R.A.P. First Impressions

[Alerion]

A couple of months ago I started noticing a few posts about R.A.P. pistols. R.A.P. standing for Republic Arms Pistol (Republic Arms of South Africa not Republic Arms of California.) Everything I read about these guns indicated that they were accurate, well-made (although heavy), very low-priced guns. Naturally I decided I had to have one! (BTW, please don't tell me what I should have bought instead. I probably already have it. The R.A.P. is currently handgun #22.)

Anyway the R.A.P. is a police-issue weapon in South Africa. While I've never seen any other South African guns in the U.S., their weapons factories are considered to be high-quality in Europe, the Middle-East, and Africa. It's very similar to an Astra A-75. Some people have suggested that the R.A.P. is a copy of the Astra but some info I've seen indicates it might have been the other way around.

The R.A.P. is available as the 401 in 9mm and the 440 in .40 S&W. Originally I wanted a 440 but, as it turns out, it would have cost me about $60 more as I would have had to get it from a different dealer. It seems that availability is pretty spotty so I was limited to what a particular dealer had on hand at any given time. I would up buying my 401 new for $199.00. The low price being more an indication of the failing S.A. economy than cost cutting workmanship. At the exchange rate before the ANC took over this would have been about the equivalent of $1,200.00!

Although I like .40 S&W I never intend to carry the R.A.P. I have at least four other guns I'd rather carry. So I decided I'd be better off with the 401's eight round magazines and less expensive 9mm ammo than the 440's seven rounds of .40.

If anyone is still awake at this point, I'll talk a little about the gun itself. Other than the mag capacity everything applies to both guns:
3.5" barrel, white three-dot sights, squared trigger guard, DA/SA with a decocker, safety can be applied cocked or uncocked, safety is UP for on (like a 1911), hard rubber grips, magazines are drop-free. I didn't think to check for a mag safety. I suspect it doesn't have one. (A good thing from my point of view.) Custom holsters are going to be pretty much non-existant but it fits quite well in an Uncle Mike's size 16.

Friday night, the gun arrived and I tore it down for cleaning. Machining was extremely good. No machining marks inside or out. The only minor complaint I would have had if this was a $500 gun was a slightly light spot in the bluing.

Saturday I took the 401 to the range, along with two rifles that needed sighting in, a 14yo neighbor and a .357 magnum that the 14yo wanted to shoot. Unfortunately I didn't take any 9mm ammo.

SO SHOOT ME! I'M HUMAN! (Just kidding! There are too many people here who might take me up on that offer!)

Anyway, a very kind fellow shooter gave (as in refused to take payment) me a box of Wolf ammo. Since I felt it only fair to let him shoot a mag through the R.A.P. and the 14yo would have whined all the way home if I didn't let him shoot it, my test was limited to 34 shots. But it was 34 good shots! Trigger pull was smooth in both double and single action. I'll fire at least 150 more rounds through it before I call it reliable but it's on the path to getting there. Accuracy was good for a 3.5" barrel on a 25 yard range. At least it fired to POA. Recoil was mild, not surprising considering it's a heavy gun firing 9mm.

Overall I'm very happy with the R.A.P. It compares favorably with guns costing more than twice the price. One guy at the range even mistook it for a Sig! However he was also trying to teach his (approximately) 12yo to shoot a rifle by screaming at him for missing the target so I'm not granting him very much credibility!

I'll give the R.A.P. 401 two thumbs up!

Tom

[Preacherman]

Thanks for the review, Alerion. To help us learn more about this interesting little beast, could you tell us its actual weight, dimensions (length, width, height - particular emphasis on width, as a thinner gun is easier to conceal for CCW purposes), ammo. capacity, etc.? Also, are the sights fixed, or adjustable? Could they be readily replaced (with some milling of the slots if necessary) by Tritium-insert versions? What similarity is there to other weapons, besides the Astra? Would Astra holsters work with this weapon?

Thanks again.

[jar]

Thanks to international pressure and bans on importation, Israel and Soth Africa were forced to create and maintain their own arms industry. And they did it well. The SA guns include the RAPs and the TZ-99, a SiG clone. And you can't get much better than the Israeli guns from IMI and Bul.

[Tamara]

See? Now here I'd thought you'd found some Rocket-Assisted Projectiles for your CCW piece...

[kahrma]

I have never seen this S.A. pistol. How does it compare in size and weight to other guns? Is it about the size of a Sig 239 or bigger?

[hksigwalther]

From what I've seen, I believe the RAP is a general copy of the Astra A75. The A75 was a double action evolution of the A70 which had been around since at least the late '80s.

RAPs can be had from Century International (401s). They, like the A75s, are quite heavy for their size being all steel (~2 lbm). The A75 did come in an alloy frame but it was still pretty heavy. 9 mm and .40 SW mags are the same bewteen calibers. Even stamped, at least the Astras, 9 mm on one side, .40 SW on the other.

