Author Topic: Ok... Lovin my Rohrbaugh(S)...  (Read 210650 times)

Offline JoshA

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Ok... Lovin my Rohrbaugh(S)...
« on: February 22, 2014, 09:34:29 PM »
First time R9 owner. I love everything about my R9 except for the most important thing that I carry it for. Reliability.

I bought it used a year ago. I have changed springs numerous times in the course of range sessions. Lubed it in every way I can practically imagine. Ran through 200 Winchester silver tips. I can't seem to get this thing to eject in a dependable fashion  :-[

After hours of range time and musing and hours more reading this forum I am wondering if I got a lemon???

The only thing I can imagine doing shy of sending my second hand R9 in for the $ and repairs is to try gold dot 124 grain.

Has anyone else had terrible success (FTE 1 out of +/- 15 rounds) with the silver tip 115 gr and then switched to another round and experienced great success?

I have read that some R9's are pickier than others.

Any other advice?

Thanks for all of the great reads :))
« Last Edit: March 04, 2015, 11:22:14 PM by JoshA »
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.

John Stuart Mill
English economist & philosopher (1806 - 1873)

Offline dddonkey

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Re: I want to love my Rohrbaugh... But
« Reply #1 on: February 23, 2014, 07:44:22 AM »
I would suggest different ammo. My R9 only likes silver tips or speer lawman/gold dots in 124 or 147gr. My R9 does not like anything else and I have tried 7 or 8 different types of ammo. If that does not work I would call the factory, they are very nice. Good luck!

Offline tracker

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Re: I want to love my Rohrbaugh... But
« Reply #2 on: February 23, 2014, 12:21:20 PM »

After reading through some past posts on the FTE problem it appears that it may be remedied by:

1. heavier ammo as described above.

2. Tighter grip--we all think we use a tight grip but one forum member solved this issue by tightening his grip even more.

3. The ejector could be out of spec and can be fixed at the factory.

Offline JoshA

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Re: I want to love my Rohrbaugh... But
« Reply #3 on: February 23, 2014, 05:38:04 PM »
Thanks MUCH for the ideas. I will implement immediately.

Give me any more ideas that may be out there.

I will post to let you know the results.
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.

John Stuart Mill
English economist & philosopher (1806 - 1873)

Offline MRC

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Re: I want to love my Rohrbaugh... But
« Reply #4 on: February 23, 2014, 06:03:39 PM »
All good suggestions.  Try as many different loads that you can find.  Use the "hottest" ammo that you can find that is not +P.

Take an experienced shooter with you and let him try the stuff that does not work for you and see if the shooter makes a difference.

That said, my first R9 would not feed anything either.  I tried 7 or 8 different loads and the only thing I ever got a complete magazine  to feed and eject was Blaser Aluminum.  Tried two different shooters with the same results.  All the ammo would work in ,my PM9 and both my friends' PF9's.

Sent the pistol back to Long Island for good and they said it worked fine and it must be me.

Strange, but my second R9 has never had a single failure of any kind.

Offline backupr9

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Re: I want to love my Rohrbaugh... But
« Reply #5 on: February 23, 2014, 08:44:45 PM »
JoshA, your firing pin retainer may be out of spec and moving laterally.  When it does, it will impede the motion of the slide and cause faulty ejection...a more common problem than we should be seeing in a pistol of this quality.   I had this problem and sent the pistol back..it is now and has been for several years my daily carry with no issues whatsovever.

Gently move the firing pin retainer (with the slide removed and held upside down) back and forth with a small screwdriver or something similar...if it moves, it is the problem...easily fixed and you will have a dependable daily carry piece.
John
"Those who would sacrifice a little freedom for a little order, will lose both, and deserve neither." 
Thomas Jefferson

Endur Fortis

Offline JoshA

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Re: I want to love my Rohrbaugh... But
« Reply #6 on: February 24, 2014, 09:39:57 AM »
Thanks fellas.

I own approx 20 pistols, most of them higher quality pocket(ish) variety and small holster guns... Sig 938, sig 290, sig ultra compact, XDS, Shield, kimber ultra cary, s&w 642, Seecamp 380, Seecamp .32 blah blah blah.

Although every last one of these pistols beats MY Rohrbaugh R9 on reliability I keep bringing the R9 out to try to work the glitches out.

