JonSidneyB
04-17-2006, 11:18 AM
I have seen one of these pistols at the ShotShow but have never handled one. I went to the Rohrbaugh forum seeking information on this firearm, Chris, the admin for that forum was kind enough to provide a write up on this gun.
Below is the information he emailed me. I have been a bit slow at getting this posted, sorry for the delay in getting this up Chris.
The Rohrbaugh R9
http://www.acbsystems.com/boards/thr/cb_gun2/r9both-ammo-918b-s.jpg
I am not affiliated in any way with Rohrbaugh Firearms but am an enthusiastic owner of two of these fine guns.* I have spent some time evaluating and testing over the last two years, in part to help others who are either prospective buyers or new owners.* My small FAQ site (http://www.acbsystems.com/boards/rohrbaugh/) has some observations and links to tests, plus a few explanations of various proceedures like takedown.* There are many useful images there.* For me the gun is more often ''BUG'' category than primary but it stands up well to being primary when circumstances dictate and carry size options are limited.
The R9 is a finely engineered pocket firearm with high tolerancing in its construction, and is on the edge of its potential with caliber designation, which is 9mm Parabellum - standard pressure.* To achieve this cannot have been easy and yet the end result is a double-action-only auto loader, with an innovative trigger design which gives a butter-smooth 7lb pull.* It uses a locked breech principle with a* 2.9" barrel and has a capacity of 6+1 rounds.*
Originally made at the Farmingdale NY factory it now is produced at Deer Park NY over the last year or so, and slides are marked with the factory of origin.* The early guns such as my examples were all silver finish with blue carbon fiber grips but now things have moved on toward a dark grey frame and black grips, those being changed now from carbon fiber to G-10 polymeric compound.* Slides are manufactured from 17-4 stainless steel, the frames from aircraft grade 7075 aluminum.* In the future we may expect to see the slides also coming out in a black finish.* A relatively recent innovation has also been a treatment by Smith and Wesson to impart a partially self-lubing finish.
The gun is available with or without sights - I chose to go with the sights which, tho relatively rudimentary and fixed, do for me provide a measure of improved sighting when time permits.* However, the advantage is quite small and some people might prefer the sleek and smooth line atop the slide by not having them - after all the gun is more for point shooting when considered in its potential combat role.
One thing missing is a slide-lock lever which does preclude being able to keep the slide locked back or enjoy the benefit of slide lock after the last round is fired.* The reasoning here is simple - to keep the gun uncluttered, slim and sleek - no protruding excrescences are present - less to snag in the pocket.* This does make take-down a bit harder but over time many of us owners have found ways to get around that and there are details on my FAQ site dealing with this subject.
One concession that does merit some explanation is the use of a large freebore, that being 0.250" - the reason being to allow a small time period for peak pressure to diminish before the bullet engraving process begins.* The 9mm is by its nature a high pressure round.* One potential downside of this requirement is that on occasions and with some ammunition, it has been noticed that bullet tumbling is evident by slight keyholing in a target.* This does not adversely affect accuracy but has worried some people.* I do not fret about this as the phenomenon is mild and does not prejudice the gun's primary function, which is that of a highly concealable close quarters defence weapon.
Is the gun easy or comfortable to shoot?* Well easy yes but not overly comfortable simply due to its diminutive size and mere 12.8 ounce weight (dry) - or about 17 ounce fully loaded.* That said, it is in my opinion very possible to develop a grip that suits and controls the gun and so avoid ''limp wristing'', something that can occur on small and lightweight semi's.* To go this small we have to accept some trade-offs.
Longer range accuracy is very good considering the gun's size and there is a Video of Karl Rohrbaugh (http://www.thingameez.com/vid-download/r9-karl-demo.wmv) demonstrating the gun, where he hits steel at about 25 yards.* Pretty good!* Obviously tho we are talking more ''close-up-and-personal'' most times - this is primarily a close-quarters defence weapon.
So - there we have it.* A fine piece of engineering, in fact to all intents a custom gun every time one comes out of the factory.* The amount of hands-on time during the gun's gestation is considerable.* Being somewhat a thorobred does however mean that it can be a bit picky over ammunition and I suggest to anyone early on that they try several brands of ammo' to find what suits their gun ideally.* For me Gold Dots come out tops but others may find Silvertips better.
One thing this gun is not, is a ''range plinker''.* While it is actually a tough gun its purpose is not recreational and we have to remember the ''cutting edge'' nature of its design and construction for the caliber.* To keep it running well does require good maintainance with clean/lube routines every 50 rounds or so - it will not generally like too much crud.* Furthermore the recoil main spring is recommended to be changed every 250 rounds.
