To be updated: the R9 2000 round test thread

[guncats]

Starting a new thread to post the progress of my "R9 2000rd test".

-- the R9 was bought used. Farmingdale production, rather early serial, R3XX.
-- Showed signs of being carried (dings in the frame), but the internal was pretty clean when I took it apart so I suspect it wasn't shot much.
-- Did not come with a spare spring. Supposedly the recoil spring in it was new (zero rounds).


text colors: round count #'s will be in blue, cleaning/maintenance will be in green, and failures will be in red

*6/1/2013, initial test fire (20r total)
S&B 115gr FMJ
-- one misfire, fired after pulling trigger again. 3 more misfires after that, it turned out there was a piece of brass shaving in the firing pin hole.
-- Four failed-to-extra/fail-to-eject after that.
-- S&B 115gr is not the right ammo for this R9

Cleaned the gun and coated the barrel and underside of slide with GunJuice. (strip the metal surface of any grease/oil, heat on a 60W bulb and apply gunJuice when metal part is hot. Repeat the heating/coating four times). After that, apply Tetra grease to the metal surface while it is still warm. Let cool, wipe off any grease off the surface.


6/2/2013 (36rd)
*American Eagle 115gr FMJ
-- 12 shots fired, 100%
-- the recoil is a sharp slap.
-- 11rd into 2x3" at 25ft, all 12 into 3x4".

*Federal 115gr FMJ (at this point the hand started to want to shake from the "115gr slap")
-- 12 shots  fired, 4 failed-to-extract/eject

*Americal Eagle 124gr FMJ
-- 12rd fired, one failed to extract, two failed-to-feed.
-- 8x8" rapid fire, 25ft (could not help myself, the hands wanted to shake pretty badly).

6/4/2013 (69rd)
*AmericanEagle 147gr FMJ flat-nose
-- 33rd total, one failed to feed (probably due to holding the gun "shock-absorbing" style)
-- 12rd slow fire went into 3x4" at 25ft.
-- Kicks pretty hard, but no slap. Primer shows firing pin drag mark.

*Speer Lawman 124gr FMJ
-- 24rd total, 100%.
-- 12rd of slow fire went into 3x3" at 25ft, with 11 within 2x2".

*Speer lawman 115gr FMJ
-- 12rd total, 100%
-- sharp slap.
-- 12 into 6x6" at 25ft (shaky hands...?)

6/6/2013 (44rd)
*S&B 124gr FMJ
-- 19rd total, two failed-to-extract
-- primers are flat, over-pressured? this is standard target ammo!

*PMC 124gr FMJ
-- 25rd total, 100%
-- Huge fireball!

*****174rd fired, by me, at this point.
Disassembled the R9, cleaned off the metal surface, coated with Tetra gun grease then wipe clean.
Replaced recoil spring. The old spring (old style) was 1/2" shorter than the new spring (new style).*****

6/28/2013 (10rd)
*Remington 124gr FMJ
-- 10rd total. 2 failed to feed, always the 2nd round in the mag. The nose was caught by the chamber opening, no way to push it in and no way to extract the round (since there is no slide hold-open and I only have two hands), very difficult to clear this kind of malfunction. .
-- not the right ammo for this R9

6/30/2013 (54rd)
* Magtech 124gr FMJ
-- 18rd total, 100%
-- 6"x6" at 25ft

hand started to shake involuntarily after that, the harder I hold the gun the more shaky it gets. I though 124gr stuff doesn't cause that problem.

*PMC 115gr FMJ
-- 36rd total, 4 failed-to-extract, usually the 3rd or 4th shot.


7-9-2013 
* PMC124gr FMJ
-- ( 50rd) total, semi-rapid fire. 100%.

7-15-2013 24rd
PMC 124gr FMJ, 24 rd total. One failed-to-extract/eject (last round of the mag, empty back into the chamber)

7-19-2013 18rd
-- 18rd total, semi-rapid fire. 1 failed to fully extract.  Big fireball.

7-23-2013 18rd
--PMC124gr FMJ, 18rd total, 100%. Overall 6” at 25’. Looks like the size of fireball is lot-dependent.

7/30/2013 19rd

--PMC 124gr, 19rd, 100%
8/6/2013 19rd
--PMC 19rd, 100%. Recoil is very manageable.
8-18-2013 12rd
-- 12rd, 100%. PMC 124gr FMJ. very manageable recoil.

***** 222rd since last spring change. 8 malfunctions in these 222rd.
---Replaced recoil spring, cleaned and lubed internal with TW25 B*****

8-23-2013
-- 50rd PMC 124gr. 100%. very manageable recoil.

8-27
-- 58rd Lawman 124gr. One failed to fully eject (empty case caught by the slide/ejection-port). Middle of the 3rd mag.

approaching max post length. continue in post below....

[Douglas]

Very cool!

