Mild load for Kel-Tec PF9?

[FergusonTO35]

Hey guys. I just bought a Kel-Tec PF9 and its going to take alot of shooting to get used to. I am looking for a dependable load for this little gun that produces 850-900 fps, sort of like a hot .380 Auto. I have 115 and 125 grain boolits, my powders include Bullseye, Titegroup, Accurate #2, Green Dot, Unique, and SR4756. Any suggestions out there?

[leftiye]

I went to a 90 grain JHP and 700X powder. This is in the ballpark with the top powders, the Vihtavourhi offerings as to velocity produced and doesn' cost a small fortune per lb. I didn't go for a top load, but backed off slightly, but not anywhere like enough to make it a 380. My daughter was looking for a small pocket gun and I let her take it, she says the loads were manageable for her.

Dang thang about took the skin off my hand with Golden Saber 125 grainers. Handy as heck size wize, but a single action can be held much better, and be more accurate. I much prefer SA/DA pistols to the DAO things. Of course a somewhat larger gun will handle recoil betterer, and be more accurate. It really can't be said that the 12 oz. gun handles recoil at all let alone well.

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks. Yesterday I mixed up some loads with 2.8 grains of Bullseye and 115 grain boolits. These were very accurate by small DAO gun standards and very easy to shoot. The worst part of this gun is the shape and size of the trigger. It's thin, has too much of a forward curve, and has a sharp point on the bottom. I rounded the point, which immediately made a noticeable difference. When I get some time I will disassemble the gun, heat up the trigger, and straighten it out a little bit.

[Beerd]

Ferguson,

A cure for your trigger issue can be found here

http://www.northwoodcomp.com/

I load the Lee 105gr SWC with 3 point something of Unique for some pretty easy shooting in that little pistola.
..

[FergusonTO35]

Tonight if I have time I'm going to heat up the trigger and bend it downward a little. I rounded the sharp point on the bottom of it and that by itself made a difference. The trigger pull on this gun is really not that bad but the design is terrible. I ordered a Lee 356-120-TC mold and am going to work up some loads for it.

[leftiye]

Great idea on the trigger! Mine pinches my finger between it and the guard. Pizzes me off. A mild load of bullseye is 4 grains in my S&W compact. Just sayin'. Actual self defense lives in a fairly powerful range of ctgs/loads. One can fall out of the bottom of this dilemna. Light, and easily concealable can (and the pf9 size of guns probly is) be carried to the point that adequate power can't be handled well, and accuracy IS necessary. The DAO doesn't help at all, just makes them cheaper to produce. To my thinking, if this little beast can't do better than a .380, I'd just toss it and get another gun. NAA (I think) makes a nasty little 380 thang necked to .32 that might be adequate though a little heavier. Any of a number of surplus da/sa medium size guns in .380 or 9mm Mak (say a Walther PPK) will be a lot more gun than a de-balled 9mm pf9. Let us know how the trigger re work goes. Now to get mine back from my daughter, LOL.

[FergusonTO35]

I removed the receiver from the grip of the pistol yesterday and did the trigger mod. This gun is very easy to take apart and of a simple design, it reminds me of Bill Ruger's thinking. Apparently the plastic used in these guns has a high melt point. I had to soak the trigger in water at a rolling boil to get it to bend. I reshaped the trigger to a nice gentle curve and reassembled. Putting it back together is easy, you just have to make sure the hammer block reengages the hammer properly. I'll post a pic when I get a chance.

The carry load I am going to create will be the Lee 120 grain flat point boolit at 900 fps or so, which is .38 Special or hot .380 Auto performance. I'm a firm believer in carrying a gun and ammo that you can shoot with decent comfort and accuracy. I believe the current trend of putting ever more powerful cartridges in ever smaller guns is a step in the wrong direction, at least it is for me.

[Digger]

Been a Kel Tec fan for a quite a while ... we all have different taste and these have grown on me.
Have a P 11 and lately it seems to like my loads of 3 gr of WST with a 125 gr hp of Miha's design , comfortable shooting and accurate.
Took me a while to get there but we have the advantage here by casting and loading for what will work.
The other one is a P 40 ... not made any more and I could blame my entire hobby or addiction here with the cast boolits crowd on this particular little power house .
Wanted to find a load that would work with it and the entire process lead me to hand loading and casting.
Now it is one nice little shooter also ... dependable and accurate once you get used to the long trigger , D-A only .
Like them a lot as I find myself liking this type of action with no safety's ,deliberate trigger pull , nice to have when you are fumbling around in the dark to grab the gun ,or in and out of a holster, kind of an advantage compared to a lighter touch single action or so .

When I let other people at the range give them a try , the response is always with a smile
and " just always thought these were just cheap little guns and not worth it ".
Love to change their minds ...:)

digger

[FergusonTO35]

Yep! I'm a big Kel-Tec fan too. I love my P32 and hope to finish the load work on it this spring.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

My P-11 has eaten probably 3K of mid to top end 9mm loads, mostly with a 120 gn TC bullet from a 6-cavity group buy here a few years ago. My P3AT is probably close to 1K now of mid to top end loads of .380 ACP. Mostly a 100 gn TC from a 6-cavity group buy here a couple of years ago. I let a P-40 slip by before I knew what was going on. My buddy gave it to his son. Neither liked it because of the recoil. I loved it. Snoozing .... KelTeks get a lot of bad press they don't deserve. Mine have never failed. As for the pinching finger part, I filed the bottom of the trigger a bit and get by. Maybe it is how I grip the gun and trigger.

[Digger]

Don't mean to hyjack your thread here Ferguson .... bit fun to yack on the Keltecs tho ....
Yes Rattlesnake , major portion of the public could not shoot the P-40 with out problems with off the shelf ammo , namely the 180 gr rds.
Keltec gave up on them with all the returns ....
Now as time goes by , they have turned into collector items as some of the fans are always looking for them.
With a little effort , they are a nice package to use with a 135 gr or 165 gr at the most off the shelf.
Between swapping out springs with Wolf and using another mold from Miha (can't tell I am a fan of his work ) that comes out with a hp at about 156 gr. with bit of one of the faster powders , it is a very functional gun with accuracy to boot and backing off of the nasty recoil .
I was lucky enough to pick up a convertible slide kit from Keltec that goes from the 9 mm to the 40 s+w a few years back.
Also an original P-40 , so now I have 2 and a half guns , forgot when they quit building them but they are a nice gun to "pack" when you have the occasion to.
By the way , the pick in my avatar are the rounds made for the P-11 ..... been up there a while ...:roll:

digger

[FergusonTO35]

You're not hijacking the thread at all. I'm enjoying our Kel-Tec Konversation!!

[FergusonTO35]

Thought I would post an update. I loaded up 3.2 grains of Bullseye and a Federal Gold Medal small pistol primer with the Lee 356-120-TC slugs at 1.050 OAL. Last Friday the weather finally cooperated and I tried out the load in my PF9 and also my Ruger SR9c. This load is very accurate, sure functioning, and easy to shoot in both guns. Across my chrono it gets 950 fps out of the PF9 and 965 out of the SR9c with a very low spread. Looks like I've found my load!!

[freebullet]

I didnt like the pf9 I had. Even after a couple trips to the factory it just wouldn't run well enough to trust it. I made a couple holsters for it, anyone interested in buying or trading for them pm me. They are new, I never even carriedtthe gun do to it being unreliable. 65459

[FergusonTO35]

It seems like with Kel-Tec the gun is either forever 100% reliable or unfixable ***, no in between.