Ruger SR9: Extensive review + Fix of certain failures to extract

[Whoops!]

Hi all, I recently purchased an SR9 to start using in production as a pet project of myne.

On a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being a CZ 75 shadow target with a modified trigger and 1 being a Springfield XD subcompact, I give it a 4 - assuming you are able to complete the gunsmithing required to make it completely reliable.

It must be thoroughly cleaned from the factory due to the terrible grease they use. An ultrasonic cleaner did the job in all the crevices with minimal effort.

Shooting impressions :

Sights are set 4" left of center at 15 yards from factory. Luckily, they are completely adjustable (impressive for this price point). They are great for speed shooting. They employ a huge white front-dot which, dare I say it, completely negates the need for a fiber-optic rod. The rear sights are terrible though. They are not designed well for accuracy, and do nothing to improve the speed of shots. They are curved on top with small white-dots and will appear blurry at all times to most eyes. I like a rear-sight that appears relatively crisp while focusing on the front sight in a poorly-lit indoor range, this one definitely does not. Off-hand group sizes of 2" at 15 yards with Wal-Mart PPU 9mm

Muzzle flip is nearly identical to my CZ-75b equipped with a 13 pound recoil spring and 13 pound mainspring. The difference is the SR9 is less jerky, it is smoother in it's recoil cycle even though it feels like garbage when hand-cycling the slide. This makes it more easilly controllable with regards to accuracy during fast splits. A-Zone splits at 10 yards in less than .15 seconds are completely doable with factory 115 grain ammo and proper grip. This is an impressive feat considering it is a light weight polymer gun. However, in order to do this, one must have a very fast trigger finger. The travel is excessive compared to a 1911. It is unique with the most recent trigger itiration. After break-in, my fingers say four and a half pounds - Crisp at the end of the two-stage trigger, mushy throughout the initial stage (which is approximately 3 pounds). Nearly zero overtravel. The pre-travel is the issue.

Even though the factory recoil spring is 18 pounds, there is no excessive flip or dip. I believe at least part of this is due to the relatively light slide and low bore axis. This is good, because there is no lighter recoil spring than the factory 18 pounder that will run this gun reliably. Thanks to it's unique design, the stock spring will even have trouble fully feeding long, 147 grain loads and may need an occasional bump on the back of the slide to completely go into battery. This could potentially be fixed with magazine tuning; however, I'm not willing to try it with this design. The striker stays a fraction of an inch through the breech face until about the last 1/4 " of travel. This prevents the ammo from sliding up onto the breech face until the last possible fraction of a second and makes the failures to feed more likely, especially with long ammo and anything less than an 18 pound recoil spring. It helps to polish the feed ramp and breech face, but nothing will completely fix this inherent design flaw. That being said, so far it has only really been an issue with me when shooting Corbon +p 147 grain XTP's. They are loaded very long and have multiple bulges throughout the length of the brass, very poorly designed factory ammo IMHO. But, they are advertised at IPSC major power factor and shoot like a .40, so it's good ammo for the test.

The grip is narrow, uncomfortably for most. It's easy to get used to and doesn't affect muzzle control. The 1911 grip angle is excellent for keeping reloads consistent if you run that platform in limited and open. The mag opening is sizeable. Not flared, but better than a regular 75b or Para. It is favorably comparable to an XDM as far as margin for error. The magazine release is one of the best available at any price point. It is light compared to a stock 1911, XDM, or 75b. It is completely ambidextrous at all times. It shoots the magazine out of the gun with authority, even when the mag is completely empty.

As widely reported, the SR9 does seem to have a barrel peening problem from the factory. After the first 100 rounds, I had peening on one of the rear lugs and the front of the main barrel lug. I filed down the flared metal to so that it sat flat with the rest of the metal in the areas and the peening has not continued by any measurable amount after another 2000 rounds.

The SR9 runs well with most readily available ammo. However, you may run into some manufacturers that consistently fail to extract. http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2010/08/robert-farago/ruger-sr9c-extractor-problems/

I see all kinds of reports on how the manufacturer fixed this issue for people by replacing the whole slide, the barrel, the extractor, blah, blah, blah. No one seems to know what the cause is and a lot of people think that there's just a huge batch of bad extractors.

No.

Here's what I think, and an explanation that makes some sense at least.

