Kel Tec 380 Serial Number Location
I've spent a lot of time thinking about purchasing a new gun for everyday carry and have watched with severe interest in subcompact and pocket gun types of pistols. I did a search on the forum and could not find anything on any of our fellow INGO'ers owning or review any of the PF-9 but I thought I would pass along my findings in case anyone else was interested in purchasing a new or used PF-9. This thread from a board of Kel-Tec owners lists the severe faults with early PF-9 models and gives serial number designations for problematic guns as well as what may be 'refurbished' guns: According to this thread: Kel-Tec says a few things about their pistol that slightly discourage me from picking one up: 1.
Description: Factory New Old Stock & unfired Sturm Ruger LCP (Lightweight Compact Pistol) semi-auto pistol in.380 ACP cal. SERIAL NUMBER 39. This is from my personal collection. Just like it came from the factory back in 2008. Everything is perfect. NRA Excellent+++++ and highly collectible. No, it was not returned to Ruger for the recall.
They do not recommend you use +P or high pressured ammo to be ran exclusively through their firearms. They do state that one can run the occasional mag of high pressure rounds. Their service sheet also lists that limp-wristing may cause the gun to misfire. I've often heard this to be a fault of pistols before but I've never seen a manufacturer admit to it. Kudos to them for admitting it. I would like to shoot one to see if I could make one of their PF-9s stovepipe or failture to feed/fire. Not just the PF-9 but ALL Kel-Tecs have a shelf life of only '6,000 rounds or more' according to their official website's FAQ section: Granted, they could last much longer but the disclaimer makes me doubt their quality.
A lot of reviews say that you get a lot of gun for very little money. I saw PF-9s at the 1500 in the $269-313 price range.
The 'stock' or grip of the guns is interchangable and can be purchased from Kel-Tec directly. Grips come in black, olive drab, blue and grey. They can be interchanged because the serial number is on a separate section on the gun, just slightly below the hammer. Slides come in three finishes: (in order of least cost to highest cost) blued, parkerized and hard chromed. Obmanutj elektronnij schyotchik elektroenergii putyom shuntirovaniya. I feel a little more informed after my search but was wondering if anyone out there has any personal experience with the PF-9.
I tend to subscribe to the thinking of carrying the biggest possible weapon/caliber that you can and I plan on doing that but there are times when carrying something a bit more concealable makes sense. I want to stay away from the.380, not because I doubt its effectiveness as a self-defense round but because of current cost and availability. I'm also considering maybe a used Kahr but they are considerably more expensive. I'd gladly do a torture test of over 6,000 rounds if any of you want to sponsor me.