New member with new gun fired 1st time today!

[Paveway]

Hi all, I walked into the dealer today looking for a NAA 380. Dealer states "I dont have any NAA's but I have 2 Rohrbaugh's". My eyes lit up and the ol' brain started thinking.

Anyways, I run home after buying it (R9S) and grab all of my 9mm ammo. At first, I thought to myself "I cant believe that I paid 1G for a jam-o-matic!!!" because it was jamming like crazy with FTF's and FTE's.

But, as I am from the 1911 .45 school (I'm usually over at the 1911 forum), I persisted in continuing in reloading and firing to attempt to break it in with ball ammo. After around 100 rounds, the planets aligned and all went well. I could feed it anything that I had such as:

115 fmj of various flavors (Win, IMI, S&B, Rem UMC)
88 grain Eldorado Starfire
115 Win and Rem JHP value pack
147 Win JHP value pack

And it would not hiccup one bit after around 125 rounds. I did have one light primer strike on the 115 Rem, but nothing major. I even limpwristed most of the rounds because the web of my hand was blistered (I forgot my gloves  )

But all in all, this is an exceptional well built firearm and well worth the money. I would buy another in a minute if funds allowed it. I just cant believe the size of this machine! I compared it to the Beretta Tomcat and it's just a tad longer in the barrel area. Amazing. Recoil was negligible, around what one would experience with a .38 snubbie. I was told by the dealer that this is because of the blowback design.
Now to find a pocket holster. I think that I will get another Fist, but you never know.....

Anyway enough of my rant. Nice website you've got here! Excellent info and links!

[steveintexas]

Paveway,
 Congradts on the new R9!!
I had about the same experiance with my R9.
Since the breakin period I've never had a problem.
Happy shooting, Steve

[Richard S]

Paveway:

Welcome to the Forum, and thanks for that excellent range report.  I predict that you'll find the R9 to be an excellent backup to the 1911.  I certainly have.

[harrydog]

 Recoil was negligible, around what one would experience with a .38 snubbie. I was told by the dealer that this is because of the blowback design.

Welcome to the forum. Glad to hear your R9 is working as it should. These are great little guns and the Rohrbaugh brothers are the best.
The R9 is a locked breach design, not blowback.

[Paveway]

The R9 is a locked breach design, not blowback.

HMMMMM..... I also thought that it was blowback because of no locking lugs under the barrel like a 1911. Perhaps I am mistaken about what constitutes a locked breach? Please help me here.

Isn't a Hi-Point (the antithesis of the Rohrbaugh that I should buy for a study in contrast ) a blowback design?

[Richard S]

Paveway:

The NAA Guardians are straight blowbacks.  The R-9 is technically a locked-breach delayed-blowback design.  Here's a link to one discussion of the various designs on THR:

 http://www.thehighroad.org/printthread.php?t=17252

I should edit this post to respond to your question about the Hi-Point.  I don't own one, but subject to being corrected, it is my understanding that the Hi-Point 9mm is straight-blowback design with the barrel being integral with the frame and a compensator being used to help reduce felt recoil.

[R9SCarry]

Paveway - welcome aboard - and also congrats on getting an R9.

Thx for the report - and most pleased you are enjoying the pup.  Hope the hand heals soon!!!!  Yes it is a bit snappy and will eventually tend to draw blood  

I also seem to recall the Hi-Point is blowbackj, as too is the Makarov, Bersa Thunder 380 etc.  And as Richard mentions, the barrel will be solidly affixed into the frame.

There are several locking methods for locked breech - and the R9 utilizes a sort of camming principle, whereby the under barrel lug slot profile, rides on the hardened cross pin - the one we remove for takedown.

Let me paste here an attempt I made to describe to Tom (Irish Guard) a fair time ago - how I saw the cycle working.  Priot to that aspect I describe the wear effect we see inside the frame - self-limiting wear.

Only my rationale tho.

[size=13]That ''cup'' in the frame is actually receiving the barrel lug base protrusion at fully unlocked - at which point it actually could prevent feed ramp from being any further back than level, with the mag' well.  It is tho not designed to take that much of a whack!
 
Coincident with that at unlock is the actual and theoretically main limiting factor - the pin, in the lug slot.  That should prevent the barrel setting back any more on it's own so - the ''cup'' is actually a clearance device shall we say.
 
Now, also at unlock the barreland lug is at its lowest point, having dropped, thus the contact with the wear areas we have seen by the exterior of chamber profile.  I say contact - in fact from a design POV I expect with the incredibly tight tolerances in this gun, we have a theoretical ''barest kiss''.  
 
However, if we consider the extreme violence of the event (firing) during a full cycle - it seems very likely to me that a two or three thou over travel downwards, and maybe a thou or so to rear (heck, this is a demanding gun to design!) - and we can see the slight attrition to the surfaces and thus a very small flake or two of displaced aluminum.
 
I still feel this is self limiting and I guess if tolerances were sloppy as heck, it might not even happen.  Now remember folks - this is me theorizing and not Eric taking.  That will come later when we have full answers!!
 
Looking at the whole cycle and so recapping a bit (heck - wish I could animate a Flash file like the one on a 1911) ..... I can ''see'' it clearly but description in words is a bugger!
 
At instant of slide beginning rearward travel as round fires and pressures begin to back off from peak, we have the barrel moving rearward by approx 1/4", as recoil assembly is being compressed by slide - (exerting as it does said rearward bias against barrel lug) - at which point the lug slot allows it to drop, and there it stays while slide goes all ways to rear.
 
Slide progresses then forward, stripping a new round - which is fed into the lowered barrel and chambered, assisted by the feed ramp.  The completion of the auto load is aquisition of full battery and as slide moves further forward, and recoil assembly is (relatively) relaxing, we see the bolt face area impinge on the round's base to complete the action.  The last 1/4" or so as round goes into battery and slide closes, is when the lug slot then rides the pin to lift chamber area (barrel rear if you like) once more and go into full lock-up.
 
Phew - if you understood any of that it's a miracle.  How useful an animation would be!!  Just don't have the time. [/size]

[Brenden]

Paveway,
Welcome to the forum..

Wow,thats an intro to the pup that must have been interesting!!

I think I have only shot 50 or so rounds at a sitting,and that really was all that I "wanted" to do..Nothing terrible,but not ending up being real "enjoyable" either!!

Please remember +P is not reccommended..

Welcome again and enjoy,

Brenden

[Paveway]

Thank you all for welcoming me to the Forum!!!!!

Brenden, yep it was interesting being introduced to the R9 for the first time with so many rounds. I ran 204 rounds through the pup that day. I was determined to make it run smooth. I guess playing around with 1911's paid off in this regard. Not to brag, but having shot handloaded 10mm helped when it came to dealing with the R9 recoil.

When the palm of my hand stops hurting and the blister in my thumb web heals, I'll go back and do it again (with gloves next time). I want the pup to run 100% before I call it good.

It's a good thing that they marked the magazines with a warning about +P. I was gonna run some Cor Bon 124 JHP through it!

[ROKTMAN]

Paveway:
my understanding that the Hi-Point 9mm is straight-blowback design with the barrel being integral with the frame and a compensator being used to help reduce felt recoil.

Another added bonus is the Hi Point can be used as a boat anchor if needed.
 

Seriously ,welcome to the forum and happy shooting!