Rock Your Glock

Ever since Glock pistols emerged onto the international shooting stage in the early 1980’s they became the thing of urban legend, mostly due their polymer frame. Knee jerkers from all sides surrounded the Glock pistols. “The polymer frame will never hold up!” “The polymer frame will flex, loosen, and be inaccurate!” My favorite was from the gun-grabbing liberals “the plastic pistol cannot be detected by security x-ray machines or metal detectors!” Wrong, wrong, and, as usual, stupidly wrong. Time has proven the first two prophecies decidedly incorrect and last declaration was stupidly wrong because it was uttered, accepted as fact, and published in the news media before anyone actually sent one through an x-ray machine or ran one through a metal detector. By now everyone should know that there is plenty of metal in the frame components, slide and barrel to set off any metal detector and everything in the pistol, including the polymer grip frame is visible on a airport x-ray machine; yet I still hear people refer to the Glock as being undetectable to airport screening equipment.

The Glock Motto is a simple one “Perfection”. One of the things that I have come to like about Glock pistols are their engineered simplicity. As such, I can appreciate the minimalistic slogan. However, “perfection” may be a stretch. I have been on the search for the perfect carry pistol for many years and have not yet found one which offers a terminal caliber, accuracy, controllability, capacity, and ease of concealment. Should I ever find the perfect carry pistol my life will become a bit dreary. The mid-sized Glock however, comes pretty close to filling the bill. They are easy to operate, the controls are conveniently located, they are easy to field strip and the Tennifer finish makes cleaning and lubricating a snap, the sights are good and the trigger is not bad. What all of this means is that the Glock is pretty good right out of the box.

My favorite mode of carry is the utilization of the clip draw attachment which I find has worked pretty well with the mid-sized Glock. I had been put off to trying to carry the the mid-size or, for the purposes of this review, the model 19C (9mm compensated barrel) and 23 (.40 S & S) concealed as people both in and out of the firearms media usually refer to them as the “Commander” sized Glocks in reference to the Colt Commander model which was downsized at ¾ of an inch from the Colt Government Model Model 1911A1. However, as the picture below shows, the mid-sized Glock is comparably smaller.

The mid-sized Glock is 1.15 inches shorter in length than the Commander sized 1911, and is a quarter of an inch shorter in height. This gives them an edge in concealment and, with the Clip Draw attachment it conceals easily under a bulky, loose shirt (if a Glock is to be employed with a Clip Draw attachment then the rearward movement of the trigger must be blocked. Please see the April 4th posting entitled “Clip Draw Concealed Carry Device” for more information). If the dress requires a lighter shirt, then the Smith & Wesson “J” frame revolver gets employed.

After deciding that a Clip Draw on a mid-sized Glock would be a good idea I eventually wound up trading for the .40 S.&W. model 23 and the 9mm model 19C. I have intended to write about these pistols in separate reviews, however along the way I added some customized features to both of them that begged to be compared in one article.

To the Model 23 I added AmeriGlo Speed Ring night sights and the Side Lock trigger (with manual safety) as the Clip Draw had been added. So far I am not sure if I will keep the Speed Ring night sights. Prior to their arrival and installation the model 23 had been extremely accurate. So much so that I sold the larger model 22 .40 S&W for which I had traded at the same time. I couldn’t justify tying up the capital when the smaller pistol was more accurate and with a capacity of 13 + 1 rounds of potent .40 caliber ammo, it was more utilitarian. However, with the addition of the Speed Ring sights accuracy has suffered. These sights are designed for combat and get you on target quicker for both the first and follow-up shots. However, in the process accuracy decreases; for a while I thought that I was coming back on target so quickly that follow up rounds were flying loosely due to the speed of acquisition. Since then I have taken my time with the follow-up shots and the truth of the matter is that the Speed Ring is large enough that it is difficult to place the front sight consistently within it. For the purposes of close quarter combat the Speed Ring is fine, but I would feel comfortable with more accuracy and may switch the model 23 to regular night sights. The targets below were fired prior to the addition of the Speed Ring sights (all targets were fired at 21 feet with either Winchester white box or Remington UMC 180 FMJ ammo unless otherwise noted):

The following targets were fired after the installation of the Speed Ring night sights:

(Top and Center 3 targets were shot with CCI Blazer Brass FMJ ammo. Bottom left was shot with CorBon 135 grain JHP and Bottom Right was shot with Speer Gold Dot 180 grain GDHP. Target was placed at 21 feet.)

