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Gun Reports - News

Kel-Tec PF-9

What CTD’s Top-Selling Handguns
Say About the Market

(GunReports.com) — Though most shooters know CheaperThanDirt.com as an online ammo and accessories seller, the company also has a sizable brick-and-mortar retail gunstore presence in Texas’s Dallas-Ft. Worth area. CTD recently released a list of its top-five selling handguns for December, and the company's top-sellers for the Christmas season show a decided tilt toward affordability and utility.

Ranked one through five, the bestsellers (along with actual counter prices) were:

Kel-Tec PF-9, $215.59

CTD staff comment: “Not the PMR-30, but it will have to do. Kel-Tec develops some of the most sought after guns. Anybody seen the PMR-30 and the KSG? We get questions daily about these Kel-Tec guns. Since the PMR-30 is next to impossible to find, you could settle on the Kel-Tec PF-9. The Kel-Tec designers manufactured the PF-9 to be a thin, light, and concealable backup pistol for civilian and law enforcement use. Designers included a hammer block safety and single

Ruger LCP

stack magazine, making a compromise between the P-11 and the P-3AT. Until recently, the PF-9 was the lightest and thinnest 9mm in mass production. The Kel-Tec PF-9 is accurate at short range, feeds ammo reliably, and Kel-Tec makes it here in the USA! It holds eight rounds of 9mm and has no external safety. Just pull back the slide and you’re good to go.”

Ruger LCP, $256.09

CTD staff comment: “The Ruger LCP is a compact .380 Auto from the industry leader in rugged, reliable firearms. It functions well as a backup firearm for law enforcement, as well as licensed carry for personal protection. This ultra-light, compact carry pistols weigh only 9.4 ounces in Ruger’s smallest pistol frame with a height of 3.6 inches and a width of just .82 inches. The LCP is comfortable and affordable, making it a natural choice for a dependable back up or personal defense carry pistol. Developers

Hi-Point 40SW-B

topped the high performance with a glass-filled nylon frame and a through-hardened steel slide in a blued finish. A soft case also is included. Designed with both male and female shooters in mind, the LCP is as affordable as it is reliable. At just 9.40 ounces (with an empty magazine), the LCP is lightweight and ideal for all-day carry, ensuring you have it when and where you need it.”

Hi-Point 40SW-B, $125.77

CTD staff comment: “A lifetime warranty. What could possibly go wrong? The Hi-Point is cheap and has a lifetime warranty. No wonder it is our third best selling handgun. I have found that most people are completely Team Hi-Point or Team Anti Hi-Point. I’m not gonna buy one, but I’m a gun snob. No, it isn’t very pretty, but what I’ve read of them, they surprise people who think they won’t like them. Therefore, I guess if you are

Ruger LC9

on a budget and you really, really need a gun, get the Hi-Point. Who am I to judge?”

Ruger LC9, $314.24

The Ruger LC9 is a polymer-framed, 9mm pocket pistol. Clearly designed for concealed carry, the Ruger LC9 has melted edges for a snag-free holstering, carry, and drawing. It has a smooth, double-action only trigger and in our field tests, it performed flawlessly. The Ruger LC9 is restricted-state friendly with a host of different safety features, such as a loaded chamber indicator and internal lock, and manual safeties. With a 3.12-inch barrel, the Ruger LC9 has manageable recoil at an affordable price if you are in the market for a new concealed carry pistol with plenty of stopping power.”

S&W SW40VE Sigma Series, $272.34

CTD staff comment: “If you have done any research on the S&W SW40VE Sigma, you might have found that people call it a Glock clone, but this is a misnomer. The

S&W SW40VE Sigma Series

S&W SW40VE Sigma is Glockish, but is not really like a Glock at all. Many people have had no issues with the S&W SW40VE Sigma, especially the new ones. The original models had some issues, but Smith & Wesson has since solved them. Even though the S&W SW40VE has a tough trigger pull it makes a more than adequate defense pistol. It holds plenty of .40 S&W ammo, 14 rounds to be exact. It has a 4-inch barrel, three-dot sights, and an 18-degree ergonomic grip.”