The shoulder on some manufacturer's 9mm is cut too low for the factory design of the SR9 extractor. Don't get me wrong either, the SR9 extractor is an excellent design. It holds on to so much of the case, yet releases so easily when the brass is pushed by the ejector. But, here's the problem. The front face of the hook of the extractor is riding the shoulder of some factory 9mm ammo. This is causing the brass and extractor to cant prematurely. As soon as the brass or the extractor cants, the extractor no longer has a good hold on it. Combine that with a hook that is a little too long and pushing on the brass with a high amount of extractor tension, not allowing brass to sit flat against the breech face or the extractor to sit flat on the brass and you have a recipe for a gun that will sometimes fail to extract. In my case, with mixed unreliable ammo, it would happen about once every 25 rounds.

Basically, you have to know what to look for in order to fix it. I took out the extractor and started filing. First order of business, I want it to completely hold the brass without putting too much side to side pressure on it. The ejector is the only thing that should be putting side to side pressure on the brass. So, file down the tip of the hook because it's just a little too long (but make sure it stays flat). Then, take some material off the front of the hook (not the part of the hook that rests against the brass, don't touch that area) to make that area you just filed a sharp tip again. This material removal will also prevent the extractor from riding the shoulder of some manufacturer's ammo. Next, I filed a small amount off of the area where the extractor pushes against the slide in order to increase the extractor tension. This step probably isn't needed, but I felt it couldn't hurt since we just effectively gave the extractor less surface area to work (that being said, it is much more effective surface area since it is no longer causing the brass or ejector to cant prematurely, and it's still way more surface area than most extractors use) . I also filed the part of the extractor which actually holds the brass, but I really don't recommend this part because it's very easy to screw up and most likely isn't needed at all. If you find you take too much material off any one of these areas, you can usually fix it by filing off a different area that was already mentioned. Just think about the way the extractor works and file slowly, checking frequently to see how it holds the brass against the breech face. With a properly filed extractor, the SR9 will become a properly reliable production gun, even with dirty reloads. With a polished feed ramp and breech face, much more so.

For the price point and if you're willing to get your hands dirty, it's better than everything else, except possibly the Caracal. It's a great design, with several potentially terrible drawbacks for unexperienced owners.

Edited December 31, 2013 by Whoops!

[toothandnail]

I have 2, shot one for about a year and a half, other was a CCW gun, shot it quite a lot as well.

Both have been flawless, I have read of others having a few problems though.

I switched to Glock, because of the lack of after market parts, still carry the one almost daily, other is in my night stand.

[tobin]

I had one as well, an all black model which I prefer, and I had no problems with it except for the lack of lower powered recoil springs so my reloads did not always work. I also went back to Glock for the reasosn stated above, but I really liked the SR 9, best semi auto designed by Ruger yet. I see Dave Spaulding is using one on some of the shooting shows.

Edited January 2, 2014 by tobin

[pevadijk]

I had one and I liked the way it was shooting, but the safety levers were digging in my hand and I went back to a Glock.

But I must say that the SR9's shoot very nice and softer than most other polymer pistols.

[Smitty79]

I had a 40 before I started competing. Sold it when one of the matches I wanted to shoot made me use the safety. It's too small to be good for competition. Also remember to remove magazine disconnect for dry firing and UASC. too many lawyers helped design this gun.

[shootsforfun]

I have one that I shoot in 3 gun 23 round mags and magwell. I also have a ss guide rod with light recoil spring. I also removed the mag safety and the trigger is nice. For the price it's a great gun. I also like the way it points. It is also able to shoot +p+ loads for the spinner targets. Just wish it had better sight.

[Gooldylocks]

I have one that I shoot in 3 gun 23 round mags and magwell. I also have a ss guide rod with light recoil spring. I also removed the mag safety and the trigger is nice. For the price it's a great gun. I also like the way it points. It is also able to shoot +p+ loads for the spinner targets. Just wish it had better sight.

Where did you get a magwell for it?

[shootsforfun]

Gallaway but they don't make them anymore as the demand was not very high.

[shootsforfun]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Hsvr7fVqaM8

[Denny4]

I know this is an old topic. I started IDPA with my SR9c and stopped at 3000 rounds. The weapon ran perfect and I now compete with an XDm 5.25. A quick call to Ruger will have a new extractor in the mail to you no charge or they will pay the shipping and you wil have the weapon back in a week. Den