Boarhunter
New member
I was not the only one attracted to Larry's Pistol & Pawn; Huntsville, Alabama ("Where every day is a gun show!"), on Saturday to see and shoot Ruger's newest 9 mm, the SR9. There was a good crowd, with a number of us arriving before the store even opened. Being a fairly committed 1911 man (though I dabbled with an AR-24 recently), I went to the store with every intention of being dissatisfied with the product.
But I was not. And bought one of the "limited edition" packages, consisting of a relatively low serial number... mine is 3XX... and an engraved tactical knife, all priced at $499. As has been mentioned elsewhere in this forum, Larry was also taking pre-orders for regular production guns for $399, as I recall.
I will not repeat the gun's specifications as they are now available on Ruger's web page.
But these are my preliminary thoughts having handled the gun only a short time and having put only 75 rounds downrange.
First, it is not a plastic 1911. It does not have the crisp single-action trigger pull of high-dollar 1911s (nor does it have a high-dollar price tag!). The trigger pull is smoother and lighter, though, than is found on many double-action-only pistols on the market today.
And it does have a manual ambidextrous safety, though significantly smaller than is found on your typical "combat" 1911. (I would sure like to see Ruger modify the safety so you can rest a thumb on it while shooting.)
The magazine release is where you would expect to find it and comfortable to use. And as a bonus, it too is ambidextrous. The magazines drop free without hangup, whether loaded or not.
Speaking of magazines, it is virtually impossible to load the magazines without the included mag loader. No exaggeration. You simply cannot get the cartridges into the magazines without the included mechanical loader. That may be one of the most significant downsides to the package.
The adjustable sights are nice and much appreciated. I recently purchased an Armalite AR-24, which shot approximately 2 inches low at 20 yards. I was unable to find any after-market sights for the gun, nor was Armalite able to help me with replacement sights. Having nice low-profile adjustable sights is a blessing as this gun too shoots a bit low. But that problem will be cured the next time I go to the range.
How did it shoot? Very well, thank you.
I took the gun from the sales counter straight to the indoor range and ran 75 rounds through it over a very short period of time. No lubrication other than what was on it from the factory. Not a single bobble. None. Zero. And although I did not attempt any "accuracy" testing from a bench, it appears to be a very nice shooter. I would say that it shoots (at least for me) virtually as well as any of the various 1911s that I own.
I have not taken the time to compare specs on the various plastic hi-cap 9s, but this Ruger SR9 seems extraordinarily thin in the grips, and I like that much. The gun almost feels like a 1911 with thin grips rather than a block of 2x4 pine.
Rumor has it that it will fit in Glock 17 holsters. That would sure be nice, and I plan to test the rumor first of the week.
For those of you interested in IDPA, I am assuming that it will be classified as an SSP gun and not as an ESP gun since, at least according to the included manual, the trigger actually retracts the striker a bit prior to it being released.
Field stripping the gun took all of five minutes (at most), and that included reading the disassembly instructions in the manual. It is fairly straightforward and easy to accomplish. No tools are required.
Finally, one of the promoted features of the gun is the reversible backstrap. From the factory, the backstrap "bulges" a bit like the 1911A1; pop out a plastic pin and the backstrap can be reversed giving a flat profile (my personal preference). I did make the change on my firearm, and it took all of two minutes and a paper clip (again, including the time it took to read the instructions).
In summary, do not expect the gun to the a plastic 1911. But aside from the significant difficulty in loading the magazines, the gun is a "keeper." I like it pretty good.
Recommended changes: First, fix the magazines so they can be loaded by hand; second, extend the safety so that the shooter can get a high grip and ride the safety with the thumb.
I plan to put a lot of ammo through the SR9 over the next couple of weeks, and I will keep you posted.
Boarhunter
But I was not. And bought one of the "limited edition" packages, consisting of a relatively low serial number... mine is 3XX... and an engraved tactical knife, all priced at $499. As has been mentioned elsewhere in this forum, Larry was also taking pre-orders for regular production guns for $399, as I recall.
I will not repeat the gun's specifications as they are now available on Ruger's web page.
But these are my preliminary thoughts having handled the gun only a short time and having put only 75 rounds downrange.
First, it is not a plastic 1911. It does not have the crisp single-action trigger pull of high-dollar 1911s (nor does it have a high-dollar price tag!). The trigger pull is smoother and lighter, though, than is found on many double-action-only pistols on the market today.
And it does have a manual ambidextrous safety, though significantly smaller than is found on your typical "combat" 1911. (I would sure like to see Ruger modify the safety so you can rest a thumb on it while shooting.)
The magazine release is where you would expect to find it and comfortable to use. And as a bonus, it too is ambidextrous. The magazines drop free without hangup, whether loaded or not.
Speaking of magazines, it is virtually impossible to load the magazines without the included mag loader. No exaggeration. You simply cannot get the cartridges into the magazines without the included mechanical loader. That may be one of the most significant downsides to the package.
The adjustable sights are nice and much appreciated. I recently purchased an Armalite AR-24, which shot approximately 2 inches low at 20 yards. I was unable to find any after-market sights for the gun, nor was Armalite able to help me with replacement sights. Having nice low-profile adjustable sights is a blessing as this gun too shoots a bit low. But that problem will be cured the next time I go to the range.
How did it shoot? Very well, thank you.
I took the gun from the sales counter straight to the indoor range and ran 75 rounds through it over a very short period of time. No lubrication other than what was on it from the factory. Not a single bobble. None. Zero. And although I did not attempt any "accuracy" testing from a bench, it appears to be a very nice shooter. I would say that it shoots (at least for me) virtually as well as any of the various 1911s that I own.
I have not taken the time to compare specs on the various plastic hi-cap 9s, but this Ruger SR9 seems extraordinarily thin in the grips, and I like that much. The gun almost feels like a 1911 with thin grips rather than a block of 2x4 pine.
Rumor has it that it will fit in Glock 17 holsters. That would sure be nice, and I plan to test the rumor first of the week.
For those of you interested in IDPA, I am assuming that it will be classified as an SSP gun and not as an ESP gun since, at least according to the included manual, the trigger actually retracts the striker a bit prior to it being released.
Field stripping the gun took all of five minutes (at most), and that included reading the disassembly instructions in the manual. It is fairly straightforward and easy to accomplish. No tools are required.
Finally, one of the promoted features of the gun is the reversible backstrap. From the factory, the backstrap "bulges" a bit like the 1911A1; pop out a plastic pin and the backstrap can be reversed giving a flat profile (my personal preference). I did make the change on my firearm, and it took all of two minutes and a paper clip (again, including the time it took to read the instructions).
In summary, do not expect the gun to the a plastic 1911. But aside from the significant difficulty in loading the magazines, the gun is a "keeper." I like it pretty good.
Recommended changes: First, fix the magazines so they can be loaded by hand; second, extend the safety so that the shooter can get a high grip and ride the safety with the thumb.
I plan to put a lot of ammo through the SR9 over the next couple of weeks, and I will keep you posted.
Boarhunter