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Reader Comments

Inexpensive, lightweight, easy to carry and conceal (except maybe Hi-Point, where inexpensive trumps the other attributes). Not surprising these are popular among non-gunsnobs.

Comment by: JOHN R | February 2, 2012

Thanx beton

Comment by: beton | February 8, 2012

Thanx beton

Comment by: beton | February 8, 2012

I own several pistols that are much higher priced than these, but I also own some of these as well. What's not to like about reasonable price, easy conceal-ability, reliable performance, and relatively attractive appearance (except the Hi-Point)?

Comment by: canovack | February 9, 2012

These results should not be intrepeted to reflect any kind of national trend! The market demographics for this particular store are self evident!

Comment by: ordnance outsellers | February 9, 2012

I have a Hi-Point .45, but wouldn't want to walk around with that on my belt all day. I could carry a 4-lb. engineer's hammer more easily. But, they are a quality gun (unless you think 'quality' means something other than 'works out of the box' and 'very serviceable') for a price a working family can afford. However, I didn't know they had a .40 at that price. Looks like I'm going to the gun store again....

Comment by: david b | February 9, 2012

David b, please don't take my coment about Hi-Point firearms as negative. They are good shooters, and they have a lifetime guarantee. They are just butt ugly.....

Comment by: canovack | February 9, 2012

Colonel - I didn't take your comment that way. I know however that many folks who've never used one will trash them out all day, and my post was directed to them.

As for butt-ugly, one of the most memorable women I've ever been with was not anybody's pretty child, if you know what I mean. But she more than made up for that. I feel the same about my Hi-Point. Well, not QUITE the same....

and I didn't mean to hijack the page either. The topic was about what those CTD sales might mean - to me it means that there are a lot of folks interested in concealed carry of small handguns these days. And THAT I think is a good thing.

Comment by: david b | February 9, 2012

No wheel guns? I am not surprised but I wonder.

Comment by: olafhardtB | February 9, 2012

I have a 5 year-old Hi-Point 9mm that I bought on a bet (I had LOST the bet, btw) and after 5 years I'm beginning to think I may actually have won the bet instead of losing it. After a couple of hundred rounds, the trigger settled down and became easy as pie to stage for tight shots. It's tricky to clean, but the construction is such that you only need to do the barrel four out of five times; it just doesn't get dirty inside. Yeah, it's butt-ugly; but I remember a comment from school: All a pretty girl has to do is be pretty. An ugly girl has to be EVERYTHING ELSE. That pretty much describes my Hi-Point: Ugly, accurate, easy to shoot well, easy to care for, and it NEVER jams unless something serious has happened and then its easy to clear. It's no 1911, that's for sure. But then...it really doesn't have to be, does it?

Comment by: KMacK | February 9, 2012

I have owned most of these and shot them all. They will protect you, are fun to shoot! What else to you need?

Comment by: old tex | February 9, 2012

There always has been a market out there for a very small and light pocket size pistol that folks can just slip in a front pocket with a pocket holster...However there is a downside,,,small and light means a small light slide moving very fast over a short distance and that is hard to do reliably extracting and ejecting and feeding. I have tried quite a few small guns including the Seecamp,,Kahr,,Kel Tec,,and others putting thousands of rounds downrange and all of them have jammed on me,,causing me to carry a small five shot J frame revolver.

Comment by: Pointman | February 10, 2012

A P-11 with a DAO ten pound trigger was, is, enough Kel-Tec, or any small DAO for me.

Comment by: Wayne1 | March 7, 2012

Wayne, I've gotta agree with you about the Kel-Tec P-11. I bought one several years ago, when they first hit the market. The little 9mm is compact, lightweight, packs 10+1 rounds, and always goes "bang"!

Comment by: canovack | March 7, 2012