I just bought a Ruger SR9, what should I know?

[Glockedout17]

Hey everyone,

I went out today and bought a Ruger SR9. I loved the way it felt and how balanced it was. It's a really good looking pistol and has great ergonomics. Basically, I would like to hear from people who own one and those who have first hand experience with these pistols. I would like to know the do's and don'ts, the pros and cons, and what type of ammo do they like? What is the life expectancy for the Ruger SR9 and how reliable are they? I would appreciate some insite on these guns. Thanks GO17

 

[intercooler]

You did rent or shoot one before buying I hope?

 

[rule303]

They have been upgraded several times since they were released. They are good to go, and should shoot anything you stuff in the mag. One of the softest shooting 9's I have ever fired, and the triggers aren't bad for a striker fired gun.

 

[marano35]

This

Ruger has produced many great firearms over history. That is not one of them. Sell it and buy one of their used revolvers made five years ago or more or a P89 or P90 of about the same age.

 

[labhound]

The latest version of the SR9 is an excellent pistol with a very good trigger for a striker fired gun. Reliable, accurate and one of my favorite 9mm's. You made a good choice!

 

[gmh1013]

I shot a SR9 last year and it did not seem bad for striker fired which im not a big fan of
but it did shoot as well as my SP2022 in the same price range.

 

[sargents1]

Hey everyone,

I went out today and bought a Ruger SR9. I loved the way it felt and how balanced it was. It's a really good looking pistol and has great ergonomics. Basically, I would like to hear from people who own one and those who have first hand experience with these pistols. I would like to know the do's and don'ts, the pros and cons, and what type of ammo do they like? What is the life expectancy for the Ruger SR9 and how reliable are they? I would appreciate some insite on these guns. Thanks GO17

Do not dry-fire it without a magazine in place (which is a pain in the butt). Doing that can damage the trigger mechanism.

You should know that.

 

[Mike J]

There is a lot of information on these guns at www.rugerforum.com. I don't own one & my experience with them is limited to shooting a few rounds through one of the earlier guns at a rental range a couple of years ago. It grouped okay though the trigger pull was heavy & someone had the adjustable sights all jacked up. The newer ones are supposed to have much better triggers (If your pistols magazine release is D shaped & not round it should be one of the newer ones). Pay attention to Sargents1 post & make sure to read your owners manual.

 

[kayak-man]

Welcome to the club! The SR9 is the first pistol I ever bought, and my most frequent carry and competition gun.

The first thing I would do is find out which generation of the SR9 you have. if it has a round magazine release you have an earlier one, and if its a D shaped mag release, its one of the newer ones. The newer ones have a better trigger (or so I've been told) but if you have an older one, don't worry. Mine is one of the first or second generations (in other words, it has what some people refer to as the "duck hunt" trigger) and despite the supposedly crappy trigger, I still shoot it pretty well. If you find you don't like the trigger, you can always get a ghost trigger bar drop in part that I've heard some pretty good things about.

The other thing I would do is remove the magazine disconnect safety, if you feel comfortable not having one. Personally, I see no point in it, and removal is pretty simple. There's a couple videos on YouTube showing you how to do it. It only takes about 5 minutes. After you remove the mag disconnect, you can dry fire the gun without damaging the firing pin.

I think they are pretty reliable guns. I recently hit the 3,000 round mark, and all of my malfunctions have been hand-loads that didn't have enough powder to cycle the action all the way (Shouldn't be a surprise, since I was just starting out with hand-loading and all of the loads were below the recommended starting load.) I've had one other malfunction, which I attribute to jerking the gun back while firing (I was shooting at point blank range in low/no light, and it surprised me.) I guess what I'm saying is all the malfunctions that gun has had have been because I was stupid, not the gun being stupid.

Really, the only cons to the gun that I can see are that magazines are expensive, and there seem to be a lot of folks who don't take that gun seriously. Also, I think the pin that holds the back-strap in place is a little on the delicate side. Mine broke in two (hey, it was my first pistol). I'd recommend deciding on which back-strap you want to use, and then just not playing with it.

Like I said, I took out the mag-disconnect-safety, and I blacked out the dots on the rear sight, but otherwise, its bone stock.

Overall, I'd say its a reliable, accurate pistol, and I like mine very much.

Oh, one more thing. Get out to the range and shoot it. The gun wants to be shot.

Chris "the Kayak-Man" Johnson

 

[Glockedout17]

I had to check, the mag release is D shaped. I dry fired it a few times already (about five times), I hope that didn't hurt it.

 

[kayak-man]

Dry firing it a few times shouldn't hurt it. I dry fired mine quite a bit before I knew better. Then I took the offending mag-disconnect-safety out of the gun. Problem solved.

