The professional’s pistol: full-caliber 9mm in a true pocket pistol
Although innovation seems to occur at many levels in our industry, in reality, much off that “innovation” simply consists of the lopping-off of barrels and the shortening of grips to make a “new” pistol. Smaller is often better, but if smaller means concessions in design, function, features and handling, then it’s a step backwards. Those who carry a handgun daily wrestle constantly with the juxtaposition of comfort, concealment and effectiveness; so are always looking at “smaller” as a potential answer to their problems.
Yet, all too often, smaller is simply more comfortable, not more effective–or even as effective as their prior choice. Then the delicate dance begins once again. As compelling as the pocket pistol choice can be, those who have actually had to use a pistol for protection, often simply cannot make the concessions necessary in real-world expectations that carrying a sub-caliber pocket gun requires. In a nutshell, they can’t rest easy knowing that lurking in the pocket of their cargo-shorts rests, by definition, a “pistol,” but by reality’s rules, simply a crutch to make them feel better.
Which means, their choice does neither. They don’t feel better about having a gun along, because the gun they’ve chosen meets the “gun” definition in name-only. Their decision compromises every reason they needed a self-protection pistol to begin with. So it’s back to step one yet again. Indeed, have I carried a .32 in a back-pocket at times? Absolutely. Did I feel good about it? Absolutely not. Have I stopped doing it? Yes. And, it seems I too am constantly back to square one in a quest for that balance of power, as it were. Which brings us to the SHOT show, almost two years ago.
A Tunnel
I think that light at the end of the tunnel may not be the headlight of a train coming toward us. My meeting with Karl and Eric Rohrbaugh, combined with their simple idea, caused what might properly be called a “change in the force” when it comes to the concealed carry concept. There, in my hand, lay an elegant, almost tiny, double-action only pistol with modest but useable sights and a high quality feel to it. I was already interested, and when I noticed it was chambered for a full caliber 9mm I had to re-think what I was looking at. The workmanship was top-notch and, simply put, this was no step backward.
“I was frustrated trying to get a high quality, small auto.” said Karl. “I started carrying a full-sized Government Model, then an Officer’s ACP but found them too heavy,” he continued. “Then, a Walther PPK found its way to me, but I was always uneasy with the .380 caliber.” Aren’t we all at times?
The gun that’s sitting smugly at home, regardless of caliber or quality, does nobody any good and Karl agreed. “I wanted a derringer for the 21st Century,” he laughed. “And, I believe we’ve succeeded.” The full caliber 9mm means the Rohrbaugh can handle a wide-range of high-quality 9mm self-defense loads. The only caveat is they need to be standard velocity–no zappo, plus-P loads please. More on that later.
Professional’s Choice
“I’ll be the first to admit the R9 series is not a beginner’s pistol,” commented Karl. And, I agree. People foolishly buy small revolvers and autos for “girls” and beginners. The guns are often “cute” but that’s where the appeal ends. Small guns are hard to shoot, often notoriously unreliable and usually of sub-caliber. It’s like buying your kid a .410 shotgun and then taking her dove hunting. There’s a reason only experienced skeet shooters use the .410, so why handicap your kid–or your wife or girlfriend–with the wrong gun?
“This isn’t a first-pistol for anyone,” continued Karl. “We started out to make a top-quality pistol an experienced handgun shooter could understand and apply correctly in the real-world. I would like to think they would have a solid background in training and experience to match the job at-hand,” explained Karl. This is a pistol a shooter should “move up to” after a good deal of experience. I have to admire Karl for making this very clear. He’s not so anxious to sell the R9 he’s willing to compromise common sense to do it.
Karl comes from a background of innovation and invention. His history building custom hot-rods and motorcycles in the 1960s through the 1980s gave him the metal-working and basic engineering skills needed to make the R9 happen. During this same time, he was a voracious pistol competitor and learned about handgun design and reliability in the school of hard knocks.