I'll be watching this space. Thanks guncats. 

[guncats]

9-7-2013
-- 19rd PMC 124gr FMJ, 100%

9-22-2013
-- 38rd PMC124gr FMJ, 100%

10-2-2013
-- 25rd PMC 124gr FMJ, 100%

10-19-2013
-- 38rd Lawman 124gr FMJ, 100%, very manageable recoil.

10-20-2013
-- 12rd Lawman 124gr FMJ, 100%

**** 240rd since last spring change. 1 malfunction (a failed-to-fully-eject, easy to detect & clear) in these 240rds.
***  Replaced recoil spring, cleaned and lubed with TW 25B

10-28-2013
-- 50rd PMC 124gr FMJ, 100%

11-17-2013
-- 50rd PMC 124gr FMJ, 100%

Dec 2013
-- 50rd Lawman 124gr FMJ, 100%.

Jan 2014
-- 43rd PMC 124gr FMJ, 100%

3-9-2014
-- 18rd PMC 124gr FMJ, 100%

****211rd since last spring change, no malfunctions. I assume this thing is fully "broken in" by now.

March/April 2014 (several range sessions)
-- 50rd Lawman 124gr FMJ, 100%

4-19-2014
-- 6rd Speer Gold Dot 124gr JHP, using newer (stiffer mag spring) mag, strong hand only (one-handed), , with arm fully extended, aimed slow fire. 100%. 15ft group 4", mostly horizontal spread (the DAO trigger is harder to shoot one-handed than I thought). Center of group is 2" high and 2" to the right.
-- 6rd Speer Gold Dot 124gr JHP, using original/older (softer mag spring) mag, weak hand only (one-handed), , with arm fully extended, aimed slow fire. 100%. 15ft group 6" (most in 4" with one opening up the group  to 6"; Center of group is about the same as the strong-hand-only group).
** two-handed groups at this distance, using Lawman 124gr FMJ, is usually around 1.5" **

4-22-2014
-- 6rd Speer Gold Dot 115gr JHP, using newer mag, strong hand only, with arm fully extened, aimed slow fire. 100%. 15ft group 3", center of group is point of aim.
-- 6rd Speer Gold Dot 115gr JHP, using older mag, weak hand only. with arm fully extened, aimed slow fire. 100%. 15ft group 3", center of group 2" above point of aim.
* the 115gr gold dot recoils a lot more sharply, it "rocks" upward a lot more than the 124gr. Fatigue set in quickly, I almost didn't finish the mag when shooting with weak hand.  I guess one mag-ful per hand might be the limit for this load, for me, before any involuntary "limp wristing" starts to happen.

4-302017
* took the little gun out of the safe and ran a few speed drills today, using Speer Lawman 124gr FMJ.
-- Out of 30 rounds, got one fail-to-fully-eject (empty case pushed back into the chamber, middle of the mag) and one no-bang (the extracted round doesn't show primer strike mark, it was possibly a failure to fully into battery; this was in the middle of the mag. ).
-- after checking the round count record here, I realized that this spring is way passed the 200rd replacement point, it was already pushing the 300rd mark even before today. Somehow I forgot to replace the spring at some point...
-- anyway, with this recoil spring, the first 285rd were malfunction-free; then it went downhill really fast, 2 problems out of 30rds.
**Lesson learned: Do change the spring before the 200rd mark, or the gun WILL malfunction at some point....

***Cleaned the gun and installed new recoil spring.***

 5-26-2017
-- 14rd of Speer 124gr FMJ to "burn-in" the new recoil spring. two-handed hold, rapid fire; 100%
-- 14rd of Federal HydraShok 124gr JHP; "one in chamber, 6 in mag", one-handed slow fire
      strong-hand-only, using the newer mag (stiffer mag spring): 7/7, no problem, 25ft group about 4"
      weak-hand-only, using an older mag (noticeably softer mag spring): #3 &4 failed to feed, jammed nose-up; might have something to do with the softer mag spring.

[backupr9]

Good range report Guncats!...thanks.  Should note that some here feel FMJ ammo is OK for range work but is not the optimal round for this pistol which functions more predictably with JHP and, interestingly, with variability from one pistol to another in their preference for Gold Dots (124 or 147), Federal premium, or Golden Saber (among others).  115gr ammo seems to be a rare preference for the R9 and IMHO is not the best ammo for self defence, nor for this pistol in terms of reliability.  I use 124gr Lawman for practice and have had 100% reliability in my R9's and both pistols eat Gold Dot 124 and 147gr ammo without issue, which is what I carry daily.

I've not found any PMC 9mm recently, but have been impressed with its function (in JHP) in the notoriously finicky Seecamp .32 pistol.

Keep on shootin' and keep on posting!
John

[feedramp]

Nice range report, and will assists in my search for the most reliable ammo for the Rohrbaugh,  I have yet to purchase. 