WHY??? Simple. It is the most perfect pistol build I own. When balancing size, power and quality together it's the winner. It just fits all the bills. Quite honestly, if I could get this thing to feed and eject 1 brand and weight reliablby I would be the biggest fan boy out there. I have everything that I think could compete and just want this thing to work because of its closeness to perfection.

Am I crazy? Not according to the posts on here. It looks as though others of you have success with this pistolé and LOVE it. I can definately see why!

I will be looking for some 124 gr gold tips and lawman today and giving this thing more time to figure out.

Thanks for the tips and advice.

This forum is the best thing for the sales of Rohrbaugh out there. If it weren't for it I would have thrown in the towel by now.
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.

John Stuart Mill
English economist & philosopher (1806 - 1873)

Offline JoshA

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Re: I want to love my Rohrbaugh... But
« Reply #7 on: February 24, 2014, 11:28:37 AM »
Hey backupr9. You may be on to something here.

Thanks for the help on the reliability issue with my r9.

The firing pin retainer does wiggle a very minor amount (less than the diameter if a hair). Is this enough to cause the problem?

 You said it could be moving laterally. What do mean?

I'm noting the slightest (almost undetectable) rotation on the firing pin. Is this enough to cause FFE?
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.

John Stuart Mill
English economist & philosopher (1806 - 1873)

Offline MRC

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Re: I want to love my Rohrbaugh... But
« Reply #8 on: February 24, 2014, 11:39:56 AM »
Hey backupr9. You may be on to something here.

Thanks for the help on the reliability issue with my r9.

The firing pin retainer does wiggle a very minor amount (less than the diameter if a hair). Is this enough to cause the problem?

 You said it could be moving laterally. What do mean?

I'm noting the slightest (almost undetectable) rotation on the firing pin. Is this enough to cause FFE?


JoshA

You probably should just call Rohrbaugh with you findings.  It is their fault and they should fix it if that is the problem.

Offline JoshA

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Re: I want to love my Rohrbaugh... But
« Reply #9 on: February 24, 2014, 11:48:33 AM »
Thanks MRC.

I have a call in to Maria and am waiting for a call back.
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.

John Stuart Mill
English economist & philosopher (1806 - 1873)

Offline tracker

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Re: I want to love my Rohrbaugh... But
« Reply #10 on: February 24, 2014, 12:57:04 PM »

Here is a previous post on the firing pin retainer issue:


 

Firing pin retainer movement
« on: June 01, 2013, 06:58:33 PM »
Quote
Should your firing pin retainer on the R9 have any side to side movement?

I recently sent my gun back to the company as my firing pin retainer was out of spec and rotated and caught on the frame.  The company said it was out of spec and fixed the problem.

I just got the gun back and took it to the range today and fired 4 clips on Gold Dot's down the pipe without a hitch.

When I got home I cleaned the gun and noticed the firing pin retainer would move to the side and it made me nervous.  Can other members tell me if there retainer has play in it?

I included twp pictures.  The first one with it in the normal position and the second with it moved to the side.

 image.jpg (100.22 kB, 600x800 - viewed 31 times.)

 image.jpg (95.28 kB, 600x800 - viewed 35 times

Offline Richard S

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Re: I want to love my Rohrbaugh... But
« Reply #11 on: February 24, 2014, 08:57:28 PM »
Josh:

I post this with no intention to offend or appear to be pretentious.

1. You purchased a used R9.  Only God and the previous owner know what if any abuse was inflicted on your copy of the finest pocket pistol ever produced.

2.  I do not purport to know the grip you have used in firing your R9, but I can assure you that anything less than a firm platform (some call it "limp wristing") to absorb the recoil force of a 13-ounce pistol chambered for the 9mm Parabellum cartridge will result in FTEs, FTFs, and who the hell knows what else of a disappointing nature. 

3.  I have the 32nd R9 sold to the public, and it has never malfunctioned for me in nearly a decade of ownership and regular use (fortunately, only at the range and not in self-defense).

4.  There have been thousands of R9s produced since I took delivery of mine.  A very few have malfunctioned, mainly due to poor maintenance, neglect, or abuse from owners who expected the smallest and lightest 9mm pistol ever produced to function like some polymer gun that you could  clean by removing the slide and placing it along with the grip and receiver in the top shelf of your kitchen dishwasher.  To paraphrase posts from two of our Forum's early members, "Plastic's got no soul," and, "The R9 is the weapon of a gentleman, not that of a plowman."

