Why not Rohrbaugh?

"You can't just hold up two "smallish" pistols side by side & declare the cheapest one a better buy because it's cheaper."

Sure you can, that's how most people buy stuff. And then they brag about how cheap (or poor) they are. Jeez, you'd think I was spending their money the way they rant and rave.

All of this reminds me of the old joke about the kid who always takes the nickel from his uncle because it's bigger than the other choice he's given - a dime. He does it over and over and just won't learn the true value.

I wear Columbia canvas slacks and shorts from Dick's Sporting Goods and only buy them on sale. I even wear them to work. No silk-lined pants for me. I buy shirts at concerts and tackle shops.

 

HA, HA , I paid $500 for my Glock 26 and $330 for my ..

Keltec PF9 and they both run flawlessly with everything I put in them. I do not care whether the R9 was made on the planet Jupiter by material mined on Mars...they ain't worth that kind of money..Heck you gotta change springs every 200 rounds..Gee how much do they cost and how silly a gun is this anyway ? Whose counting shots fired ? I'm not. I don't need to. I COULD NOT FIND ONE DEALER out of 5 TODAY THAT I CALLED THAT WOULD WANT TO RECOMMEND IT. A great gun? I THINK NOT. A great price? NO WAY.

 

I have Glocks and Kel-Tecs that run 100% too. But they can't fill the same role that my Rohrbaugh can.

Some people need to learn the phrase "to each his own". If you don't like it, just don't buy it.

 

Freedom Arms 83/97, H&K P7, S&W 952,....... The R9 is among those guns I do not know how to explain it, but it's just worth the price.

 

they probably aren't mass produced and you are also buying from a smaller company. which may (i dont know for sure) have to pay more for cost of business per unit than a huge multi-national company owned by a parent company. They found a niche and gained a cult following. Really they were ahead of their time. your lcp may be just as realiable so dont buy a R9. 1000 bucks isnt that crazy and is less than what some of you guys spend on guns that are only shot and carried at the range.

 

Geeze, guys, if you can't understand it, just don't buy it.
It's really pretty simple.

Those who do understand it, do buy it.

It's the whole package: 9mm, small, precision built, meant for "always there" carry. I can't put it any simpler than that, and if you think a Kel-Tec equates just the same, by all means spend your money on the Kel-Tec.

Otherwise, this is degenerating into strictly a "cost" argument, which is pointless.
Denis

 

Wow.........seems there a re a few folks that for them, $10/hour jobs are a wish and a dream.............these folks will NEVER get it and they are happy with their $100 used pump gun etc.......but then these are the same folks who could not appreciate the difference between a Ferrari and a pick up truck

 

1. Cost.
2. For it's size and weight, it must be "snappy" to shoot. Bam, "Ouch".
3. If confiscated by a cop, you are out a bunch.
4. Did I mention cost?

As far as the Kimber Solo, it's larger than the Kahr PM-9, so it's out for this guy.
Also, Kimber has ceased production. Maybe because of all the reports of FTF.

However, if money is no object, go for the Rohrbaugh.

I have a Seecamp. I love it. Talk about small.................but not 9mm. (ouch!)

 

Dpris, you apparently believe that people who don't share your "discerning" tastes regarding the qualities of the Rohrbaugh vs more itinerant pistols have no sense of aesthetics or appreciation for finely made firearms. I hunt with a Merkel shotgun on occasion, not because I want to show it off but because I can tell the difference between a "Ford and a Ferrari" and I don't need a lecture from you as to what constitutes fine art as compared to cartoons.

As mentioned earlier, I have examined a couple of Rohrbaugh pistols up close and I defy anybody to see a difference in terms of workmanship, fitting or quality of build when it is compared to pistols as pedestrian as a Glock or a Beretta. Once the design and production method is coordinated, Glocks and Rohrbaughs alike get cranked off the assembly line and peddled to potential buyers. To the perceptive eye, the Rohrbaugh is obviously grossly over-priced but, as you say, "...if you can't understand it, just don't buy it..." I can't and I won't. And, when you advise, for "...those who do understand it, do buy it...", I'm reminded of the old adage: "A fool and his money are soon parted."

 

A Rohrbaugh is overpriced? based on whose perspective? If they are selling guns and have a waiting list, it seems most folks do not agree with your perspective.......it seems you have to evaluate whether having the smallest and best built 9mm is your goal..........quality like that does not come cheap...............and besides, what's your life worth to you?

 

Well, most folks aren't standing in line to buy a Rohrbaugh so, I guess, using your logic, it seems most folks must agree with my perspective (not that it really matters to me).

Oh, about the price of a Glock-with about $600.00 or more left over to buy some ammunition with.

 

What I don't get is the strange animosity over an $1,100 pistol. No one seems to care this much about the price of the Springfield EMP.

The R9 is, pretty much, the only true pocket sized 9mm, and it costs what it costs. So what? You can't put a Glock in your front pajama pocket with no belt.

 

Yep, you got me there.

 

YEP.

