Possibly My First Handgun

[terryg]

so...........did you buy it or not? Inquiring minds want to know.

Yes, please let us know! My EDC is the SR9c, so I'm a big fan and curious to see your impressions.

BTW, Ruger's ship with a ton of packing crud in the slide - especially in the firing pin channel. Try to get that cleaned out as soon as you can.

[seamusTX]

If you haven't shot the Ruger yet, then rent one ...

It's easy to suggest renting firearms, but it's not so easy to find the one you want to rent. Also the fees often are rapacious, and the rental pieces can be dirty, shot-out pieces of junk.

The Arms Room in League City is an exception to all of the above, if someone can make it there. (I have no interest in The Arms Room. I have been there only two times.)

- Jim

[Wysiwyg101]

so...........did you buy it or not? Inquiring minds want to know.

Yes, I did. I got for $385 before tax and $416 out the door. If I had waited until I got to the Bachman table I could have gotten it a little cheaper at $379 before tax. But, oh well, I think I got a good deal.

Now, as to my impressions. I finally got to shoot it yesterday. I fired a mixture of ammunition. I had 200 rds of FMJ and 20 rds of JHP. I loaded up both magazines each time for a little over 7 different magazine changes. I had over ten FTE's and a few FTF's as well as something weird the happened on the last two magazines. Now, just to back up a little here, I did clean it first before I took it to the range. And, I cleaned it after I went to the range. I used Break-Free CLP.

I locked the slide back, loaded in the magazine, let the slide go forward, Loaded When Up indicated it was loaded, acquired my sight picture, finger on the trigger gently squeezing and...nothing. Eject the magazine, rack the slide back, insert magazine, slide forward and repeat the rest of the steps and again...nothing. Each magazine did that. It only worked when I just ejected the round that was in the chamber and let the slide rack back forward and chambering the next round.

I reloaded all FTF , FTE and the rounds left over from the weird thing and fired all of them except with one more FTE. That round fired separately.

A friend just bought 400 rds and we are going back tomorrow. He is a more experienced shooter than I so maybe he will find that it was just me. If, we find that it is the gun, well sure I'm disappointed, but I know Ruger will take care of it. I'll post some pictures soon. It looks pretty much like every other Ruger SR9C black version, but I know the TexasCHLForum.com axiom, "without pictures it didn't happen"...lol.

Oh yeah, for the rds that worked as they should, I did ok I think for a new shooter. I need someone who knows what they are doing to sight it in and make sure the sights are correct because I think it is shooting a little high and to the left. But, it could just be my poor eyesight.

Thanks everyone for the great advice.


Rick

[CC Italian]

Well I have little experience with the SR9Cs but my P95 put the first 150 rounds down range with a hiccup. Had one FTF and then went another 100 rounds and then at the range Federal 147 Hydra Shock +P law enforcement and it had a FTF every other round. Went back to the 115 grain Black Hills XTP extra power and it ran fine. It is hollow point ammo picky. Ruger semi autos are usually great range guns and are built solid but they sometimes take a little trouble shooting to be perfect. If it keeps giving you problems send it in or ask Ruger for an exchange. I have noticed that I have the least problems with ammo 115-124 grain. What brand and grain were you using? Ruger's semi autos are good once you fix the bugs but they are not like there revolvers. There kind of like Kahrs they either work great or they have to go back a few times to get it right. Put another 200+ rounds down range and see how it does first. The accuracy in my P95 is ok for pistol self defense ranges but mine is also not nearly as accurate as my smiths or glocks. I would have Ruger check the sights or a smith. I have heard of them not being sighted perfect from the factory.

[Wysiwyg101]

Well, I went back to the range today and fired off another 200 rds. But, before I get into that, let me go back to my first shooting experience with my new weapon. I fired 124 grain reloads by a competition level shooter. All he does is compete and do reloads for a living. So, he probably does several thousand rds a day in reloads. Also, in addition to that, I bought a box of the store's PMC 115 grain ammo and I still had the same issues with it as I did the reloads.

Now, on to todays shooting experience. We fired a mixture of Winchester 115 grain (100 rds), Monarch 115 grain (50 rds), and a bag of 115 grain reloads (50 rds). It fired flawlessly all the way through. The issue that I found was that near the end of the shoot, on two occasions, the slide did not lock back on the last round. So, I'm still considering sending it to Ruger, but I don't know if I should or not. What say ya'll?

Rick

[CC Italian]

Personally I would take it back to the range again and put another 100-200 rounds through it and see if it was just another break in issue that several manufactures have with their semi-auto handguns. Some guns are like that and some start to jam up if they get a little dirty or are not lubed enough.

