View Full Version : Ruger SR45.... not a good first impression.
I took ownership of a new sr45. I did some research and decided it was a good purchase. I took it to the range today and shot half a dozens rounds (230gr magtech). The mag dropped on every round! I changed up my grip a bit and that didn't help. It also had a few light primer strikes. :( looks like ill be calling Ruger on Monday, im super bummed. the sr9 I shot a few months back was great. Updates will come. Looks like im a guinea pig after all.
Mine spit out a string of light strikes in the 150-200 round range all in a couple of magazines, I ended up going home to figure out the problem. I cleaned the striker channel completely and seem to have cured this really disappointing failure. IMHO the tolerances of the channel aren't that close that a little grease and brass shavings should not cause light strikes.
As for the mag drop issue I've never experienced any issue like that. When it was new I did have a hard time seating it properly with the slide closed and a full mag. But that's not what you are experiencing. I really don't like the painted magazines, and if you inspect close enough the "lip" of the mag catch isn't much thicker than the paint on the mags. The feel of the release also fails to inspire confidence...another poor design issue again IMHO.
I like my SR45, it's accurate and fun to shoot but it needs some refinements...I suppose there's a reason it's sub 400. And to think I was at the show to pick up a M&P 45 but couldn't find on with a manual safety so I bought the SR instead.
I suppose we'll have to wait and see what rugers new "combat" series brings.
I've never forgiven Ruger for the P-90 I had. Soured me to any non-rimfire Ruger semiauto pistol. Every time I think a new one looks like it deserves a shot, I just have to remember that P-90 and I go look somewhere else.
Tzintzuntzan
10-12-13, 22:18
You might wanna try a G21 or USP if you're looking for an okay to good relatively cheap to mid price .45 ACP pistol. I hear the FNX 45 is a nice gun too.
I really like the way the Pistol feels. It's quite thin compared to the others. I hate to sell it and take a hit. :( I'll see about getting it's issues handled and possibly look into a trade. The mag catch is wimpy, it looks like it doesn't have much purchase on the mag itself. I gave it a good cleaning, I'll give it another go this week. I know there are great 45's out there. I'm always after a good value. I accepted some fit and finish for the low price. I didn't expect it to fail this early!
My buddy had one of these at the academy and he was always having problems with it.
Small update. I loaded a few snap caps on top of the real stuff and found this out. On a loaded mag with 10 rounds with the slide locked back than released( not using the slide lock ) the mag would release. When inserting a loaded mag with the the slide closed ( in battery? ) than I pull the slide back and release, it loads a cartridge than releases the magazine. ( I did make sure my hands were not touching the mag release!)It almost seems like a mag catch problem to me. it's quite hokey compared to the Glock I have.
*Update* after some further fiddling. It seems as if the bullet is releasing the magazine as they move up the magazine. Ill post a few pictures later.
Tzintzuntzan
10-13-13, 16:43
Dude, that's worse than the new M&P follower which gets caught when the mag release is installed on the left hand side! If I were you I would seriously consider trading or selling that if customer service won't fix it. Have you called Ruger to see if they'll fix/replace your pistol?
Seriously, bring it to the next gun show. Sell it ASAP. Buy a police return Glock if you can. That's normally the best bargain at a gun show (although I used to see W German Police Sig 226's for $350...)
Ruger makes great .22's and single shot rifles. Excellent revolvers. Decent bolt action rifles and hunting shotguns. Semi-auto centerfires worth a very slight amount more than their weight as scrap metal.
Here is a pic of how close the bullet slides in the magazine. There isn't much purchase on the magazine catch. It wouldn't take much movement to un latch it. Called ruger and lefta a message. They say they are experiencing an unprecedented amount of calls! No, really :mad:
The phone message has been up for months. Good luck actually getting someone on the phone.
eternal24k
10-14-13, 20:38
I took ownership of a new sr45. I did some research and decided it was a good purchase. I took it to the range today and shot half a dozens rounds (230gr magtech). The mag dropped on every round! I changed up my grip a bit and that didn't help. It also had a few light primer strikes. :( looks like ill be calling Ruger on Monday, im super bummed. the sr9 I shot a few months back was great. Updates will come. Looks like im a guinea pig after all.
