My XR9-S -- arrived Thursday and got some range time today!

I have to start by repeating what has been said over and over on this forum.....what a beautiful handgun! It really is a work of art. It fits the hand well and just oozes fine craftsmanship (this from me as a consumer, as well as the FFL and range guys).

** Full disclaimer: I am NOT a gun/shooting expert! I have just recently gotten the gun-bug and I'm learning as I go, so a lot of my terminology could be wrong. **

First observations:

- The balance is DIFFERENT, but in a good way -- I'm used to the feel of a heavy slide "tipping" over the front of the trigger.

- Racking the slide is FAR easier than on my Kahr CM-9 (serrations on the slide feel less aggressive, too, while being as/more grippy than the CM-9 -- going to have to compare them later).

- Feeding rounds into the magazines is DIFFERENT -- your hand wants to do it one way, your eyes another, and your brain doesn't know whose side to jump on.....it's going to take me a little while to get comfortable with this.

- Points/aims very naturally!

Range experience -- ammo:

I make it a practice to try every type of ammo I have in every gun I have in the house -- if there are hiccups in just one of them, I don't use that ammo any more. With my current 9mm's, I have chosen 115 grain S&B FMJ for practice, 147 grain Federal Flat-nose FMJ for practice, 147 grain Federal HST for home protection (still to be tested in all guns, though, so not yet in the rotation), 92 grain Fiocchi EMB (my current choice for self-defense) -- I took some of all of the above, and a box of 115 grain +p Cor-Bon.

All of the ammo listed above cycled perfectly EXCEPT the Cor-Bon -- those suckers jammed on me 4 times in 20 rounds!!!! Probably my fault, but not going to use them again. The only other issue was a couple of light-strikes on the S&B -- I would bet this is due to the enamel sealant they put on the primers -- nice to have that second-strike ability on the XR9-S!

I will say that, when this gun jams, you will need to block out some time to remedy it. I didn't have to use any tools, but it took quite a bit of yanking/swearing/racking by me and the range officer each time.

In all -- went through about 20 of the HST, 25 of the EMB, 20 of the Cor-Bon, and 55 of the s&b and flat-nose fmj -- so roughly 175 rounds -- and my hand still feels great! I would NOT do that with my CM9. My Precious is really dirty, though (see pic).

Range experience -- shooting:

** Another disclaimer: I am NOT an expert shot -- still learning techniques to correct trigger-pull issues. Please keep your heckling to a minimum! **

So, I ran through most of the ammo to get a hang of the way it shoots -- did this at a little over 7 yards and managed to keep all of the shots within the little profile.

Then, I put a aim/see 8" target on the profile (left the bullet-hole-laden carcas up there showing the 7-yard shots) and put it out to 5 yards and ran 3 magazines each (alternating) of the 147 grain flat-nose and 115 S&B fmj at a "not quite rapid fire but pretty quick" pace. I was pretty consistent (low-left -- see pic), even with the big swings in bullet-weight. I need a lot more range time, but I was pleased with the first run!

Only other issue I had was feeding hollow-point rounds into the magazines -- the first round seems to want to grab that magazine spring. The others went in fine and, by the end of the day, I was feeding the magazines a lot quicker/easier. Just need more practice.

All said -- I love the gun. Feels great, aims well, got used to the balance pretty quickly -- can't wait to get the wife to try it out (although she'll never admit she likes it better than her beloved PPK!).

Attachments:

1photo.JPG, 2.8 MB
photo.JPG, 2.1 MB

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Permalink Reply by Arne Boberg on February 17, 2012 at 9:09pm

Normally Cor-bon runs in the XR9 - although I've had some lots that had bullets over-spec on the diameter. It seems to depend on the batch. Here I am popping water with Cor-Bon ammo: http://www.bobergarms.com/video/boberg-xr9-s-popping-water

It is good that you are testing the ammo at the range before carrying it for self-defense.

As far as the S&B ammo - I have had light strikes on that with even the 9 lb mainspring. This is used as sub-machinegun ammo, but I like it because of how clean it burns.

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Permalink Reply by Edward Acunzo on February 18, 2012 at 2:01am

Arne,

What's your best guess as to what date range the next batch shipped may represent off the pre-order list ( i.e., May '11 thru approx. Sept.'11) your working from?

