I was talking with the manager of Jay's, my local store here in Clare, Mi. I asked him about the lack of Kel-tec's in the displays. He said he has many on order but they don't seem to be building them right now. Apparently Kel-tec's primary industry is defence and aero space technology. When demand for their products in those field is up, firearm production ceases to be a priority for them. Too bad, I really wanted to handle the single column nine and try to decide between that or a PAT3 or a Ruger. And he said 'Yes, the Ruger is a smoothed up Kel-tec. Apparently Kel-tec failed to patent the design. Go figure. I may have to buy the Ruger if they become available before I can lay my hands on the Kel-tec 9. 44 Man