Rohrbaugh R9-s: "To Shoot Or Not To Shoot. That Is The Question."

Shoot the first delivered Rohrbaugh... or not?

  • Shoot the gun! Resistance is futile!

    Votes: 51 53.7%

  • Don't shoot! As a collector's item it's more valuable unfired.

    Votes: 11 11.6%

  • I'll volunteer if you can't bear to do it yourself.

    Votes: 11 11.6%

  • It's not my gun, so [i]YAWN[/i]....

    Votes: 22 23.2%
  • Total voters
    95
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B

Blackhawk

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Dec 24, 2002
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As some of you are aware, I have the first Rohrbaugh R-9s pistol ever delivered to a customer. (JeffOTMG has the second one, and he's having a ball reviewing it for an article.)

On this thread, Rohrbaugh R-9s DELIVERED!, I posted this reply on page 6 in response to tiberius asking if I'd fired it yet:
No, I haven't, and believe it or not, I'm dithering about it!

The gun I would like to own the most is the only existing .45 ACP Luger toggle top. There were only 2 made by Georg Luger, and the other one was destroyed in testing by the Army. If I got my hands on it, would I shoot it? Its value as a collector's item would plummet!

If I got by hands on any historical firearm, would I fire it? Not if I wanted to preserve its je ne sais quois that makes it historically valuable.

Should I ever get such an opportunity, I've always hoped that I'd have enough restraint to avoid corrupting a value I don't understand by doing what comes naturally.

My R9-s is the very first one deliverd to a customer. Since then, it's unfired. It was fired before that at the factory, going through 2-3 magazines without any malfunctions, but it hasn't been fired since the historic event of being the first one delivered to a customer.

I have absolutely no qualms about carrying it and it working should the need arise. After dry firing and hand cycling plus a LOT of inspection, I have absolutely no doubts that it will work perfectly.

So, is this a museum piece or collector's item I have, or is it a gun to shove several thousand rounds through in an attempt to "prove" it?

Jeff's been to the range 3-4 times with his, the second one to be delivered, and he's wringing it out for an article he's writing (not to mention having a lot of fun).

I've even been thinking of keeping it in my safe deposit box at the bank. There might as well be something in there I think is worth having.... :D

(BTW, I've already made plans to get a few more of them....)
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I've gotten conflicting responses and PM's about firing the gun, and believe it or not, I'm interested in what YOU think. Really!

So, whadda ya think...? :D
 
There is no way that dry firing and hand cycling rounds through it (dangerous BTW), or even a couple of mags of whatever ammo the factory put through it can adequately test it for reliability with you shooting it with your ammo. Its small size and lack of slide stop will make any jams you might encounter difficult to clear, making it all the more important to put 200-300 rounds through of your carry ammo before trusting it.

You're trusting an early production model with no real experience with it to defend yourself.

Whether it will be worth much more than what you paid for it is uncertain. Collectibility is based on a lot of human variables that are hard to predict. If you can afford to buy more than one and don't need it to carry it while you waiting for a later one to come in then i would go for it.

Don't trust any gun until you've put 200-300 rounds, at least, of carry ammo through it and gun no matter how nicely designed or engineering or built can fail.
 
No offense to the guys at Rohrbaugh, but its not like the first 1911 or BHP or Colt Peacemaker.

Shoot the darn thing and quit being so prissy :neener:

(besides, every time I see a presentation piece, I always feel sorry for it because it will never live to perform the function it was designed for)
 
If you are going to carry it, you MUST put several hundred or thousand rounds through it yourself.

Clean the gun BEFORE fireing, and finish up any range session with a mag or three of your carry ammo, then pocket it (DO NOT strip/clean at this point, because now you know you have a gun that works!)

Only then will you be able to fully trust the gun.



It ain't no museum piece, but if you're chummy with the owner, maybe put a few mags through, and box it for 10 years (of course you'll be carrying a new one!) and give to him as a gift when you're old and grey.

I still can't stand the thought of an unfired gun.


Even a *real antique*, should be shot once in a while. (maybe not have 2000rounds through it w/o cleaning like a Glock, but run a mag through once a year and treat it well at least!)
 
Quote > " The gun I would like to own the most is the only existing .45 ACP Luger toggle top. There were only 2 made by Georg Luger, and the other one was destroyed in testing"







IMO,,,,, it must be distroyed. :evil:
 
If I decide to keep it "unfired, new", I won't be carrying it. I'll wait a bit and carry another Rohrbaugh yet to be acquired. I don't need to carry this one as I have plenty of other CCWs. :D
 
I think you should shoot it. A fine gun it may be, but I don't think the Smithsonian is going to come looking for it one day. As a curiosity, how would one even verify it is the first? Does it have serial number 001?
 
You owe it to yourself to shoot it. What if you owned a S&W 340 and loaded it with .357 and only carried it and did not shoot it. If you ever needed it, surprise, surprise, surprise......... From your posts, you have been in contact with the company these past several years, without firing the pistol you cannot provide them with any kind of feedback. I'm sure they and the members of this board would like to know. How does firing and controllability compare to a KahrPM9, KT P-3AT, or a Scandium/Tit j-frame. You've married a Virgin, now it's your turn to do the Manly Deed.:evil:
 
repsychler.

