My first impressions

[shelb]

Greetings all,
After some mix up and delay over the FFL delivery, I finally got to lay my hands on my Rohrbaugh R9S today.  I have to say that it was a grand experience.  Thought I would share some observations:

-1st I noticed:  Well first thing was its stunning good looks....I have seen many pictures here, but I gotta say that it’s even more handsome in person.  The contast of the anodized aluminum and stainless is stiking, and the bluish carbon fiber accents it nicely.  The scripted engraving is a classy touch.  Mine has a serial R43x....does this mean that mine is # 43x to come out of the factory?

-2nd thing I noticed:  This gun is certainly crafted with the end user in mind.  I have been studying its features for weeks now in anticipation of getting my hands on one, but there are several additional things I have noticed now that I physically have my hands on one.  This gun has a great feel.  Its mass is very well balanced, resulting in a very natural feel for a gun of this size.  It simply feels good in my hand.

-The grips:  There seems to be some mixed reviews on the aesthetics of the grips, but I gotta say that I really like them.  It’s a matter of personal preference, but I like the color and appearance of the carbon fiber.  As far as comfort, they are very accommodating.  From me this is a compliment, as lots of guns do not mix well ergonomically with my small girly hands   I like the geometry and they transition well to the rear of the frame.

-Firing:  As I mentioned already, my small hands usually make for an interesting shooting experience when I am first getting used to a firearm.  Usually takes some adjustments in firing technique from gun to gun before I become comfortable.  By the end of 50 rounds I had become proficient firing it.  Seem accurate enough, or rather, it always shoots were I point it.  Unfortunately….. I do not always point very accurately

-Trigger:  Niiiiice!...very smooth and predictable.  The ergonomics and finish are nice as well…well at least the way it feels to me.

-Sights:  Not as good as some, but better than others (how’s that for a subjective statement .  I like them better than the Kel Tec p32.  Kind of a trade off between size and usability, I suppose.  I may follow Chris’s suggestion and paint some dots on mine eventually.

-Slide lock:  I can see the logic behind this omission, but being my first semi-auto without it I feel kind of retarded when I fire the last round that is not there  Mine operated flawlessly today, but I imagine clearing a jam from this thing might be a bit precarious without a slide lock.  

-Random Observations:  Was that a casing that just hit me in the head?......  As someone pointed out in another thread, it throws casing pretty high and far.  One actually ricocheted of the barrier in the range today came to rest on my shoulder.  My friend in the next lane fell victim to several of my casings clearing the barrier and hitting him in the head.

Overall:  This is a very intelligently designed and finely crafted firearm.  As an engineering student I love to take things apart and study their designs.  Upon looking this thing over in detail, it is evident that these folks spent some time on the details.  Take all this with a grain of salt, as I haven’t fired a ton of pocket pistols, but I do enjoy this pistol alot.

Sometime over the next day or so, I will post some of my wife’s observations as well (even smaller hands than me).  I will also add more as I disassemble and clean the R9 this evening.  When I get some time, I am going to direct some brain-effort towards making a disassembly tool.

[R9SCarry]

Dissassembly tool Shelby?? .... CHOPSTICK dude!!

Glad to hear your experience is pretty positive .. and welcome to the owner's club too!

Also - Hi - from an old engineeer to a new one ....    I used to do a lot of hands-on machining and know what good work looks like .... and to even a semi-trained eye - the shere precision is apparent in this gun.

Feed us back any further input over time - I think we all relish views all the time .. and that also helps build up this site's database of opinion and knowledge too ... all the better to help inform newcomers to the gun - or prospective purchasors of course too.

A reminder ...... and quite forget on which thread I posted this ..... when reassembling ..... eye up the recoil spring assembly when it is back in place - before trying to refit slide to frame.  I have found that, with the quite small tolerance inside the frame machining, that the disk which rests against barrel lug - must be as close as possible to ''ready to go in'' .... if it is malaligned then as slide goes on, the springs come under compression prematurely.

