The Rohrbaugh Forum
Rohrbaugh Products and Accessories => Rohrbaugh R380 => Topic started by: billib on July 08, 2012, 06:06:18 PM
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Ok, I don't know anything about the .380 (9mm Kurtz)
round except that its caliber is .380 or rather it is shorter
than the 9x19 Luger, it's 9x17.
So, do the Brothers Rohr make a "Drop In 9mm Upgrade Kit"
for their .380 R model pistol? If you have a R380s pistol
will Rohrbaugh sell you a 9mm barrel and Magazine for it?
Would that even work? Can you simply exchange the Barrel and
Magazine and maybe the Recoil Spring in the 380 for the 9mm?
Is the reverse true? If you have a 9mm R9s can you swop
simple parts to make it shoot 380 ammo?
Glocks can shoot several different calibers by simply changing
the barrel. In many case you don't even need to change the
magazine or recoil spring or ejector or extractor. It just works.
So whats the lowdown on swapping calibers for the Rohrbaugh
pistols. 380 for 9 and 9 for 380. If anyone is curious why one
would want to change calibers, well for me, shooting a case
of 380 ammo through the 9mm is appealing. A: you don't
wear out an expensive gun, B: you become a lot more comfortable
and proficient by shooting it more. IMHO, shooting a reduced
recoil load in the R9 seems to make sense.
So, my questions are, can you change calibers and does that
make sense to you?
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Bill
It does make sense to make an up grade kit.
Rohrbaugh does not offer a kit to go from 9mm to .380 or .380 to 9mm.
You may want to call Maria to see if it is somthing they would consider.
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The 380 case is straight walled and has a case head diameter of .374 " and the 9mm case has a taper of 11 degrees giving it a case head diameter of .394 " so there would probably be extractor problems.
I have interchangable barrels on my Glocks from 40 S&W to 357 Sig but the case head is the same. I see 9mm barrels advertised for 40 S&W Glocks, but I have no experience with them.
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It would be nice to get a slide, barrel and magazine in a kit.
I know the slides are hand fitted. You can send in your existing gun to get the new slide fitted?
I don't know if this would work. You may run into problems with uneven fram wear with using two different slides.
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There is no provision for the suggested conversion. These are two distinct and separate models, in my opinion. Otherwise, Rohrbaugh would have developed this idea as a sales tool.
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Thats a shame tracker, and Up-grade kit or a Down-grade
kit just makes sense to me.
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Personally I would rather have two guns when I go shooting than take one gun and a box of parts to switch calibers. 8)
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John if the R9 (or R380) were $400 pistols or even something like
$800 pistols I would agree with you but $2,600 to do what a Glock
can for only $150 more than one pistol!
I still like not wearing out the R9 just from shooting it. Imagine a car
you CAN'T drive much or a bed you can't sleep in except twice a month.
You see what I mean?
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By the time you pay to ship your R9 back to the factory, buy a new slide, barrel, magazine, and recoil assembly; pay a Gunsmith to fit a slide to your frame without doing anything to the frame that would create problems with the 9mm slide, and ship it back to you I think you would have about the price of a new K380 wrapped up in it. Now if you want to sell the pistol for some unforeseeable reason which happens, you really have an expensive pistol to sell.
When it cost $129 to convert my Glocks, and $139 to convert my Sig, it made a lot of sense but not here. JMO
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It would be nice to get a slide, barrel and magazine in a kit.
I know the slides are hand fitted. You can send in your existing gun to get the new slide fitted?
I don't know if this would work. You may run into problems with uneven fram wear with using two different slides.
Hi "Z".....um.......why would you need a new slide?
Wouldn't fitting a barrel be all that is (theoretically) necessary?
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If you would like to pursue this subject the factory is best equipped to address your questions and suggestions.
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It would be nice to get a slide, barrel and magazine in a kit.
I know the slides are hand fitted. You can send in your existing gun to get the new slide fitted?
I don't know if this would work. You may run into problems with uneven fram wear with using two different slides.
Hi "Z".....um.......why would you need a new slide?
Wouldn't fitting a barrel be all that is (theoretically) necessary?
? I don't know.
All of the conversion kits that I am familiar with entail a slide, barrel and magazine.
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Most Glocks convert with just a barrel and a magazine but that is a different story.
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I'm not that familiar with many caliber conversion kits.
The few I am familiar with only change out the slide
for the .22 caliber round.
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Hi "Z".....um.......why would you need a new slide?
Wouldn't fitting a barrel be all that is (theoretically) necessary?
The rim of the 380 is a little different from a 9mm. Too much of a difference? I don't know. If so, that means a new breachface, which means a new slide.
Then you get into the mass of the slide. The 9mm operates at much higher pressures. Is that controlled by just the springs?
I don't know. I have never held an R380 and compared to an R9. Maybe the factory uses the same weight/mass slide.
However, as we know, the guns have very close tolerances. Which means IF the 9mm slide is interchangable, then the 380 barrels will have to be made oversized (outside wise) and a lot of gunsmithing fitting $$$$$ to the Slide and $$$ Frame will be required by somebody. Factory, or very able gunsmith. The problem with fitting the 9mm slide, you don't always take metal off the barrel. Sometimes it is off the lug area of the slide. Well, if it is already fit for the 9mm, then you are SOL. Unless you want to totally screw up your reliability and accuracy of your 9mm.
Thus, you best get a new slide with the barrel for optimum results.
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John if the R9 (or R380) were $400 pistols or even something like
$800 pistols I would agree with you but $2,600 to do what a Glock
can for only $150 more than one pistol!
I still like not wearing out the R9 just from shooting it. Imagine a car
you CAN'T drive much or a bed you can't sleep in except twice a month.
You see what I mean?
But you wouldn't ever wear an R9 out from shooting it, would you?
You'd want to change $5 recoil springs, but that would be it I think. -And in my opinion FAR too much is made of that on the internet. It's like changing tires on a race car, that's all. No one bats an eye about that.
There's no reason these pistols should wear out from shooting any more than any other similar type. Why would they, they're well designed and made from the best materials available. 8)
I know KR says they're not meant to be shot a lot, but I have always taken that to mean (-and experienced, though not like some others. A hundred-round-plus day through my R9S 9mm doesn't leave me the least bit uncomfortable.) that it's less fun to shoot the pocket pistol a lot, and doing so requires a part replacement, so why do it; not that the gun would "wear out."
-Am I wrong? I don't think so. Ultimately, it's steel and aluminum, they're pretty durable.
If you are inclined, even with such a small gun, I say go buy some springs and shoot away!
-And I probably wouldn't care about a .380 option for my pistol. .380 often costs more than 9mm! :o
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I was sorta' being facetious. I didn't think
I could outlive a Rohrbaugh. My problem
is I have severe arthritis in my hands and
shooting a caliber that doesn't punish them
as much would be welcome and worth (to me)
the investment in another barrel but not
another gun.
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I think it really comes down to fitment of the slides.
Im sure that all the slides are hand fit to the frames, that is why they are great guns. Hand built and fit.
Putting out a upper slide and barrel would be sloppy and self destruct in far less time then a well fit slide.
Just my 2 cents.
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I thought a .22 conversion would help with training / practice.
I think with the R9, a significant part of the training has to be getting accustomed to the recoil, but if there is other training that can be accomplished without the recoil to the wrists - that would be beneficial too.