SHOT Show 2012 Rohrbaugh Report

[Jack_F]

Corey I'm with you, a shorter grip looks better and the grip is the hardest thing to conceal.

A lot of people have added mag extensions to their short gripped R9"s. No matter what it is someone will want it the opposite

I would like it as small as possible. I think the 40cal. would be the best of all worlds.

[DDGator]

I will inquire on some of these things today.

[DDGator]

The Tribute model is not "in stock" but they will take orders next week, and fill them within a couple months. 

If you want a custom shop order, I would just call the factory next week as well.

My time at the show is nearly over.  I have a USCCA dinner tonight, then I fly out tomorrow.  I will try to post more pics later of the Rohrbaugh booth, etc.

[tracker]

Thanks for keeping us posted, Duane.

[yankee2500]

Great to have someone on the inside.

[kjtrains]

Great work, for sure, DDG.  Thanks!

[scar2783]

I have to agree, it's not a very attractive gun. Although it may be a great tool to save your life, we all have a tendency to purchase on appearance as well. Perphaps if they went with the .45GAP, they might be able to get the grip smaller. We went with that caliber in the New York State Police, and the guys seem pretty happy with the power and the brass are happy because the "smaller" Troopers can get their hands around it.

Mark

[yankee2500]

The 45GAP is not a very popular caliber and ammo is not overly abundant, at least around the areas of NC I'm in. I get brass from a local pistol range (400 pounds at a time) and sort it by caliber and sell it to reloaders and it is a rare occasion I see any GAP brass, as a matter of fact in 4 years and at least 6000 pounds of range brass I haven't seen 2000 pieces of GAP brass.
 The State Patrol here in NC carries the 357 SIG a little more popular than the GAP but not much.

[Jack_F]

Yankee....or any forum member...........why do you think they are against the 40cal? Ohio Sate Patrol uses the 40 as do other law enforcement divisions in our state.
The gun could have a much smaller profile.

[yankee2500]

Jack I like the 40cal and think it would be great in a Rohrbaugh, I have been caring my Kahr PM40 a lot now that the weather is cooler.

Corey that may be the plan because they probably have a large supply on hand.

[Richard S]

My experience has been that there are after-market grip screws for nearly every pistol to fit nearly every taste. I've changed out the factory grip screws for those of my preference on just about every handgun I own -- except for the few "Crufflers" in my safe.

[MRC]

It looks like flat and slick grips held on with tiny screws to me.  You would think they would learn.

[Richard S]

Prototype.

The prototype R9 had a slide stop that proved to be not only cumbersome but also unnecessary.

[abboberg]

I think they will make it as small as spring technology allows.

Actually, spring technology is not the limiting factor - it is the imagination of the designer.  Many things can be done to fit a long-life spring inside the proposed 5+1 R45.  One example would be a design used by George Kellgren, and that is the nested, counter-wound spring configuration used in his Kel-Tec PF9 pistol (and possibly the P11, but I haven't checked).  This design could have been used in the R9/R9S pistols, but instead the Seecamp-style recoil spring assembly was employed, with the outer spring being short about 4-5 coils (hence the short life). Another example is the Beretta Tomcat, which uses vertical compression springs in the grip operating through levers that deliver the very high recoil spring force required by this little blow-back pistol.  I think it is great that Rohrbaugh is putting a .45 on the market - the R45 looks very smooth, snag-free, comfortable to hold and I'm sure will be as well-made as the R9 series.  However it will be competing with a huge variety of .45s in that size and price class.  I'm sure many were expecting an R9 size, but maybe a little bit larger and a few ounces heavier.  With this thing being two years out, it may not be too late to make it smaller...

[Jack_F]

I was expecting the R45 to be smaller.........it will be hard to make a 45 in a true pocket pistol size.....I'll probably stay with my Glock 36 and Wilson Compact CQB for 45's.......staying with the R9 and Seecamp for pocket carry....throwing in an occasional J Frame....Full size Wilson CQB for serious carry