New Ruger MAX-9

[Nsomniac]

I lean toward revolvers... but I do own semi-autos ... and when the LC9 started rolling out .. I said ... dang grip is to thin !!! They fixed it ... and increased the capacity ... installed great sights .. optic ready , great trigger ... no improvements needed out of the box ( look Glock and learn ) ... seems like a no brainer ... I may get one when the new wears off and prices stabilize ...

I've been shocked at how available these are - the two local stores I frequent, both Academys in town, everybody has them in stock just below MSRP. My uninformed speculation is that it looks like both Ruger and Smith made lots and lots of their new offerings before unveiling them.

 

[Spats McGee]

I've been shocked at how available these are - the two local stores I frequent, both Academys in town, everybody has them in stock just below MSRP. My uninformed speculation is that it looks like both Ruger and Smith made lots and lots of their new offerings before unveiling them.

I've already seen about 4 Shield+s in the wild, and bought one, so my uninformed speculation matches yours.

 

[Tony in Texas]

I will wait till they put a crispy break trigger.

 

[Hangingrock]

I am not a Ruger person but I do have limited experience with their center fire semiautomatic handguns such as the RAP 9&45. I found the previously mentioned to be more than adequate thus I kept them. With that said I dwell in the house of S&W thus I have examples of the MP series pistols. Will I acquire the new Shield + probably not as I am satisfied with my Shield 9X19mm with the 8Rd capacity magazine plus one in the chamber for a capacity of 9Rds. I have nothing against Ruger or their offerings, its simply a matter of being a S&W person.

 

[SwampWolf]

How does the unloaded weight of the MAX-9 compare with the Hellcat and the 365XL?

 

[BC17A]

Max-9 weighs about a half ounce more than the P365 and Hellcat.

 

[Trey Veston]

Watched a video review of the new Max-9, and the guy loved the handling, size, shootability, optics ready status, and texture of the pistol, as well as the sights. He had some fairly large dislikes, though. The first was that you couldn't field strip the pistol without a tool. Couldn't remove the slide and break it down like pretty much every other pistol built in the last 30 years. I found that odd.

Second, the manual is pretty explicit in warning against use of +p and +p+ ammo. He thought that implied that the gun was made of less quality materials and just wasn't as strong or durable as the competition. Third, he said the Ruger just felt cheap and didn't have the quality feel to it that the other pistols in it's class did. He demonstrated part of that impression by shaking each pistol. They were all tight and silent, except for the Ruger, which sounded like a change jar. It was pretty bad.

But, other than feeling cheap and needing a tool to field strip it, and not being able to shoot hot ammo in it, it seems like a pretty neat little pistol.

 

[kcofohio]

It looks to have the same tear down window that LC9s and EC9s have. It clicks down and with a slight relief on the pin by moving the slide back a hair. The pin can come out by tapping against a palm. Practice is key.

 

[BC17A]

Watched a video review of the new Max-9, and the guy loved the handling, size, shootability, optics ready status, and texture of the pistol, as well as the sights. He had some fairly large dislikes, though. The first was that you couldn't field strip the pistol without a tool. Couldn't remove the slide and break it down like pretty much every other pistol built in the last 30 years. I found that odd.

Second, the manual is pretty explicit in warning against use of +p and +p+ ammo. He thought that implied that the gun was made of less quality materials and just wasn't as strong or durable as the competition. Third, he said the Ruger just felt cheap and didn't have the quality feel to it that the other pistols in it's class did. He demonstrated part of that impression by shaking each pistol. They were all tight and silent, except for the Ruger, which sounded like a change jar. It was pretty bad.

But, other than feeling cheap and needing a tool to field strip it, and not being able to shoot hot ammo in it, it seems like a pretty neat little pistol.

I watched that same video by James Reeves. He has some pretty stupid remarks regarding what makes a quality gun. Also, as mentioned above, you don't need a tool to remove the TD pin. Simply use inertia to pop the pin out, if you're coordinated that is, which in the video James is obviously not. All he's missing is a man-bun IMO.

 

[WisBorn]

I like Ruger , I carry a Ruger , but for the love of sweet God , why isn't these new pistols offered in a 45acp ? The last few years it seems that everything is 9mm.

You read my mind!

 

[Homerboy]

I like Ruger firearms, revolver, semi auto, rifle. I had the LC9 and then bought an LC9S that is still my carry gun. It’s a quality piece with a very nice trigger. I even like the manual safety and mag disconnect.

But I held the Max 9 last week and walked out with a Shield Plus. The Max 9 just feels cheap. Just like I was turned off by the economy look and feel of the Security 9. It just doesn’t feel as nice to me as the LC9S does. It felt cheap. I like the front sight and I don’t care about optics ready on small pistols. I sold my old Shield 1.0 and replaced it with a Shield Plus. My LC9S is still my primary carry but if I feel the need for a small gun with a higher capacity the Shield Plus is the one for me.

 

[Trey Veston]

LGS had the MAX-9 in stock today when I brought in my M&P40c to sell. They wanted $429 for it. Let my girlfriend try it out as far as handling and looking it over. She liked it, but wanted one in Tiffany Blue. She pointed out that the finish on this one was already chipped. What? I looked closer and sure enough, there were a couple of tiny marks in the slide where the bare metal was showing. One on the plate for the optic, and the other on the slide itself.

I asked the clerk if someone had dropped the pistol, and he said nope. It was just put out on the floor yesterday and has just been handled a few times by customers and employees. Odd...

Other than the finish being more fragile than the one on my Taurus G2c, it was a great little pistol. Good sights, good trigger, and felt good in the hand.

 

[BC17A]

She pointed out that the finish on this one was already chipped. What? I looked closer and sure enough, there were a couple of tiny marks in the slide where the bare metal was showing. One on the plate for the optic, and the other on the slide itself.

I asked the clerk if someone had dropped the pistol, and he said nope. It was just put out on the floor yesterday and has just been handled a few times by customers and employees. Odd...

Other than the finish being more fragile than the one on my Taurus G2c, it was a great little pistol. Good sights, good trigger, and felt good in the hand.

I'm not particularly impressed with the finish on mine either. You can see it chipped on the edges of the slide serrations already, and I've only had it out of the box for two range sessions. Nothing I'm going to worry about though, and will probably Cerakote it eventually.