Eddie Acunzo

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Permalink Reply by Arne Boberg on February 18, 2012 at 9:46am

I'm not sure I understand your question.

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Permalink Reply by Edward Acunzo on February 20, 2012 at 12:59am

Arne,

Let me try to restate my question. I assume you are still fulfilling orders of customers from last year from your pre-order list that was created before even the first production XR9-S were shipped out to fulfill the first orders, right? You probably still have unfulfilled pre-orders from last year as well as this year. I'm asking what time frame from this pre-order list will be due to go out next. For Instance, "May to Sept.2011 people" will be the next group that gets their chance to place their orders.

Eddie Acunzo

Arne Boberg said:

I'm not sure I understand your question.

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Permalink Reply by Edward Acunzo on February 22, 2012 at 6:45pm

Arne,

Can you reply to the Monday's question now regarding what time frame is up next in the pre-order queue?

Eddie Acunzo

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Permalink Reply by Arne Boberg on February 22, 2012 at 6:54pm

I didn't see this earlier - been working too hard lately. All of last year's guns shipped out last month. We have 3 guns left in the January 6th order notification, and those guns were assembled today. The next order notification, which went out on Monday, is a very small group, and we will be assembling those guns tomorrow. It is kind of a relief that we are starting to really compress our lead times which will help us achieve our inevitable goal of day-to-day sales and inventory, even if we are working off an enormous list. The next notification, which is another small group, will be sent out this week. They will go through April of 2011 on the pre-order list. Those guns will be assembled this week and next week. We are finally starting to get supplier parts coming in on a more consistent basis, but staying on top of inventory take a lot of vigilance!

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Permalink Reply by Kevin L Dearth on February 22, 2012 at 7:13pm

I'm an early October sign up and I'm hoping I might slip in this 200 count batch - I'm currently #311 on the list. I'm sufferng from B.I.G.D.E.A.L.S. other wise known as Boberg-Impressive-Gun-Delay-Eagerly-Anticipating-Luxurious-Satisfaction!!!!

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Permalink Reply by John G. Byers on February 22, 2012 at 9:22pm

ORE...looks like pretty effective shooting to me. The low/left tendency is from jerking the trigger or "pulling" usually, common with light/short pistols until you get used to them. You pretty much destroyed the center. I just got my BB last week and have fallen in love with it already...well made, fun and EASY to shoot and really accurate with real sights. I was fortunate to buy one from a friend but am still on the list as of December 8, 2011 for another.

[IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy62/Adamsavage/RANGE%20TARGET%2...[/IMG]

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Permalink Reply by Edward Acunzo on February 23, 2012 at 10:04pm

Thanks Arne, now I know where we are on the pre-order queue. My next opportunity to buy another Boberg XR9-S coincides with Nov. '11 off the pre-order queue - Eddie

Arne Boberg said:

I didn't see this earlier - been working too hard lately. All of last year's guns shipped out last month. We have 3 guns left in the January 6th order notification, and those guns were assembled today. The next order notification, which went out on Monday, is a very small group, and we will be assembling those guns tomorrow. It is kind of a relief that we are starting to really compress our lead times which will help us achieve our inevitable goal of day-to-day sales and inventory, even if we are working off an enormous list. The next notification, which is another small group, will be sent out this week. They will go through April of 2011 on the pre-order list. Those guns will be assembled this week and next week. We are finally starting to get supplier parts coming in on a more consistent basis, but staying on top of inventory take a lot of vigilance!

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Permalink Reply by ORE on February 25, 2012 at 5:21pm

Thanks, John. I think I tend to squeeze my entire hand really hard when shooting a smaller handgun. Probably anticipating/trying to compensate for a full-sized recoil in a pocket-sized pistol. Guess I'll just have to practice more ;)

John G. Byers said:

ORE...looks like pretty effective shooting to me. The low/left tendency is from jerking the trigger or "pulling" usually, common with light/short pistols until you get used to them. You pretty much destroyed the center. I just got my BB last week and have fallen in love with it already...well made, fun and EASY to shoot and really accurate with real sights. I was fortunate to buy one from a friend but am still on the list as of December 8, 2011 for another.

[IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy62/Adamsavage/RANGE%20TARGET%2...[/IMG]