Farmingdale, N.Y. R9 with blue carbon fiber grips***SOLD***

[Arizona]

Hello, 

I have an R192 that was ordered when the article in "American Handgunner" with Roy Huntington testing and reviewing pistols #R170 and #R270.  This very impressive article led to ordering this R9 #R192.

History for Farmingdale R9's is given by quoting the one and only Eric C. Rohhbaugh.

quote author=ECR link=topic=9353.msg96361#msg96361 date=1574023871]
Hello Bob and Welcome to The Forum.

So, I’ll get right down to it for you the best I can:

•   R or not?: . . . . . I believe you are actually referring to the “S” and not the R. Early R9 Pistols we were designating as R9 (No Sights) or the R9s (s = Sights). You have a rare R9s slide on your early Farmingdale, N.Y. pistol. The reason that that was short lived was the fact that bureaucracy is alive and well in government. The NYS Police, who records serial numbers of firearms here in New York State, contacted us and said that if we used the “s” after the “R9”, it is a different firearm and that we would have to submit another round of firearms for testing and record them as a different model. We explained that all it was was sights/no sights, but the exact same pistol. Nope, the law is the law. We conceded and just went with the R9 designation after that event, which would have cost more funds, more firearms sent to them and forfeited and more paperwork for a sighted model. Silly?. . . . Yes. Typical government gobble-dee-gook?. . . . Yes.

•   Farmingdale, New York:  Original factory location.

•   Serial Number:  R196 = The 95th R9 Pistol manufactured for the public. We started at R101.
The first pistols just had numbers like 1, 2, 3, etc. up to 48. Then we had a few higher numbered pistols for the purposes of trying new finishes on the frames. 200 and 300 series were selected for that purpose. Just a few of those exist today.  The R proceeding the number on your pistol, and many others to follow, let us know in the factory that that frame was the upgraded frame with full support (360 degrees) around each side for the barrel pin. No R prefix had a cutout on the right hand side in that area for the trigger sear bar. With testing, there was a slight issue with some frames beginning to have hairline cracks there, so we redesigned the area for full support of the barrel pin and redesigned the sear bar to allow clearance for travel there. It was a much needed improvement in the design keeping the integrity of the frame strong.

•   Grip Type:  You have the highly sought after original Blue Carbon Fiber Grip Panels on your R9. I have seen those sell on eBay a number of years ago and $350 for a set was the norm.

•   Magazine Bases:  The original mag bases did not have a cut in them to allow the mag release to fit into the mag. Those very early smooth base magazines did like to “pop out” when firing on some pistols. We addressed that issue by having a cut out to allow the mag release to drop into the base plate thereby stopping that issue and keeping the magazine in place when firing the gun.

•   Stealth Elite model?:  No, as tracker mentioned earlier. . . . . you have the “Standard” model R9S.

•   Lastly, the Logo on the bottom of the Magazine:  You stated: “The mag base plate has Rohrbaugh engraved in a very small text in a ribbon design, and what looks like a spring inside a shield.”  What that actually is is the design of our family shield / crest from Germany.

. . . . so there you have it Bob. I do stop by the forum from time to time and try to answer questions about the pistol, so if you have any other questions, feel free to ask away. There are many knowledgeable folks here who have been around since day one, as it were, so you are in good hands. You can also private message (PM) me through this site.

Again, Welcome aboard!

Best Regards,

Eric C. Rohrbaugh
[/quote]

XXXX

I test fired the R9 upon possession with only 12 rounds and it functioned flawlessly. 
Custom leathery R.J. Hedley pocket holster and one magazine holder. 
5 magazines and Pachmayr slip on pistol grip included. 

I never ending up using it for every day carry and the R9 has been in my safe.

Any questions, please contact me.

Asking $1,600.00.
Buyer pays for FFL fee and actual shipping cost to your FFL.

Frank

[ccoorreeyy]

Beautiful R9! 

[Arizona]

THANKS ccooreeyy.

[ECR]

Frank!. . . . . . . Dear Lord!. . . . . . That example hits all of the buttons pertaining to "Early R9". 

The best blue carbon fiber grip panels! That purplish anodized frame treatment. Revised frame so the barrel pin has full coverage on both sides within the frame for strength. Extra magazines, an original R.J. Holster setup, and Karl's favorite. . . . The Pachmayr "bicycle tire tube" as Karl used to call it for grip assistance. Super nice 95th R9 Series Pistol made, and it's untouched.

Very reasonable pricing too. That shouldn't be around too long here for anybody looking for a genuine "Classic" R9!

Good Luck with your sale Frank.

Regards,

Eric C. Rohrbaugh

[ECR]

I would like to add:   

To the buyer. . . . . . I have updated baseplates for the magazines that have the cutout at the rear so the magazine release drops into that for better mag retention. The magazine release was also updated at that time. I will send those updated baseplates with the updated magazine release to the new owner free of charge so you have them in case you want to update the pistol.
Yes, it's worth more stock, but those updates helped.