The model 19C is a 9mm pistol with a capacity of 15 + 1 rounds. The “C” in the model number designates that it is has a compensated barrel/slide. I am here to tell you that this arrangement makes the 19C a real pussycat to shoot. Even the hottest +P+ ammo was very comfortable to shoot. I would put the felt recoil somewhere between a .22 LR and .32 ACP. The reduced recoil assists the shooter in making accurate shots and follow-up shots. This pistol again was very accurate right out of the box.

One of the caveats of a compensated barrel is the amount of barrel flash visible when shooting in the dark and how that would affect your vision. Unfortunately I am not in a position to tell you. My thinking is that this could be an issue however, the range on which I shoot is hardly what I would consider “well lit” and I have noticed no appreciable flash during my shooting in their more subdued lighting. On the other hand, when shooting my S&W 586 L-Comp .357 magnum, the fireball is quite pronounced in normal indoor range lighting.

Because I was adding the Clip Draw attachment I also added the Side Lock trigger. I also added an extended slide release and would recommend this enhancement to anyone who carries or shoots their Glock pistol a lot. The extended slide release does not add appreciable bulk to the control but makes it easier to access and operate. Best of all, like a lot of Glock replacement parts, they are inexpensive (the slide release was $18.00) and usually pretty easy to install yourself.

The final enhancement to the Glock model 19C was the addition of the Advantage Tactical sights. These are an odd looking affair consisting of a front sight in the configuration of a blaze orange pentagon. The rear sight is a triangle with two bright yellow bars making up the right and left side. They come together at the top and form the base that the pentagon fits into to complete the pyramid shape of the sights when they are on target. All that geometry makes it sound a lot more complicated than it is. I will tell you that I was a little apprehensive to put additional sights on the pistol when it worked so well out of the box. However, the Advantage Tactical sights may be a good compromise between the Speed Ring and regular sights. They can get you on target quickly and can be used slowly to line up more precise sighting.

At the moment the model 19C is my go to pistol for most occasions due to it's 15 +1 capacity, accuracy, and speed of target acquisition afforded by the Advantage Tactical sights.

All targets fired at 21 feet with Winchester white box or Remington UMC 115 grain FMJ ammo unless otherwise noted:

(35 rounds fired at 50 feet)

(Defensive Ammo: Target on the left is CorBon 115 grain +P JHP. Target on the right is Remington Golden Sabre 124 grain JHP)

Going back to my original criteria for making a perfect carry pistol, the downside to the 19C would be its ability to conceal easily. It is just a tad large for summer carry otherwise it fits the other criteria, dare I say, “Perfectly”.

The Browning Hi-Power

Legend has it that the Browning Hi-Power was born after World War I when France desired a large capacity service pistol. European handguns had traditionally been small caliber affairs that were more a badge of honor than an actual combat arm. It is very easy to imagine that the confines of WW I’s trench warfare demonstrated the woeful inefficiency of small handguns chambered for underpowered calibers. At the outset of the Great War France supplied their troops with the Lebel Pistole Revolveur Modele 1892 which chambered six rounds of 8mm ammo weighing 102 grains which exited the revolver at just under 700 feet per second supplying a mere 126 foot pounds of energy.

In the second year of the war France needed more handguns and selected the Ruby pistol which was a less expensive copy of the Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless.

