Detonics Pocket 9 ?
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THE PILGRIM
Member
Have owned 2.
Well made, function ok.
But they are unlocked breech guns.
They have some mean little short recoil Springs!
Extremely hard to rack that slide!
Not much to grab onto!
Some of the newer guns like the Kahrs are better choices.
They have Browning type locked breeches and aren't that difficult to jack.
Here's my Runt 9mm Kahr, blackened Stainless slide and plastic frame.
Kahr has a mulitude of models including all Stainless.
Well made, function ok.
But they are unlocked breech guns.
They have some mean little short recoil Springs!
Extremely hard to rack that slide!
Not much to grab onto!
Some of the newer guns like the Kahrs are better choices.
They have Browning type locked breeches and aren't that difficult to jack.
Here's my Runt 9mm Kahr, blackened Stainless slide and plastic frame.
Kahr has a mulitude of models including all Stainless.
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THE PILGRIM
Member
Pocket 9? Not me!
Kahr? Yes, that why I bought it.
Kahr? Yes, that why I bought it.
jframejoey
Member
Pocket 9s always looked like a PPK and a 3913 had a baby with a Hi Point being one of the grand parents. But Sonny Crooket and Thomas Magnum both carried one for a time sooooo...... well they gotta be cool.
Bullzaye
US Veteran
I bought a Detonics Pocket 9, lightly used, at a gun show sometime back in the late 80's. I had read a pretty positive review by Leroy Thompson in Combat Handguns and decided I *needed* one.
I really wanted to like the Pocket 9. It's a solid little chunk of stainless steel, and feels pretty business-like. Bought several brand new spare mags for it too. First time I shot it...I was fairly underwhelmed. I was still a relatively new shooter, and had plenty of "bad days" at the range...so I wrote off my performance with the Pocket 9 as just another bad day.
Shot it a few more times, but never warmed to it. So...it kinda worked its way to the back of the safe. After some years had gone by, and I was a little more consistent shooter...I revisited it. At that point I made definite note of its deficiencies.
For all its weight and mass...it kicks like a mule. It even twists in the hand under recoil. The grip is fat, for a single stack magazine, and short, so it never feels that comfortable in the hand. The double action trigger pull is horrid. Not that its so incredibly heavy, but, IIRC, it stacks rather badly, is not very smooth, and has severe over-travel. Follow-through feels impossible, as the trigger continues to pull another yard after it breaks. I tried dry-firing a lot, to master the DA trigger. Never, ever, not once...could I keep the sights aligned while dry-firing DA. Between the not-so-great trigger, and the *enormous* over-travel...the sight picture always jerked and weaved when the trigger broke.
The safety lever is pretty slim and a bit slick, very difficult to manipulate even under perfect conditions. Even with the safety engaged, depressing the trigger will drop the hammer...it just strikes a hammer block, and doesn't discharge...hopefully. The safety does not decock the pistol, so you could carry it cocked and...*sort-of* locked. I never knew if it was really safe to carry with safety off, so I couldn't see any realistic way to carry it. Perhaps it's safe to carry with safety off, hammer down...but you'll either have to thumb-cock it so as to fire your first round SA, or just squeeze off a "throw-away" in DA and then get serious. And thumb-cocking is not easily accomplished, because it has a very minimally-exposed, sort-of "melted" hammer.
Finally...the takedown is ridiculous. Without going into details...it basically takes three hands to take it down. Not friendly at all.
I don't believe mine ever malfunctioned in any way...but then I probably only ever put a couple hundred rounds through it, and all of them FMJ.
So...it's kinda cute, and feels solid in the hand. It weighs a ton for its size, kicks like a mule, only holds 6+1 rounds, is relatively inaccurate, mostly due to its DA trigger(I can't recall how it fired in SA, if it was accurate or not...but I don't think it impressed me), and is a pain to field-strip.
As a bonus...I keep seeing them for sale at the same price I paid some 30-odd years ago, and I've never seen one actually sell. So...a solid investment all the way around!
Tim
ETA: Forgot to mention price. All the ones I've seen have been around $325-$425 depending on condition and spare mags or other accessories. Most seem to hover around $400.
I really wanted to like the Pocket 9. It's a solid little chunk of stainless steel, and feels pretty business-like. Bought several brand new spare mags for it too. First time I shot it...I was fairly underwhelmed. I was still a relatively new shooter, and had plenty of "bad days" at the range...so I wrote off my performance with the Pocket 9 as just another bad day.
Shot it a few more times, but never warmed to it. So...it kinda worked its way to the back of the safe. After some years had gone by, and I was a little more consistent shooter...I revisited it. At that point I made definite note of its deficiencies.
