+P Range Session
A few days ago, I thought I would see what would happen running 125 rounds of +P ammo through the XR9-S. I have been loading 6.6 grains of VV 3N37 to push a 115 grain RN Cu plated bullet at about 1100 ft/sec (my PM9 was chrono-ing at about 1020, but I had trouble getting that gun to hit the sweet spot of the Chrony, so I only got one reading out of 8 shots. It also could have been the huge flash out of the PM9's short barrel was washing out the sensors at 12 feet). While I didn't find any pressure values off the Vihtavouri website pdf documents in English or Finnish, the primers were about as flattened as they get when running +P. While the XR9-S had no problem registering on the Chrony (either lack of flash or better accuracy), apparantly there was a considerable bark coming out of this gun. My son said he felt like he was getting an "instant nose bleed" when standing in the next lane. I thought that the recoil, while producing a good jump, was its usual, signature softness due to the rotating barrel. While I had no feeding issues related to the XR9 functioning, I did have one problem related to my hand-loaded old brass (I invalidated my own warranty!). What I was looking for in this test was if there was any peening of the locking lug surfaces of our new batch of production barrels. What I found was that there were surface blemishes made by the machining marks on the mating surfaces in the slide, but these were not impressions (or peening) that I could measure with my blade micrometer, which has .0001" resolution. So far so good! I am also looking at the bore for any diametral wear. So far I have not measured any, but I will keep checking every few hundred rounds or so as testing goes on.
Views: 18
Comment
-
Comment by Ed on October 30, 2011 at 11:24pm -
Responding to a comment on the "high price" of his pistols, the manufacturer of the Rohrbaugh R9 pistol claimed that he was able to sell all that he manufactured at that price. However, I noticed that he recently introduced a .380 (9x17 mm Short/Korto/Kurtz)) version of the the R9 pistol, using the same dimensions, supposedly for the "export market", where military calibers such as 9mm Luger (9x19mm) are prohibited. My personal preference is for 9mm Luger given a choice of 9mm or .380 in similar pistols. Likewise, the .40 S&W does offer some advantages over 9mm in pistols offered in both calibers, such as the Sig Sauer P239.
I also noted that Buffalo Bore is selling some hotter than normal (+P) .380 rounds for self-defense use in pocket pistols. It would be interesting to see how well these rounds perform compared to the 9mm in the 3.35 inch barrel of the XR9-S and also compared to the much shorter barrels of competing pocket pistols.
-
Comment by LCPor9mm on October 21, 2010 at 6:49pm
-
Great! One picture IS worth a thousand words. Many have said the single largest buying segment in the handgun market today is the small auto-pistol. With so many people staking their lives on such an enept round a graphic representation of the power and superiority of your 9mm pocket pistol of basically the same dimensions is certainly not going to hurt sales. I for one am glad you chose not to take the .380 route. The 9mm is superior in every respect, not to mention availability and choice of ammo. I think a little flaunting is in order.
-
Comment by Arne Boberg on October 21, 2010 at 5:14pm -
Actually I do have plywood samples in .380 and .32. I never thought of posting them because not only do they represent a path I decided not to take, but also because the penetration is quite pathetic. I think it is a very good idea to post the .380 penetration just to show the difference from 9mm. Since I don't have a .380 and 9mm in one block of wood I will have to take a picture with two separate blocks in it and hope people don't think that I am faking something (because the difference is quite dramatic!).
-
Comment by LCPor9mm on October 21, 2010 at 4:48pm
-
I would have been (pleasantly) surprised if you had said yes. By the way I don't typically shoot more than 100-200 rounds a week, and most of that long gun, just thought I would make it worth your while in return for the chance to try one of these soon to be best seller pocket guns. Have you tried the plywood penetration test with a .380? A lot of people carry the round and it would be interesting to see how it stacks up to the 9mm.
-
Comment by Arne Boberg on October 21, 2010 at 1:33pm
-
I don't have any guns to any dealers yet. We are still struggling to get plastic grips for this gun. I never expected this part to be the weak link in production release.
Sounds like you are helping support the ammo industry! I just got a couple of cases myself - these will be the test cartridges for the first batch of production guns. Right now we will be testing production guns at a range North of us. I used to accept offers from people to test the XR9, but that was before we became a C-corp. Due to liability reasons, we will be doing our own testing, and deferring any publicized testing to gun writers (the exception would be the local circle of friends who had provided, and keep providing, assistance in the Boberg Arms startup). Obviously, if you buy one, you can do all the testing you want!
-
Comment by LCPor9mm on October 21, 2010 at 1:17pm
-
I like the sound of that! Arne if you need some real world testing out in the field, I'm volunteering for pocket carry every day and 200 - 400 rounds down range every week! Seriously, do you have any out to dealers in Florida yet?
-
Comment by Blueorison on October 12, 2010 at 3:15pm -
Great work, Arne. Doing stress T&E is super important. Even so, companies like Glock etc. still have had problems after distribution with spiderwebbing of frames and chamber deficiencies. Keep up the good work!
-
Comment by DenverCCW on August 24, 2010 at 8:03pm
-
New batch of production barrels! That sounds promising.
Keep up the good work Arne!
© 2012 Created by Arne Boberg.
You need to be a member of Boberg Arms to add comments!
Join Boberg Arms