The Ruby was produced in 7.65mm (.32 ACP) firing a 71 grain bullet at 904 feet per second that provided 129 foot pounds of energy. Contrast this to the .45 ACP round that Uncle Sam brought along which fired a 230 grain bullet traveling at 975 feet per second and provided 421 foot pounds of energy or about 4 times the knockdown power of the French side arms. The .45 ACP pistols and revolvers fielded by the U.S. Expeditionary Forces performed so well on the battlefield that General John “Blackjack” Pershing wanted every doughboy to be equipped with one.

The French turned to John Moses Browning and the Fabrique National factory in Belgium to design and produce the new service pistol. The story continues that Browning was determined to improve upon the venerable Government Model 1911 that he produced for the U.S. armed forces. The Hi-Power remained a hammer fired, single action pistol with a frame mounted manual safety, slide stop, and magazine release. Gone however, was the grip safety which had been a requirement of the U.S. mounted cavalry. Browning also designed an improved barrel link doing away with the 1911’s swivel link and replacing it with a fixed cam which made the barrel bushing obsolete. This was a great improvement as it made field stripping the pistol much easier as there were two fewer pieces (barrel bushing and recoil spring plug) to keep track of. The trigger was also redesigned and given a revolver style lever type trigger rather than the straight bar-type trigger on the 1911. The Hi-Power was produced in two models, a fixed-site version and a tangent site adjustable out to a very optimistic 500 meters. The later version was adopted by some artillery units of the Third Reich which issued them in a wooden holster that doubled as a shoulder stock.

Browning died in 1926, 9 years before the final version of the pistol was brought to the market in 1935 and the lines are somewhat blurred as to what features of the pistol were solely Browning’s and which were due to the influence of Dieudonne Saive, Browning Chief Engineer, who took over the project after Browning’s death.

For reasons unknown, France did not adopt the Model 1935 or Hi-power, as it has become more commonly known. This did not hurt Fabrique National as many other countries had lined up to purchase it including India, Austria, Australia, Argentina, Ireland, Luxembourg, Israel, Singapore, Venezuela, Malaysia, Rhodesia, and Finland . After the Nazis captured Belgium, they began arming their troops with the Model 1935. Prior to their occupation the pistol’s blueprints were smuggled to Canada when the John Inglis Company produced it for the Armed Forces of Canada, Great Britain, and China. The Hi-Power remains a mainstay in military and police inventories to this day. Sadly, it appears that it was also the favored side arm of Saddam Hussein who was frequently pictured with one.

The 13 + 1 capacity of the Hi-Power made it a hit with police officers as it was the only high capacity pistol on the market for quite awhile until Smith & Wesson bested the Browning with the 14 + 1 capacity of their model 59 which debuted late in 1970. In the early 1980’s when six shot .38 caliber revolvers were the overwhelming choice for our nation’s finest, I worked on the Southwest side of Chicago and I would have to say that the two most popular back-up guns for the patrolmen in the 10th District was either the Colt Detective Special or the Browning Hi-Power.

The specimen being reviewed here is a discontinued model dubbed the Hi-Power Practical. It sports easy to see fixed sights which have three unique white bars rather than the three dots found on most modern pistols.

I really tend to like these as they are easy for my aging eyes to pick up. The pistol also has a brushed chrome alloy frame with a high luster blue-black slide. The pistol originally came with Pachmayr rubber wrap-around grips we which were very nice, but not as nice as the Walnut Checkered grips from Hogue that you presently see on the pistol.

This pistol is beautiful and an ergonomic wonder; especially since it was produced before ergonomics blossomed into the uber-concept that it is today. I have never met anyone who picked up a Hi-Power and didn’t remark that is felt very good in their hand; the contour of the grips and the balance of the pistol is superb. Being that the magazine is a double stack it is larger than the Colt 1911 but not significant to the point that most people cannot handle it. In fact in most circles it is thought of as a slender and easily concealable pistol.

