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What’s up, Squat Squad. I walk into my favorite gun store and look at what I find. Not another polymer wonder from last SHOT Show. A Rohrbaugh R9 — the original OG pocket 9.
These were the original 9mm pocket guns. Nice fit and finish. Polymer carbon-fiber-weave type grips. Double action only. And it was a pocket nine. Before all the new plastic-fantastic 9mms, if you wanted a 9mm that was actually pocket-concealable, this was one of your only options.
I don’t recall what happened to the company, but apparently they were taken over by Remington. A lot of these guns that were super rare before are now super duper collectible. We’ll see. If I get bored, maybe I’ll buy this one and we’ll do a detailed video. You never know what you’re going to find at your local FFL.
Why this little 9 still stops you in the case
This is a counter find, not a range report. I did not shoot this one. I did not buy it. Yet. The short is sixty-four seconds of “oh my” in a gun shop, and that is the honest article.
What I can tell you from holding it on camera:
- It’s a pocket 9 from before pocket 9s were a category. That is the whole point. Today every catalog has a micro-nine. Back then, if you wanted 9mm in a pocket, the list was short, and Rohrbaugh was on it.
- Fit and finish still look right. Those polymer carbon-fiber-weave grips are part of the look. DAO trigger. No “plastic fantastic” vibe.
- Collectible now, not “just another used 9.” The ones that used to be unicorns are sitting in cases again, and people who remember them get stupid about it. I might be one of those people.
If I do buy it, you get the detailed video. Until then, this is the reminder: go poke around your local FFL instead of only refreshing the same three websites.
9mm for a pocket gun
I am not inventing a load recipe for a gun I have not shot. If you already have a pocket 9 — Rohrbaugh or one of the new plastic ones — you still need 9mm that actually shows up. Today’s pile:
- Wolf 9mm
- CCI Blazer 9mm, 1000-round
- Other range odds and ends from the SlavGuns Amazon storefront
Bottom line
The Rohrbaugh R9 is the OG pocket 9. Double action only, carbon-fiber-looking grips, and the kind of “how is this in the case” energy that makes a boring errand worth it. Collectible. Not a Glock 43 clone. Not a review of how it shoots — I have not punched paper with this one yet.
Want more of this nonsense, including the full video if I actually take it home? Join the channel.
Keep squatting. I’ll see you at the next counter.
Would you run an original Rohrbaugh R9 as a pocket gun, or is this one for the safe and the “remember when” stories?
Comment here