Ruger SR9c - Range Report

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marb4

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Snuck out today to give my new SR9C a quick first run today. Windy, cold, and raining - perfect for testing a new pistol!

Just a few quick observations:

1) Feel - The gun felt very comfortable in my hand. Though I perfered the feel of the 17 round mag w/grip extension, the 10 rounder (with finger extension) was comfortable as well. I seemed to have better control with the longer grip/mag. That's one of the things I like about this Ruger. Its a small pistol that can be made to feel like a larger one. The pistol pointed naturally for me. Recoil was suprisingly soft. Easy to handle.

2) Accuracy - I was more interested in checking function today rather than doing any kind of accuracy work due to the weather so I just hung a 6 inch swinger at 25 yards. The sights had good visibility. With Winchester 124gr NATO I was able to hit the swinger almost every time. For me, at 25 yards off hand, that's pretty good. Using WalMart Federal 115gr I had a harder time hitting (this ammo has never done particularly well for me in any of my 9mms). Since I wasn't shooting at paper its hard to tell exactly where I was missing. For a short handgun I was impressed. Plenty accurate for personal protection and adequate for use at the range.

3) Reliability - 100 rounds (50 - Win 124gr NATO, 50 - Fed 115gr) with no problems. Hardly a torture test but I was happy with no initial malfunctions.

4) Trigger - This is the one area where I was a little disappointed. I've read many reviews about this pistol having an "excellent" trigger. Mine I would describe as somewhere between OK and good. The trigger almost feels "staged". About 1/8 inch of take up (while its pulling the striker back) then you can feel it stop. A little more pressure then it fires. Its probably within spec but not nearly as crisp as I've heard others describe it. The reset is fast which made double taps easy. I'll shoot it for a while and see if it smooths out some. Maybe my expectations were too high. We'll see how it goes. I'd be curious to hear other SR9C owners describe the trigger pull on their guns.

Overall, the SR9C seems very solid. Small enough to use for CCW but can be made to feel larger for casual target work at the range. I'm looking forward to getting out again (in better weather) and shooting some paper at different ranges to get a better feel for how it shoots. I'm hoping the trigger smooths out some (or at least I get used to it) but its really not worth complaining about at this point. For $400 delivered I'm pleased. Its kind of like having 2 guns in one (CCW and range shooter). I'll update next time I get out. Please feel free to share your SR9C experiences. Thanks.
 
What I really like about the SR9C is that it is a double-stack that feels like a single-stack.

The sights are some of the best I've seen on an out-of-the-box gun.

FWIW, I've heard that the Ruger trigger smooths out after awhile.
 
Like I said in the other thread, ever since removing the mag safety the SR9c's trigger has been great. Its very crisp, I was comparing it side by side to a gen3 G17 I pickup today and I have to say the Ruger breaks cleaner than the Glock
 
The trigger you describe is accurate to mine (SR9c). Very short take up and clean break with a short and solid reset. I always say trigger "feel" is dependent on the user but I would rate mine as "excellent". As in it is better to me than any of my other guns apart from my 1911 or some of my worked revolvers in single action.

I've tried/owned many of the popular types/triggers XD's, Glocks, Walther p99, several Sigs, 1911's (none of the super tuned ones), M&P, FNX, Barettas, etc and I like the Ruger at least as much as any of em. Granted the comparison for DA/SA is vs the SA only.
 
Ditto for the SR40c. I bought one last Tuesday and have fired about 200 rounds through it now. A mixture of various handloads, Federal Eagle, and some Blazer with no issues. I noticed the same trigger feel as marb4 which didn't surprise me because my SR9 was much the same until I installed the Ghost Rocket. I think the SR40c is going to get one of those too. It really made my SR9 a lot better to shoot. I really like the Ruger SR family these are excellent guns for the money.
 
Got some more rounds through the SR9c this weekend. The gun performed and handled very well. No malfunctions of any kind. In fact, ejection was so consistent that most of the cases were laying in a neat pile a few feet away. Makes clean up a lot easier! Still getting used to the trigger. This is my first striker fired pistol and though I'm still not crazy about the trigger pull/feel I think as I get more familiar with it it won't be much of an issue. Hoping too that as all of the internals continue to break in things may smooth up a bit as well.

