My 2025 bingo card did not have a roller-delayed PDW coming out of the factories of Springfield Armory, but here we are! Springfield Armory has had a decades-long legacy of manufacturing small arms, such as the 1911, M1A, AR-15, Hi-Power, and more. Now we have something befitting a James Bond movie or Secret Service detail in the Kuna 9mm pistol. Follow me through my journey of reviewing this firearm in preparation for its announcement today. Let’s dive in!
Springfield Armory @ TFB:
The Springfield Armory Kuna 9mm pistol is a blend of modern aesthetic, desirable feature sets, and intentional design that makes it both striking in appearance and practical. With attributes like M-LOK, hammer-forging, roller-delayed gas system, and a monolithic upper, it assimilates a lot of the best thoughts across the firearm industry into a diminutive yet lethal package.
- Cartridge: 9mm
- Barrel: 6″ Cold Radial Hammer Forged, Melonite®, 1:10
- Sights: Hybrid Flip-Up
- Upper Receiver: Monolithic Forged 7075 T6 Aluminum, Type III Hardcoat Anodized
- Lower Receiver: Injection Molded Glass-Filled Polymer
- Gas System: Roller-Delayed
- Handguard: Integral, M-Lok®
- Pistol Brace: Strike Industries FSA
- Trigger: Flat Aluminum
The “elephant in the room” is that the Kuna is a direct competitor to the H&K SP5 (MSRP $3,389) and the Century Arms AP5 (MSRP $1,359) while the Kuna rings up at an MSRP of $1,149 for the variant we’re reviewing today. When something is $2,240 to $210 lighter on the wallet, it’ll make you stop in traffic and take notice.
- Muzzle Device: Multi-Port Muzzle Brake
- Receiver End Plate: Picatinny
- Charging Handle: Ambidextrous, Non-Reciprocating
- Safety Switch: Ambidextrous
- Trigger Guard: Integral to Receiver
- Grip: AR-Pattern w/ Adaptive Grip Texture
- Magazines: (2) 30-Round
- Weight: 5 lbs 5 oz
- Length: 15.5″ – 24.5″
While we are looking specifically at the Kuna pistol with a Strike Industries FSA brace today, Springfield Armory does have 2 options within the Kuna series. Again, for clarity, we are playing with the Springfield Armory Kuna pistol with a Strike Industries FSA brace (SKU: KN9069B-FSA). Your two potential offerings are listed below:
As always, in the rare event that you should ever need service for your firearm, Springfield Armory has a lifetime warranty that stands behind all of their firearms. While I have never experienced any issues with Springfield Armory firearms that I have reviewed in the past, it is nice to know that you have that safety net and support from Springfield.
I have already shared a lot of thoughts and opinions. So, why not some information directly from the source. This is what Springfield Armory has to say about their Kuna 9mm pistol as it enters the United States to many people’s delight:
“Designed to deliver exceptional shooting stability in a portable package, the Kuna houses a roller-delay operating system that dramatically reduces felt recoil and enhances control. Chambered in 9mm, it features a 6” threaded barrel with a muzzle brake, hybrid flip-up sights, and a 30-round translucent magazine with metal feed lips for reliable operation. Fully ambidextrous controls ensure seamless engagement for any shooter, while the non-reciprocating charging handle keeps handling smooth and unobstructed. The included Strike Industries FSA folding brace is attached to the integrated Picatinny rail end plate further enhancing shooting stability.”
What’s in the Box? Springfield Armory Kuna 9mm
One of the most common and recurring questions I receive reviewing firearms is, “What’s in the box?” Meaning, what do you all get with your purchase. This is important because what you do and do not get will dictate what type of accessories you need to additionally buy depending on what you want your end-product or weapon system to look like. All this being said, this is everything that you will receive:
- Kuna 9mm pistol
- (2) 30-Round Magazines
- Cardboard Box & Nylon, Padded Rifle Case
- Owner’s Manual, Cable Lock, Chamber Flag
***Silencer, Red Dot, and Hand Stop are NOT Included with purchase***
What’s the Upsell? What’s the 30 Second Elevator Pitch?
Another frequent question that I receive when something new hits the market is: “What’s the upsell? What’s the 30-second elevator pitch for this product?” Hopefully, throughout this review I will answer that in-depth for you. So, you can decide for yourself whether or not this is a pistol that you want to add to your arsenal. For now, these are the highlights that Springfield Armory truly wants you to take home with you:
- Pic Rail End Plate – The integrated Picatinny Rail on the end plate allows for the attachment of pistol braces.
- M-LOK – Ample M-LOK real estate is available on the upper receiver for various accessories.
- AR Pattern Grip – The AR-pattern grip on the Kuna features the familiar adaptive grip texture and storage compartment.
- Flat Trigger – The flat-faced aluminum trigger on the Kuna has a tactile break and short, audible reset.
- Roller-Delayed Operating System – The roller-delayed operating system uses a locking roller to delay the bolt, allowing for a lighter design that reduces recoil.
- Strike Industries FSA Brace – The Strike Industries FSA brace is a single-side folder that offers quick deployment and compact storage.
- Hybrid Flip-Up Sights – Easily swap between sight configurations with spring-loaded adjustable metal flip-up sights.
