Well gentlemen, here is my take on viewing the photographs and my knowledge of what we can “get away with” and “what we can’t” on the R9 shown here.
Photo #1:
The slide is in fact cracked. I do have some around I would send the new owner for free as we would have done that if we were still in the firearms business anyway. It may be a used one, but quite usable and for the right pricing. No charge.
Photos #1 & 2:
Note the early original black carbon fiber grip set is still intact on this R9. Those have the Rohrbaugh Family Crest from Germany however; note the rarity of these as they do not have the name “Rohrbaugh” beneath the crest within a banner ornament. Early Carbon Fiber Gripsets can run upwards of $325 for the black and even more for the blue sets.
Photos #6 & 7:
Barrel “lock up area” looks good, sharp and quite reusable.
Photo #15:
Barrel pin hole is really ok. Frame wear is really fine and even. No issue there.
Photo #17:
That “curved area” is from debris that made it into the gun while firing and this one is really a none issue as far as reliability is concerned. That, we found out through years of observing, is just cosmetic in that area, nothing more. Looks like the frame/barrel seated well on this R9. Good.
Photo #18:
As yes, the recoil system early on. Many of you may recall that we had an “open ended” outer recoil spring, much like the Colt 1911 .45 ACP.
The instruction sheet showed the correct orientation for this spring. In this particular case, the owner put the spring in backwards, causing the damage to the recoil system sleeve. Many times in those early years, R9s would be return “defective” and all it was was that the owner did not adhere to the manual for spring placement properly. We eventually went to the two ended finished outer recoil spring to eliminate that issue. While the system on this gun has that mark, overall, from viewing it here, the system still looks serviceable. I do have those systems available for sale if needed, less the outer recoil spring and end cap.
Good Luck with your bids. At the current price, it’s worth it just for the grips alone!
Best Sincere Regards to All,
Eric C. Rohrbaugh