I don't get the Ruger American in 45?

Doesn't make much sense that they couldnt have designed a mag that would take two more rounds. Maybe they did it so they could readily sell it in states that have 10 round mag capacity limits? Perhaps contact Ruger and ask them why they did it.

The problem is it's quite large, and the capacity just doesn't match with only having ten rounds of 45.

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Here are the capacity's for some other full size autos in .45 ACP.

The 1911 has 8

The HK45 has 10

The M&P45 has 10

The Beretta PX4 has 10

The SIG P220 has 8

Seems like pretty good company.

Ooops, forgot the Ruger SR45 has 10

SIG P227 has 10

I had to look that one up since it's fairly new and didn't know off the top of my head.

Oh, and for clarity, you've shortchanged the Springfield XD45, it holds 13.

Glock 21, 13. My favorite in .45 ACP. I own a Colt MKIV Series 70. Prefer the Glock.

FN 45 has 15

The magazine capacity probably has more to do with the fact they want to use the same grip frame for all calibers. The 9mm holds 17.

Owning a Ruger American Pistol in .45 ACP, I have to ask. Exactly how would one fit additional rounds into that magazine, yet maintain feed reliability, and spring life?

I also own an FNP 45. That pistol holds 14 rounds in it's magazine. The FNP magazine is slightly longer, and slightly wider. It's also a bear to load to capacity, even when it's mags have over 1000 rounds through them.

Just curious, but why haven't we heard the same blather about the HK, Sig, and S&W guns? They've all been out longer than the Ruger American Pistol, yet the capacity whines haven't been aimed at them.

I think 10 rounds in a mag is a sweet spot when it comes to average shooter's mitts. Yeah, the Glock holds 13, but it's a little brickish.

It looks to me like Ruger was trying to make a direct competitor to the popular SIGP320. It also holds 10 rounds in a mag. With the modular grips, chassis "firearm", and the lack of an external safety, it looks like they are going after LE/Military contracts in addition to civilians.

The gun is growing on me. I'll probably be picking on up by the end of next month if I can find one. My LGS doesn't have them available through their suppliers as it looks like they are backordered from Ruger. I won't go anywhere else. I'll loyal to this guy, and I'm in no hurry. Still, I'm kind of excited to try one out

Same could be said for 1911s and their small 7 and 8 round capacity, it has not appeared to deter sales.

With this being said, 10 rounds in a double stack full sized 45ACP pistol is rather pedestrian.

Walther Q45: 12+1 and it's not much bigger than the PPQ 9mm. It has great ergos too

You can get M&P factory mags that hold 14 rounds. Comes with a sleeve.

Many states have a 10 round limit. This way they only have to produce 1 handgun. The 9mm pistols can be shipped with either 10 or 17 round mags depending on the state they are going to. Making a 12-13 round 45 would be a much larger gun.

Don't forget the HK USP45 -it holds 12 rounds in its magazine. Kind of big, too, but isn't that part of being a .45?

If I can't stop a bad guy with 10 rounds from a .45, I'll throw the darned gun at him and run like heck!

Jim

I don't get the Ruger American in 45?

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SIG P227 has 10
I had to look that one up since it's fairly new and didn't know off the top of my head.

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Yeah, I don't get it either.

And the Sig P227 is 5x a better gun than the Ruger?

jmr40 said:

Many states have a 10 round limit. This way they only have to produce 1 handgun.

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Many? Depends how you define "many" I suppose. There are 6 states plus DC that ban over 10 round mags. Two ban over 15 round. 42 have no mag capacity limits.

10 rounds makes sense for a 45. It allows for a smaller grip, allows for only manufacturing 1 magazine to cover ban and non-ban states. It is easy to say there are only a few ban states...but they contain a large number of potential buyers typically being the most populous ones like CA and NY.

TANSTAAFL. My USP45 holds 12 in the magazine but the ergonomics are, shall we say, robust. My HK45 only holds 10 in the magazine but it's a whole lot easier to grab onto. I really have to find someplace with an FNX-45 in stock so I can find out what it takes to cram in 15 rounds.

strambo said:

It is easy to say there are only a few ban states...but they contain a large number of potential buyers typically being the most populous ones like CA and NY.

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True, those states do contain a large number of potential customers. California is not relevant to this discussion though since the only handguns that Ruger has on their certified list are revolvers. Ruger never did plan to sell the American there so I'm sure they didn't design the mags with California in mind. Anyway, my point was just to clarify that there are actually only a relatively small number of states with magazine bans. I think the idea that it is more widespread comes largely from TV shows and the media. I try to spread the truth when I can.

Glock 21, 13. My favorite in .45 ACP. I own a Colt MKIV Series 70. Prefer the Glock.

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I have 1911's, a Gen4 21, and an HK45. I like them all for various reasons, and it all comes down to what I want to use them for. These are basically range guns so the mag capacity doesn't matter. The Glock 21 shoots every type of factory ammo well, I can save a few bucks shooting that Fed Champion Aluminum Case ammo and the steel case TulAmmo. I don't shoot that stuff through any of the other .45's though.

The Ruger American was designed to compete for a service contract with the US military. That is where the size and capacity came into focus, if there's any credence to the article in the American Rifleman.

Big honking duty gun for the belt holster crowd.

Once the tooling it paid for then the compact's and micro versions will come out, as they take a lot more engineering and sorting. The American has a few unique features that make it different from the SR line which are tailored for military specs. It's meant to be a Beretta killer. Due to the present state of the art in handguns we are only going to get the incremental step forward of issuing a polymer frame and changeable grips sizes. More than that doesn't really exist in comparison to the M9.

Every service pistol trial births a few new duty guns, and then after the market is churned the most popular survives and a few LEO departments get new ones.

The Ruger American was designed to compete for a service contract with the US military. That is where the size and capacity came into focus, if there's any credence to the article in the American Rifleman.

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In one gun magazine article, recently, a senior Ruger exec said that while they designed the gun to fit service contract requirements, Ruger did not intend to compete. That was because the competition includes signing over the design to the government who would then have it made by the lowest bidder.

It will be interesting to see if that really is the case.

It may be a better deal for Ruger to own the design and sell it themselves to LEO agencies and civilians, ignoring the governmen contract -- at a more reasonable price (i.e., not just the design and anything that comes with that).

It seems like a pretty solid design.

The Ruger American was designed to compete for a service contract with the US military

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I think the Ruger American was designed to "fix" all the things folks whine about the SR9 on all the forums, like the thumb safety, the loaded chamber indicator, mag disconnect.

1911 has always served me with the 0ld 7 +1 . I see no need for a 10 round or more.

Only time I ever needed to use my 1911 . 1 shot worked fine . BG survived and did 11 years .