Ruger EC9s

I shot one yesterday side by side with my P365. It was my dad's and he was thinking about upgrading to the P365.

We both determined that the P365 was "better", but that the EC9s was a great little gun. Great trigger, accurate enough at the distances we shot it at, and around $200 cheaper than the P365.

The Ruger and the P365 are nearly identical in size, with the Ruger being .9" thick and the Sig being 1.0" thick.

But the Sig handles like a larger pistol and shoots like one. Didn't notice any difference in recoil though.

Things I didn't like with the Ruger... When I inserted a fresh magazine, I couldn't get the slide release to actually release the slide no matter how hard I pressed. Had to slingshot it.

The safety lever is too small.

Not quite as refined as the P365. But, we are talking about an entirely different class of guns. One is a $500 Sig and the other a $300 Ruger. A better comparison would be against a Shield or Walther PPS M2, which has similar capacity and price point.

We didn't do any long distance accuracy testing, but at 7 yards, I fired the group in the center with the Ruger and the group off to the side with the Sig...

I have the LC9s which, I believe, is identical save the sights.

It has been perfectly reliable with a variety of loads. I carry 124 Gold Dots.

While it has a very good trigger, it isn't as good as my SR9c. That's a high bar though, in my experience.

Safety? I always practice using safeties on guns that have such, I've never had as issue with this one. A significant plus with pocket carry is being able to maintain a grip at all times while standing, and if ever a situation became tense the safety would be off long before I needed it.

I pocket carry 95% and it nicely fits in all but one pair of jeans. It's probably as small as I would personally go in a SD 9mm handgun, and I'm pleased at the balance between size and shootability.

It's a really good value and perfectly suits my needs.

How do you plan to carry it?

Trey Veston said:

Things I didn't like with the Ruger... When I inserted a fresh magazine, I couldn't get the slide release to actually release the slide no matter how hard I pressed. Had to slingshot it.

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I had the LC9S Pro, had the same question and contacted Ruger. It's not a slide release and the slide is meant to be slingshotted. Mine was great, but I sold it when I bought a P365 for the extra capacity.

The EC9s sets a new standard when it comes to a budget 9mm that actually works well. It is no Glock 19 or P365 but it will most certainly get the job done. The trigger is quite good and with a little orange paint on the front sight, it is quite usable. Hard to beat for compactness. I shoot it fairly well for a gun that size. After getting rid of my Kel Tec PF-9, I was really wanting the LC9s but couldn't justify the price. When they announced a less expensive version I jumped on it. I got mine locally (brand new) from my usually FFL for $179. Can't beat it for the price.

Taurus 617 CCW said:

The EC9s sets a new standard when it comes to a budget 9mm that actually works well. It is no Glock 19 or P365 but it will most certainly get the job done. The trigger is quite good and with a little orange paint on the front sight, it is quite usable. Hard to beat for compactness. I shoot it fairly well for a gun that size. After getting rid of my Kel Tec PF-9, I was really wanting the LC9s but couldn't justify the price. When they announced a less expensive version I jumped on it. I got mine locally (brand new) from my usually FFL for $179. Can't beat it for the price.

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I agree 100% with Taurus 617. Great gun, great value. I am very happy with it's performance. $179 is an outstanding price for a NIB by the way.

I really like my EC9S. It's small enough to pocket carry, has a good trigger and it is as accurate as I am. I painted the rear sights white and the front yellow.

The biggest con is the takedown. You have to have a small punch or pin to push out the takedown pin, but after that cleaning is easy.

As others mentioned, the slide stop on mine can not be used as a slide release.

I got mine for $220 at a LGS and feel it was a great value for that price.

My wife has one and she likes it. No FTF or FTE after 200 rounds so far. We also have problems fully seating a full magazine in but figure it will get better over time. Other then that it's a great little reliable gun. We got ours for $199. For the price it's worth it.

Ended up buying two, after I bought mine to replace the larger Glocks I had, the wife decided she wanted one too. We paid $209 each for ours, I had even rented one and a Glock 43 at the same time to see how they stacked up and we liked the EC9s better, the trigger was better and we were more accurate with it. Shortly thereafter I bought my daughter one, they are great for the money and have been utterly reliable. We added the Hogue HandAll grip sleeves to them and I removed the magazine safety on them. I have a clip-draw on mine and it's how I carry it, it's my primary edc piece if that says anything.