How She Shoots

The Hi-Power has had some reported trigger issues throughout its run, however I have never handled one that I considered bad. This specimen runs extremely smooth and provides great accuracy as demonstrated in the two targets below. The target on top was hit with 30 rounds of Remington UMC 115 grain FMJ ammo fired at a distance of 21 feet. The target on the bottom absorbed 50 rounds of the same ammunition at a distance of 31 feet.
In the 1970’s and early 1980’s the Browning Hi-Power acquired quite a following which began to wane in the mid 1980’s as the military, police, and civilian gun buyers became enamored with the Double Action Beretta 92. However, the Browning Hi-Power still has a lot to offer the public and I hope to see a resurgence in its popularity sometime soon.

Coming Attractions!

I haven't had much time to write, so here are some photos of upcoming reviews:

Left: Glock Model 19C 9mm with Advantage Tactical Sights Glock Model 23 .40 S&W with Ghost Ring Speed Sights.

Advantage Tactical Sights on the Model 19C with the Compensated Barrel/Slide.

Ghost Ring Speed Night Sights on the Model 23

Model 36 .45 ACP with Federal Arms Ported Barrel and Hi-Viz Night Sights

Browning 9mm Hi-Power with Hogue Walnut Grips

Smith & Wesson Model 952 9mm

CZ Model 97 .45 ACP

Walther THP .22LR

SIG-Sauer P6 with Heinie Straight 8 Night Sights and Wood Grips of Unknown Origin

Smith & Wesson Model 640 .357 Magnum

Clip Draw Concealled Carry Device

Having never carried a firearm professionally the concept of carrying one concealled has been quite foreign to me. Carrying has made me self-conscious, feeling that everyone could tell I was packin' a pistol. Shoulder, outside the waistband, and inside the waistband holsters all required a jacket or other outer garmet to finish the concealment process. I even tried one of the inside the waist band “tuckable” holsters which still gave me the perception that anyone with average observation skills could see the bulge.

For awhile I was comfortable with carrying a Colt Government .380 ACP Pocketlite model in the inside breast pocket of a kakhi Filson vest. That lasted about a year until the 5.11 vests became popular and then everyone was sporting kakhi vests which kind of screamed “Look at me! I’m packin’, shoot me first”.

I eventually tossed aside my vest for a pocket holster. First an Uncle Mike’s, then eventually upgrading to a DeSantis Nemises. This was workable but required fairly large pockets. I was concerned that the little .380 or the small Smith & Wesson “J” frame revolver were noticable but, if they were, no one ever mentioned it.

For six months I passed the “Clip Draw” attachment devices neatly pegged on the wall of the gun range and often looked them over never making up my mind to give them a try. Finally it hit me that it was only $20.00 and if I didn’t like it, I could always find someone to give me a couple of bucks for it. Fast forward and as I am typing this my S&W Model 340 M&P .357 Magnum is sitting very comfortably inside my waistband, just behind my right hip, securred there by a Clip Draw and concealed under my Nike polo shirt. I now have a Clip Draw also attached to my S&W 640 .357, and my Glock 19C, 23, and 36 in 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP.

The Clip Draw provides three distinct advantages:

1. It holds the handgun close to the body.

2. There is no added bulk of a holster inside your waist band.

3. Can easily be concealed under any shirt that can be worn untucked, however a small “J” frame will also ride pretty inconspicuously with a shirt tucked it.

4. I have encountered no hang-ups when drawing in practice.

When going into the stall of a public restroom you can easily slip the handgun into your pocket so that it is not visible underneath the stall should there be any Idaho Senators peering underneath. With a holstered handgun you would have to remove the entire rig and risk leaving the holstered handgun on the back of the toilet or on top of the toilet paper container.

The Scandium framed model 340 is a piece of cake to conceal and I genuinely forget that it is there. Happily, I can also fairly easily conceal a baby Glock (the model 36) and the mid-size models ( the 19C and the 23). All that it requires is a somewhat looser and thicker shirt (and with all models you will want to avoid lighter colored shirts as the contour of the handgun is more easily spotted).