5.  If you have a recurring problem with your R9, the factory will make it right.  Just be assured that complaints about the R9 are rare -- extremely rare -- compared to the thousands of pistols that are out there, functioning as they are designed to do.  Criticisms of this pistol from those who do not understand it have become a pet peeve of mine.  The R9 is approaching the status of a "cult pistol."  It deserves total respect.  Since the moment when I experienced an epiphany on my personal "Road to Damascus" at SHOT 2002 and got in line for one of the first Rohrbaugh R9s, I have never looked back.  In my pocket as I type this post is the R9 bearing serial number "132" (no "R" prefix) -- a pistol that has been my EDC since I took delivery of it in May 2004.

_____

Addendum:

Aside from the Cold War, I've been around the track a bit overseas.  I've been present during one so-called "people's revolution" in Haiti; I've sifted through  the charred remains of our Embassy in Pakistan; I've managed (by the Grace of a Benevolent God) to escape captivity in the First Liberian Civil War; and I've seen my then-existence go up in flames and violent personal abuse during a military coup d'état in Nigeria.  The one thing I wish I had been fortunate enough to have in all of those, and many more, situations in my past would have been a Rohrbaugh R9 in my pocket.  But it was not until 2004 that mankind was finally blessed with the first truly concealable pocket pistol chambered for the 9mm Parabellum cartridge.

In my seventh decade of life, my eyes grow dimmer, my enemies (those still alive) grow older, and my reflexes grow slower.  However, I finally have the perfect pocket pistol.

Now . . . if I could only turn back the unforgiving hands of time . . . . 
 
« Last Edit: February 24, 2014, 09:19:47 PM by Richard S »
(1963-1967) "GO ARMY!"

Offline backupr9

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Re: I want to love my Rohrbaugh... But
« Reply #12 on: February 24, 2014, 09:19:36 PM »
Richard, can you pull from Archives the posts I made several years ago with pictures of the firing pin retainer issue?  Josh and others might benefit. 

We might also wish to make those pics a post-it since the problem seems now to be a recurring one.  It would be nice to know if this is the way some but not all leave the factory, or if there is a design flaw that allows some to change enough to become loose.   Once I had mine repaired at the factory, the pistol has been flawless and pretty much likes any premium ammo I wish to use.  Just gotta love this pistol and it's worth the effort to get it tuned and trustworthy.
John
"Those who would sacrifice a little freedom for a little order, will lose both, and deserve neither." 
Thomas Jefferson

Endur Fortis

Offline Richard S

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Re: I want to love my Rohrbaugh... But
« Reply #13 on: February 24, 2014, 09:41:13 PM »
(1963-1967) "GO ARMY!"

Offline JoshA

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Re: I want to love my Rohrbaugh... But
« Reply #14 on: February 24, 2014, 11:52:16 PM »
Thanks alot for the helpful info including looking up the old post about the firing pin retainer.

Also thanks for the help about the grip. I have been using what I would describe as a death grip since reading another's comments about it and I am still experiencing failure out of the 115 gr silver tips.

I ordered 124 gr gold dots today as they can't be picked up in Indy at this current point in time. Perhaps this will help.

I plan on talking to Maria about sending the handgun back, but after 2 VM's I'm still waiting for a call back. The message says something about them moving the shop, but last time I talked to her she said she doesn't work out of the shop so I'm confused. She is super nice and I'm sure she will call back one day this week. Glad I've got other carry pistols :)

I would have to say you are one dedicated Rohrbaugh man Richard! When you say "approaching the status of cult pistol" I take you seriously. Sounds like 132 is a winner!

When you say "it has never malfunctioned on me in nearly a decade of carry and use", are you saying you have never had a FTF or FTE?

How many rounds do you have through the R9?

What ammo do you use?

Have you ever once limp wristed 132?

I am really looking forward to getting my USED R9 up to snuff! I totally agree with you that The Used portion of the R9 could likely be the culprit.

Hopefully I can get this all ironed out soon and get on to enjoying the finest piece of pocket armory ever know to mankind.

I want to love my R9!!!

Please call me Maria. On second thought please just call me josh.

« Last Edit: March 07, 2014, 11:41:26 PM by JoshA »
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.

John Stuart Mill
English economist & philosopher (1806 - 1873)