I have noticed that action in the P11 section of Ktog has slowed quite a bit while the P3at and PF9 sections gain momentum. Having owned all three of these guns at one time or another I can relate to each and I understand the desire for slim, pocket guns. However, in the end I do not think any of those guns has proven themselves the way the 12+1 round P11 has.
I carried a P11 as a primary CCW for 10 years and put over 10,000 rounds down the pipe over that time. She rode in a variety of holsters and filled many needs. Each day she traveled with me she was chosen over guns that cost me 2-4 times what I paid for her in 1998. My P11 was carried IWB, OWB, in an ankle holster, 3 o'clock, 3:30, SOB, appendix, in cargo pants pocket, jacket pocket, around my neck in my glove compartment, stuffed in a gym bag, and jammed under the seat of several cars. She's been to 20 states and has seen the inside of the Atlanta Aquarium, Disney World, Six Flags, Busch Gardens, Universal Orlando, Wild Adventures, several museums and dozens of other tourist destinations. I can only guess at the number of movies she's seen with me and have no idea the number of eating establishments she visited while riding along. She's seen parades, ridden on the subway, and tailgated more times than I care to remember. She's been boating, snow skiing, snow boarding, mountain biking (a lot), road biking (also quite a bit), hiking, jogging, rock climbing, skateboarding, and has even been dropped once or twice. In that time she shot a few gophers, one opossum, one rabid fox, one Rottweiler, and countless trees, rocks, milk jugs and paper plates. Twice in that decade she showed her business end to someone that deserved to see it and never once did she balk. She ate everything from questionable gun show handloads to Speer Gold Dots without complaint. In that same time period several people have asked to test her at the range. The usual comments were something along the lines of "Wow, she kicks like a mule" or "Yuck, I don't like the trigger". I usually replied something along the lines of "yeah, but ugly girls need loving too."
After 10 years of carry she showed some battle scars. Her grip was scratched and I believe she had as much cold blue on her as original finish. For some odd reason, I got caught up in the single-stack craze and foolishly sold her during the Obamamania craze earlier this year. I got over $300 for her and decided to take that opportunity to "trade up". That proved to be a huge mistake. I purchased a Kahr CW9 to replace her and was hugely disappointed. To start with, while thinner, the Kahr was longer and taller and held 5 less rounds. The Kahr's trigger was amazing compared to my P11 but the gun would fail to ignite at random. For a gun priced twice as much as my P11 I sure wasn't impressed. After three trips back to Kahr I sold her off and purchased a Kel-Tec Pf-9. I liked the feel of the PF-9 but was just not as impressed with it in terms of overall build quality as I was with the P11. Mine proved to be problematic and loosened up to the point of feeling sloppy in a matter of a few hundred rounds. I called KT and they said to send it back for service but that the PF-9 is a looser gun than the P11 and to expect it to rattle a bit. In the end I sold her to a gentleman at my local range who stated he only needed a glove compartment gun and would probably never shoot it. He tried it at the range and loved it. Having few choices at that time, I started carrying a Polish P64 in 9x18mak. While I love the P64 in terms of slim lines and ease of concealment, I never quite felt comfortable with the 9x18 round as a defensive caliber and really like more than 6 rounds on deck in case I ever need to use it. Last week I gave in and decided to purchase a new P11. Surprisingly, the local shops all had them. These same shops also couldn't keep P3at's or PF-9's on the shelf yet had several P11's to choose from. That is just fine with me. I was able to negotiate a great deal on a NIB parkerized P11 and a Tagua Slider Holster and was back in business.... 250 trouble-free rounds later she is now my every day carry again. I will admit, my G23 gets the nod from time to time but the P11 still holds the title of EDC.
My P11 was my first compact carry weapon and is now my new carry weapon. People can turn their nose up at her all they want. I know she's ugly and she doesn't have a big name brand stamped on her side but my experience with P11's tells me that they are as reliable as any Glock, S&W or Walther and beats the he11 out of Kahr in that department. Additionally, with the exception of Glock, Keltec's customer service is leaps and bounds ahead of the other companies. The P11 delivers 13 rounds of +P 9mm luger in an easily concealed reliable package smaller than most company's 380 offerings. The gun was designed over a decade ago and has been copied by big name brands yet still retains the title of "Smallest Full Capacity 9mm" available today.
While I know that a gun is simply a tool and having an "emotional attachment" to a tool is just silly, I have to admit I never should have sold my 1st P11. She was well built, loyal and reliable. She deserved better than to be traded off when the grass looked greener on the other side of the fence. Turns out, the grass is always greener over the septic tank. I can only hope that my new ugly-duckling will last as long as her predecessor.
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Why choose a P11? (Read 2927 times)
