Joe,
There is a lot of discussion about this on the Kel-Tec Owners Group forum. You probably want to read up on it, but I can give my .02 as an owner/carrier of a PF-9:

My gun was not 100% out of the box, in fact it was pretty bad - snet back to have bbl and slide replaced immediately. Turnaround was about 2 weeks and that was with the Thanksgiving week. Once I got the gun back I did a lot of "customizing" to it by tearing it apart, polishing all sliding surfaces, contact parts, skimming plastic mold lines, etc. In the end, I feel like I have a solid gun. When I am at the range I shoot 150-200rds every couple weeks and it performs without fail - I pull the trigger and empty the mag. It IS very important to keep this little piece well lubricated and clean however. If it starts to get dry you are gonna need to lube it. It prefers grease on the slide as opposed to liquid oil.

The reason I like it now is that it's small and thin, fits my hand pretty good and has a 7+1 capacity of 9mm Hydra-Shok - much better than a .32 or .380 in the same size form factor. As for it's competition, the Glock 26 is pretty thick (ultra-reliable, but big size difference), the Rohrbaugh is amazing but 5x the price! I think there may be a Kahr in comparable size/caliber, but I cannot in good faith give money to the Reverend Sun Myung Moon (Kahr is controlled by his son and profits trickle back to the church).

So that's it - I heard you when you said you didnt want a gun you had to fiddle with. Based on that, Kel-Tec might not be for you.

Hope that's helpful.

-Scott

Thanks for the info, I was not aware of that ownership. T

Have had no problems with my P-11.

Did a "fluf and buff" on both it and my P3AT, and feel that both are as dependable.

I bought a p-11 about 1 year ago, with much the same trepidation. I am a tinkerer, and so did lots of research etc. i put50 rounds through as soon as i got home (well, a little lube and clean first but not a F&B. I then addressed some plastic flash and hot spots for my shooting style, and did the whole barrel,frame,and TRIGGER fluff and buff. (very detailed instructions can be found). It was ok before but is a whole new gun now. STill a long heavy pull, but its lighter, or at least easier, than some of my revolvers.

I have had one issue with it. a friend of mine was shooting it and had a FTE. Never again, and neverwith me shooting it. He, i think, was reacting a bit to the kick.

I use mine in IDPA when i go. Have had no problem with the gun. I, howeve, have induced error. but when i settle down and work on the fundamentals...head shots on drop down targets at 25 yards, dead center on running targets with narrow firing window.

My opinion, i think it is a great gun. this does not mean it is for everyone.

Hope this helped some.

I have 2 P-11s. One for me and one for my wife. I would not let her carry something I didn't trust. They are solid guns, and are like everything else, they need "adjusting" to their owner, and vice-a-versa. The Skyy is a copy of the P-11 with the addition of a safety to satisfy Kalifornistani laws.

Bought a p-11 back in the early 90's and never had any problems at all..It has a rather hard trigger pull but for a carry gun in your pocket I prefer that..
Does it shoot ?? Well a year or so after I got the Kel Tec I got a SA 9 full size
and it didn't shoot as good as the p-11..That gun got a new Nowlin barrel and now it is a shooter..I mention this only to point out how good that the little gun does shoot..Does bark a bit and has a little recoil but you have to put up with some discomfort to compensate for it's size and weight..

I am looking for one as I type

I own a P-11 also. It is my daily carry gun in the summer months. It is reliable, easy to carry and conceal, and accurate. As stated above it does have a long and strong trigger pull but the is exactly what you want in a self defense pistol. The trigger is smooth and it breaks cleanly so the extra pressure required to press it back isn't a big deal. It's not a pretty gun but it is reliable and goes bang every time yo pull the trigger. Mine functioned perfectly right out of the box and has continued to do so ever since. I agree with the post above about grease on the slides and keping it lubed.

The PF-9 seems to recoil heavier that the P-11 but DOES profile less in the pocket. Booth were reliable out of the box for me.
I but a KelTec trigger shoe on the P-11.