Your call whether to install them or not.   

ecr

[Arizona]

Mr. Rohrbaugh,

Thanks for adding to this post.  You are very generous person and have created a master piece. 

I wanted to let you know I had a discussion regarding R9 fabrication you had with the actual Orthopedic Medical Doctor you consulted with during production.  He has now retired from practice but Joel told me to say, "HI", if I ever spoke with you.

I too, am a retired Doctor,  and wish you the best.  I read how you educate and inspire the new and experienced people you post on regarding the forum who have interest in you and your legacy.

Best wishes in your retirement.

Frank

[ECR]

Thank you for your comments here, Frank. We did put quite a bit of thought and effort into the design of this pistol for its intended use. Consulting orthopedic surgeons was one aspect of that design work. I also appreciate you passing on a "Hi" from the good doctor. Please send our good wishes back to him if you will.

By the way, has your R192 pistol been sold yet? Just curious. . . . . .

ecr

[Arizona]

Hello everyone,

My R192 is still available.  It will take time for someone who is not regularly checking in on the Forum or new people discovering the R9 to consider purchasing a new pistol.

Frank

[ECR]

I'm sure anyone who is looking for an R9 will eventually come across your offering here Frank.

ecr

[Arizona]

Additional information regarding a post "Early serial numbers."
Great information on some of the history of R9's.
Frank
 
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Re: Early serial numbers.
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2014, 10:38:01 AM »
Quote
Guns and More,

Here are the answers to your questions to the best of my knowledge.

The Early Pre-Production Guns (No R Prefix):
All of these guns were marked "Farmingdale, NY" had blue CF grips and if the gun had sights were marked with "R9s" on the slide. These guns also had slightly thinner walls on the slide. Of these guns only two had silver frames (#223 & #321).
#'s <= 100 were reserved for the factory. (#1 is Karl's gun, #2 is Eric's, #33 is one of their investors, I'm sure there are others. I am not sure if all the frames were actually made or if the numbers are just reserved.)
#101 was a presentation gun given to an early supporter of Rohrbaugh on various web forums - he still has the gun to this day.
#102 was the first gun sold to the public and has sense returned to the factory and is on display.
#103-147 went to people who either had been on the wait list since the very beginning (i think over 2 years for some) or were prominent gun bloggers etc.
Custom Numbered Guns:
"R9" Karl's personal carry gun for many years with blackish frame, blue grips and no sights. 
#221 & #223 are the guns featured on the cover of the manuals. #223 is a silver frame with sights and #221 is an early grey frame with no sights. I don't think these guns were sold to the public.
#246 has a darker frame almost black with blue grips and sights.
#321 is a silver frame that was originally marked #148 but was given the custom number 321. I believe this is the only silver frame pre-R sold to the public.
Other custom serial numbered early guns include: "Blackhawk-1", "NRA-04-001", "BPD-001", "DTM39", "David-1"

The Production Guns (R Prefix):
The "R" prefix was added when some minor Revisions were made to the slide (thickened) and possibly some other internal tweaks. Numbers were started over at "R101"
#<=R100 were reserved for the factory, again I don't know if all the frames were made or if they just reserved the numbers. "R101" is has been referred to as the first "production" gun after the initial revisions.The grey anodizing on these R Prefix guns is a bit darker and less "plum colored" than the pre production guns.  A few hundred of these R Prefix guns were made in Farmingdale, NY before the factory moved to Deer Park, NY. They produced about 600 total sets of blue carbon fiber grips (including the ones used on the pre production guns) so a lot of the earlier R Prefix guns will have the blue carbon fiber grips. This is also the time when BATF instructed Rohrobauh that they could only use the "R9" designation on the slide regardless if the gun had sights or not. Since the frames and the slides were hand fitted together some of the earlier R prefix guns with sights will have the "R9s" designation while others wont. There are no hard cutoffs serial number wise where before a certain number you would be guaranteed to have a Farmingdale, or blue grips, or the "R9s" designation it just seems to have come down to the luck of the draw - there are some pretty low Farmingdale, NY guns with black CF grips, and there are some pretty late guns with the "R9s" designation. For the most part though the lower the number the better chance the gun has more of the early features. There were also about 12 silver frame guns made in the early R prefix period- it was difficult to get the silver anodizing correct so only a few guns were made before the factory no longer offered the option.

Later guns with R serial numbers in the high hundreds and mid to low one thousands had slightly darker frames (this is my favorite frame color) and black carbon fiber grips. There were two styles of black carbon fiber grips; the later style has a diagonal pattern to the carbon fiber. This is also the serial number range where the factory got a bad batch of steel for the slides and had some cracking issues on the back of the slides. This is fixed under warranty regardless if you have the warranty card or not. 

The frame color was then changed to black for both the two tone and the stealth and G10 grips replaced the black carbon fiber.

« Last Edit: January 03, 2014, 01:29:23 PM by BlueC2 »
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Somebody buy this so I stop drooling over it!!!!