Finally had a chance to visit the range and put some ammo through the new R9SF. I bought the gun from Tom Watson a month ago and have been busy remodeling the house ever since.
Gun: R9SF, new
Ammo: Speer Gold Dot 124 grain, and Federal American Eagle 124 grain FMJ.
First up...
Ammo - Gold Dot 124 grain
First magazine: 6+1. All 7 went boom.
Second magazine: 6+1. All 7 went boom.
Third magazine: 6+1. Third round FTF. 2nd pull of trigger and it went boom. Remaining rounds went boom.
Fourth magazine: 6+1. All 7 went boom.
Fifth magazine 6+1. All 7 went boom.
Next up...
Ammo - American Eagle 124 grain FMJ.
First magazine: 6+1. All 7 went boom.
Second magazine: 6+1. First round fail to feed - needed a nudge to get it to chamber. All 7 went boom.
Third magazine: 6+1. First round fail to feed - needed a nudge. All 7 went boom.
Fourth magazine: 6+1. First round fail to feed - needed a nudge. All 7 went boom.
So unfortunately there was one Failure to Fire. Luckily it fired on the 2nd pull of the trigger. Hearing that first "click" was disheartening to say the least. A defensive weapon needs to go bang every time. I'll clean the gun and try another range trip soon. I think the FMJ didn't like to feed when I first cycled the slide because the ramp was getting dirty and the FMJ might be a little longer overall. The range sold me a box of FMJ so I went ahead and tried it just for fun. I have yet to find any SilverTips in 9mm.
Recoil: The R9 was reasonable and not at all uncomfortable. I was expecting something more. Compared to the Kel Tec P-3AT (.380) it was a little more but not at all uncomfortable (to me). Recoil was about the same as 44 special ammo in a S&W model 329 (29 oz. scandium lightweight big bore revolver). I would call it moderate recoil. I found the R9 would move a little in my hand, and I'd adjust my grip after almost every shot. It was a slight movement, and the hand adjustment on the grip took only a fraction of a second. More like squeezing the grip a little tighter after each round.
The sights were almost useless on the R9 because the indoor range was kind of dark and the target was black. Distance was about 10 feet and about half the time I had a difficult time hitting the target but this was my first experience with an R9.
So - with the one fail to fire I need to continue testing this gun. Luckily it fired on the second pull of the trigger. I'm not comfortable carrying an unreliable gun so I'm not sure what to do. Clean it, fire it some more, and see what happens. I'll change the recoil spring at 100 rounds. And I'll try to find Silvertips. My Kel Tec was unreliable until it visited the manufacturer twice. Now it's 100% reliable.
If the R9 has another fail to fire it'll go back to the manufacturer. They can make it right. Firing pin length is critical, and I understand manufacturing tolerances and how tolerances can stack up and cause issues. All in all it was an interesting experience. The R9 is small, well-made, has a very smooth trigger and feels good in the hand. The grip is small but no smaller than the Kel Tec P-3AT. Recoil is moderate compared to other guns I've fired.
If the R9 fails to fire again I'll give Rohrbaugh a chance to make it right. My Wilson SDS 45 auto is still 100% reliable after over 2000 rounds, and it's one I've come to trust. I like the size and ballistics of the R9 so I'm hoping it can be made right.
Here's the primer on the FTF. Not sure how this can happen - I'm a revolver guy and I've never seen a primer look like this after it's been hit by a firing pin. Yes - that's two photos of the SAME primer.
