I rolled the dice on picking up the Kodiak Defence K9 - with SFRC's 16% off sale, it was $1179 all-in shipped to BC, so worth the "risk" for a possible nice rifle.
Out of the box the quality looks great, nice machining, takedown pins are snug and the lower/upper rattle present on the FX-9 is not there. Charging handle is AR standard size, buffer tube is mil-spec, finish looks great. The factory MFT stock is a clone and rattled around and felt cheap, so the only mod I did was to replace it with a magpul SL. Presumably this should not affect function or reliability as the buffer tube and everything else is factory.
limited time for the range so I focused on (1) magazine compatibility and function (2) ammo variance. Accuracy tests to be done later.
Tested magazines - left to right:
Result: No feeding or function issues during testing! Each mag dropped free, fed both first round when full, and last round. The first round of mags were all loaded with CCI Speer TMJ with the flat nose - so I was expecting some issues with the feed ramp, but not the case!
2 magazine related issues were the insertion of the mag on the closed bolt with the ETS and the Glock OEM 10 rounder to seat the mag - both needed a good smack to lock it in place. BHO functioned for all mags and the BHO was reliable and did not self-close once (ahem FX-9!).
Tested 9mm Ammo:
Sorry - no aluminum or steel case on hand. Next time!
I tried with various magazines, zero FTE, FTF, stovepipes, or other issues. I inspected the ejected brass for anything funky, nothing observable to my eye.
All-in about 300 rounds that day, rapid fire, half-full mags, full mags, 1 and 2 rounds, no issues aside from seating the mag on the closed bolt in the above 2 cases.
Other observations:
1. Lots of gas back at your face - just like the FX-9. A better charging handle like the Radian SL might help with that?!
2. It's heavier than the FX-9 - I need to weigh it to confirm but the barrel looks like it's heavier profile so the weight "felt" forward.
3. The stock charging handle is WAY better than the FX-9 latest gen enhanced charging handle. Zero lateral slop, easy to rack with one hand back slap. I have a Raptor awaiting range tests but it fits just fine.
4. Cleaning the rifle was easy. BCG and access are as good as the FX-9. Minimal brass dust.
5. Mag release travel is far less than the FX-9, less effort to drop the mag.
Happy day - I am pleasantly surprised so far. Accuracy is still TBD, and 300 rounds are still not enough for a full break-in, but this is still positive.
Left to right: Keltec CMR30 NR (Irunguns), Derya TM22 9" NR (Dlask), Kodiak K9.
Out of the box the quality looks great, nice machining, takedown pins are snug and the lower/upper rattle present on the FX-9 is not there. Charging handle is AR standard size, buffer tube is mil-spec, finish looks great. The factory MFT stock is a clone and rattled around and felt cheap, so the only mod I did was to replace it with a magpul SL. Presumably this should not affect function or reliability as the buffer tube and everything else is factory.
limited time for the range so I focused on (1) magazine compatibility and function (2) ammo variance. Accuracy tests to be done later.
Tested magazines - left to right:
- Magpul PMAG 10/10 (this is the included magazine)
- Glock OEM 10/10 round
- KCI Glock 10/17 round
- SGM Tactical 10/30
- ETS 5/30
Result: No feeding or function issues during testing! Each mag dropped free, fed both first round when full, and last round. The first round of mags were all loaded with CCI Speer TMJ with the flat nose - so I was expecting some issues with the feed ramp, but not the case!
2 magazine related issues were the insertion of the mag on the closed bolt with the ETS and the Glock OEM 10 rounder to seat the mag - both needed a good smack to lock it in place. BHO functioned for all mags and the BHO was reliable and did not self-close once (ahem FX-9!).
Tested 9mm Ammo:
- Speer 147gr (Flatnose TMJ brass)
- Winchester 115gr (round nose, brass)
- CCI Blazer 114gr (round nose, brass)
- CCI Blazer 124gr (round nose, brass)
Sorry - no aluminum or steel case on hand. Next time!
I tried with various magazines, zero FTE, FTF, stovepipes, or other issues. I inspected the ejected brass for anything funky, nothing observable to my eye.
All-in about 300 rounds that day, rapid fire, half-full mags, full mags, 1 and 2 rounds, no issues aside from seating the mag on the closed bolt in the above 2 cases.
Other observations:
1. Lots of gas back at your face - just like the FX-9. A better charging handle like the Radian SL might help with that?!
2. It's heavier than the FX-9 - I need to weigh it to confirm but the barrel looks like it's heavier profile so the weight "felt" forward.
3. The stock charging handle is WAY better than the FX-9 latest gen enhanced charging handle. Zero lateral slop, easy to rack with one hand back slap. I have a Raptor awaiting range tests but it fits just fine.
4. Cleaning the rifle was easy. BCG and access are as good as the FX-9. Minimal brass dust.
5. Mag release travel is far less than the FX-9, less effort to drop the mag.
Happy day - I am pleasantly surprised so far. Accuracy is still TBD, and 300 rounds are still not enough for a full break-in, but this is still positive.
Left to right: Keltec CMR30 NR (Irunguns), Derya TM22 9" NR (Dlask), Kodiak K9.
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