I just own the standard version. So I put together a list of different pistols to take a look at and did some online research before going to the show.

Kel-Tec PF-9

I was a little disappointed as the selection was not as varied as I’d hoped – predominantly Glocks and Sigs, with small amounts of others thrown in the mix. I did, however manage to get to handle a Kel-Tec PF-9. That was at the top of my list of pistols to check out at the show. The three vendors selling new Kel-Tec PF-9’s were selling them for anywhere from $15 - $65 over MSRP. In other words: not good. I’m glad I did a second look at one table, because there was a PF-9 on the table that I missed the first time around for under MSRP. Purchased the brand new Kel-Tec PF-9 for $302.85, including tax.

After the show I purchased an extra magazine, a Hogue Handall Jr. grip sleeve, and some Hornady Critical Defense 115 grain JHP ammunition to go along with the pistol. I already had a Desantis Nemesis holster, originally purchased for the Bersa Thunder 380, that the PF-9 fits into nicely.

I took the PF-9 out to the range on Saturday and put 130 rounds through it at a target posted 30 feet away. I tested a combination of 115 grain PMC FMJ and Winchester JHP. Both the FMJ and JHP ammunition cycled and fired flawlessly – I experienced zero errors (failure to feed, failure to fire, failure to eject).

The PF-9 does not possess an external safety, and relies instead on a double-action only (DAO) trigger. The trigger pull distance is slightly long, but the pressure is spaced evenly throughout, rather than a heavy jump right before the hammer is released. The trigger pull weighs in at a reasonable 6 pounds of pressure, similar to that of a double action revolver.

Surprisingly, for such a lightweight gun, I did not notice any issues with the recoil, and neither did another shooter that put 8 rounds through the PF-9. Perceived recoil may be slightly more than a full size pistol, but at 15.5 oz (fully loaded), that is to be expected with this size of pistol. Recoil is considerably less than that of a Ruger LCP, which weighs in at 9.4 ounces and fires the smaller .380 ACP cartridges.

The sight picture is a traditional 3 dot system, and point of aim is very natural. I could close my eyes, bring the PF-9 up to aim, and open my eyes to find the sights very near their intended location.

I tended to take up the slack in the trigger to about 80% and then jerk the remaining 20% during the first magazine. Although I was able to maintain a good sight picture, jerking the trigger caused groupings to be in the 8 – 10 inch range. After correcting that issue by maintaining a steady pull on the trigger all the way through, I found that the PF-9 is capable of more accuracy than I am. I was able to consistently get 8 round groupings that could be covered by the palm and fingers of one hand. The final 8 rounds fired for the day were in a grouping approximately 3 inches in diameter.

Once I have my license to carry (waiting on the state to finish processing my application) I'll be carrying this pistol with me everywhere I'm legally able to.

Kel-Tec have partnered with radio personality Michael Savage to produce a limited edition .380 P3A pistol that commemorates the ratification of the Bill of Rights.

The limited edition features:

• Hard Chromed slide.
• The word "Freedom" and "December 15, 1791" laser engraved on the slide.
• Crimson Trace laser.
• Two magazines.

Reminds me of Summer Glau playing a terminator.

Oleg Volk, master gun photographer, took this photo and more of the Kel-Tec RFB.

Snowflakes in Hell has interviewed Matt from Kel-Tec about their RFB .308 Bullpup rifle. It is very interesting and well worth reading.

Sayuncle has reviewed the Crimson Trace laser grip be bought for his Kel-Tec P3AT pistol.

Read it here.

After being delayed a few time the Kel-Tec RFB .308 Bullpup is now shipping.

Kel-Tec:

We are happy to confirm that the RFB is in production and shipping to distributors (yes, it’s true!). We are currently shipping small batches, however full-scale production will commence in the coming weeks! On a similar note, we have purchased three (3) new CNC machines specifically for RFB production.

More info on the RFB.

The Kahr P380 .380 micro compact pistol will be shipping next month (November 2008). This pistol competes with the Ruger LCP and the Kel-Tec P3AT.

The pistol was originally supposed to be shipping earlier this year in June. The press release today came shortly after the Ruger announced a recall on the .380 LCP. Coincidental? I think not.