There are a few minor caveats with the Clip Draw:

1. It is not easy to reholster quickly, larger handguns may require two hands. (However I do not see this as a huge problem as, if I need to defend my life with the handgun, I am not going to be worried about holstering the weapon so I can handcuff the perpatrator.)

2. A Glock should not be carried with a round in the chamber unless you employ a device to block the trigger movement.

There is always the chance that the trigger could catch on something as you are slipping the handgun into your pants. Now, this is very remote with the longer, heavier trigger pull of a revolver, but the lighter pull of the Glock, which has no manual safeties, could pose a problem. If you do not do something to block the trigger and it catches, you could wind up shooting a hole in your pants, your buttocks, leg, foot, or for the truly talented and unlucky, a combination of the aforementioned unintended mishaps.

Not to fear, there are two devices to help with this. Clip Draw provides another handy little $20.00 item which is called the Saf-T-Block. This is a curved piece of plastic that snaps in behind the trigger to block it’s movement. There is an allen head hex screw which allows you to adjust the amount of tension it will take to press the Saf-T-Block in and push it out. Upon drawing the pistol, your trigger finger merely pushes the device out the left side of the trigger guard. It is actually surprising how well this device functions. As it it under tension, your pressure when pushing it causes it to very positively snap out. Clip Draw makes them in both right and left handed models and, as an added bonus, there is a hole in the portion of the device that come through the trigger allowing you to insert a small padlock which gives you greater safety if storing the pistol in either a loaded or unloaded condition. There are two inherent drawbacks to the Saf-T-Block. First it is a stand alone device is small and is black in color, therefore it is easy to misplace, especially when laying around inside the darken grey interior of a gun safe. Secondly, use of the device requires practice since this is a manual safety and its location, behind the trigger, is counter intuitive to those of us used to frame mounted manual safeties. However, what I like best about the Saf-T-Block is that it is very evident when you place your finger onto the trigger that it is there.

The second safety device is the Side Lock Trigger available from Lone Wolf Distributors for about $50.00. This is a fully functional replacement trigger with a small, chrome button imbedded in the sides of the trigger. In the right handed model, push it from left to right to block the trigger and push it from right to left to unlock the trigger to fire. The advantage to this system is that the safety is a part of the pistol’s mechanism and cannot be removed and misplaced. Again, it requires practice to engage and disengage especially since it is not evident that the Side Lock is in place when moving your finger to the trigger.

The Clip Draw devices are made to fit Smith & Wesson "J" frame revolvers and are affixed by screwing the device into the slide plate on the right side of the handgun (appropriate screws are provided) and they come in black and silver to match your blued, stainless, or nickel plated handguns. They also have versions to fit various sized 1911 pistols (the device fits under the right grip panel) and Glocks by replacing the rear striker panel withone that had two screw holes drilled into it. These can be attached in about 3 minutes and, if you carry something other than the prior mentioned handguns, Clip Draw makes universal models for both pistols and revolvers which attach the device via an adhesive tape.

Smith & Wesson Model 360-1 or 360 Sc
(This photo copied from GunsAmerica.com, who probably coped it
from Smith & Wesson's website)

The S&W Model 360 Sc or 360-1 was one of the Springfield, MA firm’s first featherweight, scandium frame models. I purchased one in 2003 primarily because of the light weight and barrel length. I had always thought that the 3 inch barrel was better than the 1 7/8 inch model on most of Smith’s J frame revolvers. The slightly longer barrel should improve accuracy due to the longer sight radius, it should pump out a little more velocity, and provide a little more control over recoil. The 360-1 also brought the added bonuses of the scandium frame and adjustable rear sights with a Hi-Viz Tru Glo orange fiber optic sight up front. However many trips to the range caused me to rethink my purchase—I could not get this revolver to group well enough to take advantage of the adjustable sights. The trigger seemed stupidly heavy and I wanted it changed. The stock trigger tipped the scales at 13 pounds and may have gone higher as the gunsmith’s trigger pull scale stopped at 13 pounds. A set of Wolf springs brought the pull down to a more acceptable 7 pounds, however I still could not make it acceptably accurate.

