R9S and NAA Guardian

[E36M3]

     I wasn't ready to make the move just yet, but I had to do something so I got a NAA Guardian (.32).  I'm brand new to CCW having got my permit yesterday.  
     For those with experience, is the Guardian maybe a great carry item for tighter fitting pants and the Rohrbaugh maybe the way to go for everything else?  Put another way, is it probably a great way to go to eventually have both?  Or does the Rohrbaugh maybe print a bit with some attire whereas the Guardian might not.
     Any size comparison pics would be greatly appreciated.

[Richard S]

E36M3:

Welcome to the Forum and to the CCW community.

I have carried a Guardian for years, and for the past few months I have carried a Rohrbaugh R9s.  My advice would be to get them both.  

As for the imprinting problem, with a quality pocket holster there will be no imprint.

We have several gifted gunleather artists who monitor and contribute to this Forum.  Check out the web sites of R. J. Hedley, Ron Graham, and K-D Holsters, for example.  

RS

[E36M3]

Thank you, Sir.  A front pocket holster from Mr. Hedley is inbound.  Getting both sounds like the way to go.  Just needed that little push.
I retract the "thank you", though, if you're not voting for Bush/Cheney.  Sorry.  Just got sidetracked by the above banner.

[GeorgeH]

I own a slew of pocketguns. But, I only carry three--the Rohrbaugh, the Guardian 380, and the Guardian 32.

The Rohrbaugh will most likely become my "always" or "nearly always" gun, but I need a little more practice before I make the switch.

Right now, I carry the G380 in my right rear pocket in a Ron Graham Rear Pocket holster. I don't expect to rely on the Rohrbaugh exclusively. However, I have a large Rohrbaugh holster order pending from Ron Graham. That should provide me with enough carry options to allow me to carry the Rohrbaugh more often.

Right now I carry my Rohrbaugh R9s in a Kentucky pocket holster when wearing a suit.

Yesterday, I sent Rohrbaugh an order for 2 spare mags, replacement grip screws, and five (5) sets of recoil springs. I'm going to replace recoil springs at the 250 round mark.

The trigger pull on the Rohrbaugh is very, very smooth, but long. So you need to shoot it for a while to get use to it.

But I agree 100% with Richard. Get both.

[Stook]

Here is a comparison picture of my Guardian .380 and R9s.  Oops - picture didn't turn out like I planned.  The Guardian is a lot smaller that the order form for the Rohrbaugh.  Wish I had the R9s to send you a comparison.  I'm sure some other diligent member of this elite group is working hard right now preparing to post the picture.  

I will add that I have the Guardian with the night sights added by NAA, but if you acquire one you should consider having Teddy Jacobson do some of his magic on it.  Its a completely different gun.  I know that some of the other members on this forum own Guardians with Actions by T.

[BillinPittsburgh]

I own a Guardian .380, but not a .32 or a Rohrbaugh (I'll likely order one at some point).  I have shot the .32.

The .380 is about the same size as the Rohrbaugh but a bit heavier.  It pretty much defines the size limit for comfortable, discreet pocket carry.  I can, and have, carried a Glock 26 in a pocket, but not without frequently wearing white spots and holes in my pants.

I buy all my pants - jeans and dress slacks - relaxed fit, and this makes a huge difference for pocket carry.

I suspect that one who owned the Rohrbaugh would prefer to carry it to the .32 most of the time, but there will definitely be times when the smaller size of the .32 would be appreciated.

If you own both, you might even carry the .32 to back up the Rohrbaugh, as I occasionally carry a Kel-Tec .32 or North American Arms .22 lr. mini revolver to back up my Guardian .380.

My .380 has Novak tritium sights, NAA custom shop stippling on the frontstrap and backstrap, and a Teddy Jacobson action job, all of which I highly recommend, although the gutter snipe sight may make more sense on the smaller .32.  Teddy reduced my trigger pull from 9.5 to 6.5 lb. without cutting springs or otherwise compromising the function of the gun.

The best front pocket holster I have seen for a true pocket gun is Ron Graham's Maverick.  For something larger like a Glock 26, Kramer's pocket holster works well.

