Author Topic: R9s at the range  (Read 4331 times)

Offline kanuist

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R9s at the range
« on: March 18, 2009, 05:15:26 PM »
I took my new best friend to the range today.  Wanted to see how we worked together.

Ammo used was:  Blazer Brass 115 fmj; UMC 115 fmj; Hornady TAP 124; Speer 115 gdhp.  

Out of 48 rounds fired total, I had one FTE.  I blame that on myself, not my friend.  All brands of ammo fired on the first strike of the hammer.  That pleased me very much!

I did have one problem with the slide that happend three times.  Upon inserting a fresh mag, I was unable to pull the slide back.  It seemed to be stuck.  I was able to resolve by pushing the front corner of the slide against a padded bench.

Any ideas on what the problem is?  Before you ask, yes I did clean the pistol before going to the range.  I lubed as noted in the manual.  Only thing I did different, was to use some light gun grease on the slide rails instead of oil.

Over all, I like my new friend.  His kick is a bit harder than my current carry (Springfield XD SubCompact 9mm), but I should get use to it with a few more range trips.  Accuracy was very good at 25 feet, though the kick did cause a few problems.
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Offline DTM_39

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Re: R9s at the range
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2009, 08:39:50 PM »
Kanuist,  Welcome to the forum and cogratulations on your R-9.  Sometimes little flakes of brass can wedge on the rails and lock the slide.   There is very little space for crud.  If it happens again I would take slide off and inspect before firing again.  Which ammo did the slide lock up on?  Dan
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Offline Dino

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Re: R9s at the range
« Reply #2 on: March 18, 2009, 09:18:24 PM »
Kenuist, I had problems with brass chunks comming out of the rim of the UMC's I shot a few weeks ago.  They also did not want to eject as the seemed stuck in the chamber.  

Good range report, Thanks.

Offline kanuist

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Re: R9s at the range
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2009, 02:35:58 PM »
Thanks for the info.

The slide locked up on the Hornady and Speer, which I fired after the Blazer and UMC.  

I would expect that the problem came from the cheaper ammo.  Given that the Speer is nickel plated and that Hornady is black nickle coated.  You get what you pay for.

I wonder if using grease on the slide instead of oil has any affect on this, perhaps making the tolerences even tighter?
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Offline DTM_39

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Re: R9s at the range
« Reply #4 on: March 19, 2009, 07:15:37 PM »
Rohrbaugh no longer uses grease just a little oil or 1 shot.  The grease seems to hold to much dirt.  Dan
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Offline Richard S

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Re: R9s at the range
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2009, 08:38:59 PM »
kanuist:

Thank you for the good range report. The only thing I might add to the comments above would be to note that your R9 seems to be a real "Mikey," to borrow an analogy from an old cereal commercial . . . "Let's give it to Mikey, he'll eat anything."  ;)  You've got a real keeper there. May you carry it in safety and with pride.
(1963-1967) "GO ARMY!"

Offline kanuist

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Re: R9s at the range
« Reply #6 on: October 19, 2009, 08:47:17 PM »
I've now had four range sessions with my R9.  Here are the details of the most recent trip.

25 rounds Hornady Critical Defense - No issues
12 rounds of Speer Gold Dot - No issues
24 rounds Hornady TAP - One failure to feed when shooting one handed.  I think this is my problem.

(I understand that this is a shoot a little, carry a lot gun.  I'm still on my first recoil spring with 160 rounds down range.  I don't plan to continue this quantity of range session after I've got 250 to 300 rounds through the gun.)

At this point I still had 25 rounds of the H-TAP ammo left and planned to continue shooting it.  Unfortunately the slide locked up.  At the time I didn't know if it was from heat or metal flake in the action.  I let it cool down and was still unable to move the slide back more than .25".

I had the slide lock problem before, at my first range trip.  At that time I was using grease on the slide as I do with my other guns.  That was the last time I used grease as suggested by forum members.

It bothers me that the slide locks up as it does.  But then I thought about how many rounds I fired and how many I would potentially fire in a life or death situation.  

I'm not sure if the slide lock problem is due to heat, metal flakes from the primers or cases or general dirtiness. I really like this gun and will continue to carry it, but it would be nice to have an answer.

I'm wondering how many others are having this problem and if the problem goes away after say 500 rounds?
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Offline tracker

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Re: R9s at the range
« Reply #7 on: October 19, 2009, 08:50:47 PM »

How much time did you allow between each fired magazine?

Offline kjtrains

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Re: R9s at the range
« Reply #8 on: October 19, 2009, 10:15:14 PM »
Just wondering, when did the slide become unlocked and how did you get it unlocked?   I've never had this problem with 115 gr. Silvertips.  I also have not shot that much at one time with the R9.
« Last Edit: October 19, 2009, 10:16:13 PM by kjtrains »
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Offline kanuist

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Re: R9s at the range
« Reply #9 on: October 20, 2009, 03:12:41 PM »
Time between mags was minimal, say a minute or two.  Sometimes longer to load the mags and tack up a new target.

I was not able to unlock the slide until I got home.  I used the pipe fitting that many on the forum use for taking down the gun.  

I didn't find any substantial metal particles in the slide or recoil spring.  I had cleaned and oiled the gun two days before the range session, using Hoppe's Elite oil.
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