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Ruger American Pistol


Shooter212

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I have an American. I have about 400 rounds through it and have had zero issues with the gun rubbing my thumb. I have let a few other people shoot it too and nobody has made this complaint.

I find the controls to be easy to use and logically placed. The trigger breaks relatively clean and is just a hair over six pounds. Trigger reset is maybe a little longer than it should be but a half hour of dry fire got me used to it.

The gun is accurate and has so far proven itself to be reliable and I might play with it in IDPA SSP. If and when someone comes out with a trigger spring kit the gun should be as competitive as anything else I'd think.

On the downside, the trigger guard is fairly small so the bottom of my finger rubs when working the trigger. Not necessarily an exclusive complaint to the Ruger. The HK P30 rubs me too and will wear a sore spot. Also, the mags seat very easily in the Ruger and eject cleanly but they also rattle a little when in the gun. Not really an issue for a competition gun but I can see how a police officer on patrol might not like that.

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  • 3 months later...

I finally made it out to a local club that was running an IDPA classifier. I used the American and some handloads that're right at minor. Even though I haven't been shooting much over the last couple of weeks I made Expert in SSP. This is my first time out in a "competitive" venue with the Ruger and it seemed to work well for me. It isn't perfect but I don't think it really handicapped me. It is a little bit different and I prefer the shape and feel of the M&P but the Ruger got the job done today without issues.

Ruger's making a GP-100 Match Champion that would seem to be tailor made for IDPA and similar shooting sports. Maybe that means they'll eventually do something more with the American (trigger spring kit, fiber optic front sight, aggressively textured grip panels) to make it competitive in ESP.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 10 months later...
On ‎12‎/‎31‎/‎2017 at 7:12 PM, eric.goodwin.376 said:

Any more updates was thinking on picking one up on sale? Would it be a good purchase?


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 my thoughts exactly as well...…. have been eyeing one for a while now... what say you?

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 my thoughts exactly as well...…. have been eyeing one for a while now... what say you?
Hard to say without knowing your intentions.

If you're wanting a shooter for plinking or something that you can throw in a saddle bag on your motorcycle the American will probably be fine. My only concern here might be the ambi mag release. The release isn't very protected and a bump on either the right or left side might push the button. A good holster than protects the mag release should be used.

If you want the gun for competition you'd probably be better off looking elsewhere. There is little aftermarket support for the American. You'll be hard pressed to find trigger/spring upgrades and stuff like that. With that said; I assume Ruger will bring a "competition" model to the market at some point now that they have a Shooting Team.

Also--Ruger has recently announced a recall notice. Some of the early guns might develop a crack in the slide. It sounds like the issue has already been identified and a fix found. Just FYI if you find a used gun or NOS gun in a shop.



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Thank you  Tokarev, , very much... reading between the lines, I’ll probably stay away from it... it’s purpose, for me, would have been a car pistol.... probably an m&p 2.0 would be a better choice for that purpose..

Edited by Ozy
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Thank you  Tokarev, , very much... reading between the lines, I’ll probably stay away from it... it’s purpose, for me, would have been a car pistol.... probably an m&p 2.0 would be a better choice for that purpose..
Don't get me wrong. I think the American (with the slide crack upgrade) is probably going to be as durable and rugged as anything else out there. It would probably work just fine as a pistol to be carried in the glove compartment, etc.

But it is just one pistol in a market that's absolutely saturated with 17 round striker fired pistols and doesn't offer anything unique or different from pretty much everything else on the market.

That's probably where Ruger screwed up the most with the American. It is a chassis gun but the chassis used in the full size and compact are unique to those guns. No way to size it up or down. Also there are no plastic grip module options. No green, tan, etc. Why make a chassis and then not make it adaptable to other configurations? Also, it would have been completely easy to add a plate for a red dot. Maybe not everyone wants a red dot on a handgun but it is one of the current trends and something that would have helped set the American apart in a crowded market.

I guess I'm saying that the American would have been a nice gun about 5-10 years ago. But it is behind the power curve now.


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Tokarev ,great insight and review....when I sample shot the other day it was accurate and pointed intuitively.....but I’m now using  red dot more and more and your point on the lack of plate for it on the American, is super valid..

Ruger isn't the only company producing yesterday's pistol today.

 

Another example is the CZ P10C. I like the CZ but it is really nothing more than a Gen4 Glock made by another company. It has an ambi slide release but otherwise there's not much there. No modularity. No provision for a red dot and no way to take the gun apart without pulling the trigger. The CZ would have been awesome ten years ago but there are probably better choices out there in the current market.

 

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14 hours ago, Tokarev said:

Ruger isn't the only company producing yesterday's pistol today.

 

Another example is the CZ P10C. I like the CZ but it is really nothing more than a Gen4 Glock made by another company. It has an ambi slide release but otherwise there's not much there. No modularity. No provision for a red dot and no way to take the gun apart without pulling the trigger. The CZ would have been awesome ten years ago but there are probably better choices out there in the current market.

 

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 very good point on the CZ.... so  in your opinion ,what is the current must have plastic fantastic? or top 3?

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50 minutes ago, MemphisMechanic said:

 

For USPSA? Definitely these:

 

H&K VP9

Springfield XD

Tanfoglio P Match

 

Those are flying off the shelves for Production divison like cold cakes. :D 

that's an interesting listing....  and for edc ,not uspsa production?

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40 minutes ago, Tokarev said:

P320 X5

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 interesting....  played with one the other but felt that it's trigger was mushy.... again , i'm comparing it to a custom 2011 trigger ,but still.... one that had a really nice feel to it was the sig vtac.

 and for edc purposes?

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Just now, Tokarev said:

So you want a Glock 19-ish size or something smaller?

M&P 2.0
SIG P320


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 yes,  the m&p 2.0  certainly grabbed my attention, on many fronts.

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 interesting....  played with one the other but felt that it's trigger was mushy.... again , i'm comparing it to a custom 2011 trigger ,but still.... one that had a really nice feel to it was the sig vtac.
 and for edc purposes?
Unusual thing about something like the P320 VTAC. Buy it and shoot it as a general range piece and/or competition handgun.

Buy a compact grip shell for $40 and a couple 15rd compact mags for $35 each. For about $100 you'll have the ability to add a compact frame to the gun so it will conceal a little better. Or go the full conversion route and buy a compact conversion kit. Then you could have a full size gun for open carry or range and a compact for concealing. All with the exact same trigger and other controls.

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1 hour ago, Ozy said:

 very good point on the CZ.... so  in your opinion ,what is the current must have plastic fantastic? or top 3?

 

1 cz p07

2 glock

3 glock

 

and i don't even like or shoot glocks, but every 6 months or so a new plastic fantastic comes out and is then passed over for glocks.   But i do like that P07, if i was in the market for a carry type gun i would start and stop right there. 

 

I am not a fan of modular anything if the intent is to do a lot of switching, that is always a pain in the rear  and every time i have done it i have always ended up buying  two whatevers.  And i have tried it several times with pistols, rifles, bows, etc and always regretted it, i am a slow learner sometimes

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I am not a fan of modular anything if the intent is to do a lot of switching, that is always a pain in the rear...


With the 320 it is just field stripping the gun and then taking the take down lever out of the frame. Pretty simple.

With that said (and if budget allows) I'd prefer to have an additional pistol.



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