Author Topic: Special Eric C. Rohrbaugh Build R9S For Sale  (Read 3317 times)

Offline ECR

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Special Eric C. Rohrbaugh Build R9S For Sale
« on: May 28, 2020, 06:49:38 PM »
Hello Everyone,

Well, I was sadly asked to offer to sell a very special sidearm for a close friend of mine. A special build Rohrbaugh R9S. We called these R9s "Special Ops" and very few of these were made. This was made after all of the updates were done to the production pistols and the finish is also rather special as is the serial number. I hand-picked frame R4700 for this pistol. The plunger area of the frame was extremely smooth, which makes for a buttery smooth trigger pull. I had Bill Wilson coat everything that is exposed in black. Even the 3 magazines are black. I polished the feed ramp and hand lapped the slide to the frame. All of the mating surfaces are in excellent condition due to lack of range time. This was “Carried a lot, Shot a little”, as we always said.  Basically, I built this gun for a friend as if it was going to be on my hip.

Price:  $1,500.00 
Makers of the NRA Shooting Illustrated: "Handgun of the Year for 2005" and receiver of an NRA Golden Bullseye Award.

Offline ECR

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Re: Special Eric C. Rohrbaugh Build R9S For Sale
« Reply #1 on: May 28, 2020, 06:52:41 PM »
Some more photos of R4700
Makers of the NRA Shooting Illustrated: "Handgun of the Year for 2005" and receiver of an NRA Golden Bullseye Award.

Offline ECR

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Re: Special Eric C. Rohrbaugh Build R9S For Sale
« Reply #2 on: May 28, 2020, 06:54:29 PM »
And some final shots.
Makers of the NRA Shooting Illustrated: "Handgun of the Year for 2005" and receiver of an NRA Golden Bullseye Award.

Offline thewalk

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Re: Special Eric C. Rohrbaugh Build R9S For Sale
« Reply #3 on: May 28, 2020, 07:20:16 PM »
I am grateful for your excellent photos here for us to appreciate Eric! What a beautiful work of art.  :o

Offline ECR

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Re: Special Eric C. Rohrbaugh Build R9S For Sale
« Reply #4 on: May 29, 2020, 10:18:50 AM »
Thank You.
Makers of the NRA Shooting Illustrated: "Handgun of the Year for 2005" and receiver of an NRA Golden Bullseye Award.

Offline PhilZ

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Re: Special Eric C. Rohrbaugh Build R9S For Sale
« Reply #5 on: May 29, 2020, 11:04:16 AM »
Hello Everyone,

Well, I was sadly asked to offer to sell a very special sidearm for a close friend of mine. A special build Rohrbaugh R9S. We called these R9s "Special Ops" and very few of these were made. This was made after all of the updates were done to the production pistols and the finish is also rather special as is the serial number. I hand-picked frame R4700 for this pistol. The plunger area of the frame was extremely smooth, which makes for a buttery smooth trigger pull. I had Bill Wilson coat everything that is exposed in black. Even the 3 magazines are black. I polished the feed ramp and hand lapped the slide to the frame. All of the mating surfaces are in excellent condition due to lack of range time. This was “Carried a lot, Shot a little”, as we always said.  Basically, I built this gun for a friend as if it was going to be on my hip.

Price:  $1,500.00

I have a factory Special Forces.  Weren’t the Special Ops a factory Standard model that Aregos sent to Wilson for coating and slide stamped “Special Ops”?
« Last Edit: May 29, 2020, 11:10:27 AM by PhilZ »

Offline PhilZ

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Re: Special Eric C. Rohrbaugh Build R9S For Sale
« Reply #6 on: May 29, 2020, 11:18:51 AM »
Or the Aregos were stamped Covert and there unstamped slides they called Special Ops.

Offline ECR

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Re: Special Eric C. Rohrbaugh Build R9S For Sale
« Reply #7 on: May 30, 2020, 09:40:31 AM »
Partially correct Phil. Arego's sent Wilson Combat "Standard" R9 pistols and they did their thing to them, calling them The COVERT.
Special Ops, I'm thinking now as my memory slipped on this one, was actually called the "Special Forces" model R9, which is what we built at our facility at the time. Not many factory "Special Forces" R9s were made due to the extra costs involved along with the special care and handling they required. 

ecr
Makers of the NRA Shooting Illustrated: "Handgun of the Year for 2005" and receiver of an NRA Golden Bullseye Award.

Offline ECR

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Re: Special Eric C. Rohrbaugh Build R9S For Sale
« Reply #8 on: May 30, 2020, 10:05:33 AM »
Well folks, I just found some old photographs of me assembling this special R9 for my friend at my bench in the shop back in the day. Ha haa. . . . . Enjoy.
Makers of the NRA Shooting Illustrated: "Handgun of the Year for 2005" and receiver of an NRA Golden Bullseye Award.

Offline ECR

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Re: Special Eric C. Rohrbaugh Build R9S For Sale
« Reply #9 on: May 30, 2020, 10:07:14 AM »
I also have the original brown shipping box for this R4700 pistol shown in the following photos.
Makers of the NRA Shooting Illustrated: "Handgun of the Year for 2005" and receiver of an NRA Golden Bullseye Award.

Offline ECR

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Re: Special Eric C. Rohrbaugh Build R9S For Sale
« Reply #10 on: May 30, 2020, 10:16:08 AM »
. . . . . and lastly this morning, an email I sent to my friend about his R9 and what is inside, including one of the hand-picked & polished sear bars from the Elite Premium Pistol line of just 16 built! This pistol was built around this very time ten years ago.
Makers of the NRA Shooting Illustrated: "Handgun of the Year for 2005" and receiver of an NRA Golden Bullseye Award.

Offline DDGator

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Re: Special Eric C. Rohrbaugh Build R9S For Sale
« Reply #11 on: June 02, 2020, 11:42:21 PM »

This is a very cool gun!  Love that you have documented all the history.

Duane (DDGator)
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Offline PhilZ

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Re: Special Eric C. Rohrbaugh Build R9S For Sale
« Reply #12 on: June 03, 2020, 08:41:44 AM »
Really cool assembly pics.

Offline backupr9

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Re: Special Eric C. Rohrbaugh Build R9S For Sale
« Reply #13 on: June 04, 2020, 09:07:28 AM »
PM sent.
"Those who would sacrifice a little freedom for a little order, will lose both, and deserve neither." 
Thomas Jefferson

Endur Fortis

Offline ECR

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Re: Special Eric C. Rohrbaugh Build R9S For Sale
« Reply #14 on: June 04, 2020, 04:28:23 PM »
Sold . . . . . Thank You good Sir!

Eric C. Rohrbaugh
Makers of the NRA Shooting Illustrated: "Handgun of the Year for 2005" and receiver of an NRA Golden Bullseye Award.