My Rohrbaugh Factory Tour -- The Preview

[DDGator]

I am writing from my hotel room high above Times Square…

The Rohrbaugh Firearms factory in Farmingdale, NY is just a 45 minute train ride from Mid-town Manhattan.  I spent four hours out there this afternoon and it was a blast.  I will leave the full report (with pictures) for later this weekend when I get home and can put it all together, but here is a little preview:

Eric was waiting for me at the train station in Farmingdale.  I recognized his voice – he was answering customer calls on his cell phone!  I had posted some pics of the factory previously – it is a nice, modern, high-security, but non-descript building in an industrial park.  The equipment used is a mix of high-tech computer controlled machines and old-fashioned high quality tools.

Eric explained the entire process of how an R-9 starts as three blocks of metal (two stainless steel, one aircraft aluminum) that are cut, shaved, drilled, filed, polished, bead blasted and anodized into a high quality handgun.  Its amazing actually, and I have a bunch of pics that illustrate the process.  Once the slide, barrel and frame are cut, the rest of the work is done painstakingly by hand.

An unexpected highlight of the trip was getting to actually shoot a prototype Rohrbaugh in .380 ACP!  This is basically an R-9 chambered in .380.  You—like me—might be asking: why?  I can tell you that this gun in .380 is a very sweet shooter—a complete pussycat.  The “shootability” difference is unmistakable, and this gun will have some real appeal.  It may be larger than a Kel-Tec P-3AT, but it sure shoots one heck of a lot better.   Just to have a real time comparison, Eric also let me shoot is own R-9 (serial #2) loaded with Gold Dots.

I met nearly everyone (Maria was not there) and really got a chance to talk with Eric.  I can’t say enough about the whole team.  They are all good people with a passion for their product and their customers.  And, they do read the forum and really do appreciate the community that we have built here.

Well, the City never sleeps … but I do.  More info soon!

[Jim]

Hey D.D.Gator,
Thanks for the great post...  I will look forward to more when you return home...  Jim

[R9SCarry]

Duane,

GREAT!!

Eric said in an email that you'd had an enjoyable tour .. and I look forward very much to your write up later.  I am getting ever more intrigued with the .380 version .. and may one day have to weaken and try to get one!

[BillinPittsburgh]

I'd suggest that the .380 version would be well-worth pursuing.  Personally, I'd buy the 9mm R9S, but there is no question that there are many who would find the 9mm too much of a handful, and would find the recoil of a .380 to be much more manageable.

Their competition would be North American Arms, whose Guardian .380 is top quality but 50% heavier, Kel-Tec, whose .380 is much lighter but for which I must question the long-term durability, and Seecamp, whose .380 must be ordered 2-4 years before it is needed (If i can wait that long, did I need it in the first place?).

For what it is worth, my NAA .380, with Novak tritium sights, grip stippling, and a Teddy Jacobson trigger job, ultimately cost as much as a Rohrbaugh.  So, Rohrbaugh may be a bit more price-competitive than may appear at first glance.