question and picture of light primer strikes

[nonseven]

OK, well I guess my R9s is going back to Rohrbaugh.  I took it to the range today to fire a magazine of silvertips, and the 4th one failed to fire.  Upon examination, a light primer strike with a unusual nick next to the primer strike.  I've seen this nick before.  Here are the pics - all 5 photos are of the same unfired cartridge from different angles:

http://gallery.me.com/tom_hill#100352&bgcolor=black&view=grid

Here is one that did fire, but had a light primer strike:


http://gallery.me.com/tom_hill#100359&bgcolor=black&view=grid

These were with the universally loved Winchester silvertips, so it is no longer my carry gun until I get this resolved.

I'll call Rohrbaugh on Monday and see what they say.

[sslater]

Still looks to me  like you're dragging some foreign material along with that firing pin. A bit of brass?  Perhaps a little bit of the firing pin spring fractured.  I found a little brass shaving in the firing pin tunnel.  
Not to worry; Rohrbaugh will fix you up.

Steve

[nonseven]

I figured out what was causing the light primer strikes - I'm regularly getting shaved bits of brass into the firing pin hole.  It's happening a lot, like every other shot or so, and causes a lack of ignition.  I think it's actually worse with the silvertips, maybe because the brass is softer.  Here is what it looks like:

http://gallery.me.com/tom_hill#100367

I don't know if it's coming off of the extractor or what, but it's getting in the hole regularly.   So, it's off to Rohrbaugh.  At least I have something to show and tell them.  I'm not sure how they'll fix it though.

[nonseven]

Bits of brass in the firing pin hole are what kept my R9s from going bang.  It was happening often - every few shots.  

Rohrbaugh has had mine for two weeks - hoping they can fix it.  But it concerns me that one little bit of brass in that hole and the gun fails to fire.  

How often have you guys found brass in the firing pin hole when you cleaned yours?

[ccoorreeyy]

I've never found any brass in any of mine.  But I will say that i've never had a reason to look that hard because I never had a ftf problem.  Hope they can come up with a fix for you.  

I wonder if you got a hold of a batch of ammo with bad brass?  Was it with mutiple brands or just one?

[nonseven]

It happened with silvertips, gold dots, and Remington.  I discounted the Remington because of comments here, but I figured the gold dots and silvertips should go bang everytime.  The silvertips were actually worse with shaving of brass.

[ccoorreeyy]

somthing must be rough inside and did not get polished

[nonseven]

Anyway just heard from Rohrbaugh the gun was shipped and I should have it tomorrow.  We'll see.

[nonseven]

Got my R9s back from Rohrbaugh.  They said the screws were loose on the right side of the grip, and they replaced the magazine springs.  They shot 4 magazines of ammo through it and had no problems.  I didn't check the screws before I sent it, other than visually.  

I may be dreaming, but is seems the trigger pull is a little stiffer.  I've shot two magazines through it so far with no light primer strikes.  Maria said that loose screws could cause a problem with the hammer assembly.  

Do you think it's possible that loose grip screws could somehow affect the hammer/mainspring to cause the type of problems I was having - light primer strikes or failure to fire?

[ccoorreeyy]

Yep, it sure can from past post I have read.  Keeping the grip screws tight seems to be one of the only things the R9 has not perfected.  I have not had the problem but many have.  Keep them lock tighted up tight.

[kjtrains]

Great!  Hopefully, problem solved!!    

[nonseven]

Since I've got the R9s back from Rohrbaugh, it has fired 8 magazines of WWB FMJ, and a few silvertips, without a problem.  Since becoming a more experienced R9s owner, I would summarize the following 5 tips for other owners:

1. Pick a good quality ammo like 115g Winchester silvertips or 115g Speer Gold dots, and fire a few magaznies in your gun to test reliablilty.

2.  Keep the gun clean and lubricated.  It is not meant to be left dirty and relied on like you might do with your glock.

3.  Keep the grip screws tight.  Some Rohrbaughs have a tendency for the screws to loosen even after a few rounds are fired.  This can cause problems with the hammer/trigger assembly which could cause the gun to malfuntion (FTFr).  I check mine  after every firing session.

4.  Keep track of the rounds you fire through the gun and replace the recoil spring after about 200 to 250 rounds.

5.  It's a gun to be carried a lot, and fired a little.  Don't purchase one with the intent on putting thousands of rounds through it.

If you follow these 5 guidelines, the chances of trouble-free operation are high.

[kjtrains]

Totally agree!!    

[Richard S]

HOOAH!  (It's an Army thing.)