Day at the Range with Kel-Tec PF9

I went to Omaha a couple of weekends ago and took my youngest son Jonathan to the Bullet Hole so we could try out my Kel-Tec PF9.  I bought it new at a gun show in Kansas City back in January and hadn't had the opportunity to try it out.  The PF9 is a hammer-fired, single-stack 9mm that holds 7+1 rounds.  I bought it because it is flat and compact and fits neatly in an IWB holster at the 4 o'clock position. 

Once at the range and ready to fire, I aimed and took my first shot.  I pulled the trigger, and pulled, and pulled, and finally, BANG!  The trigger on this thing isn't too heavy, probably about 5 or 6 pounds, but it has to travel a couple of miles, it seems like, between the time you start applying pressure and it finally fires.  That's a safety feature, because the PF9 doesn't have a manual safety.  When it does fire, it kicks pretty hard, because it's a polymer-framed, lightweight piece. 
It ejected the old round and fed the new one in as expected, but when I pulled the trigger the second time, all I got was a click, and no BANG!  I racked the slide to eject the round and load the next one. I inspected the ejected round, and there was no indicated the firing pin had hit the primer.  I aimed and pulled the trigger again, and got the expected loud noise and hole in the target. It ejected the casing and fed the next round, but when I pulled the trigger for bullet #4, all I got was the click again.  Again, no dimple in the primer.  The next round was a "click" also, so I gave up on it.  I rented one of the Bullet Hole's Ruger Mark III pistols and we had some fun wasting 100 rounds of .22LR.

My doctor, who, like Big Mullet, has forgotten more about firearms than I've ever known, suggested a broken firing pin.  I checked out some web site information, and it seemed to be a common occurence from dry-firing--something Kel-Tec says is a no-no.  However, I've never dry-fired mine without snap caps in it.  I dismantled the pistol and removed the firing pin, which was still in one piece, so I reassembled everything.  Further reading in the Kel-Tec manual said that failure to allow the trigger to return fully to its rest position after firing can cause failure to fire, because the hammer isn't in the fully cocked position.  I'll have to go back to the range soon to see if this user error was the problem.

How about that Top Shot last night?

Ok, the Ruger 10/22 was as cool as it gets. Wouldn't it be a blast to be able to do that carnival shooting? It kind of reminded me of when I was a kid, setting up cans and bottles and plinking away.

Once again Jay proved unwilling to listen to advice on shooting style. Normally he comes out ok with that, last night I think it cost his team the win. He was to slow to line up his shots and took too much time moving from target to target. I guess it all worked out ok for him in the end.

The elimination challenge was also about as cool as it gets. For all the cool and historical weapons as these guys get to shoot, you can't can't beat a good old .22.  I was shocked and amazed that Daryl was tripped up by something as basic as seating your magazine. Especially from a retired Marine. I mean that's day one stuff. The stress of the competition must have really gotten to him. He knows better.

For as much as I feel Jay doesn't deserve to be on the same firing line as these guys, I have this sinking feeling that he is going to win it all. It's hard to say, but dang, the guy just keeps coming back.

It's tough to see Daryl go. He was a great competitor and seemed like a genuinely good guy.

Adios Daryl...

Range Day 3-11-2011

We knew yesterday that the weather was supposed to be awesome today, so we planned a trip to the range. This time of year we live for opportunities to get out and shoot for a bit.

We started out sighting in Joe Texan's new Savage .308. We tried last time we were out but the store gave him the wrong scope mounts when he bought the rifle, so he had to get a new set. With the old mounts the scope was looking at the sky while the barrel was pointed at the target. Not good. It's a good looking gun, it shoots nice too. It will make a nice hog hunting rifle.

Here is Joe Texan putting a few rounds down range after we got it dialed in.

I got to fire some rounds out of my Olympic Arms AR-15. It is really a nice shooter. I only fired from 100 yards but all the rounds were in the black and a few of them were in the red. Open sights from 100 yards for a guy with eyes as old as mine, all in the black is a good thing.

Here I am, Billybob, taking a shot.

