Ruger Max 9 - your experience

[Ed Bulldog]

QUESTIONS:

1) does any EDC a Ruger Max 9-?
2) what are the Pros and Cons-?
3) how is the recoil-?

Thank you

 

[Mike J]

I carried a Max 9 for about a year and a half. I haven't carried it lately because I put an optic on it & I haven't put in the work to be completely comfortable with using the optic yet. I went back to carrying the compact pistol I carried before.
The biggest pro for me was the size. It is very easy to conceal.
The cons. First off the size, smaller pistols are harder to shoot well than larger ones. I have large hands so it took a little getting bit or getting used to the smaller gun. Second the black oxide finish. I have to wipe it down with oil once a week or so. It can be maintained but it does require more maintenance than a salt nitrided finish. I did not like the shape of the trigger so I installed a flat faced one from Galloway.
I can't answer your question about recoil but I will try. Recoil is subjective. Each individual perceives it differently. To me the recoil of the Max 9 is not bad. I am 6'2" and 200 pounds and have worked commercial construction since 1989.

I have read reports of some people having problems with the slide locking back on a magazine that is still partially loaded. In every case I read about Ruger sent a shipping label. The pistol was repaired & sent back to the owner.

It is a good gun. If you have more questions a quick search at rugerforum.com might yield you more information.

 

[someguy2800]

My main carry guns are a ruger LC9s in a pocket holster or a Max 9 in a OWB paddle holster. The Max 9 is basically just an LC9s with a different slide and double stack mag. In fact you can put an LC9s slide on a max 9. They are both very reliable guns that will feed practically any bullet shape and will cycle anything from mouse fart loads to +P+ and are tolerant of being shot extremely dirty and with no lubrication. They are built with a modular aluminum chassis before that was really a thing. Trigger and sights and all the internals are metal. Absolutely a gun you can trust to go bang and cycle itself. I have found them to be extremely accurate as well with ammo that fits well in the chamber. Ruger uses a extremely long chamber reamer so they do not group well with some brands of cheap ball ammo, but really really accurate with most defensive hollowpoints like an HST, gold dot, or sig v-crown. Cons are that the slide finish is not especially corrosion resistant, and the trigger is a bit odd if you are not used to it. It is similar to a Kahr except that its about half the travel to break. Its a smooth pull through with a surprise break. There is no wall or stacking of any kind so you can't really stage the trigger, you just pull through like a double action revolver, but the length of pull is like half the distance of a revolver and only about 4 or 5 lbs. I like them a lot, but I think a lot of people would prefer a trigger break with a wall more like other striker fired pistols. I've shot many many thousands of rounds through mine so I'm just used to it.

 

[Ed Bulldog]

My main carry guns are a ruger LC9s in a pocket holster or a Max 9 in a OWB paddle holster. The Max 9 is basically just an LC9s with a different slide and double stack mag. In fact you can put an LC9s slide on a max 9. They are both very reliable guns that will feed practically any bullet shape and will cycle anything from mouse fart loads to +P+ and are tolerant of being shot extremely dirty and with no lubrication. They are built with a modular aluminum chassis before that was really a thing. Trigger and sights and all the internals are metal. Absolutely a gun you can trust to go bang and cycle itself. I have found them to be extremely accurate as well with ammo that fits well in the chamber. Ruger uses a extremely long chamber reamer so they do not group well with some brands of cheap ball ammo, but really really accurate with most defensive hollowpoints like an HST, gold dot, or sig v-crown. Cons are that the slide finish is not especially corrosion resistant, and the trigger is a bit odd if you are not used to it. It is similar to a Kahr except that its about half the travel to break. Its a smooth pull through with a surprise break. There is no wall or stacking of any kind so you can't really stage the trigger, you just pull through like a double action revolver, but the length of pull is like half the distance of a revolver and only about 4 or 5 lbs. I like them a lot, but I think a lot of people would prefer a trigger break with a wall more like other striker fired pistols. I've shot many many thousands of rounds through mine so I'm just used to it.

Thank you for your response
It is very helpful

 

[PapaG]

Got one. Don't carry it as it is too long in reach for my trigger finger. (or grip too fat, whatever). I've stuck with an EC9 or Block 43.

 

[RUT]

I had one for a while, and it was the perfect size for carrying. However, the point of aim was so low I had to raise the front sight up so high it obliterated the target. Since I was never going to put an optic on it I ended up trading it off toward something else. In general, I do like Rugers, and just picked up a new RXM in fact.

 

[Mike J]

Got one. Don't carry it as it is too long in reach for my trigger finger. (or grip too fat, whatever). I've stuck with an EC9 or Block 43.

Galloway & MCarbo both make aftermarket trigger shoes for these. The flat faced Galloway trigger feels a lot better to me than the original.

 

[RUT]

Another vote for Galloway!

 

[Tom-R2]

I've carried mine more often than any other pistol since 2022. I ordered it and had to wait a couple days to be delivered to the local store. In the meantime I ordered a Holosun optic. So the optic went on the same day the pistol came home. It shoots well, and even better after I did a trigger/spring swap with M-Carbo. It's seldom further than an out stretched arm.

 

[420Stainless]

Have one for a little over a year. No issues through a few hundred rounds. I have a Holosun optic on it and it shoots well with both sights. Recoil seems reasonable to me, but I haven’t shot any other micro nine for comparison. More comfortable to carry and shoot than my old .380 PPK/s.