Remington RM380 released!

[C0untZer0]

I personally would have trouble with those sights against a black target.  He hit it twice so kudos to him for that.

[MRC]

That gong is over a 100 yds I would guess.

I can't shoot like him and I am jealous.  There is no way I can focus on those tiny sights and still see that gong.

His hands are huge.  I watched him shooting a 10mm Glock one time and he amazed me.

[C0untZer0]

It always bugs me when people say they improved the Rohrbaugh design.

They changed it.

Its not like the Rohrbaughs never heard of a slide stop or a side-mounted magazine release.

[ECR]

It always bugs me when people say they improved the Rohrbaugh design.

They changed it.

Its not like the Rohrbaughs never heard of a slide stop or a side-mounted magazine release.

That's right. . . . . We have heard of such things and decided:  "Less is more".  Slide stop not needed on such a gun and the location of the mag release, for this gun, was in the correct location for it's designed use.

[JR956678]

I've also never had the pin just fall out like that... it always took a push from the other side.

Actually I did have that happen to me with my (very new) RM380, but it was under circumstances that were not something I normally would do. I had just finished a thorough cleaning after my initial range session and before I lubed the (very dry) gun I assembled it - and the pin fell out during a slow rack with the gun tipped "gangsta style".

My manual came with an addendum sheet in the manual which explains how to take down the pistol without any tools and goes on to explain that if you don't want the pin to fall out, put a little oil or grease on the pin before assembling. I never actually assembled my R9 without putting a little bit of lube on the pin first so I really don't know if an R9 pin would similarly fall out, but after I lubed the pin on the RM380, it stays put and you do need to push it out from the other side. I would actually never run that completely dry because there is a metal-to-metal sliding fit of the barrel on the pin.

[JR956678]

That's right. . . . . We have heard of such things and decided:  "Less is more".  Slide stop not needed on such a gun and the location of the mag release, for this gun, was in the correct location for it's designed use.

I always subscribed to the Rohrbaugh design philosophy that less is more and the simpler a mechanism is, the less there is to go wrong with it. I was (and really still am) skeptical of each change that Remington made to the design - especially the changed mag release, the slide lock, and the apparent belief that there should be enough clearance in the fit of the take-down pin that you can disassemble the gun without any tools.

That said, at least so far my experience with the RM380 has been that the magazine release - though not a necessary change - does work as intended and I haven't experienced any problems as a result of the change. Same with the slide lock - it's not necessary and adds something else that could go wrong (or not work at all or not work reliably) but so far, my experience has been that it works as it should and works reliably. My jury vote is still out on the take-down pin.

[MRC]

In my opinion, the RM380 is pointed at an entirely different crowd than the R9.  People buying the R9 had a specific use for it.  The $1200 price did not bother them either.  Most will have many more guns of all types in their safes.

The people buying the RM380 probably have only 2 or 3 guns and will use the Remington as a recreational firearm as well as a firearm for personal protection.  The standard mag release and slide lockback function are a plus for range use.  Not having your slide locked back on your empty pistol at a range can cause for safety concerns by many.  Most purchasers are probably fairly new to the shooting sport.

I personally do not like ambidextrous mag releases for pocket carry.  My Solo has that and it has never been a problem but I still worry about it.

Having the slide lockback separate from the takedown pin looks like a good design to me.

[JR956678]

In my opinion, the RM380 is pointed at an entirely different crowd than the R9.  People buying the R9 had a specific use for it.  The $1200 price did not bother them either.  Most will have many more guns of all types in their safes.

I totally agree - two rather different demographics not only defined by the feature set (heel magazine release and lack of a slide lock) but also by the price of entry. I'm sure we've all seen posts of people complaining about the price of a Rohrbaugh when they could (in their opinion) buy something similar for much less. I always viewed them as simply not in the demographic rather than wrong in their opinion, as we are all entitled to our own. I always saw the value in the Rohrbaugh regardless of selling price.

The standard mag release and slide lockback function are a plus for range use.  Not having your slide locked back on your empty pistol at a range can cause for safety concerns by many.  Most purchasers are probably fairly new to the shooting sport.

Yes, and there was at least one range I used to shoot at where I had to explain to the RSO that the pistol I was shooting didn't have a slide lock because they had a rule to lock the action open unless on the firing line. I never had a problem there once I showed the RSO what I was shooting, but I did have to explain.

[guncats]

I had a chance to handle a RM380 today. The thing felt solid, and I was surprised when I saw the $350 price tag.....

How did they reduce the cost by so much? I noticed the hammer is MIM, is there anything else molded/cast?

[tracker]

Subjectively speaking and from a recent bias against Remington products I think that I would buy a Ruger LCP Custom if I were in the .380 market. It is only a few dollars more with a proven design and recent enhancements, such as the new trigger.

http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/ruger-lcp-custom-380

[guncats]

but the RM380, paired with hot hand-load rounds, could potentially serve as a practice option for my "now collectible, should be shot very very very little" R9....The side mag release and slide lock on the RM380 can be grind down to be even with the surface.....

Can somebody please post some high-res photos of the RM380 parts? It is hard to believe that they are retailing something with a CNC aluminum frame for mere $350. I would expect at least a few components need to be made by MIM or cast, in order to reduce the cost to that point.

[tracker]

The answer to your question should be obvious; they can't but they do have a general two year warranty if it doesn't work out with the hot hand loads.

[bamboobob]

Hi Cargaritaville,
My RM380's trigger is almost as good as my R9s. Another RM380 that I held at my dealer's had a rough trigger. There seems to be a big difference from gun to gun. I suppose a gunsmith could fix it.

        " There seems to be a big difference from gun to gun. "   
    I tried  two guns,  weeks apart but one seemed to have a lighter pull.

       Would that be spring or fit / finish ? ? ?

[72AV8R]

The April issue of Guns & Ammo has a six page article on the RM 380. Interesting.

[tracker]

The title of the article is, "Big Green's Rohrbaugh" which is quite a surprising title.