With a couple bugs worked out of "Robby", my gently-used R9s, it was time for his first range trip.
My LGS and "home range" is Master Class Shooter Supply in Monroe, NY; it was about 70 and sunny yesterday, but their indoor range is climate-controlled anyhow.
Robby fed four 6+1 cycles of Speer 124 gr Gold Dot JHP with no troubles at all. Wasn't really going for accuracy as I just wanted to get a feel for the grip and ensure proper function. Three cycles at 4 yards put 60% of my shots in a 3" ring, with all shots inside an 8" group give or take. The last cycle at 7 yards was nothing impressive, but all stayed on a standard 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. I probably should have shot 7 yards first!
Aside from Cerakoting all black and dimpling on the sight posts, the only other modifications I've made were to switch to the VZ grips and apply some TractionGrip adhesive tape to the front and backstraps. Huge difference!
I am carrying in a Desantis Superfly that I modified slightly; I will be carrying with the anti-print panel attached most of the time, so I cut away some of the holster material on the panel side to reduce bulk and aid good hand purchase when reaching in to draw. I also sliced the "paddle" open and inserted 10 Neodymiun magnets in there to hold a spare mag, then stitched it back shut. Works great! Pics to follow soon.
This is my first subcompact pistol and I asked for some advice from the LGS staff to tweak my grip and mag changes accordingly. Quick background: I've personally owned a 5" 1911 .45 for 10+ yrs and am quite proficient with the M9 (Beretta 92) and M4 (AR-15 carbine) as well as a number of larger firearms thanks to my "place of business" for the past 20+ years. Yesterday proved to me that what works for larger handguns does not necessarily translate to subcompact/Rohrbaugh-land.
Lesson learned #1- grip. I usually use a grip similar to what is shown in the R9 FAQ photos; thumbs woven one on to of the other, left hand wrapped around right hand but not really contacting the grip itself. Great for the 1911 and M9, but with the Rohrbaugh I found that, with my larger hands, my thumbs were getting in the way of the tip of my trigger finger. A parallel thumb grip brought my thumbs up higher along the top of the grip and slide area, clearing a nice gap on the fingertip side of the trigger. Lifting my right side thumb also allowed the heel of my left palm to come to the gun's grip on the left side, nestling in there like a "puzzle piece." Having BOTH hands in DIRECT contact with the gun itself (rather than one on the gun, and the other on the first hand) greatly increased stability.
Lesson learned #2- mag changes. The heel mag release takes a bit of getting used to, as I'm sure every Rohrbaugh owner will attest. I followed the procedure shown in the R9 FAQ with a couple of tweaks: first, I definitely recommend the (described but not shown) method of keeping the loading forefinger along the leading edge of the magazine. Think about it... If you close your eyes and make a hole out of the fingers of one hand, can you put a finger from your other hand through it without looking? Try it from a bunch of different orientations. You can do it easily, right? Your body knows where it is... It's had those fingers your whole life! second (and this is good advice for just about ANY mag change, really), tuck the right elbow into your side and hold your forearm (and the gun) outwards at a 30-45 degree (from vertical) angle away from your body, palm (and left side of gun) facing up. This puts your "workspace" basically right under your nose while you change mags. Why so important? You keep your eyes on the TARGET, while the mag change happens in your peripheral vision, aiding you with proper procedure.
Thanks once again to all who helped me work through a couple of minor issues as a new Rohrbaugh owner! I am loving this gun for EDC!
-Jon
