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Ruger SR9c How reliable ?

17K views 54 replies 42 participants last post by  jonb32248 
#1 · (Edited)
I'm looking at one of these pistols for LE plain clothes use. I have a Glock 19 however I like the safety on the Ruger. I'm not new to the business...25 yrs on the job. Any thoughts would be great!
 
#2 ·
Reliability seems to be variable. Some great, some not so much.

Ruger won't compete with Glock in reliability. If that's your main concern stay with the Glock. Almost identical size anyway. Trigger control is your primary safety, though I carry in a Smart Carry holster and do like the SR9c's extra safety in that application.
 
#4 ·
Mine goes bang whenever I pull the trigger....
 
#6 ·
Howdy from Texas.
No issues with the SR9C. I love mine.
The trigger is smooth and crisp feeling.
Very accurate, fits my hand better than I ever expected.

I actually wanted a safety and don't mind the LCI or mag disconnect.

Ruger Customer Service is great too.
All of my 10 rd and 17 rd mags slide in and drop easily.

I would recommend giving it a good cleaning. Especially the striker channel, some are packed with factory grease which can contribute to light strikes.

Btw I cleaned mine when I first got it, loaded the mags fully and let them sit about 4-5 days to break in the springs. No FTF's, FTE's with over 1500 assorted rounds. Winchester (WB, SXZ HP), Fed AE, Hornady (Critical Duty, Critical Defense, Zombie max), PMC, Hertzers, Freedom Ammo reloads, Tula BrassMax.
The only ammo I stay away from is +P+.
 
#7 ·
can not say enough good things about my sr9c. never ever had a problem with mine, but I did hate my glock. accuracy was poor, light strikes, fte a lot, with all kids of ammo. my ruger will eat any ammo, never a miss fire or fte, in my opinion, if your life was depending on it, I say go with the ruger sr9c.
 
#8 ·
Any thoughts would be great!
Mine has been absolutely flawless. A thorough cleaning, including the striker channel, before use is highly recommended.

I'm with you on the preference for a manual safety! The magazine disconnect safety is just extra baggage as far as I'm concerned, but I do understand Ruger's logic in designing it into the gun. The magazine disconnect is easily removed if one so prefers and does not affect the dependability or any other aspect of the SR9C operation in any way. Just don't reinstall after thoroughly cleaning! Or, if the mag disconnect is your preference, leave it in. Either way, the SR9C is one sweet pistol for EDC.
 
#9 ·
Had a couple of hiccups with the first box of ammo, but since then it's been flawless. I have about 200 rds. through it and I love it. Especially love the way it fits my hand. As was stated before, cleaning the striker channel is the key.
 
#10 ·
Personally never own a Glock, but my SR9c is my daily carry weapon and I never had an issue with mine, including my hand loads, it spits them out with no problems. I just received 2 additional magazines for mine. Looking forward to carry it more now in my NRA Denim coat this fall.
 
#12 ·
First Welcome to the group!
Second Thank You for your service!
Just about anything you want to know about a Ruger you will get here :) I have the bigger brother of the 9C. I have the 9E in the SR series! I did have a few FTE but after a few cleanings and a few rounds it smoothed right out! I was using my 9E as a CCW but added a S&W 9mm Shield for warm weather carry just because it is thinner ! I like the Ruger and S & W models better then the Glocks just in the looks dept! I also think you can not go wrong with a Glock either! I would go to a local range and rent a few to see what fits you better!
 
#13 ·
I love my SR9c, not a single issue except that it makes me shoot too much ammo(as if that's a real problem) because I love shooting it so much.
It will be my carry weapon when I get my permit.
 
#14 ·
See.. We browbeated* BlueMountain into the SR9C and he loves it! :D (it didn't take much browbeating)

The SR9C was my 1st handgun. I love that little gun and it's still my #1 "I think I'll just head to the range and play a little" gun. It is much more accurate than I am. No issues of any kind at all - 100%.

The one thing about it though, it comes from the factory with an absolute bear of a spring on it. I was using it in my 1st steps class and the instructor thought there was something wrong with me until he tried it. It was a little monster to rack. But after about 2 weeks it loosened up and is now like any other. About equal to my 1911s.


*I don't know if browbeated is a word but I'm making it one. :p
 
#15 ·
I've only had mine a week or so, but I've already put 250 rounds of various ammo thru it without one single hiccup. Great shooting pistol. Mine did require a thorough cleaning when I got it, as it was caked with grease inside. I plan to put at least another 500 flawless rounds thru it prior to carrying it for SD, but I don't anticipate any problems.
 
#18 ·
My fundamental preference is hammer fired pistols (P-series Rugers, CZ pistols, 1911s, etc).

Tried the SR9c for the first time about 2-1/2 years ago at a range open house. Bought one that day. When it was released from DPRI required Purgatory, I took it downstairs to the range at that facility and shot 100 rounds (without cleaning first). After 400-500 rounds, I cleaned the striker channel since all the forums said that I had to do that (was pretty clean). Currently, I like to feed it 147gr ammo (Freedom Munitions FMJ and Winchester Ranger JHP). I have somewhere between 800-1000 rounds through it with no problems (other than getting a rail mount laser dialed in, but that was a laser problem and not a pistol problem).
 