The records at Rohrbaugh show that it is one of two shipped the same day by the same carrier, and they were the first two sent to customers. As happenstance would have it, the carrier (USPS) said mine would arrive 3 hours earlier than the other one. My FFL was alerted, and was to call me as soon as it arrived. He did, and I hot footed over to take possession. The other one went to JeffOTMG and arrived as the USPS predicted. The time difference was just due to my being further up the line on the mail trail. Jeff acknowledged his later receipt, and he and his FFL ran several rounds through his on arrival.

The first 100 serial numbers were reserved by Rohrbaugh for promotional purposes, so the "production" guns are numbered 101 and up. Mine is SN 102. SN's 100 and lower are mostly not even assigned to frames. There are 2 that have been sent to some movie makers in CA to be converted to blank guns for use in a new movie of a very famous decades long running series.

There's no perceptable extra value in keeping it unfired as it would just be a curiousity as in somebody in the future wondering "I'm curious why somebody would buy that thing and never fire it?" If Rohrbaugh Firearms is tremendously successful, it may have additional monetary value in unfired condition, but that's really speculative.

As artherd suggested, it might make a nice presentation item for Rohrbaugh Firearms down the road....
 
You've married a Virgin, now it's your turn to do the Manly Deed.
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Are you nuts? :what:

It's only 9mm, 2.7" deep, and I sure wouldn't want it going off! :eek:
 
My father-in-law bought a the anniversary Ruger MKII and put it away.
Said he didn't want to shoot.
I told him that I would buy it from his wife when he's gone, and shoot the tarnation out of it. :neener:
 
It's not the first produced and will never be more valuble than any other. Just shoot the gun and enjoy it. We have a large thread about the great merits of a gun that hasn't been tested at all yet, except by the factory. :) Go ahead and run a few hundred through it.
 
Ask Rohrbaugh. I'm not psychic but I bet they made the guns to shoot. I know Ferrari got sick of people collecting their cars and not drivinging them and so as part of getting an F-50 they added a telemetry system and if you didn't drive the car hard enough they took it away.

It's your gun and you can do what you like. Personally, I'd shoot it. I buy all my guns to shoot and this is a gun made to shoot. It just happens to be a still rare and very well made one.
 
The votes are pretty much in line with my inclination about it. I'm WAY more inclined to shoot the case of S&B through it that I bought for the purpose than treat it with kid gloves. From the reports about the unexpectedly light recoil, I've just gotta' see for myself! :D

Thanks to all who participated.
 
Another quote > "The records at Rohrbaugh show that it is one of two shipped the same day by the same carrier, and they were the first two sent to customers. As happenstance would have it, the carrier (USPS) said mine would arrive 3 hours earlier than the other one. My FFL was alerted, and was to call me as soon as it arrived. He did, and I hot footed over to take possession. The other one went to JeffOTMG and arrived as the USPS predicted. The time difference was just due to my being further up the line on the mail trail. Jeff acknowledged his later receipt, and he and his FFL ran several rounds through his on arrival."


Sooooo, Jeffs is the very first to be shot ,, Thus being "The shot heard around the world". :evil:

I think Jeffs is worth at least $7.000 more than yours 20 years from now. :p It's a shame that that much money came down to a UPS guy who ate a bad chalupa and only had one pair of shorts. :evil:
 
I think Jeffs is worth at least $7.000 more than yours 20 years from now.
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And maybe it is right now! However, the price is up to the willing seller, and I'm not a willing seller right now. I'm just utterly fascinated with this gun and its short but unique history. Maybe when I get another one, I'd be willing to sell it for $7g.... :p

Matter of fact, I've got a customized P-11 that I placed a value of $7g on a couple of years ago after adding up my time spent, etc., at my normal rates my company charges for my time. Wouldn't sell that one for that price either after it's had my magic touch applied....
 
Either shoot it, trust it, and carry it,

or

Box it for posterity.

IMO, the only invalid permutation is don't shoot it, AND carry it, for two critical reasons:

The first is the "proven reliability" factor, and the other is to make friends with your lifesaver.

It's best if one is intimate with one's sidearm. I've not recently hefted another Sig P245, (That'd be cheating on Brunhilde ;) ) but I'll bet the traditional dollar that by now, my hand could probably tell the difference between my gun and it's twin.
 
If it was mine, I probably would have a hard time shooting it too, but unless you are going to box this one and buy another one to shoot...
 
Own a gun that you don't shoot? Just doesn't make any sense. Why have it if you aren't going to shoot it? You think it is a paper weight? IT ONLY WEIGHS 12 ozs, there are a lot better paper weights out there. I mean if it was real pretty like a gold engraved Walther PPK with ivory grips that was made for lookin' at, that's one thing, but as good lookin' as a Rohrbaugh is it ain't THAT pretty.
 
I will likely shoot mine enough to more than make up for any lack of shooting that you may decide on.

I suspect that I will have a standing order for all the white box value packs of 9mm in the three Walmarts nearest me. That should allow me about 2,000 rounds a week or so... I NEED a lot of practice!

My goal is to shoot mine enough to get VERY accurate with it! I love to shoot tiny guns accurately at long distances... it's a cute little hobby that I've loved for most of my life.

I used the Walther TPH like a rifle for decades and recently I've devoted myself to Makarovs, Keltecs, etc.

I suspect that this new little pea-shooter may be my TPH upgrade! I also look forward to finding out which inexpensive fmj it likes best and will also plan to find some SD ammo that it loves too.:what: :what:
 
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