I really like mine for what it is, and I dont mean that as a backhanded compliment.

It's a soft shooting, accurate, easily concealable 9mm that costs under $250. I too have put a Clip Draw on mine. My body chemistry eats Ruger blued steel like candy, so it has been retired to super deep back up in the truck. Still, I get it out every couple of range trips to keep the cobwebs blown out.

Shoots well and is the only 9mm I have left in the stables after switching primarily to .45 acp and .357 for carry.

I own and carry the Ruger EC9s. It's not refined, but it is an effective, accurate, and reliable tool. The trigger pull is crisper and better than anything else in its class and price point. Personally, I think its almost too light, and thus I'm glad it has a safety for holstering and such. My EC9s has run flawlessly with any FMJ, Remington UMC JHP, and 124gr. Speer Gold Dots. However, my pistol has choked regularly on 147gr. HST with failures to feed. The nose of the HST bullet jams on the bottom of the feed ramp.

I had one of the original LC9 pistols. The trigger was pretty bad. My LC9s is a very good shooter. Not a fancy pistol, but I only paid $225 OTD for it. I have "nicer" pistols, but the Ruger shoots as well. The EC9s is virtually the same. I'd not pay any more for the LC9s over the EC9s.

Personally I prefer the LC9s because the sights are removable and allow me to put tritiums or fiber optic sights on. Not sure why Ruger didn't think of this when they dropped the LC9s in favor of the EC9s, but my guess is they wanted to use up the molds that make the frame and other parts they have inventory and wanted to sell them in a cheaper pistol while they work up a new design.

My guess is by the end of the year Ruger will have a P365 clone coming for $300.

TTv2 said:

Personally I prefer the LC9s because the sights are removable and allow me to put tritiums or fiber optic sights on. Not sure why Ruger didn't think of this when they dropped the LC9s in favor of the EC9s, but my guess is they wanted to use up the molds that make the frame and other parts they have inventory and wanted to sell them in a cheaper pistol while they work up a new design.

My guess is by the end of the year Ruger will have a P365 clone coming for $300.

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I’m sure a 365 competitor is coming from Ruger and Smith and Wesson too. They’d be stupid not to make one. But I’d rather they both be in the mid $400 range. Still cheaper then the SIG but not in Taurus territory as far as price.

Homerboy said:

I’m sure a 365 competitor is coming from Ruger and Smith and Wesson too. They’d be stupid not to make one. But I’d rather they both be in the mid $400 range. Still cheaper then the SIG but not in Taurus territory as far as price.

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If Ruger could make the LC9s for $250, then thickening the frame up a bit and adding a few rounds to the mag shouldn't cost much. I figure 300 or 350 is what Ruger would sell it for, they tend to not go above $400 for their polymer pistols except that new 5.7.

TTv2 said:

If Ruger could make the LC9s for $250, then thickening the frame up a bit and adding a few rounds to the mag shouldn't cost much. I figure 300 or 350 is what Ruger would sell it for, they tend to not go above $400 for their polymer pistols except that new 5.7.

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As long as they don't use the same engineers that came up with the awful American pistol... Looks good on paper and built like a brick s***house, but is garbage in the hand.

As a recent Kook-Aid drinker of the P365, I doubt I would ever replace it with a Ruger no matter how cheap it is. But, if Ruger did come out with something similar, I could see the lower price point digging into sales of the Hellcat and P365 for future buyers looking to upgrade capacity from their current Shield or LC9.

TTv2 said:

If Ruger could make the LC9s for $250, then thickening the frame up a bit and adding a few rounds to the mag shouldn't cost much. I figure 300 or 350 is what Ruger would sell it for, they tend to not go above $400 for their polymer pistols except that new 5.7.

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I got my LC9S when they first came out. I think it was high 300. They got cheaper just like the M&P Shield dropped in price after a while. I’d happily pay $400-$450 for a 10 round 365 sized Ruger.