For all its weight and mass...it kicks like a mule. It even twists in the hand under recoil. The grip is fat, for a single stack magazine, and short, so it never feels that comfortable in the hand. The double action trigger pull is horrid. Not that its so incredibly heavy, but, IIRC, it stacks rather badly, is not very smooth, and has severe over-travel. Follow-through feels impossible, as the trigger continues to pull another yard after it breaks. I tried dry-firing a lot, to master the DA trigger. Never, ever, not once...could I keep the sights aligned while dry-firing DA. Between the not-so-great trigger, and the *enormous* over-travel...the sight picture always jerked and weaved when the trigger broke.
The safety lever is pretty slim and a bit slick, very difficult to manipulate even under perfect conditions. Even with the safety engaged, depressing the trigger will drop the hammer...it just strikes a hammer block, and doesn't discharge...hopefully. The safety does not decock the pistol, so you could carry it cocked and...*sort-of* locked. I never knew if it was really safe to carry with safety off, so I couldn't see any realistic way to carry it. Perhaps it's safe to carry with safety off, hammer down...but you'll either have to thumb-cock it so as to fire your first round SA, or just squeeze off a "throw-away" in DA and then get serious. And thumb-cocking is not easily accomplished, because it has a very minimally-exposed, sort-of "melted" hammer.
Finally...the takedown is ridiculous. Without going into details...it basically takes three hands to take it down. Not friendly at all.
I don't believe mine ever malfunctioned in any way...but then I probably only ever put a couple hundred rounds through it, and all of them FMJ.
So...it's kinda cute, and feels solid in the hand. It weighs a ton for its size, kicks like a mule, only holds 6+1 rounds, is relatively inaccurate, mostly due to its DA trigger(I can't recall how it fired in SA, if it was accurate or not...but I don't think it impressed me), and is a pain to field-strip.
As a bonus...I keep seeing them for sale at the same price I paid some 30-odd years ago, and I've never seen one actually sell. So...a solid investment all the way around!
Tim
ETA: Forgot to mention price. All the ones I've seen have been around $325-$425 depending on condition and spare mags or other accessories. Most seem to hover around $400.
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THE PILGRIM
Member
As I recall, the mentioned prices are equal-less than I bought and sold at about 15 years ago.
okiegtrider
Member
And they say Glocks are ugly...
Rock185
US Veteran
jpage, never owned one, but got to shoot one. Shot a magazine of standard pressure ammo. No malfunctions, but sharp,nasty recoil. Foolishly decided to shoot a magazine of +P ammo in it. Sharper, nastier recoil. No malfunctions, but I had no desire whatsoever to own one after my short initiation with the pistol. There are small locked breech pistols that weigh less and demonstrate a more gentle perceived recoil.....
BruceM
Member
Sonny Crockett filled his ankle holster with a Detonics Combat Master, not a Pocket Nine.
Bruce
During the 1990s I owned a Pocket 9 long enough to experiment with reloads and decide that it was an unsatisfactory pistol. As others have posted it was harder than most pistols to work the slide, cock the hammer, disengage the safety and shoot accurately DA. I can add that early Pocket 9s like the one in okiegtrider's picture hit very low. That was corrected in later production by making the rear sight stand up above the slide. That feature is obvious at a glance.
The best story about mine is how a friend fixed its magazine for me. I had only one. The floor plate which was spot welded on fell off while I was firing it. Very fortunately my friend the welder was shooting next to me. We drove straight to his shop where he did a fine bead weld all the way around. That took skill. Before the internet finding a magazine would have been tough.
The best story about mine is how a friend fixed its magazine for me. I had only one. The floor plate which was spot welded on fell off while I was firing it. Very fortunately my friend the welder was shooting next to me. We drove straight to his shop where he did a fine bead weld all the way around. That took skill. Before the internet finding a magazine would have been tough.
Erich
Member
I got to fire a used one when I managed a gun store between college and law school. Like the ASP pistols, I think these are best appreciated as an evolutionary step (in this case, an evolutionary trail that went nowhere unless you count Hi-Points) rather than something a serious person would use today. I would agree with my neighbor THE PILGRIM and everyone else on this thread.
Linejudgemick
Member
There is a used one for sale at a local dealer for $330. I know nothing about them so I never seriously considered it and would be conscerned if it ever needed parts I couldn't find them.
Crockett wore a Pocket Nine in the Pilot in the small of his back.
THE PILGRIM
Member
Sonny and associates wore whose ever check cleared at the bank!
If your check will clear, your guns will appear.
Bren 10s were used for a while.
But their check would not clear!
If your check will clear, your guns will appear.
Bren 10s were used for a while.
But their check would not clear!
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