I wound up making this a part of an eventual trade and was disappointed about this gun’s performance. Several years and thousands of rounds down range later I had become a better shooter and second guessed myself about the 360-1. Maybe the problem was that I had not been an experienced enough shooter to make the light weight revolver perform. By this time however, the 360-1 was no longer in production. The fact that I could not find a used one in any gun shop concerned me that I was wrong to let this one get away.
Well, now I have found a brand new one in the corner case of my new favorite local gun shop. Here are the specifications:

Caliber: .357 Magnum

Capacity: 5 Rounds

Barrel Length: 3-1/8"

Front Sight: "Light Gathering" HIVIZ® Orange Dot

Rear Sight: Adjustable

Grip: Rubber Uncle Mike's Combat

Trigger: Smooth Target

Frame: J Small Frame

Finish: Matte Stainless/ Grey

Overall length: 7-1/2"

Material: Scandium Alloy Frame, Barrel Shroud and Yoke, Titanium Cylinder, Stainless Steel Barrel Liner

Weight Empty: 14.4 ounces

On my first range outing I decided to fire some full factory .357 magnum ammo through it since I had such good luck with them in my scandium framed model 340s. I put on my shooting glove and pulled the trigger. It only took one round for me to remember another reason that I traded the 360 away. Shooting it was painful, more painful than shooting the scandium 340s. The culprit seemed to be the grips. The model 340 comes with Hogue Bantam rubber grips in its standard configuration and with Crimson Trace rubber grips in it M&P offering. These grips are wider and disperse the recoil in a more efficient manner. The model 360-1 came standard with Uncle Mike’s hard rubber grips which did not give much during recoil. Even worse is the fact that the grips are sort of oval so that they come to kind of a point in the front and rear. This allowed the grips to move in your hand during recoil. After 60 rounds of factory .357 Mags I removed the shooting glove and found that the grips took about 1.5” X 1” of skin off of my thumb between the knuckle and the joint connecting it to the hand. It was extremely painful and took almost a month to heal properly.

I tried Pachmayr decelerator grips. It was still somewhat painful and the size of the decelerators made the handgun less concealable. I then tried full-sized Hogue rubber Monogrips. They helped the recoil and were a compromise between the size of the Pachmayr decelerators and the original Uncle Mike’s. But the revolver was not meeting the purpose for which I bought it:

1. The longer 3 inch barrel on the 360Sc should mean better accuracy compared against the 1 7/8th inch barrel on the model 340. It didn’t.

2. The longer 3 inch barrel on the 360Sc should help control the recoil of factory .357 Magnum ammunition when compared against the 1 7/8th inch barrel of the model 340. It didn’t.

3. The adjustable sights should help you dial the groups into center. Well it might if the revolver grouped well, but it didn’t with .357 Mag ammo. It did group OK with Standard 158 grain .38 Special Lead Round Nose ammunition, but I wanted it to shoot .357 Magnums.

So, having a revolver that was more difficult to conceal then the Model 340, not as accurate with magnum ammo, and was much more painful to shoot made this 360Sc, just like its predecessor, fodder for an upcoming trade and I am sticking with the Model 340 M&P.

At the Range

This target was placed at 21 feet and fired on with 50 rounds of American Eagle 158 grain Lead Round Nose .38 Special ammunition. The accuracy is acceptable however the lead round nose is the most inefficient defensive round available in .38 Special.

This target was hit with 20 rounds of Speer 135 Grain Gold Dot Hollow Point .38 +P ammo. This round was developed for short barreled revolvers and it is not too bad but the group is too erratic for me to consider as a defensive round.