But honestly, I was looking at the 365 the other day and comparing it to my LC9S. They are virtually the same size. I think the Sig is .2” smaller. The Sig is also slightly heavier with the empty mag. Those three extra rounds add even more weight so I asked myself is a heavier gun worth three extra rounds? I don’t think so. The Ruger is good enough for me for now.

Homerboy said:

But honestly, I was looking at the 365 the other day and comparing it to my LC9S. They are virtually the same size. I think the Sig is .2” smaller. The Sig is also slightly heavier with the empty mag. Those three extra rounds add even more weight so I asked myself is a heavier gun worth three extra rounds? I don’t think so. The Ruger is good enough for me for now.

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I don't even have a 10-round magazine for my P365... Just three 12-rounders. So, that changes the dynamic a little. It's not just three more rounds, it's nearly 100% more rounds than the LC9s and 100% more rounds than my XDS 40.

Trey Veston said:

I don't even have a 10-round magazine for my P365... Just three 12-rounders. So, that changes the dynamic a little. It's not just three more rounds, it's nearly 100% more rounds than the LC9s and 100% more rounds than my XDS 40.

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I wouldn’t even have an interest in tbe 12 round and especially the 15 round mags. I don’t even like the curved mag floorplate. I’d prefer straight on both. Takes away from the whole pocketablity of the gun. So 8 rounds in the Ruger vs 11 in the Sig. three more rounds. Yeah, it’s more ammo. But it’s heavier, as well. For me every ounce counts. And the Sig is twice the price.

I might get the 365 at some point. But it doesn’t do much they my Ruger doesn’t and the slightly increased round count (rounds that I in almost all likelihood will never need) isnt enough to make me pay twice the price to replace my Ruger.
And for some reason, my rounds are touching the same home at 10 rounds with the Ruger. I can’t miss with it.

I looked at a Lc9 last week and they wanted $265. Same price as the Taurus G2c next to it. I was in the lgs to check out the Taurus but the trigger was disappointing. I then checked out the Lc9. The trigger was awesome. I would have taken it home if it had been $200 but not at $265. The sights are small just like the Ruger LCP and not friendly to older eyes. All in all a nice little pistol, seemed so much nicer than that G2C ( can't believe they marketed a handgun with that TERRIBLE trigger).

Ratshooter said:

A while back I started a thread about trying to find a compact 9mm pistol but never pulled the trigger on one. I guess there were too many choices and I couldn't decide on one. I did a search here and found a few post about the Ruger EC9s and the more I have read the more I like this gun.

What more can you tell me about it? To me it looks like a fixed sight version of the LC9s. Fixed sights in that the sights are made in to the slide and are none adjustable. If anyone has any feedback pro or con I would like to here about it.

Forgot to ask but how hard is the slide to rack on these guns?

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I'd say be sure to shoot one first. I bought a LC-9S, essentially the same gun and realized I really disliked shooting it. A LOT..plus not the most reliable gun I have ever owned. It's not expensive, it's small but the disadvantages for me far outweighed the 'advantages' of small size.

BTW- I see the sig 365 mentioned..that one 'felt' the same to me..really too small, too light and not reliable..but it's expensive))...

BTW-not hard to rack slide for me.

BUT, really hard to convey to you what YOU may like based on somebody else's needs, wants, requirements, limitations.

What works great for ME may not for you...
-EDC-Glock 26 with a sometimes EDC Glock 42

The very light LC9s has very stiff recoil springs to handle 9mm.

I find it harder to rack the slide on the LC9s than on my H&K USP or my AutoOrdnance 1911A1 replica. Following surgery I have been making a point of working out daily with dumbbells and find it easier to rack the slide on the LC9s as time goes on.

The big diff between EC9s and LC9s is that the E model sights are part of the slide while the L model sights are separate and the slide is dovetailed.
Personally I think the fixed sights on the EC9s are more practical. I have not had to adjust the sights on the LC9s.

My sister in law has an EC9S. She's a large animal vet down in Arkansas and owns some land and horses. She likes to have something on her when she's afield but isn't really a gun person. My in-laws bought it for her after she tried out some different ones and settled on the LC9/EC9, and went with the EC9 for cost. She and my father in law didn't like the integral sights just because you didn't have contrast like 3 dots or the like, but when I showed them how I painted the front ramp on my revolver and told them I could do that to the EC9 front ramp, they were sold.