Still debating of which model to order .... 

[C0untZer0]

It seems like the round count is from the last spring change.

How many rounds have you fired through it in total?

[guncats]

174 + 222 + 240 + 193 = 829 rd so far.

Looks like it is now functioning 100% with PMC and Lawman 124gr FMJ.

[JoshA]

What do you find with the recommended silver tip 115 gr?

Mine will not run it properly for some reason.

Thanks for the awesome documentary. Very helpful.

[backupr9]

Josh, see my response to your previous post about reliability...I suspect your firing pin retainer is out of spec and loose...when it moves to the side it will cause friction on the slide during recoil, impede the function and prevent full extraction. 

[JoshA]

I sent you a reply post on that heading backupr9.

Thanks for the help. You may be on to something.

I would still I would like to see guncats run some of the recommended ammo (silvertips and american eagle 115 gr) to see if he has similar results as myself and apparently others with 115 gr ammo.

I am seeing several guys prefer the 124 gr due to reliability issues with 115 gr.

Of course we all know kimber solo only recommends the heavier bullet... Did they run into similar issues with 115 gr?

If this is the case would the brothers Rohrbaugh be wise to recomend the 124 gr rather than shake SOME people's confidence and the rep of this excellent firearm (that I'm still trying after $300 worth of ammo experimentation to get to fire dependably)?

"I want to love my Rohrbaugh... But" is where I am at. I did buy my piece USED, so perhaps if their are issues with the gun mechanically that would be why. It's just such a trip trying to figure out the puzzle.

This forum is definately helping me track down the issue.

Thanks for your help : )

[bobsmith]

Mine didn't like 124gr.  Or anything else I could find in town.  I was told by the factory rep it was designed for 115 grain and to stick with that. 

[JoshA]

I know. She told me the same thing Bob. I would try it. Look at guncats results with specific ammo. Some good. Some bad.

This forum is full of guys with good experience with some ammo and bad with others.

I am (as stated elsewhere) having much improved results with the GD 124 compared to ST 115 and suspect you may also well enjoy similar results. Try it. Maybe you will like it. Kinda like green eggs and ham ya know.

Anyway I think if you did try a box and it works well you could sell your gun more confidently and with no pressure on your conscience (who needs that?) if you don't like the inconvenience of buying GD 124 online.

BTW you can pick it up for a fair price pretty effortlessly on lucky gunner sir.

I KNOW you could probably get back what you've got in her if it's shoots GD 124 well since there is no such thing as a NY R9 in production anymore.

I have a feeling if I'm right you will end up keeping the r9 and becoming and enthusiast like others on this post. I wish I bought mine new

Hope this helps ya sir.

[bobsmith]

How many rounds have you shot since your last failure on the 124gr Gold Dot?   I need to see more than slight improvement in reliability and honestly it sounds like you do as well.  I have a new pistol and a claim filed within a week of my purchase date. 

To me it sounds like you got screwed by the person who sold you the pistol.  I've seen many of these for sale and I'm guessing the solution a lot of people resort to is passing the buck when it doesn't work. I'll watch for Gold Dot 124 though and if I see a box before they are up again I'll give it a try.

My advice to anyone purchasing a used R9 is a reliability test at the range. 

My advice to anyone purchasing a new R9 is to wait until they have a viable operation and start to honor warranty claims.  As of today, for whatever the undisclosed reason, they are not operational.     

 

[JoshA]

Yeah I agree. I need to see more thAn a small improvement as well.

You asked how many rounds fired since last FTE with 124 GD. it's been approx 25-27 rounds.

Please note that I did make that shot one handed AFTER shooting about 35 consecutive rounds. My hands were buzzing : ) I was really so happy with the results from the 124 GD that I decided to push the envelope.

As for further testing I am now deoing that by simply firing one clip at a time with gold dot 124 and only firing a max of 2 clips per day and putting at least 2 hours between clips. Extreme? Weird? Idk. Shoot little carry a lot and trust my life to it is the goal. Now that being said I would probably pick up my G21 or sig 226 or G22 (or all 3) if I was heading out into an apacolypse battle front (I plan to be GONE when that takes place : ), but for the streets of Indy if I can get 100-200 (not sure yet, please give advise) of consecutive reliability out of it I am good to go.

I would not have even dreamed that was possible 1 month ago. Now with proper grip, Prefered rounds (at least for my R9) and letting my hands rest and barrel cool I am HOPEFUL.

ONLY HOPEFUL AT THIS POINT. More to this story as the box of 124 GD gets lighter and my Carpul tunnel increases lol.

[JoshA]

6 clips down the pipe with no FTE / FTF

ONLY 2 FTE out of the last 80 rounds here too.

124 gr GD is where it's at for my R9

Why does the factory not recommend 124? Is it hard on the little gun?

If not I would like to see them open up their recommendations to 124. Any insight?