So far the pistol has a total of 380 problem free rounds from the "good stuff" to the cheapest. Accuracy is decent for that style and size pistol and it is very comfortable. Looking forward to some more "testing" if I can sneak out of work early one day this week.

Blazer Brass 115gr- 100
Blazer Aluminium 115gr - 50
Winchester NATO 124gr - 50
RWS 124gr - 50
Walmart Federal 115gr - 50
Winchester PDX1 (+p) 124gr - 30
Remington Green & White box 147gr - 50
 
Glad you are enjoying your SR9c! :D

I love mine. It will be the last gun I'll ever give up.

Thanks for the up-date.

Lateck,
 
I love mine. It will be the last gun I'll ever give up
Amen to that...The pistol has totally grown on me...Its not my carry gun or a SHTF gun. It is more or less a back up to both and my 9mm range plinker. Normally I would have sold or traded off a gun like this just to try something new....but with the SR9c I don't have any desire to do that. Its a keeper.
 
Perhaps the trigger varies from gun to gun. I had a friend that was considering picking one up so we rented one and put a few boxes of ammo through it. We both hated the trigger. The break was far from clean and for lack of a better term felt inconsistent compared to other guns we shot that day. The price is very attractive and it was a comfortable enough gun to hold, but the trigger was probably the only reason he didn't get that gun (picked up a Sig P229 E2 instead).
 
I think the triggers on the SRs do vary with each pistol. My SR9 trigger had a very rough, gritty feel until I cleaned it up and put in a Ghost Rocket trigger bar while my SR40c with the same action has a pretty decent trigger. Both pistols have been completely trouble free and as accurate as I can shoot them.
 
marb4, Thanks for the report and update. I have been eying the SRC9c and wondering about it. Good info. Has anyone compared the SRC9c to the Kimber SOLO. It also interests me; hoever, I have read that it is very "ammo sensitive". Keep shootin'
 
Just some random thoughts on your pistol and a couple of the comments. The SR9 trigger is different than the SR9c, and you can't retrofit the SR9 (according to GunTests magazine).

There are two very easy things that improve the trigger somewhat.
1) remove the mag safety
2) clean out the factory gunk in the striker / firing pin channel, so the trigger and striker interface is clean. I honestly think it's best to run it bone dry, just a teflon dry lube (Remington) spray.

If it's your first striker fired pistol, I know what you mean. This is based on my love affairs with multiple 1911's, Hi Powers and then going to my first Glock 23, XD40, the SR9c and a Walter PPS. The striker fired pistols will break in a bit over time, but you will also "break in" to the trigger and I bet learn to shoot it very well.

The HUGE chamber loaded banner that sticks up can be filed down so it's not so prominent. Comes out with a roll pin punch, put in a small vise and sloooowly file the tip that contacts the cartridge and maintaining the angle. I did a little at a time and temporarily reinstalled with a paper clip to test. You could alternatively file the top edge down, but I thought that would look funky. Mine now stands up about 1/16" or so, rather than 1/8".

From what I've read, btw, I'm not going to try the Ghost trigger. Sounds like a lot of breakdown, install, reassemble, try it, breakdown, adjust, reassemble, etc. I'm also leery of not getting a full striker spring load and therefore light primer strikes. I may be wrong on both counts, but not willing to find out since I'm quite happy with the pistol.

I added a firesight type front sight. Stands out beautifully in any decent light, and no worse than the stock sights in low / no light.

I think that's it. Enjoy!
 
This gun gets too much hype.

The trigger isn't that great. The best part of the gun is it is 50 dollars less then the next gun in the class (if you don't look at the Taurus 24/7, same features but 50 dollars less).

Fanboys make the SR9 trigger out to be amazing. Any shot a Walther P99c, Beretta PX4c, Glock with 25 cent trigger job, etc? Yes the SR9 is good-compared to I don't know what. But it is not great by any measure.

Sounds like I am being a jerk, but if you read through all the posts so far you would assume the SR9 had the best trigger in the freaking world. Wrong.
 
I like mine a lot, and carry it every day. I've got over 2000 rounds through it, and the trigger has smoothed out nicely.
 
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