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August 9, 2007

FEG FP-9 9mm Browning Hi-Power clone made in Hungary.

I decided back in May that it was time to get myself a pocket pistol. I researched a while and decided a Kel-Tec P-11 was my number-one choice, so I headed up to Raleigh, NC to a gun show.

Didn't have much money, so I looked at my small pistol collection and decided the gun I needed the least was my FEG 9mm. It was a “beater” that I picked up used for $275, figuring I could leave it in my car all the time and if it got stole, I wouldn't be out that much.

It wasn't a “real” Browning, but one made under Browning license in Hungary by the FEG company. It was a Model MBK-9HP in 9mm Para., which has a double-action/single-action trigger, unlike the original Browning Hi-Power, which is single-action only.

She was a real sweet shooter, but something had to go, so I found a dealer at the gun show who would swap the FEG for a P-11. Bought a couple of extra magazines that were supposedly compatible with the P-11 at the show, too.

Kel-Tec P-11 9mm pocket pistol.

Learned one thing for sure about my P-11 first time I went to shoot her. She just plain hates S&W magazines, or more in particular, the two S&W magazines I tried to feed her.

I put about 200 rds. of fmjs and hps through her in two range sessions and all I got for my trouble is a busted thumb knuckle and a tired left trigger finger. I learned that she didn't feed well with anything but her factory 10-rd. Mec-Gar magazine.

So I've got a pocket pistol that won't handle any mag but her own particular 10-rounder. Big whoop. I'll buy her another 10-round Mec-Gar and call it a day. She'll never be more than a "church gun" or a backup, so she doesn't need any "hi-cap" magazines anyway.

P-11s supposedly will use any S&W magazines or a certain series or two but this one don't. She don't like the 12-round that came with my S&W 669 or the 15-round S&W I bought at the gun show that was specifically marked for the P-11 with a modified base plate added. The 12-round misfed some of the time and the 15-round misfed virtually all of the time, creating the most god-awful mess I ever saw with rounds jammed vertical in the mag!

And the 15-round Mec-Gar magazine I bought at the gun show as a backup for my S&W 669 won't lock in at all in the P-11, though she locks in and shoots fine in my 669. So the P-11 likes her Mec-Gar but not other Mec-Gars for the same S&W series she's supposed to like? What's up with that?

Kel-Tec PF-9 with Uncle Mike's pocket holster and spare magazine.

So I reloaded the 10-rd. Mec-Gar mag again and again and again and she just kept on chugging without a miss until my poor left trigger finger was wore out fighting that 85-lb. trigger pull. (The serial no. says my P-11 has the newer 8.5-lb. trigger pull instead of the older 10.5-lb. trigger, but I think they forgot the decimal point on mine!)

I got so tired of fighting that trigger, I finally shifted to the right hand and that was a big mistake. Second round from the right side I got careless with my left thumb wrapped around and that little sucker bit the hell out of me! Skint the top of the knuckle joint so bad I had to stop shooting and triple-band-aid up to get the bleeding stopped. Bled like a stuck hawg for 10 minutes before I could get it staunched.

Ticked me off so bad I came very, very close to teaching my 10-year-old grandson some new vocabulary words.

So now I got two spare magazines for my S&W 669 and none for my P-11. No problemo 'cause I'm for sure going to be shooting that sweet little 669 about a zillion times more than I will be banging with the P-11. If ever there's been a "shoot a little, carry a lot" pistol, this is for sure one.

Best I could do with my bench rest was about a 3" group, so that'll have to do. It fills its role as a backup, but I can't imagine why anyone would make it a daily carry weapon. Too hard to shoot.

I was pretty much resigned to having a pocket pistol I didn't like to shoot until my Steyrclub.com friend Doc Chronos told me about the about the Kel-Tec PF-9.

I had rejected the PF-9 when I bought the P-11. I picked the P-11 over the PF-9 purely on capacity, 11 rounds with one in the pipe vs. 8 with the PF-9, the difference being the double-stack magazine over the single-stack. But then I found out the P-11's supposed 9-lb. trigger feels more like 99.

First target shot with Kel-Tec FP-9.

Doc clued me in that the PF-9 has the same trigger as the P-3AT .380 Kel-Tec, only 6 lbs. Plus the PF-9 is slimmer and lighter and has the drop-hammer safety of the P-3AT. So I borrowed a friend's P-3AT and put a few rounds of .380 through it and found the trigger is definitely a bit improvement over the P-11.

So I put the P-11 up for sale, got my money back out of it and bought a PF-9 at a local gunshop.

Doc Chronos was dead right about the PF-9 being a good pistol. It's a great pistol and a huge upgrade from the P-11.

That was clear the first time I took her out to shoot. I found out the PF-9's 6-lb. trigger is slick as a mole's behind! You can actually squeeze off a round with the PF-9! (Impossible with the P-11, at least for me, it was.)

I put 50 rounds of Winchester White Box FMJ 115-grain through it for a break-in on that first outing, plus 8 rounds of Winchester Silvertip HPs and the more I shot it, the better I got. I wouldn't have stopped at 50 rounds, but that's all the ammo I brought with me.

At left is a target from that first PF-9 range trip with the last 13 rounds of 9mm I had with me. Not too shabby for an old guy with fuzzy eyesight shooting a pocket pistol offhand at 25 feet.

Don't you hate it when you run out of ammo just as you're really beginning to have fun? This might not be up to the accuracy standards of my Steyr M357-A1, my Glock 29 or my S&W 669, but then it's a pocket pistol. It will do just fine as a backup/church gun.