Big Mullet brought out his new AR-15, if you can call it that. Sure, it shoots a 5.56 round, but this thing is so far beyond an AR-15 that there really is no comparison. This is the first one he built himself. He did one hell of a fine job on it. He doesn't mess around with 100 yards anymore, he heads straight for the 300 yard targets. He can usually put 10 rounds in a two inch circle at that distance. With the 35 mph winds today and a 69 gr. bullet, he was lucky to put them on the target at all. He still managed a 3 inch group with 10 shots.

Here is Big Mullet sending a round down range.

We moved over to the 50 yard range after all that fun. Joe Texan wanted to try out the scope on his Ruger 10/22. He was also itching to fire my Hi-Point Carbine. He has seen it before, but never had an opportunity to fire it.

The 10/22 sighted in fairly easy. Joe Texan and Big Mullet got it on target quick and we were shooting some nice groups in no time.

Joe Texan enjoyed the hell out of my Hi-Point. I have a feeling he will wind up with one sooner rather than later.

The picture below is a target Joe Texan and I were sharing. The A circle is his group with the Hi-Point Carbine and the B circle is my group with his 10/22.

He was shooting a little right and I was shooting a little left, but the groups are incredible. His is a ten round group and mine was 12 rounds  I think.

The next picture is my target with the Hi-Point Carbine. I was shooting quick. This is two magazines, 20 rounds, and they are pretty tight for the most part. I had one or two fliers. If you notice, behind my target is a silhouette target. All of my rounds would have been head shots if I were using that target.

It was a beautiful day, it was a little windy, but no way I am going to complain. It wasn't that long ago that we got an 18" snow. I will take a 68 degree, windy day any time over that snow crap. It was good to get out and do a little shooting. A day at the range is the best therapy you could ever ask for. Doctors should prescribe it...

Range Day - 2-17-2011

It was 75 degrees and sunny here today. Awesome! The wind was blowing pretty steady but that's ok, it was 75 degrees!

I didn't take a single picture, I wish I would have, but I was more interested in being outside with no coat.

We got to the range about 1:00 give or take a few minutes.

I started out with my Olympic Arms AR-15. I think I fired about 50 rounds from 100 yards. The first 40 I was able to put into two 6 inch targets with some nice groups. The last 10 I was doing the rapid fire thing. Most of them were in the black, but I had a couple of fliers.

I had to break out the Mosin Nagant M44 Carbine. I only fired about 8 rounds but it was a lot of fun. You know you have fired a weapon when you are done with it. My buddy says it's going to give me E.D. I don't believe it.

A rep from our security camera company, Mariah, showed up about the time I was shooting the M44. She fired one round and was done.

We moved over to the 25 yard pistol range. When we got there an old guy was packing up to leave. We started chatting with him a bit and he showed us all his cool toys. A couple of Glocks, a Ruger LCR and a Walther P22. He let Mariah shoot all of them.

After he left my buddy broke out his .38 Special revolver. Mariah and I put about 100 rounds through that thing. I have to tell you, I'm not really a revolver guy, but I fell in love with that thing. Then he pulled out his new FNP 45. We put 50 or 60 rounds through that. It is a damn fine shooter. It seemed to have less recoil than a 1911 based .45. Not that I have a problem with recoil, but it is easy to shoot.

I wanted Mariah to have a little rifle fun so I pulled out the Hi-Point 9mm Carbine. She had a lot of fun with it. We put a box of 50 rounds through it. I had my first failure to eject with it today. But before you jump to conclusions, take into consideration that I have fired close to 5,000 rounds through it and it have never been cleaned. It will be cleaned now. That tells me a hell of a lot about the reliability of this little gun. I've said this 1,000 times, this is the most awesome gun I own. The weapon itself was a bargain at $224.00 and shooting the 9mm pistol rounds is about as cheap as you can get except for .22.

Mariah wanted to shoot the AR-15 a little bit, so we fired about 60 rounds at the 25 yard range. It was a lot of fun and she did a fine job. She put together some really nice groups.

As time allowed I was picking up brass. I can't believe people just leave perfectly good brass at the range. I must have picked up a couple hundred 5.56, a couple hundred 9mm and a hundred and fifty or so of .40 and .45.

While Mariah and I were shooting the AR-15, my buddy went over to the police range and picked up at least 500 5.56 casings. We must have picked up a couple hundred dollars worth of brass.

It was a damn fine day. Any day at the range is a good day. Next time I will get pictures, I promise.