Now for the Magnums. This target was also placed at 21 feet and hit with 15 rounds of Remington Golder Sabre 125 grain jacket hollowpoint .357 magnum ammo.

This grouping from the standard Remington .125 grain .357 Mag Jacketed Hollowpoint is a little better.

This grouping was provided by 10 rounds of Magtech 158 grain JHP ammo. It is essentially a hunting round and shot a little high.

As the model 360Sc offerred no advantage I am sticking with the model 340 M&P stoked with Speer 135 grain .357 Magnum jacketed hollowpoint ammo. This is a new load specially developed to shoot accurately and expand reliably in short barrelled revolvers.

Keltec PF9: The Hamlet of Concealed Carry

Could this 9mm be the ultimate pocket pistol?

To Keltec or not to Keltec: that is the question:
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of the snobbish handgunning elitists for even reviewing a Keltec,
Or take to the PC and write the review based upon actual experience rather than emotion,
And ignore the anonymous internet curmudgeons.

There is no middle ground with a Keltec pistol. You either love them or hate them and this is usually predicated on whether you get one that works or doesn’t. Keltec’s niche in the handgun market is the provision of value-priced, lightweight, concealable, and downright homely pistols. They also have a reputation for turning out pistols with “reliability opportunities”. In all honesty that has not been my experience with this model PF9 or the P3AT I previously owned however the internet forums are full of customers posting their experiences with having to send their pistol back to the factory (most all stated that the customer service was quick and more than satisfactory) or postings giving instructions on how to perform your own “fluff and buff” job to make the pistol slicker and enhance reliability. So, at the risk of being scoffed at by those who got a bad one, ridiculed by those who think that the complete catalogue of handguns begins and ends with “Glock”, or looked down upon by the elitists who dismiss every pistol that doesn’t have cost at least a grand, I will review a Keltec today.

The .380 caliber P3AT was my constant companion for about a year and a half as its weight of 8.2 ounces and width of .77 inches made it one easy carrying pocket pistol. These attributes also made it uncomfortable to shoot. Its straight blowback design and slim grip concentrated the snappy recoil into the web of my hand…and it hurt. Additionally, the trigger had some very sharp edges that cut into and blistered my trigger finger. It was difficult to fire more than a half a box of ammo at any one time. On the plus side my P3AT was utterly reliable and more accurate than one would expect, especially with the almost non-existent sights.

Who Makes The Smallest 9mm?

The proliferation of Concealed Carry Permits has pushed manufacturers back to their design boards to compete in the pocket pistol race. The Keltec PF9 is a single stack 9mm pistol with a 7 + 1 capacity. The barrel is 3.1 inches long, weighs in a 12.7 ounces, is 5.85 inches in overall length, 4.3 inches in height, and .88 inches wide. This seems pretty small but many manufacturers are claiming to have the smallest, lightest, etc. Who is telling the truth? Well there is some truth to most of the manufacturer’s claims depending upon the specification that is important to you? Is your overall concern height, length, width, weight? You’re not going to find one pistol that wins in all of those categories. Aside from the Keltec PF9 the other smallest (as far as I know right now) contenders are the Rohrbaugh and Kahr PM9. Here’s how they stack up: If overall length is your major concern for a pocket pistol then the Rohrbaugh at 5.2 “ is your baby, followed by the Kahr PM9 which is negligibly longer at 5.3 inches. If height is your concern then the Rohrbaugh wins again at 3.7 inches with the Kahr PM9 again coming in a close second at an even 4 inches. If you can find pants pockets that are fairly deep then overall height and length may not mean as much as width. The Rohrbaugh takes the prize again at .81” with the Keltec PF9 at .88 inches wide. To me a big factor in a pocket pistol is weight. The Keltec PF9, at 12.7 ounces, is a mere one ounce lighter than the Rohrbaugh.