Out of all my handguns my Glocks are the only ones that have made it over 500 rounds without a problem. My brother put over 2000 rounds through his G17 without cleaning it until it hung up on him. Does that really mean anything in the real world? Probably not considering none of them have jammed on the first magazine with my hollow point carry loads. All have made it over 50 rounds straight without a problem. None of them have jammed until over 100 rounds using ball ammo and none of my Glocks have ever had a FTF only bad primers. I don't shoot more then 50 HP rounds at a time because of cost.

Shoot it a little more with ball ammo and pick any American made non reloaded hp ammo for a carry load. Run at least 50 rounds of that ammo through it first at the range before shooting anything else and make sure it works. I personally will not carry a firearm that is not proven to a reasonable level.

[seamusTX]

The issue that I found was that near the end of the shoot, on two occasions, the slide did not lock back on the last round. So, I'm still considering sending it to Ruger, but I don't know if I should or not. What say ya'll?

I feel guilty after saying, "Rugers are fine."

It's a fact that some models or lines of handguns are lower in cost and may have quality issues. Shooting a few hundred rounds and thorough cleaning may clear up these break-in problems.

Failure to lock back on an empty magazine is partly a function of the magazine. You should try different magazines, and mark them so you know which is which.

Also with semi-auto pistols it is possible that your thumb is in contact with the slide release and prevents the pistol from locking back on an empty magazine. (Assuming you are right-handed.) A good coach or a friend who knows what to look for can watch for this problem.

Sending a firearm back to the factory can well turn into a $100 round trip, so I wouldn't rush to that route.

- Jim

[seamusTX]

...the slide's motion being retarded by the user eg. a thumb getting in the way.

Usually the pain and bleeding let you know when that happens.

I have seen magazines that seat well enough to feed shells but not enough to stop the slide. The difference is only a matter of thousandths of an inch.

Anyway, given that the OP said he has not shot handguns in quite a while, knowledgeable observers should help. Usually they are willing to give advice without being asked.

- Jim

[RockingRook]

I have a Ruger SR 9c and it is a great gun!! Accurate right out of the box, easy to take down and handles nice. It comes with
a 10 and 17 rd magazine. As you probably know Ruger has great customer service and best of all their guns will not break the bank.

I have mine loaded with Winchester Elite 124 gr. HP +P. I have fired many different brands of ammo and have yet to have
any malfunction.

Great gun!!

Chuck

[Liberty]

I took my niece out shooting and she was doing fine fine with my Ruger loaded with Winch white Box , until I gave her a mag of Monarch and she had FTFs on every 3 or four rounds.. I shot the next Mag just fine.. So did she after we realized she was limp wristing. She shot the same ammo earlier in my P92 and didn't have a problem. One of the things I've found trying to improve my shooting is to to keep consistent and only change one thing at a time. I try to shoot all my ammo from the same box, and not go back and forth 2 much between different types of ammo.
Typically I shoot a mag or 2 or 3 of Winch white box. 4 or 5 rounds of the highprice stuff.. Switch guns and do the same thing.

[RockingRook]

I took my niece out shooting and she was doing fine fine with my Ruger loaded with Winch white Box , until I gave her a mag of Monarch and she had FTFs on every 3 or four rounds.. .

I have had nothing but trouble with Monarch ammo. I get FTF, FTL, FTE, failure everything and not in just one gun. Then when you go to clean it you find out how dirty that ammo is.
I never use it in anything anymore.

Chuck

[Liberty]

I took my niece out shooting and she was doing fine fine with my Ruger loaded with Winch white Box , until I gave her a mag of Monarch and she had FTFs on every 3 or four rounds.. .

I have had nothing but trouble with Monarch ammo. I get FTF, FTL, FTE, failure everything and not in just one gun. Then when you go to clean it you find out how dirty that ammo is.
I never use it in anything anymore.

Chuck

I am pretty much sticking to WWB these days for range ammo, but there was period of time I was just grateful for any ammo I could buy.

[RockingRook]

I took my niece out shooting and she was doing fine fine with my Ruger loaded with Winch white Box , until I gave her a mag of Monarch and she had FTFs on every 3 or four rounds.. .

I have had nothing but trouble with Monarch ammo. I get FTF, FTL, FTE, failure everything and not in just one gun. Then when you go to clean it you find out how dirty that ammo is.
I never use it in anything anymore.

Chuck

I am pretty much sticking to WWB these days for range ammo, but there was period of time I was just grateful for any ammo I could buy.

Yes, the experience I had with Monarch was when ammo was scarce. I bought 1000 rounds of the stuff. That was the only ammo I could find. Do not know
how true it is but the range owner told me one of his clients had a gun damaged by Monarch 9MM. Evidently it was over loaded with powder. As I said,
I did not see it happen but I believe it. Many of those FTL, and FTE may be caused by too little powder.

Chuck