[E36M3]

Not to hijack the Rohrbaugh forum discussing NAA firearms, but I do plan on buying a R9S.  As far as the Guardian goes, I got mine used a week and a half or so ago.  It's got the Gutter Snipe Sites and a very, very good trigger job.  Not sure who did it nor is the shop where I got it from through some trading.  Didn't get to shoot it yet, but I'm looking forward to doing so and doing a "side-by-side" subjective report one day in the near future.
Thanks.

[shooterjb]

Hi E36M3,

I just got back from vacation late this afternoon so this is the first time that I have seen your post. Something that struck me about your most recent post is that I have never heard of a Guardian having a "very, very good trigger job" unless it was done by Teddy Jacobson. I would definitely shoot the Guardian .32 to make sure that it is dependable before you carry it. Your Guardian .32 is probably OK, but someone may have sold it because the trigger job made it undependable. If there is a problem with the gun don't get rid of it, give NAA a call. They will bend over backwards to help you out.

I don't have the time right now, but later on today I will try to post a picture of a Guardian .32, a Guardian .380 and a Rohrbaugh R9S.

Frank

[GeorgeH]

Frank:

You got your R9s?

[E36M3]

I would definitely shoot the Guardian .32 to make sure that it is dependable before you carry it. Your Guardian .32 is probably OK, but someone may have sold it because the trigger job made it undependable.

That'd be a bummer.  It's very smooth (compared to stock) and not as heavy, but definitely heavy enough to fire a round (had that problem with my S&W 686 after trigger mods).  
We're right in the middle of a permanent move from NJ to PA so I hope to get to the range within the week - it's a few minutes from the new house, by the way.  What a great country (well, most of it anyway).

Edited:
The gun shop said that the trigger job was done at NAA.  

Edited Again:
Thanks Bill.  That's kinda what I thought.  No ding on the local shop - they probably just got some wrong info.  I got my 500 rounds of .32 and will see what happens with the first box of 50.

[BillinPittsburgh]

E36M3,

Your gun shop should check their facts more carefully.

NAA doesn't, to my knowledge, do trigger jobs.  In fact, the owner of NAA has stated that NAA has a policy of making guns with heavy triggers for "safety," in a thread he started describing an accidental discharge wherein a LED keychain light attached to a pocketknife worked its way into the trigger guard of a Kel-Tec P-32.

George, I, and others have stated on that forum that the problem could have been more dependably solved by using a good pocket holster and that a heavy trigger creates a safety hazard by increasing the danger of missing one's target and hitting an innocent bystander, but so far, the heavy trigger pulls remain.

[shooterjb]

Hi Goerge, E36M3, and Bill,

I got back yesterday at 3:30PM from 7 days in Ocean City Maryland and, after finding a note on my back door and a message on my answering machine, both of which I got rid of before my wife saw them, I had Rohrbaugh R9S serial number R173 in my hands by 4 PM. I have been playing with it ever since and plan to shoot it tomorrow. Apparently it was shipped last Monday and got to my dealer's Tuesday. For anyone interested, I ordered the gun April 30, 2004. Does anyone know how Rohrbaugh works the serial numbers? It seems like mine should be much higher.

I have been enjoying it even without shooting it. It has a heavier trigger pull than I remember the one at the NRA convention having, but the trigger pull is incredibly smooth and becomes heavier at the very end which will make it simple for me to stage and shoot exactly like I stage the trigger on J frame S&W's. If the gun is as accurate as reported in the American Handgunner, which I bought on vacation in Maryland, the trigger pull should make it simple to shoot this gun very well.

All I need now are some holsters for it since my holster order isn't here yet. The R9S kind of works in some Galco Beretta Tomcat holsters I had.

I apologize for the quality of the pictures that I took today, unfortunately I am no Chris, RJ or DR16 when it comes to photography, but I am posting them anyway in the hope that they might help some. I will work on getting some better pictures.

Frank

[shelb]

R173?.....ooops machinists typo maybe?  Tool chatter making the 473 look like 173?  Duane's is R47x.....if I am reading the pic he posted earlier correctly.  I don't think they started adding the R prefix until 3xx-something.  Pretty neat!  

[GeorgeH]

I don't know about the numbering scheme. Mine is just 131, without any letter of any kind.

Frank, put in your order for recoil springs.

By the way, how was vacation?

[dr16]

Hi Frank,

Nice collection you have there!

Dave