I missed a press release that Kel-Tec issued last month. The 18″ barreled version of the bullpup RFB Carbine will be shipping next month.

In order to keep the costs down the rifle will not include sights, although it will include a Picatinny rail, and “will ship in an in-expensive box”.

RFB Carbine Features:

- 18” Chrome lined 7.62 NATO chambered barrel
- Birdcage flash hider included
- Front ejection of cases
- Top Picatinny rail for mounting sights (no sights included)
- Gunsmith replaceable barrel with adjustable headspace
- Click adjustable gas system for various power ammo, or suppressor use
- Accepts FAL metric magazines with straight-in/drop-free magazine well (one magazine included)
- Nylon sling and hardware included
- In-grip storage capability

More info on the rifle here.

An interesting holster made by Stellar Rigs:

These were announced by the manufacturer on rec.guns recently:

Our Kel-Tec neck chain concealment rigs were developed originally for
LEOs to carry the back up gun under their vests. Over time a number of
“civilian requests” had us make a vertical version for better
concealment. Now comes the “Extreme Duty” evolution. The most popular
question by phone or email is “how well does it hold?” Our standard
answer is “fine for cruising around in you car or walking but not well
enough to jump out of helicopters or off fences – is that what you want
to do?” The answer is usually no – but just in case.
We are now making “Extreme Duty” versions in Black and the sexy carbon
fiber laminate and they hang on almost as well as the NAA mini-revolver
models. In fact, You nearly have to “force load” them. Yeah, they hang
on good !

Personally I think the chain looks too thin and I could not carry a gun pointed to my chin, holster or not.

You may say that is superstition, and maybe it is, but I know of many cases of people shooting themselves in the foot while practicing for IPSC when drawing from holsters. I just would not feel comfortable.

UPDATE: I posted this in a hurry. Links to the manufacturer and rec.guns discussion are added.

Kel-Tec displayed their new RFB 7.62×51mm (.308) bullpup rifle at SHOT Show. SMGLee took some great photos.

With suppressor, nice!

Wikipedia has this to say about the rifle:

The Kel-Tec RFB High Efficiency Rifle (Rifle, Forward-ejection, Bullpup) is a gas-operated semi-automatic rifle with a tilting breechblock locking mechanism, manufactured by Kel-Tec Industries of Florida. It loads the 7.62×51mm NATO (.308 Winchester) cartridge and uses metric FAL magazines. The rifle uses a patented forward-ejection system via a tube placed over the barrel that ejects the spent case forwards, over the handguard of the rifle.

The rifle is a forward ejecting semi-automatic firearm chambered in 7.62 mm NATO (.308 Winchester), utilizing a short-stroke gas piston. To avoid the sloppy trigger pull typical of bullpup style firearms, the RFB utilizes a floating linkage bar between the sear and the hammer, allowing the sear to remain above the trigger. The weapon is fully ambidextrous, much in the style of the French FAMAS bullpup assault rifle. The RFB accepts FN FAL style magazines, and is delivered without iron sights. A mil-spec Picatinny rail is standard.

Here is a video of the rifle, clearly showing the forward ejection.

Kel-Tec plans to offer three different four versions each with a different barrel length:

• Carbine (18″),
• Sporter (24″),
• Target (32″ heavy barrel, or 26″ stainless steel barrel)

The rifle is expected this quarter (1st quarter 2008) in the forth quarter, see the comments by dogon1013.

More images after the jump.

Continue Reading »

The Good:
The little Kel-Tecs are very easy to conceal, with very little weight or bulk. They are also very inexpensive.

The Bad and Ugly:
On the 2nd or 3rd round fired, the little bracket that the guide rod slides through fell out and disappeared. I’m told that Kel-Tec now makes slides without this piece, the bracket is a part of the slide, rather than a separate part.

More here.

Guns and Ammo have a review here.

I ran a couple of different types of ammo through the pistol, shooting as fast as I could recover. There is a distinct upward flip to the muzzle. You have to accept this in an auto so light, particularly when most of the weight is in the top half. Still, it was possible to keep six fast shots in a vital zone, and that is all the P-3AT is meant to do. In my hands, the pistol delivered the first shot about eight inches low and left of the remaining five. There were no malfunctions.