Bob Cogan

[renrew]

For those that have had work done by Bob Cogan:

Does porting the R9 make it a lot louder?

Does hard chrome on the finish or porting void the warranty?

I love the looks of his work and was entertaining sending him my new Tribute.

Thanks,

W-

[Richard S]

renrew:

I know of one former member who had his R9 ported by Bob Cogan. The work was beautiful, but I've never understood the rationale for porting a pocket pistol. Assume, for example, that TSHTF while you were carrying the pistol in a jacket and it was necessary to fire from the pocket with the ports next to some part of your own body. Both you and the perp could be sharing the same ambulance. 

With regard to Cogan's work in hardchrome, it is as good as it gets. I have a Magnum Research Desert Eagle .50 AE and a Colt M1991A1 .45 ACP that he hardchromed. I've posted so many photos of each one here on the Forum that I shall restrain myself from doing so again. As to whether hardchroming would result in voiding the R9 warranty, I would suggest calling Maria, Rohrbaugh's Customer Service Representative (1-800-803-2233 or 631-242-3175). She's the best in the business.

_______

Edited to add this link to a comprehensive article on the pros and cons of porting defensive handguns written by our Administrator:

http://www.rohrbaughforum.com/port.pdf

[renrew]

Thanks for the info Richard!  I have viewed some of the R9's he has done on the forum and they are truly works of art.  I think that I would tend to agree with you in regards to the porting for both the reason you stated and the noise factor. 

I spoke with Maria per your recommendation and she said the hardcrome job could potentially void the warranty as these guns have very tight tolerances.  She said she would talk with Bob and see how many R9's he has done and more importantly what the thickness is of the hardcrome.  She mentioned the fit to the slide is very precise.

[renrew]

I spoke with Bob this morning.  He said if he hard chromed the gun he would not expect ANY problems as he does this for many manufactures.  He also said he would port the gun as it gets back on target much quicker.  I asked him about the noise level and if the gun was 30% louder or what?  His response was not in that length of gun and it should not be that noticeable?

I am trying to figure out if I want to send him my new gun for work.

[DDGator]

Cogan used to have his shop in Safety Harbor, FL -- less than 3 miles from my house.  I was sad when they moved... 

[Venus]

I spoke with someone at the company about porting and they said that they had it done and it made no difference with shooting the gun.  Also in the manual it states that any modification made to the gun voids the warranty so I would call the company first before doing any work... 

[MRC]

I recently picked up a R9 that had been customized by Cogan. 

It has the chrome slide and frame, checkered front and back strap, and checkering on the front of the trigger guard.  The sights were drilled and painted with red dots.  The pistol also has Cogan's double porting system.

It is the best looking Rohrbaugh I have ever handled.

It was a nice winter day in Iowa so I took it and another R9 to the range along with my chronograph.  I have always wondered how much the porting hurt velocities and how much it helped with recoil.

First, here is the velocities of the two pistols with three different factory loads.

Chronograph tests standard R9 vs Cogan Custom Ported R9

Federal Hydra Shoks,   124 grain  - Std R9  -   964 fps,  SD  - 14 fps
                                                  -Ported R9 – 964 fps, SD -  5 fps

Gold Dot  124 grain   - Std R9  -  1021 fps,  SD – 21 fps
                                -Ported R9  -  1009 fps,  SD – 14 fps

Gold Dot 115 grain   -Std R9  -  1062 fps,  SD – 12 fps
                               -Ported R9  -  1062,  SD – 18 fps

As you can see, the velocities were nearly identical.  Now a before and after porting would be the best test but that was not possible here.  I was pleasantly surprised.

As far as noise goes, I was outdoors and I could not tell any difference with muffs on.

As far as recoil reduction, I would guess at about 20%  to 30%.  This surprised me also and the porting really took the snap out of the 124 grain Gold Dots.

I had no failure with either gun and I must say I am very impressed with the Cogan Gun.

[PhilZ]

MRC, thanks for the post.  I really like real life reviews of custom Rohrbaugh mods.  I have a pup I bought from someone on the forum that has a tan cerakote finish that essentially made the gun non-functional.  The finish is so thick I can hardly move the slide.  I want to turn this into a completely personalized Rohrbaugh.  I previously thought that pimping out a Rohrbaugh was like putting spinner rims on a Ferrari, but this pup is so screwed up, I need some ideas to bring it back to life.  I've always loved the blue VZ cf grips.  I'm thinking about a Robar NP3+ finish.  I will post before and after picks, but I'd love some ideas for a grossly customized  Rohrbaugh.  No spinner rims, but anything goes.

[MRC]

Everyone here has seen the Cogan Customs.  Here is mine with some different grips.

The right side is standard Rohrbaugh Black Carbon Fiber and the left is some Custom Hogue grips submitted to Rohrbaugh.  I bought them from Eric.  I really like the looks of them.

[MRC]

Right side

[cargaritaville]

Nice grips & a nice looking gun! Enjoy it!

[MRC]

Thanks Norm, it really is a nice gun.

I know that the velocity has to have been cut but not nearly as much as I had anticipated.  Cogan was quoted as saying no more than 10%.

The recoil reduction was very noticeable especially on the Gold Dots.  My Dealer is a Gun Smith and he kind of chuckled when he saw it and said,

"that's go to be a fire belcher."

Outside I could not see any fire.  I will have to try it in doors next.

[PhilZ]

The checkering is really nice. 

[MRC]

The checkering is really nice.

I agree. 

The front strap is thin so the checkering is 40 lpi which looks good in my opinion.  It helps a lot, but I still find the R9's hard to shoot accurately with any speed at all.