Hey Johnny,
Sorry it has taken this long to respond, but, as mentioned earlier, I am busy with other things also and only check in here every so often. As long as that's ok with everyone, that works well for me. So, no discernable ridge on the inside of the slide nor on the lockup on the barrel. Wow. . . . . then the Gold Dot issue has me stumped here. The only other thing then is that if I had your R9 at my old shop, I would probably use my Dremel tool to "open up" the feed ramp slightly. That usually does the trick but without having access to that any longer, nor can I do gunsmithing at this point (licensing), I would just use what your R9 will digest and leave it at that at this point.
Hoping everyone is enjoying their summer!
Stay Safe!
Regards,
Eric R.
Hi Eric,
My summer has been OK, but it's been my turn to be away due to a dear family member suffering a serious health issue. Fortunately, they're on the mend and life should soon be back to normal. Now I can get back to things Rohrbaugh!
I'm glad you think the gun looks good!
I read your words carefully about what you might have done if you had the shop and license and, with that, hauled out my Dremel and various felt wheels and polishing compounds.
Now, I only VERY DELICATELY put a bright shine on the feed ramp. I did not attempt to open it up or flare it at the bottom of the ramp. From what I read, I gleaned you thought of altering the feed ramp profile from its current constant radius, like a section of a cylinder, more toward a slightly conic or funnel-like profile having a larger radius at the bottom of the ramp that tapers down to the original radius where the ramp meets the chamber. Not having access to a replacement barrel in case I bollixed it up (can't afford to experiment), the polish job shall have to suffice.
I plan on hitting the range on Sunday, and if I do, I'll report back. I picked up some other 9mm JHP ammo to try, including a box of Federal 124 gr. HST in addition to still having some 115 gr. Gold Dot. No matter how it comes out. I am more than content to "settle" with Critical Defense and Silvertips as carry ammo. It's about where you place the bullet much more so that how it's constructed.
Cheers!
Johnny
NEXT DAY (SUNDAY) UPDATE:
Following the feed ramp polish on Saturday, I hit the range. Started with Gold Dot. The first Gold Dot made it up the ramp! Then it proceeded to ram its nose into the top of the chamber and stop right their, failing to chamber. Arrgh! Oh well. I should have polished the chamber while I had the Dremel in my hand the day before. I dug it out and polished the roof of the chamber a short time ago.
That was it for Gold Dot. I switched to PPU 115 gr JHP and two mags ran just fine. Next came a couple of mags of Corbon 95 gr. DPX. That ran fine, too. Then I moved to Federal 124 gr HST. That felt pretty stout. All HST chambered fine, but several rounds took two or three strikes to fire. Either the primers are hard, or the gun was getting dirty. I found that as the gun gets dirty, it starts to misfire.
Are there more powerful hammer springs available?
No matter what happens, it's fun learning about this pistol
JE