 

[wristtwister]

I've only been shooting about 50 years, and the SR-9 is the best gun "out of the box" I ever bought... popped in a 17-round mag at about 15 yards and put 15 in the center of the target and the other two on top of the 10 ring... so I said to myself "I AM GOING TO LIKE THIS GUN"...

Seriously, it's the best shooter I ever took out of the box, and I bought it before it got "lawyered up" with the "gucci trigger" and suffered through the recall. It still shoots great, and is one of my best "go to" guns. It's reliable, it's accurate, and it never fails to function. Next to my .45's, I like all the Ruger SR series guns, and have them all... SR9, SR9C, SR40, SR40C, and SR1911. They have shot great "out of the box" (except for the 1911, which needs breaking in to handle match ammo) and I have only had one problem with any of them... and that was a broken spring which I think happened at the gun shop.

Anybody that's telling you to sell them and get "old Rugers" is entitled to their opinion, but I sell guns for a living now... and have less returns or trades on the Rugers I sell than any other brand... and I've sold a ton of them since November 2010. The reliability of the full sized ones, and the versatility of the compacts makes them a very dominating piece of the market these days. There's a lot of chatter about the other guns out there, but I see them coming back after a week or two, sometimes a month or two, to be traded for "something that works"... That's not the case with the SR's.

Shoot'em 'til you like 'em...

WT

 

[Walking Dead]

You should first know you made a good choice as those are nice weapons.

 

[spazzymcgee]

About all I know is that limpwristing that SR9 will cause a malfunction. The slide will fail to go all the way forward, so if you have that problem, know that it's not the gun's fault.

 

[Glockedout17]

Thanks for all the info and positive feedback. I will try and get it out to the range sometime this week, but first I will have to give it a good cleaning and lubing. I'll definitely do a range report when I get through putting it through it's paces. One more thing, does anyone know where I can get a good inexpensive concealment holster?

 

[crracer_712]

I have about a year old SR9c. It shoots everything I feed it. Between it, my M&P40c and my G30SF, the SR9c has the best trigger.

The striker channel was packed with grease, some people attribute this to retaining brass shaving and possibly causing light primer strikes. I cleaned mine out about a month ago for the first time. Not because I was having a problem, but I could see that it was packed with grease and I wanted it out.

I do feel the Mag disconnect doesn't get pushed up far enough so as to not 'rub' slightly on the firing pin. I removed mine just last week after I noticed a wear mattern between it and the firing pin. Again, I never had any issues with it, I just decided to remove it. Others have posted that once removed, they no longer have any more light primer strikes.

Just things to be aware of should you encounter a light primer strikes.

Mine was flawless before and still is. Great pistol.

 

[heavydluxe]

Uh, know that I am jealous?

 

[ku4hx]

Hey everyone,

I went out today and bought a Ruger SR9. I loved the way it felt and how balanced it was. It's a really good looking pistol and has great ergonomics. Basically, I would like to hear from people who own one and those who have first hand experience with these pistols. I would like to know the do's and don'ts, the pros and cons, and what type of ammo do they like? What is the life expectancy for the Ruger SR9 and how reliable are they? I would appreciate some insite on these guns. Thanks GO17

Clean after shooting. Use good quality ammunition. Don't over lube it. Practice, practice, practice. Remember it's a machine and the perfect machine has never been created. Buy either OEM or Mec-Gar magazines. Treated properly it'll likely outlive you. Don't sweat wear and usage marks, they give a gun character. Don't leave it endlessly in a leather holster. The more you shoot it the better you'll get. Ruger has great customer service.

 

[kayak-man]

does anyone know where I can get a good inexpensive concealment holster?

I know an uncle mikes inside the waistband #5 will fit the Ruger. I use it sometimes, especially when outdoors, but the rrest of the time, I like the Blackhawk SERPA, especially as a paddle holster. I paid about $50 for it at Sportmens Warehouse, and I think it was worth it.

 

[rbernard]

I use a Kholster IWB with mine and really like it, just get a sharp knife and cut the leather to your fit. After a few months of use it still holds retention well. They usually cost around $50 plus shipping.

 

[TarDevil]

About all I know is that limpwristing that SR9 will cause a malfunction. The slide will fail to go all the way forward, so if you have that problem, know that it's not the gun's fault.

#1. One stove pipe and one failure to battery... all when my daughter was shooting it with a totally limp wrist. Absolutely no failures of any kind when I've been shooting it.

I dearly love my SR9c, carry it all the time, shoot it a lot, and it just gets better and better. You'll love your gun.

 

[ichiban]

The trigger tends to be a little gritty when new. After a few hundred rounds it smooths out and turns into a pretty decent trigger. You can also put a Ghost trigger bar in it (if you are the least bit mechanically inclined) and make the trigger even better.
http://www.ghostinc.com/category/ultimate_for_ruger/