Should New CCW Holders/Small Auto Shootters Start w/ an R9 or Something Else?

[Reinz]

I finished my match yesterday on a typical Texas Hot, Humid Summer day.  I was bushed.  I recently closed a deal on used Stealth with a forum member, so it I pushed myself for test drive.  I was skeptical that in my tired condition that I would be able to run a box of 147 gr Golden Sabres and a box of 147 Hydra Shoks through this gun without a hitch, I was mentally and physically spent.

Of course, No Problem!

Something just does not add up here.

Why is it that This overweight, out of shape man in his latter 50's with nerve damage from the tips of his fingers all the way to the shoulders in both extremeties, with addition to major tendonitis WITH Damage in the strong arm and minor tendonitis in the weak arm, along with other physical ailments; is able to reliably shoot his FOUR R9's WITHOUT Failures to Feed or Eject, and feed Any ammo loaded? (yes, I know, I still have to work on more ammo selection for the Stealth)

If anyone should be having gun issues, I should be the poster child.

So why do guys keep writing in with problems?   It is all possibly too simple.

Now, please, please don't anyone take this next comment as snooty or upity, and hear me out.

About a week ago another forum member said to me " the R9 is for Very Experienced Shooters".

I knew that, but never "heard" that.  It hit me really hard.  Now I'm NOT saying that every problem is due to guys that don't know how to shoot their guns.   But maybe a good proportion are.  We do spend time teaching guys how to shoot these things don't we?

I'm just saying that if a guy is New to an Auto,Small Auto, any Pistol or obviously shooting; the Best may not be the best thing to start with.  As Richard has said - "these are Ferraris", would you give a 15-16 yr a Ferrari for their first car?

I think that in this case, it may be better for these guys to start out with a more forgiving gun such as Kahr, Smith, Ruger, or Keltec, just to name a few.  After practicing for a year or a 1000 rounds or so, Then maybe move up to the Best.

Guys, I think that our love and passion for this great gun has made us good salesman, but at the same time we have done a disservice to some "newer" shooters as seen by evidence of sales in the classifieds.

(I think the R380 may have been more of a wise move than we thought and some of us should not have that "John Wayne syndrome", myself included)

Afterall, the bigger picture is Shooting, and then the R9 will fall into place.

Any thoughts?

[Robar233]

Reinz,

 I agree with what you are saying. The R9 is a pistol that needs good ammo. I think it needs good form from the shooter even more. It is not a forgiving pistol when it comes to loss of energy to cycle the action. This is difficult to accomplish with so few fingers on the grip of a 9mm. I have seen many malfunctions of pistols in the past 29 years of work with revolvers then semi-auto's. During those years all the malfunctions were shooter induced or ammunition related. These semi-autos were duty pistols that did not have the tolerances any where near those of the R9.
 The R9 may not be a good first pistol, however, so long as the "new" shooter was taught and uses good form there should be no issues. Even an experienced shooter using good technique may not care for a sub-compact pistol. I had a Karh MK40 and shot well with it, but did not like the feel, too heavy for its size. I replaced it with a PM40 that gave me blisters and I sold it to buy the R9. So even a really good pistol may not work well for many people.
 Just my three cents!

 Robar233

[jeeptree2112]

Well, I'm no expert shooter and I'm the one who's gun is on it's way back to Karl Rohrbaugh as we speak.  I have not owned the R9 very long and as you read from the previous post have encountered a multitude of FTE's and FTF's.  The only thing I do know is out of all the guns I have ever shot or have been around shooting, I haven't seen so many jams.  And if there were a jam, simply rack the slide and your good to go for the next round.  Not the Rohrbaugh.  If it jams, it jams.  It's almost a 2 man job getting it unjammed.  Even the sales person jammed it, when I took it in, and needed assistance getting the mag out to unjam it.
Oh well, Karl is a great guy on the phone and he said if I was concerned then he was concerned so send it in for the "VIP treatment"    We'll see.

[Reinz]

I was not picking on you Jeeptree.  I am 100% positively sure that a bad one or two can get out the factory doors from time to time.

 However If you do a search you will find many posts similar to yours.  When the gun is returned back to the owner from the factory many times nothing is mentioned of the work being done.  Reminds me of a doctor and his placebo.


And BTW, I have been at ranges with many gun shop commandos in my lifetime along with being on the slopes and lakes with ski shop pros, they all talk the talk, few can walk it, or - ski it.   

[tracker]

In my experience with the factory the warranty service is outstanding but there is no written summary of the repair or replacement work. This was the case in the past even though there was a gun problem. If anyone has received a written description of work accomplished I stand corrected.

[jeeptree2112]

I take no offense what so ever.  I listen to everyone for advise and these forums are invaluable for advise.   Trust me, I don't want to be the one with an issue with such a fine piece of protection.  Trust me, I work in medicine, and if Karl is simply giving me a sugar pill for my benign tumor of Jams, then so be it.  If it comes back and it works, awesome.  If not, I now know two things.....either the sugar didn't fix the issue, or I'm humble enough to say I may be one of the inexperienced shooters that just need to get better and truly choose a more forgiving gun.  But man, I hope it's neither.  This R9 is the nicest, most compact, little power house that I ever had the privilege of holding in my pocket, with ease.  Hard to give that up.  Plus, it only needs to fire 7 at go time. 
Oh, and I'll chime in on if there is a write up on the gun.  Karl said he would call me after he looked at it.  We'll see!

[Reinz]

Tracker - I'm glad you mentioned that.  I must be confused then when guys talk to Karl direct and are told what was done.  I guess I assumed it was done in writing as well.  I know that when I sent a custom Springfied in years ago for problems, I got a detailed work analysis.

I apologize for posting misinformation.

However, that does give me pause as to why a write up would not be given.

[tracker]

Only the shadow knows.

[JohnBT]

"I think it needs good form from the shooter even more."

I saw a guy get a failure to eject while shooting mine. He shot a mag righthanded and then switched to his left hand and got one halfway through the mag. Dang smartalecky 12-year-old. Well trained, too.     None of the other six shooters had a problem.

Last range trip a co-worker's wife shot my R9. I'd never seen her shoot (and he's a recent new gun owner), but she shot a full mag without a flinch and handed it back. I asked if she was a shooter and she said no. Then she added that she was raised around guns and her father went to Camp Perry every year.

[Reinz]

"I think it needs good form from the shooter even more."

I saw a guy get a failure to eject while shooting mine. He shot a mag righthanded and then switched to his left hand and got one halfway through the mag. Dang smartalecky 12-year-old. Well trained, too.     None of the other six shooters had a problem.

Last range trip a co-worker's wife shot my R9. I'd never seen her shoot (and he's a recent new gun owner), but she shot a full mag without a flinch and handed it back. I asked if she was a shooter and she said no. Then she added that she was raised around guns and her father went to Camp Perry every year.