I just got off a ten-minute conference with Karl Rohrbaugh . . . I'd called the other day when trying to decide whether to buy a R9s to ask about the bullet stabilization issues I'd read about with the 147-grain bullets. Mr. Rohrbaugh graciously returned the call (I told him it was moot because I had already gone ahead and bought the gun anyway), and I got to hear some interesting stuff.
He's got over 800 guns built and out there now. Karl says they're getting better and better - Bill Wilson has wondered to Karl how Karl can sell the guns for the price that he does - the other folks building the guns are true technicians and some are former jewelers. He's had 10-15 returned, in total. Of those, half were due to owner reassembly errors or failure to clean. Karl stressed what he's said all along - this is a gun for experts - and told me that he has been able to diagnose limp-wristing problems by phone (bullets standing straight up in the mag).
Karl and I discussed the 147-grain bullet stabilization problems that I'd read about, and told me that they were due to freebore problems in that barrel. We discussed my desire to use that bullet - Karl wondered why I would want to use that heavy a bullet (I explained my thoughts - I've worked on over 100 handgun killings and find penetration to be second only to shot-placement in importance), since it would tend to batter the gun more than a lighter bullet and would recoil more heavily and therefore make follow-up shots more difficult. Karl recommended 115-gr Silvertips for the Rohrbaughs, and says that's what he carries.
Karl also said that he's amazed at folks who shoot their Rohrbaughs a lot (reporting that one man complained that his pistol was showing wear after being fired 500 times - though I've read reports by people who've fired several times that amount with no significant wear). He says you should shoot enough to be able to stay capable with it, but notes that his two-year-old gun has only had about 200 rounds through it. He said that he is capable nevertheless of 25-yd head shots with his gun on IPSC targets (I mentioned that I had seen the online video - he replied that his computer is a number two pencil), and that the gun is easy to use to hit human targets at the three-foot to seven-yard distances for which it is intended. Karl also mentioned how Larry Seecamp Sr. once said that if you need the sights at the distances for which his pistol was designed, you shouldn't be shooting it.
Here's something that might be of interest:
Karl says he's got two new guns coming out in the SHOT show, "but that's all I'm going to say." I told him that the gun I bought was precisely the gun I've wanted for years, so I can't anticipate needing another - but that that was exciting news indeed. (It might not be news at all to forum members, but it's the first I've heard of it.)
Karl ended the conversation with a gracious parting wish that I'd never have to shoot anything but paper. Amen to that! What a nice man - as everyone has commented before, it's amazing to have the president of the company personally answer your call about a product, and then take so much time visiting with you and giving you advise.
By the way, I'm going crazy. In typical NM fashion, Fed Ex delivered my Rohrbaugh to my (older) FFL friend at 6:30 p.m. My friend goes to bed very early, so I couldn't pick the gun up last night. Tonight my wife and I have committed to going to a concert with some friends after work - that means
I WON'T BE ABLE TO PICK UP MY ROHRBAUGH UNTIL TOMORROW! Fie!
Anyway, I thought you might want to hear about my conversation with Karl.
cheers, erich