Rail wear on new Rohrbaugh

[PK90]

Took my pup out today and shot it for the first time.  There seemed to be some wear on the rails after 30 rounds.  Any ideas what caused this and is it a concern?

[yankee2500]

There will be some initial wear but then it will usually stop. What type of lube are you using ? Did you clean and lube the pup before the range trip ?

[C0untZer0]

I know lube topics go nutty pretty quickly, with people using everything from Vaseline, WD-40, 3 in 1, motor oil - to dozens of whatever their favorite name brand "specialty" gun lubricant is.

But is there a consensus concerning Rohrbaughs about using either grease or oil on the rails?

[Jack_F]

A SMALL amount of your favorite lube is a good idea on rails.............did I say SMALL AMOUNT!!!!!

I like grease in needle oilers so I can get a SMALL AMOUNT.

[tracker]

That looks like normal wear to me although it is a bit disconcerting when you first notice it.

[Richard S]

PK90:

Welcome to the Forum for the finest pocket pistol yet designed.

As for that "rail wear," as Mick Dundee might say, "No worries":

http://www.acbsystems.com/boards/rohrbaugh/basefile/frame-wear.htm

[PK90]

Was CLP, but will now use Militec-1.

[C0untZer0]

Does this smooth out over time, or does it just get roughed up and then when the process stops - that area of the rails stays roughed up?

[Jack_F]

I have two R9S..the marks will not go away. It is what is is!!!!!!! The gun is not designed to shoot a lot.

[Richard S]

I liken the initial frame wear on a pistol such as the R9 to the break-in of an automobile engine, the main purpose of the latter being to permit new piston rings to wear enough to provide perfect seals with cylinder walls.

There is a lot of force generated by firing a 9mm Parabellum round in a 13-ounce pistol, and the slide and frame need a little time to settle into perfect working order. High quality lubrication is the key. At least it has been so on my soon to be eight-year-old R9.

[AmmoToad]

PK, attached a few pix, not as good as yours, of a Stealth with ~300 rounds through it.  The wear in your picture seems very normal.  I had a Kimber SOLO and after the first 50 rounds, the wear on the inside looked much worse, I called Kimber and they said it was normal.  As for the R9, I think what you experienced is definitely normal.  Mine has worn to a shiny sheen.  Wish my photography skills were better, but hope you can see enough.  Anyway, hope this helps.

[C0untZer0]

So it does smooth out over time?

I don't expect marks to go away.  If it gets smooth over time - that should be burrs wearing down and the slide and rails basically form fitting. to each other.  I expect wear.  I don't mind that.  Eventually it functions more smoothly as you have a better fit.

If it's choppy and stays choppy or gets increasingly jagged over time that is concerning.

What AmmoToad is showing looks like normal wear.

[AmmoToad]

I do consider mine to be very normal, it is smooth and shiny.  No burrs or nicks. 

[PK90]

Mine is currently choppy/ripply.  I shall keep my eye on it.

[JR956678]

My R9S with something approaching 200 rounds looks very like PK90's initial photographs. They occurred the very first time I shot the pup, and on dis-assembly I actually found some small silver flakes of metal that had been abraded away. However since then it has gotten no worse at all and I just cleaned the firearm after running about 50 rounds through it at the range and there are no additional metal flakes - in fact the internals look identical to how they looked after the very first time I fired the pup.

Given several range sessions after the first one and seeing that nothing further happens I no longer have any concerns about these marks - seems pretty normal break in for the pup.

And - the more I shoot the little thing the more I like it and the more I WANT to shoot it.