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TAM...not to make a circular argument here, but the issue you raise is exactly the reason I shoot carry guns "lots." In my mind though I always rely on my personal experience with a gun. I have spent too many years, as I'm sure you have, watching absolute bozos at the range blow stuff up with all kinds of stupidity. Today most of those idiots have some kind of camera on hand and suddenly you have a "this gun goes kaboom" story. Never mind that they shot a round that developed 58,000 psi - "this gun went kaboom on me."

There are loads from smaller manufacturers that no one has any idea how much pressure they develop. I would be willing to bet the farm that a lot of what we see labeled "failures of the gun" are actually "failures of the owner." If you are going to shoot 9mm +P+ out of any of these small, pocketable guns (or revolvers) IMHO you would do well to only shoot a very, very few. Otherwise they might disassemble themselves.

BTW...S&W has had more than just problems with some Shields. I am still waiting for them to replace a Bodyguard 380 that was sent in for warranty and deemed non-repairable. They destroyed it. Now I have to wait who knows how many months for a replacement gun to be manufactured. I keep getting told "four more weeks." So is Kel-Tec really so bad? Not in my book.

Sorry I have no current experience with some asked about here, so I won't comment.

The Annoyed Man wrote: My own dislike for the brand isn't because I'm a brand snob. It is because I'm looking at it like a businessman. I see a gun company that in practical terms could have made better guns, but it doesn't. And it doesn't because it's business model has trapped it into not being able to. Innovation is a good thing, but even gun designers like JMB and Stoner found employment with companies that could afford to produce their superior designs. For my money, the smartest thing that Kel-Tec could do at this point would be for them to license their RFB and RD8 designs to another company that can afford to produce them in quantities with prices set to economies of scale under a more "reputable" brand-name, collect all those royalties and plow them back into significantly upgrading their pistol line to appeal to a market that is willing to pay more for a better pistol. But that's just me.

I get your point, but I just don't see self defense as a business proposition. If that were the case, I'd have a whole world of problems with Smith & Wesson and a lot of others. As I stated, to me EDC is only about one thing. How much better would a more expensive product save my life?

I am pretty sure I didn't name any names. I spoke of people who have spent years owning and using something versus those who have seen someone have a problem during a range visit or watched a YouTube video or rented one for a day at a range. You are free to draw your own conclusions about that. I don't make value judgements based on superficial experience. YMMV

Interesting that a complaint is made about shooting a gun "lots" of times to verify functionality before trusting your life to it. Perhaps I missed something. "Lots", at least the last time I looked it up, doesn't have a specific number attached to it. Use whatever number you're comfortable with. I'm fine with that. It's your life.

I'm not trying to be disagreeable, argumentative, or ruffle any feathers. The ultimate purpose of an EDC is to save your life. As long as it will do that, I'm happy. There is no prize for saving your life with the most, or least, expensive gun. Just saving your life. End of story.

Nothing personal here but.....I always find it fascinating when people who have zero actual experience with something pontificate based solely on what they read on that bastion of truth, the Internet. I dare say 15 minutes searching will turn up lots of negative comments on almost everything ever made. Most people who have been around guns for a while know that every major manufacturer has problems now and then. Some use customers for their QA. Tell me I'm mistaken.

In my nearly 6 decades of shooting I have owned, or shot, almost everything ever made. I've had good and bad. I have owned and shot two PF-9's for over 10 years - each. I haven't experienced any of the maladies spoken of here. I have several thousand rounds through one and around 1000 through the other. Never a problem of any kind. Period. Have some had problems with theirs? I'm sure. Show me a brand that no one has ever not had a problem with.

Would I compare a PF-9 to my finest 1911, Glock, Sig, or other gun that costs 2 to 10 times more? No. Is there a reason I wouldn't trust my life to my PF9's? No, because I have in the past. It always goes bang when I pull the trigger. I usually carry one as a backup, but not because it is not capable. Bottom line. The PF-9 is perfectly serviceable for its intended purpose and, at $250, is one of the great bargains of the gun world.

If you buy one, go shoot lots of rounds through it and make sure it works. If you have a problem, send it back. Kel-Tec is a stand up company. Just don't openly carry it to BBQ's.

I suspect some may get all bunched up over this. That's okay. I've spent a little over 25 years with two PF-9's. I know a little bit about them.