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Thomas wrote:

WildBill wrote:

FishInTx wrote:Rich? Buy a Kahr.

How about a Rohrbaugh?

I talked to a gun dealer in Houston about it. He says he talked with the company and it was meant for people like Ambassadors, and not to always be taken to the range. Apparently the gun is only good for a couple hundred shots before it starts to crack.

Interesting.

This is what John Farnam had to say about his R9 Rohrbaugh in one of his emails to students back in 2008:

Eric Rohrbaugh, of Rohrbaugh Pistols, examined my copy of the R9 and found
it to be within factory specifications and eminently serviceable, after
digesting 250 rounds of +P 9mm ammunition, mostly DPX and PowerBall. Although
Rohrbaugh doesn't recommend +P ammunition for this pistol, I assured him that was
ALL I ever shot in it! I am not concerned about shooting +P ammunition
through my R9, not that I ever was! I consider it a very acceptable backup gun.


John mentioned in another email that he didn't expect the R9 to last as along as other pistols, given its small size compared to the cartridge power, but his guess was "less than 10,000 rounds," not two hundred. Rohrbaugh does recommend replacing the recoil springs every 200 rounds.

Pocket pistols are not meant to be range guns, just backup guns.

This:

atxtj wrote:I love my Seecamp LWS380. It's absolutely tiny compared to my pm9. .... Having said that, most of the other small .380s are big enough that concealment wise, there's not much difference between them and the smaller 9mms.

My thought is the one advantage to a .380 round is that you can build a minimalist gun around it that is very very small, and can be carried in ways that small 9mm's can't. Seecamp, Keltec P3AT, Ruger LCP are in this category. They are very flat, fit in small pockets, shirt pockets, neck holsters, etc.

Other .380s like the Bersa, Walther PPK, etca, as noted by many above, are pretty much the same size as a small 9mm, so while they are good guns (I have read many positive reviews of the Bersa in particular) I don't see the point in carrying the .380. Unless you are really sensitive the the recoil difference between a small 9mm and a PPK-sized .380.

Ergo, my advice for a .380 is the Keltec, LCP, or Seecamp.

The Rorhbaugh interests me greatly, but I don't want to cough up the money for it ... they seem to run $1000 and up, last I looked. I would think a 9mm in that size pistol would be quite a handful, but I haven't had a chance to find out for myself.

I like snubbies as well, but they do not compete with the LCP, P3AT, or Seecamps for size and weight. I see them as in the category of small 9s. They give up a round or two to the small 9 semi-autos (altho I have a six shot Colt), and the cylinder adds some bulk, which is awkward in ways. However, they are good for multiple shots with the muzzle pressed up against something, and with shrouded hammer they are good for multiple shots from inside a pocket, neither of which are small things.

Having said all that, I have not found any clothing arrangement that I wear that does not let me carry a Browning Hi Power. I sometimes carry the snubby or the P3AT to have a backup in and a very accessible place (like the pocket my hand is in), but the primary carry gun is always the Hi Power.