[Alerion]

Preacherman,

The sights are fixed and probably could be replaced with night-sights with a little gunsmithing. I'll have to check the dimensions after I get home as I'm not allowed to play with my guns when I'm supposed to be working. As far as I know holsters for the Astra A-75 work with it. As far as comparing it to other guns... The picture probably says more than I can.

kahrma,

I didn't actually compare them side-by-side (even though I thought about photographing them together) but it reminded me of my K-40 in both size and weight. The R.A.P. is SA/DA BTW.

hksigwalther,

You're right! Century Arms International (CAI) imports both the 401s and the 440s. As I understand it that's where the distribution problem lies. They get the guns in batches and if the demand is for more guns than came in then someone has to wait for the next batch (or two or three). That's probably also why I got a better deal on a 401 than I could find on a 440 since the demand is probably higher for the 440 although both are supposed to be the same price.

One of my local dealers said he carried R.A.P.s when he could get them. But when I was talking about them being inexpensive he asked me how much I thought they sold for. When I said I was seeing them in the $250-300 range he kind of laughed at me and said that I'd be lucky to find one for under $400. I'll pay my last visit to his shop fairly soon to show him my $199 gun!

One source I was reading said that the R.A.P. was actually the original gun and was copied by Astra but that's neither here nor there. To my understanding R.A.P. has two magazines for 9mm and .40 but I also have been told that the Astra 9mm/.40 mag will work in it. I went ahead and got a spare mag while I could. (I don't expect to see them in CDNN any time soon.) Neither of my mags are marked for .40 S&W.

Tamara,

Those are for the CCW I don't talk about!

Tom

[Tropical Z]

I know i've said it before,but the RAP's are beautifully made sweet shootin guns.I'm glad i got two 440's while i could.

[Alerion]

OK, here comes the comparison with my Kahr K-40 Elite 98. It's no wonder the R.A.P. reminded me of the Kahr! The two are almost identical in size! I don't have any scale at home accurate enough to weigh the guns but the R.A.P. is just slightly heavier than the Kahr. Close enough that I think the loaded Kahr was heavier than the empty R.A.P.

The grid is 1/4" BTW.

Tom

[Alerion]

Here's the Kahr on top of the R.A.P.

[Alerion]

And the R.A.P. on top of the Kahr.

[Alerion]

And finally muzzle to muzzle with the 9mm R.A.P. on the left and the .40 S&W Kahr on the right. The specs for the Kahr say it's .94 inches wide.

Tom

[bmwguy]

from Cruffler.com, good reading:

cruffler.com link

[Onslaught]

Yikes... are these things REALLY 32 ounces? I know... good holster, good belt, IWB, you won't feel it... and I know that's true, but 32 ounces? Even the Kahr feels heavy for it's size at 26oz... But of course, can't feel it at all in holster, on belt, IWB...

They look sweet though, and I prefer TDA over the long SFDA (striker fired double action) like Kahr has.

I'm afraid to ask, because I think I already know the answer... These things aren't ambidextrous, are they?

[Alerion]

These things aren't ambidextrous, are they?

Sorry! They have the safety/decocker on the left side of the slide.

The 32oz may have been loaded. The empty gun isn't 6oz heavier than the empty Kahr.

Tom

[Onslaught]

You have NO idea how much that just burst my bubble...
I thought had just found my next "medium" carry pistol!

What's up with that? The TZ99 is all kinds of ambi... they couldn't just put a control lever on the other side with the RAP?

Well, thanks for the review, and the pics. I'll be sure and add this to my "suggestion" list when I get the common question
"what can I get that's smaller than my (big name pistol) so I can carry it, but doesn't cost much?"

Heck, for $199, and since it's a slide mounted safety anyway (so I'd only use it to decock, but carry in condition 2) who knows... maybe I'll give it a try.

[Onslaught]

BTW Alerion, since you have both the K40 and RAP, and you did such an outstanding job with the physical similarities, how about a functional comparison of the two?
Which one feels better in the hand, conceals better IWB, sharp edges, trigger pull, sight picture, etc...

Thanks again,

Steve

[Handy]

Aside from the weight, this is pretty much the ideal CCW style. Strong, simple, safe DA trigger, SA trigger to encourage practice, cheap so you don't worry about the finish.

[Eric Larsen]

The ones I have seen/played with are very nice guns.

The trigger is quite nice..smooth, consistant but heavier than other guns. The RAP trigger is not quite CZ nice but is better than my FN compacts trigger was out of the box.

The frame mounted 3 way safety is in the same spot as a 1911 and functions the same way..down to fire. Id carry one Cond 1 with not worries..they have the firing pin block also.
Like the pics show, they are just a tad bigger than the K series Kahrs..but feel alot heavier. The size would be a benefit while being carried..but its still a brick for how big it is.

For what they cost..you get a very nice little gun.

Shoot well

[Alerion]

Onslaught,

OK, I can give you my opinions on a functional comparison of the two. However everyone has to realize that this is purely subjective. (I usually try to be as objective as I can when I compare something.)