I hope this helps provide a general picture of what this gun is all about and again suggest a visit to my FAQ site (http://www.acbsystems.com/boards/rohrbaugh/) to explore various aspects in more detail.
Below is the information he emailed me. I have been a bit slow at getting this posted, sorry for the delay in getting this up Chris.
The Rohrbaugh R9
http://www.acbsystems.com/boards/thr/cb_gun2/r9both-ammo-918b-s.jpg
I am not affiliated in any way with Rohrbaugh Firearms but am an enthusiastic owner of two of these fine guns.* I have spent some time evaluating and testing over the last two years, in part to help others who are either prospective buyers or new owners.* My small FAQ site (http://www.acbsystems.com/boards/rohrbaugh/) has some observations and links to tests, plus a few explanations of various proceedures like takedown.* There are many useful images there.* For me the gun is more often ''BUG'' category than primary but it stands up well to being primary when circumstances dictate and carry size options are limited.
The R9 is a finely engineered pocket firearm with high tolerancing in its construction, and is on the edge of its potential with caliber designation, which is 9mm Parabellum - standard pressure.* To achieve this cannot have been easy and yet the end result is a double-action-only auto loader, with an innovative trigger design which gives a butter-smooth 7lb pull.* It uses a locked breech principle with a* 2.9" barrel and has a capacity of 6+1 rounds.*
Originally made at the Farmingdale NY factory it now is produced at Deer Park NY over the last year or so, and slides are marked with the factory of origin.* The early guns such as my examples were all silver finish with blue carbon fiber grips but now things have moved on toward a dark grey frame and black grips, those being changed now from carbon fiber to G-10 polymeric compound.* Slides are manufactured from 17-4 stainless steel, the frames from aircraft grade 7075 aluminum.* In the future we may expect to see the slides also coming out in a black finish.* A relatively recent innovation has also been a treatment by Smith and Wesson to impart a partially self-lubing finish.
The gun is available with or without sights - I chose to go with the sights which, tho relatively rudimentary and fixed, do for me provide a measure of improved sighting when time permits.* However, the advantage is quite small and some people might prefer the sleek and smooth line atop the slide by not having them - after all the gun is more for point shooting when considered in its potential combat role.
One thing missing is a slide-lock lever which does preclude being able to keep the slide locked back or enjoy the benefit of slide lock after the last round is fired.* The reasoning here is simple - to keep the gun uncluttered, slim and sleek - no protruding excrescences are present - less to snag in the pocket.* This does make take-down a bit harder but over time many of us owners have found ways to get around that and there are details on my FAQ site dealing with this subject.
One concession that does merit some explanation is the use of a large freebore, that being 0.250" - the reason being to allow a small time period for peak pressure to diminish before the bullet engraving process begins.* The 9mm is by its nature a high pressure round.* One potential downside of this requirement is that on occasions and with some ammunition, it has been noticed that bullet tumbling is evident by slight keyholing in a target.* This does not adversely affect accuracy but has worried some people.* I do not fret about this as the phenomenon is mild and does not prejudice the gun's primary function, which is that of a highly concealable close quarters defence weapon.
Is the gun easy or comfortable to shoot?* Well easy yes but not overly comfortable simply due to its diminutive size and mere 12.8 ounce weight (dry) - or about 17 ounce fully loaded.* That said, it is in my opinion very possible to develop a grip that suits and controls the gun and so avoid ''limp wristing'', something that can occur on small and lightweight semi's.* To go this small we have to accept some trade-offs.
Longer range accuracy is very good considering the gun's size and there is a Video of Karl Rohrbaugh (http://www.thingameez.com/vid-download/r9-karl-demo.wmv) demonstrating the gun, where he hits steel at about 25 yards.* Pretty good!* Obviously tho we are talking more ''close-up-and-personal'' most times - this is primarily a close-quarters defence weapon.
So - there we have it.* A fine piece of engineering, in fact to all intents a custom gun every time one comes out of the factory.* The amount of hands-on time during the gun's gestation is considerable.* Being somewhat a thorobred does however mean that it can be a bit picky over ammunition and I suggest to anyone early on that they try several brands of ammo' to find what suits their gun ideally.* For me Gold Dots come out tops but others may find Silvertips better.
One thing this gun is not, is a ''range plinker''.* While it is actually a tough gun its purpose is not recreational and we have to remember the ''cutting edge'' nature of its design and construction for the caliber.* To keep it running well does require good maintainance with clean/lube routines every 50 rounds or so - it will not generally like too much crud.* Furthermore the recoil main spring is recommended to be changed every 250 rounds.
I hope this helps provide a general picture of what this gun is all about and again suggest a visit to my FAQ site (http://www.acbsystems.com/boards/rohrbaugh/) to explore various aspects in more detail.