Boberg XR-9

It seems like a lot longer than a year ago when I broke the news of the Boberg XR-9 on Call me Ahab from the 2008 SHOT SHOW, and yet just looking at the post tag says that it was in fact, more than a year ago.  In that time, I hadn’t heard much in terms of updates on the gun, until I saw a picture of it on Oleg’s livejournal; so I dropped the founder of the company and creator of the gun a line to see what was up.

Sure enough, the XR-9 is alive and well – Arne says that they’re looking to launch the gun this year.  The best news for you is that Gun Nuts Media is going to be getting a T&E gun from Arne, so you’ll know the skinny on it before anyone else does.  Which is of course the best part of being new media – instant gratification and real time updates on shooting sports news and new product information.

Hopefully I’ll be able to provide more updates as Boberg Engineering moves forward with the gun.  If you recall, what made it unique was that it loads from the back of the magazine, using a similar loading process to a belt fed machine gun.  I was extremely curious and interested in this gun in 2008, and that hasn’t changed in 2009.

11 Comments

  1. It’s controlled feeding. This is not a new idea, but good on him for actually attempting it in a compact handgun.

    The gun industry is oddly resistant to change. Look at how long it took for the Glock to gain some respect. I’ve always said that it’s amazing how the best auto-loader in the world can be reduced to a paperweight by the insertion of a cheap, poorly made magazine.

    This is definitely a step in the right direction.

  2. Here’s some more stuff:

    http://bobergengineering.com/

    “Things are moving along briskly for launch, which is planned for mid-2009. The pricing goal continues to be keeping the XR9 series of pistols under $1K.”

    If they can do that, I may be interested.

    Fire demonstration:

    An even smaller version:

    The more I see of this pistol, the more I like it.

  3. Is gaining 3/4″ of barrel length worth adding more moving parts and a bunch of monkey motion to the feed cycle?

    I guess if you gotta be different…

  4. “Is gaining 3/4″ of barrel length worth adding more moving parts and a bunch of monkey motion to the feed cycle?”

    Maybe, maybe not.

    But if it works reliably, I’d say it is definitely worth adding 3/4″ to the sight radius…

  5. When finished I could see this boosting reliability with auto-loaders. Most reliability issues stem from the magazine failing to feed; this could very well inhibit that problem from occurring by taking the feed lips out of the equation. The extra length added to the barrel is nice too.

  6. Anon, this design won’t add to the sight radius. It just means that you get a longer barrel for a given overall length.

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