If the alignment is right in x and Y axes .. so whole deal looks parallel to frame - the slide usually goes on easier, with just a little jiggling if needed.  My experience anyways.

[9mil.mouse]

Shelb, congrats on your new Rohrbaugh!  

"Mine has a serial R43x....does this mean that mine is # 43x to come out of the factory?"

As I understand it, the frames are machined in batches, serialized, and anodized, and then matched up with a slide, and the slides are machined in batches either with or without sights. At least that was the impression I got when speaking with Eric.

However, I believe the first 100 pistols have been kept in house by the Rohrbaugh brothers, so that would make yours the 33xth to actually come out of the factory, with the 43xth frame made.

[shelb]

Wow, first time cleaning was an exercise in patience!  Tried in vane to find an adequate hold on the slide while I used the brass punch to pop out the pin.  End up using a plastic rod in my cleaning kit to hold open the slide while I removed the pin (guess I'll be having Asian food tomorrow to find the disassembly tool .  Luckily, I did not have to peck out the pin with a mallet, as hand force was sufficient.  Once the pin started out, everything came apart smoothly.

A reminder ...... and quite forget on which thread I posted this ..... when reassembling ..... eye up the recoil spring assembly when it is back in place - before trying to refit slide to frame.  I have found that, with the quite small tolerance inside the frame machining, that the disk which rests against barrel lug - must be as close as possible to ''ready to go in'' .... if it is malaligned then as slide goes on, the springs come under compression prematurely.
 
If the alignment is right in x and Y axes .. so whole deal looks parallel to frame - the slide usually goes on easier, with just a little jiggling if needed.  My experience anyways.

Very good advice concerning the alignment of the disk against barrel lug!.....wish I had read it before I cleaned the R9 this evening    It has to be aligned precisely in the x and y axis.  Once I cleared this hurtle, the pin wiggled in pretty easily.

Well since I am itching to visit the range again already, I am quite certain that I will have plenty of practice at the whole process.....gonna have to get the next set of recoil springs before I know it  

Also - Hi - from an old engineeer to a new one ....    I used to do a lot of hands-on machining and know what good work looks like .... and to even a semi-trained eye - the shere precision is apparent in this gun.

....and good work requires a talented operator    These are skills I have been trying to hone over the last year.  At my university, we have full access to a machine shop as well as a whole array of Haas machining centers (I often fantasize about all the cool things I could wanna make with these!).

[shelb]

Shelb, congrats on your new Rohrbaugh!  

"Mine has a serial R43x....does this mean that mine is # 43x to come out of the factory?"

As I understand it, the frames are machined in batches, serialized, and anodized, and then matched up with a slide, and the slides are machined in batches either with or without sights. At least that was the impression I got when speaking with Eric.

However, I believe the first 100 pistols have been kept in house by the Rohrbaugh brothers, so that would make yours the 33xth to actually come out of the factory, with the 43xth frame made.

Thank you for the information!  Wow, for ~350 pistols out the door, and (I am guessing) several hundred more on order, the guys are just starting to dent what has to be a huge capitol investment.  Add in development costs, and it is suprising that the cost of a hand crafted pistol of this quality is not higher.

[musician]

9mMouse-- 'morning.

My R9s bears serial #128 (no "R" prefix).  My info is that pistol #1 was serialized as #101.  Ergo, mine was the the 28th pistol made, and Eric told my dealer that the serial numbers on our two were so low that maybe we should think about not shooting them and holding them for collector value (fat chance on that, Bucko!).  Don't know when they added the "R" to the serial numbers or what that means in the total number of guns produced.  Anybody know?

[9mil.mouse]

Hi Musician, and thanks for the info. What you say makes sense and I may have misunderstood what Eric was saying about the first 100 units.

My serial number also has no prefix, is in the low 100s and I have shot the heck out of it, it's too fine to not use.  
 I think now that it's well broken in  I'll be shooting it less. Thanks again for the info.