I can carry my $330 Keltec PF9 all day in my pockets easily.. But then they are not silk lined either. All in all, I admit the R9 is prettier than my KelTec PF9 , but then I did not buy it for it's looks... It is a functional gun and it does the job exceptionally well. Also , I can get faster follow-up shots because of a superior grip than the R9. For in the R9 the hand of most shooters has to be repositioned from shot to shot. YOU SEE, I HAVE DONE MY HOMEWORK ON THIS GUN, because I was going to buy one but the gun writers and owners gave it too many negatives to suit me. It is a great concept.. but they got it wrong in many ways including the price. For me it is not made properly , regardless of the fine machined parts. It is lacking in functionality more than looks and the parts therein.

 

"I do not care whether the R9 was made on the planet Jupiter by material mined on Mars"

Your home planet?

"Gee how much do they cost and how silly a gun is this anyway ?"

It's not the gun that's silly.

"but they got it wrong in many ways including the price."

No they didn't. They got it right.

 

oneounceload - "A Rohrbaugh is overpriced? based on whose perspective?"

Probably the same folks who think I'm an idiot for using a $1000 carbonia blue Colt WWI Repro for my favorite range and plinking gun.

Or the ones who think I'm nuts for buying a Cooper Custom Classic .22 LR. They're well north of $2000 these days, although I bought mine back when they were about $1600.

You know how it goes. I started shooting cheap guns in the 1950s and worked my way up.

 

That wasn't very nice, John.

 

Just trying to fit in.

 

The recoil on the Rohrbaugh is noticeable but not unmanageable.

If your Seecamp is a .380 then it has more recoil than a Rorhbaugh - or at least this is what many owners of both state (I only own the Rorhbaugh - my Seecamp is in .25 auto not .380).

I took that test ...

When I looked at my Gen 3 Glock 19 I found an injection molded trigger and frame with a stamped trigger link and plastic sights. I found .010" play between the slide and the frame (with the magazine released). When I racked the slide I could feel a gritty tightness when the barrel cammed into the slide at lockup (the last 1/4" or so of slide travel). Like most other Glock 19s that I have seen - either in person or in pictures on the WWW - the forward end of the frame which acts as a dust cover to the slide is warped upwards about .008". This warpage doesn't cause any known problem for me - it might be different if I used a weapon light or lazer sight mounted to the dust cover.

When I looked at my R9 I saw a trigger machined from billet and a ground flat and EDM machined trigger link and a frame machined from the solid. I found .002" play between the slide and the frame. When I racked the slide I could feel no tightness when the barrel cammed into the slide at lockup.

I'm not knocking the Glock - it is what it is and it's a very reliable pistol that's serviceably accurate; I knew full well what I was buying when I bought it and I'm happy with it.

But there's simply no way that I can agree that the quality of materials and fitting of the Glock equals that of many other firearms that I also own - including that of my Rorhbaugh.

 

It's "A fool and his money are soon parted."

Sorry, that was bothering me.

And for everybody who says a Kahr PM9 is hard to pocket carry, what the heck are you wearing, fitted boot-cut Wranglers or emo skinny jeans?

Levis 505 and 550 jeans guy here who wears a suit and tie more than he'd like, and I have no trouble pocket carrying a PM9 anywhere and everywhere.

As for the R9, I can't comment because I've never even seen one in person.

 

The real question is can a gun company make a 9mm as small...

as the Rohrbaugh , that is cheaper in price and with less problems , especially with new springs every 200 rounds ?? We will have to wait for the Boberg and possibly others. If it is successful, and can compete in the market place for a "POCKET NINE" , then the Rohrbaugh may have to either reduce the price or lose it's share of the market. For now , I am quite happy , like thousands of others, with the little Keltec PF9.

 

The new Kahr CM9 is a nice pocket gun..

owned by my brother-in-law's Brother , who came out to my Farm range last week with it. It digested all ammo he used that day , which was Winchester WB and some carry "Gold Dot". It is basically like the PM9 but with a cheaper finish, I think , and a price tag in the $525.00 range.

 

expensive uslessness

I sold my rohrbaugh 9 a couple of years ago..
the thing was a costly jam-o-matic and
slow to reload...quick to get fouled...
kicked badly when fired...and was the pickiest thing
on ammo I have ever owned.
If a person wants an expensive piece of gun art
the rohrbaugh is fine...but for self-defense I was
glad to see mine gone.
and the jams! the round attempting to feed
would hang up and removal of the magazine was
almost impossible and no way to rack the slide either.
Required trying to hold slide back and manipulate
the mag release at end of grip and was a time consuming
trick. different magazines made no difference,
factory took it back and said it was a "burr"...but by
then I'd decided to pass on the thing just too iffy too often.

 

Karl Robrbaugh was asked, "Why are your guns so expensive?" He replied, "I sell everyone I make."

 

I hate to throw around the word "Vaporware" but they've been on the verge of accepting pre-orders for the last couple of years ... they do seem to be updating their site regularly (at least the blog posts) but until I actually see one in a gun shop (or at least on Gunbroker with "IN STOCK" somewhere in the ad) I'd consider them to be science fiction.