Ruger LC9 Broke

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Matthew Temkin

Matthew Temkin

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After only four years and extensive shooting my LC9 broke.
The slide will not go into battery unless I depress a small level that popped up between the safety and the slide release lever.
Has anyone else had the same problem?
I will send it back to Ruger but I may soon be in the market for a G 42 or a 43.
 
What do you see if you take the slide off? Sounds like something broke alright; pictures would help.
 
Matthew Temkin said:
After only four years and extensive shooting my LC9 broke.
The slide will not go into battery unless I depress a small level that popped up between the safety and the slide release lever.
Has anyone else had the same problem?
I will send it back to Ruger but I may soon be in the market for a G 42 or a 43.
Click to expand...

Are you saying the polymer bulged/cracked? As ku4hx said, pictures would help.

And no, I have never had anything like that happen to my LC9's (not LC9s) or LC380. But you got me curious.
 
If your polymer didn't crack, I'd say somehow your safety broke internally. Does your safety work? If it is the safety, I'd be curious what caused it to break. Never heard of anyone else having one break.

Either way, I'd like to hear of the outcome. :)
 
I don't know what number of rounds equals "extensive firing" but I doubt the little LC9 was designed for 5000 round endurance tests. It is a small self-defense pistol, pushing the edge of the size/power envelope. I hope yours isn't permanently damaged, but if it is, you have gotten a lot of use out of it.

Jim
 
Probably between 1500-2000 rounds of standard 9 mm.
Yes, the safety works. It seems that some internal piece broke and came through the frame.
I like to shoot my carry guns a lot so, if the gun has a short life span due to use this is not acceptable.
I would love to post a picture--can someone walk me through the process with an I Pad?
 
To post a picture, I find it easier renaming the photo so I can identify it quicker.
In the "Post Reply" page, the is an option to upload attachments (the paper clip). Where it says upload file from your computer. Then there is a choose button. That should bring up your files. From there, select your photo(s), Then select uploads. Wait til it completes upload. Add desired text and post. It works with Droid. Not positive it works with apple.
 
Matthew Temkin said:
Probably between 1500-2000 rounds of standard 9 mm.
Yes, the safety works. It seems that some internal piece broke and came through the frame.
I like to shoot my carry guns a lot so, if the gun has a short life span due to use this is not acceptable.
Click to expand...
There are a lot of more experienced folks here than me, but I don't think any subcompact gun is going to stand up well to "a lot" of range time.

Having said that, I don't think you should be seeing issues with <2,000 rounds.
 
I have questioned the quality of this particular model, on several occasions over the past few years. It does not surprise me having changed the trigger in one of the first batch, " which were supposedly upgraded". I don't think many of these little guns are made to be shot other than in an emergency.
 
george burns said:
I have questioned the quality of this particular model, on several occasions over the past few years. It does not surprise me having changed the trigger in one of the first batch, " which were supposedly upgraded". I don't think many of these little guns are made to be shot other than in an emergency.
Click to expand...
I have not heard of this "trigger upgrade". Are you referring to the newer striker-fired?

As to the OP, hopefully we'll get feedback of the problem and what Ruger does for him.
 
I too would like to see a pic of the broken LC9. I have one with over 1000 rounds and I would like to know what to look for. It has been flawless and it used to be my EDC for a while until I retired it to bag carry duty.
 
I will take it to my local gun store on Wed and see what they say.
I hope I will not have the same issue with my S&W .40 Shield in the near future.
 
No I had read that they had upgraded the trigger due to the complaints and problems, at the time. But I really don't remember where of when, it was right around the 6 months following the first ones.
I had changed out the trigger to an aftermarket one, "it was very popular at the time", buy the it wouldn't reset half the time, and there was no more adjustment that could be made. I ran out of threads.
Someone will remember the name, a lot of guys did the mod. It's not Apex.
 
Galloway, maybe?! I tried their's, no luck. There is a very fine line with depressing the firing pin blocker and having the hammer fall at the same time (the hammer must cock back far enough the clear the hammer blocker Triple safety). I even milled out my own from A-2 stock. It worked with the 1st magazine. Then it stopped making the firing pin blocker. Went back to factory trigger bar and ain't looked back since. :)
 
The safety lever cracked in half internally on my first LC9. When it did, it buggered up the frame around it. Ruger replaced the entire gun. I also had the little pin that holds the firing pin in bend. Ruger repaired that with a new pin. The second gun now had several thousand rounds through it when I got interested in a SIG P938. I sold the Ruger.
 
Ruger received the gun on 12/11 and fixed/ shipped it back on the 18th
I received this info via a phone call to Ruger since my LGS who shipped it haven't called me yet.
They replaced the slide stop with stronger springs and did a whole bunch of upgrades to a lot of parts too numerous to mention.
Great customer service.
I called the gun store and I'm pick it up tomorrow.
 
It doesn't sound like you ever field stripped the gun.

Something popping out of the frame between the safety and the slide release lever should be fairly easy to figure out as soon as you take the slide off.

They replaced the slide stop with stronger springs and did a whole bunch of upgrades to a lot of parts too numerous to mention.
Click to expand...

How many parts can there be? Well - whatever, sounds like you you got all new guts for your LC9.
 
1,500-2,000 rounds is not extensive. I expect nothing to break after only that many rounds. At 10,000 rounds, something making might not be anything to get worked up about. I remember reading about the testing of the Walther PPQ and H&K VP9 and the PPQ held out for something like 55,000 rounds and the VP9 was something like 75,000 rounds until a part failed. Typically, you'd have bought another pistol or two or twenty by that point as that is a lot of shooting and money.
 
This, my friends, is why I carry a milsurp pistol. I'll take a gun that passed military torture tests over a questionable commercial pistol any day.

Contact Ruger. They will take care of you.
 
Yes Kc, it was the Galloway trigger. I remember it came in colors and looked like the new one on the LCP. You had the same problems I did.
 
Just about everything mechanical is designed for certain uses and around certain limitations based on anticipated use, and that goes for guns, too.

I have a very nice Toyota Corolla, but if I wrote to Toyota and complained because it won't haul a 20 ton load at highway speeds, they would think I am nuts; the little car is not made to do the work of an 18-wheeler. Even military handguns, while made for greater durability, have limits; I have seen Model 1911A1 pistols just plain worn out from months of familiarization firing, and those are tough pistols.

IMHO, revolvers are more likely to exceed expectations in the durability department, but even they will give up eventually and become "NER" (not economically repairable).

Jim
 
I just picked it up and am very pleased.
My LGS guy told me that Ruger did a complete upgrade on the gun, which I bought back in 2011.
I haven't put any rounds through it yet but when dry firing the trigger now feels nearly as smooth as the LC9s.
He also stated that this gun is not meant to be shot as extensively as a service size weapon--but now that I no longer have to fight the trigger and over practice to get used to it that will not be a problem.
BTW --I clean my pistols after every range session and the LC 9 is no exception.
In other words it has been field stripped many times.
I also agree about the life of any gun.
One of my friends shot his S&W 642 so often that Smith sent it back to him as not repairable.
I had the same problem with my old model 10 revolver ( bought in 1980)and my original Glock 19 that I bought in 1989.
Both gave up the ghost after decades of extensive shooting.
 
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