Now at this point you might say “Hey, the Rohrbaugh is shorter in height, length, and width and is only heavier than the Keltec by one measly ounce, isn’t it the ultimate in pocket carry?” Well there is one characteristic left and that is shootability. In this realm either the Kahr or the Keltec have it over the Rohrbaugh. Shootability (to me) is made up of several components; reliability, shooting comfort (or the opposite, pain), and sight picture. I found reliability problems with my Rohrbaugh whereas the Kahr and the Keltec have digested everything I have thrown at them. The Rohrbaugh was also uncomfortable to shoot; first the grip surface is so small that it was necessary to reposition the hand for each follow up shot and second, the trigger guard beat up my trigger finger during recoil. In terms of sights? Well, the Kahr and Keltec both have small but very useable sights. The Rohrbaugh comes in two different models; a fixed sight version which I liken to a nick and a burr meaning the rear sight is a nick in the top of the slide and the front sight is about the size of a burr up front that they neglected to polish off. Their other model has absolutely no sights at all. So yes, the Rohrbaugh is certainly the overall smallest, however I have a much better chance of being able to hit something with the Kahr or the Keltec.

Moving up on the size meter the Wilson Combat ADP and the Glock G26 are a little larger and heavier but offer a capacity of 10 + 1 and the ADP comes standard with night sights. Some however may find them just a little too large for pocket carry.

Back to the Keltec PF9

So what can I tell you about the Keltec? It is not a glamorous handgun, but very utilitarian for the purposes of concealed carry. With the short grip, you’re only going to get your middle and ring finger around it but the little finger tucks easily in below the magazine. Add your support hand to the grip and that is about as steady a platform as you will need. The pistol comes supplied with a finger extension you can affix to the one magazine, however in experimenting with it I found that it does not really add enough room to allow me to get my little finger on it and just seemed in the way, so I left it off. Someone with smaller hands would probably find this to be just the thing. I lament the fact that the PF9 only comes with one magazine and strongly feel that every semi-automatic pistol manufacturer should include two magazines with their pistols. In reality however, I cannot expect a lot of extras to be included with a pistol retailing for $279.00.

A great feature of the PF9 is that the rear sight is adjustable for windage. The sight is loosened with a supplied hex wrench and is easily moveable, right or left, with normal thumb pressure. I was concerned that the ease of moving the sights would mean that they would become misaligned during extensive recoil. However, with over 450 rounds of various manufacture through the pistol, the sights have not drifted. I still may adjust them further and apply a little Loctite when I have them completely dialed in (they shoot right on with 115 grain FMJ Remington ammo, but are off to the left with most defensive hollowpoints). The rear sight is further adjustable through the use of shims however they are not supplied nor could I find them on Keltec’s website.

The pistol is rated for use with + P ammunition however there is a warning against continuous use.

Shots Fired

In shooting up 474 rounds of ammo I produced quite a few targets however I have chosen the ones below as they are the most representative of all shot (both good and bad). The pistol shoots the best with 115 grain FMJ and 300 of the rounds fired were of that ilk and although represented below I am trying to show more of the targets fired upon with defensive hollowpoint loads.

#1. 15 rounds of Remington 115 grain FMJ ammon fired at 21 feet

#2. 8 rounds of Remington 115 grain FMJ fired as 21 feet

#3. 50 rounds of the same ammo fired at 35 feet

#4. 7 rounds of Remington Golden Sabre 124 grain JHP ammo fired at 21 feet

#5. 8 rounds of the Golden Sabre at 21 feet

#6. 7 rounds of Federal Premium Defense 147 grain JHP Hydra-Shok ammo at 21 feet

#7. 7 rounds of Federal 124 grain Hydra-Shok ammo at 21 feet.

If this little pistol appeals to you for concealed carry then go get one and don't let the opinions of those who might vex you for buying a Keltec pressure you away. Slip it into a good pocket holster (if you have a carry permit) and they won't see it anyway.