Cracked R-9S Slide

[MountainMan]

I asked Karl why the slide cracked. He told me he had gotten some bad stainless steel bars from his supplier. .

EdMan
Glad it all worked out - when was your R9 made and its approximate SS# (example R56#) would be of interest to those who may have had their R9 made at about the same time.
Thanks

[EdMan]

Thanks for asking MountainMan,
My R-9 serial # is in the R59x range.

[Erich]

Eek! Mine's R584!

No problems after probably over 400 rounds, though.  

[SAWBONES]

Well, don't worry too much.
Mine's R9XX, and the crack went all the way from front to back of the grasping grooves and around the rear on the left side of the slide (not a through-and-through crack, that is, not all the way through the steel, but a looooong, if not too deep, crack).

Anyway, maybe it means QC is worse with LATER than with EARLIER serial numbers?
Or maybe it's a fluke.

In any event, it suggests to me that either the gun is running near the limit of its material stress tolerances, or that there's a QC problem. I suspect the former is the case, but neither choice is very good, of course.

[EdMan]

Eek! Mine's R584!

No problems after probably over 400 rounds, though.  

Hey Erich, if you have 400 rounds fired and no crack has appeared, then you are probably OK. Karl didn't say how many bad stainless steel bars he had. There may have only been a few, like from one gang mold, or batch. And he may have caught it before too many were shipped. Karl did say he has taken a cracked slide and put it on a "torture" frame and fired many more rounds with it and the crack didn't get any worse. Of course he will still replace any cracked slides sent to him. UPS tried to deliver my repaired R-9(s) today but I wasn't home to sign for it. So they will try again Monday. So far so good.......... I'll keep you all posted.

[Erich]

Yeah, it seems rather like the cracks that frequently appear on the dust cover of 1911s . . . no real harm to anything.

That torture gun Karl has going has really seen a lot of abuse. Karl's told me about it. Frankly, I feel sure my gun will outlive me in a functioning capacity.

Anyway, glad it's going to work out for you, Edman, and thanks for telling your story!  

[MountainMan]

Thanks Edman - let us know how you like your reborn R9.
Dave

[SAWBONES]

Update.
Out shooting the R-9S again this morning.
Repeated FTFs with 124gr Gold Dot JHP within the first 25 rounds (all nose-up catches of the bullet at the chamber), then none at all after that.
No change in grip style, grip pressure, etc. to account for this apparent phenomenon, which seems to be that the gun runs better after firing a few rounds than it does when clean.

I'm going to leave it dirty and shoot it again next weekend to see if perhaps it needs a few "fouling shots" in order to run reliably.
If it can't be relied upon to function clean, on demand, it ain't much of a last-ditch pocket pistol AFAIC. Perhaps I'm chasing a Will o' the Wisp.

[Michigunner]

I'm very disappointed to learn about all the recent problems.  When something costs upwards of one thousand dollars, I have high expectations.

I'm at only 62 rounds total, but can't help but have some concerns, even though it is OK so far.

Let's keep our fingers crossed, and hope these few bumps in the road will be smoothed out.

I recognize that out of the hundreds of pistols, we are just hearing about a few that need attention.

I feel sorry for those who are getting off to a bad start.

Bill

[theirishguard]

Bill, I sure agree with you, however, we must all be aware that just a few guns out of hundreds have had any problems.
It seems like more but we are are really only hearing about only a few guns. I think Rohrbaugh will take care of these problems.
Tom

[jarcher]

Bill, I sure agree with you, however, we must all be aware that just a few guns out of hundreds have had any problems.
It seems like more but we are are really only hearing about only a few guns. I think Rohrbaugh will take care of these problems.
Tom

Yes and no...  There could be problems experienced by people who don't use the Internet and/or this forum.  What concerns me more is wondering how many R9 owners actually ever shoot their pistols.  I would guess most owners put a few rounds downrange, then load up and never shoot again at a range.

I'm not saying this is the case, I am just saying its a nagging thought that bothers me.

[Michigunner]

I'm just glad we have this forum to share our experiences.

Otherwise, I would have thought everything was perfectly wonderful because of my own good fortune up to this time.

[MountainMan]

I think Jarcher is right that most buy a pocket carry, put a mag or two though it, and carry it and maybe never shoot it again or a mag once or twice a year.  Some never shoot it at all.  I saw a Seecamp LWS380 for sell on the forum that was carried but the post said never shot.  My R9 will probably only get about 40 successful rounds through it before I feel confident in carrying it.  Then again we see some who had no problems until after twice that.  But if you go 80 rounds how do you know the problems won't start at 100 or 150.  So the truth is you will never know.  I didn't buy this gun to shoot a lot so I'll just have faith in it.

The Seecamp LWS32 I have carried for years gets very few rounds through it yet in my mind I feel it will function if needed.

It does seem there have been more problems since the plant move.  Again there are more guns out there.  I would say it you had a forum devoted to any particular gun, as this is, you would see the same kind of problems on some guns.

 Doesn't make it better for the ones having problems - except here there are  many on this forum who will listen and care - and that includes myself.
Dave

[Brenden]

Bill,
Kinda like watching the news these days!!

I do know that Rohrbaugh will make right with the problems,although SawBones,you have went thru some extra ones that would not please me either..

Please keep us up to date and as with anything,if we can help,we will try..

Brenden

[eblackhawk]

As I stated in an earlier thread, after putting approx. 120 flawless rounds of various brands (Wolf, Federal,WWB) through my R9S last weekend, I feel very confident in carrying it. My son and I had so much fun shooting it that you can be sure we'll be taking it to the range next time as well!  
        Eric