As far as feel in the hand I'll give the advantage to the Kahr. I can get all three fingers comfortably on the Kahr while my pinkie hangs about halfway off the RAP. While the Kahr is the shorter of the two guns (virtually the same height with the extention on the Kahr magazine) the Kahr design still allows it to have the longer grip. However the recoil on the RAP was so mild that I didn't really need my little finger on it, or particularly notice that it was off!

Firing the RAP double action, the trigger reach was farther than on the (DAO) Kahr. Naturally the single action reach was a lot shorter. And while the RAP has a squared off trigger guard with a little checkered "pad" on the front of it, it's a long reach if you like to wrap your weak hand index finger over the guard. (I don't.)

The Hogue grips (standard on Kahr Elite) are better than the RAP's grips. Still the RAP grips are comfortable.

As an ex-LEO from the days when we had to carry double action revolvers (and weren't allowed to fire them single action) I still prefer a DAO for carry. So in that respect I prefer the Kahr. If I ever do carry the RAP it'll probably be decocked with the safety off. Since I'm used to carrying guns without a manual safety I don't want to be in a defensive situation where I have to think about which gun I have. SA and SA/DA fans have a right to their opinions and I won't say that they're wrong. But I will say that they aren't going to change my mind! (I'm half German and Half Scot. Don't even bother trying!)

Trigger pull? The Kahr is an Elite model with one of the sweetest double action trigger pulls out there. So advantage Kahr. OTOH I don't know how a RAP would compare to a standard Kahr trigger. The RAP trigger is very good, it's just not a Kahr Elite. I'd say the RAP trigger is very similar to my CZ-75B trigger, which is no slouch either!

I can't really compare the guns for IWB carry as I don't have an IWB holster for the RAP while I have an excellent Milt Sparks VM-2 for the Kahr. However I'd suspect that the Kahr has a slight advantage over the RAP, for concealability, because the Kahr doesn't have the RAP's small beavertail.The weight is close enough that I'd call that a draw assuming both are in good holsters.

Sharp edges are a draw. Neither gun has any real problem with edges but neither is "melted-down" either. The RAP slide release does stick out farther than the Kahr's but that's more a matter of preference. Easier to snag but easier to get a thumb on as well. Naturally the non-existant Kahr safety is smoother than the RAP safety, but again, that's the price you pay for having an external safety.

Sight picture? The RAP with it's white three dot sights! The Kahr has a white dot front sight and a white bar rear sight. I shoot too many guns with three dot sights to ever really get used to the dot-bar.

Price? The RAP! I could have a RAP 401 AND a RAP 440 for the price of the Kahr. OTOH, if you tell people what the RAP costs a lot of them will assume, incorrectly, that it's junk. As one of my friends likes to say, "You just can't educate the stupid!" So pride of ownership goes to the Kahr! Maybe we can develop a cult following for the RAPs!

Selection goes to the Kahr! The RAP is a pistol that Henry Ford could have made. "You can have any color you want as long as it's black!" (Blued actually!) Kahrs come in a wider selection of finishes, sizes, models, etc.

Availability of accessories goes to the Kahr. Nobody custom makes anything for the RAP and probably never will! While a few Astra accessories are available there's not much and since it's a dead make the supply for accessories will probably never increase. (If it doesn't die out altogether.) But the RAP does fit nicely in Uncle Mike's size 16 holsters.

So, once you're past the point of writing the check, (fortunately a "one-time" thing per gun,) I still prefer the Kahr. But I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the RAP to anyone looking for a high-quality, solid, CCW at a bargain price!

Tom

[Zundfolge]

Thanks for the review Alerion.

I've been looking for a nice CCW 9mm for my wife but she won't go for the Kahr (she requires a safety and would like a decocker).

Looks like the RAP will make the list of possible guns for her. And there's a 401 on Gunbroker right now for $250, a 440 on Gunsamerica for $259 and 2 440s on Auction Arms for $259 (I think its the same seller as Gunsamerica)

http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/Vie...p?Item=6308728
http://www.gunsamerica.com/guns/976260393.htm
http://www.auctionarms.com/search/di...temNum=3574101
http://www.auctionarms.com/search/di...temNum=3574196
Edit
and there's a 401 on Auctionarms too
http://www.auctionarms.com/search/di...temNum=3574963

[Eric Larsen]

Great review.....good show. Shoot well

[Alerion]

Zundfolge,

The dealer you found with the 440s for $259 (same dealer, different sites) is the only one I've seen on the auctions with 440s and they're always at the same price. The only gunshop I know of with a 440 actually in stock won't go below $285 for it.

I e-mailed Ed Yeager, the guy with the $250 401, and was going to buy his gun until I found mine for less. He seemed to be a pretty reasonable guy and that looks like about the best deal available right now. If I wanted (another) one right now I'd probably deal with him. OTOH, if I really wanted a 440 I'd spend the extra $9 to get one. I just wish gunfinder.net would clean the excess oil off their gun(s) and shoot a new picture. Even at $259 I don't think you'd be disappointed.

Tom

[jAK-47]

My 401 will be here next week. I can't wait! Here's a pic of my gun taken by the FORMER owner. Zundfolge "found" it for me.



Range report, etc. to follow.

jAK-47