The new RP9 is Remington’s entry into the
very popular polymer striker-fired pistol segment. Aside from
the pocket-pistol market, the full-sized polymer striker-fired
pistol category is probably the most popular segment of the
handgun industry right now, being very popular with competitors
and hobbyists in the IDPA and other pistol games, as well as a
solid choice for those who keep a pistol at hand for
self-defense. The RP9 is a full-sized pistol, having a
double-stack magazine that holds eighteen 9x19mm cartridges, for
a loaded, ready-to-go capacity of nineteen.
The RP9 has no external manual safety levers,
except for the safety blade in the trigger, which functions
automatically without thought when the pistol is brought into
the fight. The frame has an excellent ergonomic design, with a
grip that is relatively small in circumference, with
interchangeable inserts at the rear of the grip. The magazine
catch is reversible, for those who wish to do so. The magazines
are made of steel, as are, thankfully, the sights. The rear
sight also has a profile which allows for quick manipulation of
the slide on a boot heel or tabletop, if needed, while not being
overly sharp to irritate or cut the hand in a quick slide rack.
The slide profile of the RP9 is particularly
well-shaped for comfortable manipulation to chamber a cartridge
from the magazine. The slide has plenty of surface area to
grasp, and is serrated front and rear to assist in racking
comfortably, and is finished in a black PVD coating, as is the
barrel. The beavertail section of the frame is wide and rounded
for increased comfort in shooting the RP9. This is one of the
most-comfortable 9x19mm pistols to fire that I have ever used.
From standard 9mm ball practice ammo to hot +P+ hollowpoint
fighting ammo, the RP9 inflicts no discomfort to the shooting
hand.
Critical
specifications for the Remington RP9 are listed in the chart
below. Weight is listed in ounces, and includes the empty
magazine. Linear dimensions are listed in inches. Trigger pull
is listed in pounds of resistance, as measured with my Lyman
digital trigger pull scale and confirmed with my Timney
mechanical trigger pull scale. Height includes sights and
magazine base with the magazine in place. Maximum grip width is
measured just below the magazine catch. Maximum width is
measured across the ambidextrous slide lock levers.
Chambering |
9x19mm (9mm Luger) |
Weight with Empty Magazine |
30.2 ounces |
Trigger Pull |
5.02 pounds |
Barrel Length |
4.5 inches |
Barrel Diameter |
0.567 inch |
Overall Height |
5.92 inches |
Overall Length |
7.91 inches |
Grip Width |
1.24 inches |
Frame Width |
1.26 inches |
Maximum Width |
1.38 inches |
Trigger Reach |
2.63 inches |
Magazine Capacity |
18 |
Magazines Supplied |
2 |
Magazine Disconnect Safety |
No |
Manual Thumb Safety |
No |
Accessory Rail |
1913 Picatinny Spec |
Extras Supplied |
Cable Lock, Decal,
Instruction Manual, Three Grip Modules |
MSRP as of December 2016 |
$489.00 US |
I
fired the RP9 with a variety of ammunition over the chronograph
to check velocities, with the results listed in the chart below.
Velocities are listed in feet-per-second. Bullet weights are
listed in grains. JHP is a jacketed hollowpoint bullet. DPX,
Buffalo Bore Lead Free, and Double Tap and Barnes Tac-XP
are hollow nose homogenous copper bullets that are made
by Barnes Bullets. Guard
Dog is a FMJ with a soft plastic core to promote rapid
expansion. FP is a frangible, pre-fragmented flatnose bullet.
FMJ is a full metal jacket roundnose bullet. FMJ-FN is a full
metal jacket flat nose Buffalo Bore Penetrator bullet. PB is Pow’RBall,
a specialty bullet from Cor-Bon. Glaser is a pre-fragmented
bullet. Velocities were taken at an elevation of 541 feet above
sea level, with an air temperature of fifty-six degrees
Fahrenheit, and a relative humidity of ninety-two percent.
Velocities were recorded at ten feet from the muzzle.
Ammunition |
Bullet Weight |
Velocity |
CCI Blazer Brass FMJ |
115 |
1126 |
Federal Guard Dog |
105 |
1135 |
Double Tap Tac-XP +P |
115 |
1117 |
Double Tap FMJ +P |
147 |
1077 |
Remington Home Defense |
124 |
1111 |
Buffalo Bore Lead Free HP +P |
95 |
1445 |
Buffalo Bore Lead Free HP +P+ |
115 |
1317 |
Buffalo Bore JHP +P+ |
124 |
1321 |
Barnes Tac-XP |
115 |
1023 |
Sig Sauer JHP |
115 |
1235 |
Atomic HP +P |
124 |
1209 |
WCC NATO FMJ |
124 |
1097 |
Fiocchi FMJ |
115 |
1023 |
Buffalo Bore FMJ-FN |
124 |
1277 |
Buffalo Bore JHP +P+ |
115 |
1442 |
Buffalo Bore JHP +P |
147 |
1059 |
Cor-Bon Glaser +P |
80 |
1534 |
Cor-Bon JHP +P |
115 |
1303 |
Cor-Bon Pow'RBall +P |
100 |
1287 |
Cor-Bon +P DPX |
115 |
1122 |
Cor-Bon JHP +P |
125 |
1254 |
The Remington RP9 proved to be very reliable.
The only malfunctions were experienced with Freedom
Munitions steel-cased 9mm FMJ ammo, which did not have
sufficient power to reliably lock the slide open on an empty
magazine, and on one occasion, failed to eject. Other than that,
the RP9 ran perfectly with all other ammo tested, with the
exception of CCI Blazer, which would function just fine, but it
also failed to lock the slide open on occasion, due to
insufficient power to fully cycle the slide. This does not mean
that the ammo is no good, nor that the pistol is problematic; it
just means that these two types of ammo are not the best for
this particular RP9 pistol. A really mild-shooting yet effective
load for social work is the Remington Ultimate Defense
hollowpoint load. I have use this load for a couple of years, in
several pistols, and it works very well, with relatively mild
recoil. Accuracy was very good, with the pistol shooting to
point of aim with most ammunition tested, and shooting as
accurately as I could hold it. Keeping all shots in the kill
zone of a human silhouette target at twenty-five yards was easy,
and again, recoil was very mild, even with hot Buffalo Bore +P+
ammo. Ringing steel plates rapidly at various distances was also
easy with the RP9. It points naturally, and the sights are easy
to use effectively. The trigger pull is very smooth with a
positive reset, releasing with about five pounds of resistance,
but feeling more like three and one-half. Very good. This is a
very easy pistol to operate and fire. It is almost as if the
engineers had the human hand in mind when designing this weapon.
The Remington RP9 is one of the better
full-sized striker-fired pistols on the market today. It has all
of the features that shooters demand, is easy to shoot, and easy
to shoot well. The RP9 is reliable, accurate, priced right, and
made in the USA.
Check out the extensive line of Remington
firearms, ammunition, and accessories online at www.remington.com.
To order Remington firearms online, click on
the GUN GENIE at www.galleryofguns.com.
To
order quality ammunition, go to www.midsouthshooterssupply.com,
www.luckygunner.com,
www.doubletapammo.com,
www.buffalobore.com,
and www.lehighdefense.com.
Jeff
Quinn
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