Range Experience – Springfield Armory Kuna 9mm
To test the Springfield Armory Kuna 9mm, I ran a bunch of Federal Premium’s Gold Medal Action Pistol 147 Grain Full Metal Jacket (FMJ). I’ll gladly give Federal a shout-out quickly because nearly every 9mm review I’ve completed in the past year I’ve been shooting this ammo. It’s been reliable, clean, and consistent. All good attributes you’d want and expect from your range ammo. So, thank you to Federal for providing that ammo.
Over the course of one long range session, I fired roughly 500 rounds of 9mm through this pistol with the bulk of it being Gold Medal Action Pistol, but also some other random 9mm ammo I had laying around as well. All of it cycled flawlessly. Even the fistfuls of random ammo I jammed into mags.
The Kuna comes with a pair of 30-round magazines, while these are proprietary they are competitively priced at approximately $25.00 (MSRP). The 30-round magazines for the Kuna had somewhat stiff springs at the outset, but the longer I shot the more they loosened in a positive way. The first several magazines were “thumb beaters,” but the rest were a lot easier to load.
Something I felt compelled to add to this pistol was a hand stop. The magwell is textured where you could grip with your non-dominant hand there, but I didn’t want to be “choked up” on the firearm. So, I added a Strike Industries hand stop. The Strike Industries Bikini Hand Stop (MSRP $12.95 – 2 pack) is minimalism personified, and is exactly what I was hoping for in adding a hand stop to this platform. Enough to catch my hand from touching a hot silencer or muzzle, but also tiny enough to not detract from the sexy aesthetic of this PDW.
This pistol was everything that you might imagine it to be: light, fast, compact, easy-to-wield, and reliable. I had zero malfunctions in testing and the longer I fired it the more I loved it.
The recoil impulse is negligible at best. Very light recoiling. Additionally, this thing is incredibly accurate. Did I bench this thing and shoot groups? Absolutely not. This is a defensive firearm that I would deploy at 50 yards or less. This is not a hunting tool, it is not a sniper rifle. It is for close quarters, self-defense. My metric for accuracy was essentially mag-dumping onto steel at 20 – 25 yards. We’re talking about blowing through a mag as fast as you can. Doing this on silhouette steel is a cakewalk (because it is an enormous target). I also did this repeatedly on 5” steel gongs never missing. I’ll take that any day of the week.
The flat face trigger has a nice, repeatable break to it. So, that made shooting by volume a lot easier as well.
Suppressor Use – Springfield Armory Kuna 9mm
To hush this lil’ baby and to engage in some more dynamic range shooting, I headed to Josh Froelich’s F5 Range in Minnesota. If you are searching for some top-tier training, a machine gun shooting experience, or want to hit an open range day to clap steel out to 500 yards, please check him out. He’s an amazing guy who is running an equally amazing facility.
The silencer I used to test the Kuna was a JK 105 CCX from JK Armament. Simple direct thread attachment on the ½” x 28 TPI muzzle and you can let the good times roll.
I tested this firearm 50/50 suppressed versus unsuppressed – and if you have a silencer – slap that bad boy on there! It’ll make you giddy like a kid on Christmas morning to shoot this suppressed while clapping steel. The addition of a suppressor did not change my point-of-impact or accuracy.
Vehicle Work – Springfield Armory Kuna 9mm
I have been writing for TFB for 9 years, and this is the first time I wore a suit to the range (yes, I did it so I could LARP like I’m some secret service dude). Also, I did a lot of vehicle work to test the handiness of deploying this pistol in tight spaces (something that is allowed at F5 Range in Minnesota).
The Strike Industries FSA Brace is very tight and has a bit of a learning curve to deploying it quickly, but once you get the hang of it, you can deploy it very quickly.
For people who may be in security detail or law enforcement as their occupation, this was very handy to be manipulating around vehicles and tight spaces.
Even with a suppressor fitted you could easily clear a steering wheel and pull it out from the passenger’s seat or floor mat. If you need to hop out of a vehicle and be on the move, that is also an easy task for how small this braced-pistol is.
I felt very confident pulling this pistol out of a vehicle, deploying the brace while on the move, and gaining a proper sight alignment to take an effective shot.
All in all, this is a very effective PDW. Whether you are jumping out of an enclosed cab Ranger, UTV, or suburban.
Final Thoughts
So, what are my final thoughts on the Springfield Armory Kuna 9mm pistol?… There is a tremendous amount to like about this pistol. The price and value proposition is off the charts. This pistol delivers on performance, quality, and reliability at – or significantly above – its competitors. An $1,149 MSRP feels like a misprint to me at this point. This one hell of a PDW. Accurate, modern, reliable, fun, and modular enough to accept accessories.
My one complaint is that Springfield should give you the Strike Industries Bikini Hand Stop that I added to mine for this review since they are already giving you one Strike Industries product in their FSA brace. I had strong concerns I was going to scorch my hand without a hand stop. So, I would highly recommend one. Other than that, I loved it. I have never been a big “roller-delayed guy” or had desires to own this category of firearm, but goll damn… Springfield is going to make me spend money I hadn’t intended on spending because this pistol is simply that good.
In closing, I want to say thank you to Springfield Armory for allowing The Firearm Blog and myself the opportunity to try out their new Springfield Armory Kuna 9mm pistol. That is greatly appreciated. Also, we would like to know what all of you guys and gals think? Do you believe that the Springfield Armory Kuna 9mm pistol is something worth spending your money on? Would you potentially deploy it out of a vehicle? Shoot a league or competition? Keep it as a nightstand gun for home defense? As always, let us know all of your thoughts about Springfield Armory and their all-new series of Kuna 9mm pistols in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.