#19 ·
Welcome from Nor-Cal! My SR9C went bang 99.9% of the time, the lone exception being an ammo issue.
 
#21 ·
To temper the enthusiasm a bit, no weapon is perfect. Glocks have issues, though not very common. I like the ergos, and the appearance of the Ruger.

SR9c is known for light strikes and a trigger fail-to-reset issue that some have. With some google work you can find references to it. Also youtube videos. Also my personal experience. Another minor annoyance is that the 17 round mag extension rubs on the palm of my hand when I try to eject the mag. Glock mags drop free of the grip easily, but not my 17 rd Ruger mag. It's hard to get my palm away from it while pressing the mag release.

It seems it works well if it's clean. Mine has trigger issues if I try to fire more than 250 rounds through it without cleaning, like at a training event. Been back to Ruger twice with no improvement. No Glocks have that problem. Fine for an EDC self-defense application probably, since it's probably very clean and you're not likely to fire more than a couple magazines.
 
#25 · (Edited)
I hate to rain on the parade here - but kept my SR9c for less than two months. I could only get one standard-capacity (10-RD if I remember correctly) magazine to lock correctly in the pistol. I ordered two additional Ruger mags - neither would lock in. Ruger sent two more magazines when I complained - and offered to have me ship the pistol back to Arizona. I tried swapping baseplates to no avail.

I gave up on it because I have never had any problems like this with any other auto from any other manufacturer. On the plus side - I think it was otherwise well-built and I liked the fact that it had a safety.

One downside is the magazine safety - which contributes to the problem of getting a magazine to lock into it. Another small downside - and just my opinion - the recoil spring on mine was the strongest of any auto I have ever handled. At a minimum - I suggest that you try any magazines in it before you depart the store. Oh - one last thing - mine came with only one 10-RD mag and a ridiculously long 17-RD mag with sleeve adaptor.
 
#28 ·
I ordered two additional Ruger mags - neither would lock in. Ruger sent two more magazines when I complained - and offered to have me ship the pistol back to Arizona.
And it would have cost you absolutely nothing. The gun would have been out of your possession probably less than one week! And i would have returned in correct operating condition ... if it wasn't when you sent it in.

One downside is the magazine safety - which contributes to the problem of getting a magazine to lock into it.
[1] I'm not at all sure the magazine disconnect had anything to do with your problem.

[2] Removing the magazine disconnect would add about three seconds to a standard complete field strip and reassembly operation.

Oh - one last thing - mine came with only one 10-RD mag and a ridiculously long 17-RD mag with sleeve adaptor.
Ridiculously long in order to accommodate the ridiculous capacity of 17 rounds! Which option allows the owner to have a great concealability plus/or the additional firepower.

Most who have had experience with Ruger's Customer Service find it unbeatable. Different spokes for different folks. Not everyone is going to like the SR/SRC series. Many do and will. Personally, I'm really glad that not everyone wants one of the SR/SRC series. If they did I probably would still be standing in line trying to find one for myself.;)











 
#26 ·
Perhaps I can bring some sunshine back to the parade.

As of last week I have less than a third of a box shy of 5200 rounds fired thru my SR9c that I purchased in Aug 2010. The SR9c had been released earlier that year so it was a very early production model.

In that time, I had two light strikes that were remedied by cleaning the striker channel and refiring them. I was using factory seconds ammo that I purchased for $3/50. I realy don't think the firearm was at fault. I hadn't cleaned the striker channel up to that point

I have three 17 round mags and three 10 rounds mags. The mags (other than the original included 10 &17 round mags) were purchase seperately at different times and places (By that, I doubt that they were from the same manufacturing lot.)

I've never had an issue with any of the mags locking back. None have to have excessive force used to lock them in. My hands are big enough, I can usually place a thumb on the mag baseplate and my index finger up on the slide and get the mag to lock in with just finger pressure.

The recoil spring is very strong.. perhaps the strongest I've hever had to "rack against". I replaced my around 3000 rounds, not because it wasn't working, I use the original as a back up. They do wear out.

I'm in my 60's. I expect that someday racking the slide will be too hard, although my 80+ year old father can still rack the slide on his full sized SR9.

The strong recoil spring makes the SR series one of the softest shooters around for the size and weight of the firearm. That is a good thing in my opinion. It's easier to get follow up shots back on target. Double taps with the SR9 are great fun. When done well, that second shot is about 1" above the first.

Based on my purchase, several friends and family members purchased the SR9 series. None of them have had issues.

It's a great value firearm for the price.
 
#27 ·
It's a great value firearm for the price.
Other than the 5000 rounds through it I can second every word you said.

I love the 10 round + a 17 round magazine option! It adds a versatility to the little SR9C.

The SR9C is light, concealable, versatile, accurate beyond most shooters capabilities, a sweet shooter, dependable, economical, and has a great trigger! I've owned and shot many handguns over the years and the SR9C is, by far, my all time favorite every day concealed carry piece!
 
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