Ruger S9 Experience?

[elsullo]

I'd be grateful for Ruger S9 owner's comments on how they like it. Does the trigger improve over time? How is reliability? All S9 shooter's personal experience is welcome....................elsullo

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[gunjunky]

I too have been eye-balling this nifty pistol and hope you get some feedback.

 

[actionflies]

Are you talking about the SR9? If so, do a search because there are a lot of reviews about this 9mm. I shot one and the trigger was very heavy (around 15lb.) and releasing the slide with the slide stop lever was near impossible. I'm sure the gun was defective.

 

[blindfaith]

I have a SR9 and like most didn't like to trigger pull at all when I bought it, in fact I tried to sell it off. After a good cleaning I put 200 rounds through the gun and it has been flawless. The trigger pull after about 50 rounds was noticeably better and seems to get better the more I shoot. My groups are good but a little high to the right. After a sight adjustment, I should be good to go. I'm thoroughly impressed with it so far.

 

[WAYNO]

Here's some impressions I've posted on another forum...



Okay...Since I posted this, I went out and shot this gun. It was not a bright day, and the gap at the sides of the rear sight was not an issue.

Here's my impressions of shooting this gun. First of all, it does NOT like 115 grainers. A full 25% of a magazine would stove-pipe. Many of the empties that did not jam, just kind of crawled out of the receiver, and laid on top of my hand. Not at all positive ejection.

147 grainers, on the other hand, worked like a charm, without any malfunctions of any kind. Still, somewhat soft ejection, as the empties came straight back, in slow motion, and tried going down my shirt. Either way, I expect as the gun loosens up a little bit, the slide will work a little faster.

I would have tried 124 grainers, but with the mass exodus of ammo in this area, there were no 124 grainers to be had, at any store.

The trigger? In dry firing this gun, I found the trigger-arc to be pretty short, for any double action only gun. In actual firing, it felt more like I was shooting a single-action auto, as it did not require much pressure on the trigger, and I didn't even sense the trigger moving, and it'd go bang.

Recoil? Not that a 9mm has much recoil, but some guns transmit recoil more than others. I think the felt recoil with this gun is less than on any 9mm semi auto I've ever shot. It's extremely easy to shoot.

Last thing? The magazine loader. I'm glad they provide one, as these magazines would be VERY difficult to load, without one. Didn't matter if it was the 1st round, or the 17th round, I found I did need to use the loader.

In a nutshell, assuming a break-in period cures the "problems", I'll say I'm pleased with this gun. I look forward to doing some more serious range work with it, and see what it will be capable of. If anybody was interested in one of these, and asked my opinion, I'd tell them to buy one.

WAYNO.

Well, I finally had a chance to take this SR9 out for another road-test.

To re-cap my previous experience...This gun worked perfectly with 147 grain loads, but didn't work so well with 115-grainers. I was also concerned with the anemic ejection.

Today, I fired a full magazine of 147 grainers. They worked perfectly. Then, I tried a bunch of 124 grainers. Again, perfect!

Okay, now it was time to try the 115's. First magazine, one stove-pipe, (the 10th round in the magazine). Then I tried a bunch more 115's, and no more malfunctions.

I suspected this gun was tight, and the slide wasn't recoiling fast enough. Now that I've got a bunch more rounds thru the gun, and its getting a little more broken in, and it's no longer jamming with any loads, this reinforces what I suspected.

And, the ejected empties? They're no longer hitting my arm or chest. Still a little sluggish, but at least they're ejecting to the right, about two feet.



Another thing I mentioned earlier, was the trigger pull. It's extremely light, and with the short arc, it feels not much different than shooting a single-action semi auto. This is a gun that if carried chambered, it would be very wise to engage the safety. It's not at all like the trigger on traditional double actions.

Oh. One more thing. Originally, I commented that in loading the magazine, the loader was absolutely necessary, as the magazine spring was very stiff. Another poster said that after time, the spring would soften up, and the loader would not be needed. He was right. I had no problems loading a lot of magazines today, and never once used the loader.

WAYNO.

 

[eriknemily]

I'd be grateful for Ruger S9 owner's comments on how they like it. Does the trigger improve over time? How is reliability? All S9 shooter's personal experience is welcome....................elsullo

I owned an SR9 for about six months. I don't have the luxury of affording multiple handguns at this point in life so I sold the SR9 for a compact M&P. With that being said I really liked the SR9. When I had it up for sale I wrote this review to another member:

One of the main reasons I was interested in it is the ambidextrous safety and mag release. I'm a lefty and thought that would be nice to have in my carry piece. Secondly I didn't want to spend more than $500 on my first carry piece and this one fit the bill. I wanted a 9mm because ammo is a bit cheaper.

I sold it (last week) because I felt it was a little large for cc. I know some guys brag that they can conceal a full size 1911 without any trouble. Not for me. I'm lanky, 6' 1" and 180lbs after a good meal. For me the grip was too long. I have kids and am rather active so bending over and reaching for things made the grips print on my shirt and my shirt would often times hang up on them.

As far as function goes I had only one problem. The first person I had look at the gun after putting it up for sale the mag release began sticking. It had always been stiff. When it would stick I couldn't get the magazine to latch without pushing the mag release back into place. I've read on a couple of different forums that the first run of sr9's had that problem but ruger supposedly fixed that. I was going to contact Ruger about it but someone was willing to purchase it with the stick mag release.

I had no trouble with different types and brands of ammo. I've shot mainly winchester white box and blazer brass through it. I've also shot a box of Federal Hyrda-shok and hornady critical defense. No failures to feed. No problems with ejecting brass. As far as accuracy goes I'm not the guy to ask. I'm not a very good shot. However, at self-defense range (7yds) I was easily able to center of mass followed by a head shot without too much effort.

I've now moved on to a s&w m&p 40 compact. I love it. The smaller frame and grip solves all of my printing issues. And I still love my MTAC holster from com-tac.

Hope that wasn't too long winded. All in all, I would say the sr9 is a great shooter but not a great choice for cc.

Erik

I hope that's helpful. And I still highly recommend the <broken link removed> holster

 

[elsullo]

Thankyou all for your response! Let's hope Ruger is working on a compact model!........................elsullo

 

[eriknemily]

Thankyou all for your response! Let's hope Ruger is working on a compact model!........................elsullo

+1

 

[BryanO]

Great gun! Felt great in my hand, especially considering the capacity. Very thin, in my opinion. We have one at an indoor range, and it is a popular rental. No complaints that I've heard! My opinion is that it is a great gun for the price.