Out of curiosity, what did you do for research? I cannot think of 1 instance I have seen the SR45 or SR9 recommended. I cannot really think of a reason one would get one, unless their other choices were Taurus and Highpoints .
Out of curiosity, what did you do for research? I cannot think of 1 instance I have seen the SR45 or SR9 recommended. I cannot really think of a reason one would get one, unless their other choices were Taurus and Highpoints .
I have a history of researching stuff so much I end up not buying anything I was considering to buy. I'll find something I don't like about anything.
I did some searching on a few forums, not so much here though. I shot an SR9 and liked it, at least I shot it well. I have been wanting a .45 for a while. I saw a black SR45 and thought what the hell, why not give it a go, I like the size and look of it and the feel. I knew it had some teething issues with light primer strikes and occasionally the slide not locking back but everyone that seemed to have these issues had them supposedly solved quickly by Ruger. I figured waiting a wile and buying this month I may have gotten one that had the kinks worked out. Turns out I was wrong. Many of the posts I saw and read were dated early this year and I just didn't weed though them enough. I know there are good pistols to buy and you don't have to pay Sig or HK prices to get them. I made a gamble on a "deal" and its a fine example of, you get what you pay for. What I know now is I would not trust my life to a semi auto Ruger pistol. That being said I found it's replacement. I'll try and work with getting this Ruger fixed and sold, I will consult with the dealer I bought it though and see what can be done. I avoided the mistake of buying DPMS, Bushy, Oly AR but now I'll make that up with a poor pistol. :sad:
A lady friend of mine had an SR9C that had the light strike issue. She had done maybe 5 or 6 USPSA matches and a few practice sessions so less than 1000 rounds total.
After a whole bunch of testing I figured out the extractor hook was not holding the case close enough to the breech face (about double the distance of a Glock, M&P or old Ruger P94 I have).
The striker was only able to protrude a fraction of an inch forward of the breech face (with the striker block depressed) vs. a Glock's that can be pushed forward a virtual mile.
The end result of this seemed to be that the striker/firing pin was not always able to get a solid hit on the primer. I also got the impression that the striker block was not being pressed completely out of the way of the striker as the trigger was squeezed causing it to drag the striker and rob some energy from it.
It was returned to Ruger where they tried to say since it had been manufactured (not purchased) more than a year ago the warranty was expired. They accepted that wasn't very reasonable and did whatever they did to "fix" it.
When we got it back the tolerances and striker protrusion seemed to be the same. She sold it without firing another round. A friend of my brother in law had the same problem. No idea how or what he did about it.
Well the SR has been replaced by a G21 sf ( rtf2) I found at the local shop ( used but still had the factory lube )
I was able to contact Ruger finally get through. I sent it back and I hope they fix it so I can sell it and crawl out of the hole i dug myself into.
I received my SR back from Ruger last night. They replaced the magazine catch and release button, they said they fired 30 rounds through it. The magazine catch seems to work much better. The magazine does not release with the test I performed above. It's going up for sale now. I settled on a G21sf I found in the mean time. oh and they gave me a nice gun cloth. :cool: I will say this super nice people on the other side of the phone. I called following up on the repair and she tracked my pistol down and found the tech had it in the range for testing.
I'm glad you had it fixed before putting it up for sale. You did good!
If it now works properly, why get rid of it?
Army Chief
10-26-13, 15:30
Not to be dismissive here, but I really have to ask: has Ruger ever produced a semi-automatic handgun beyond the Mark II that was really worth owning?
AC
Not to be dismissive here, but I really have to ask: has Ruger ever produced a semi-automatic handgun beyond the Mark II that was really worth owning?
AC
No, they have not IMO. Not dismissive at all as far as i'm concerned.
NCPatrolAR
10-27-13, 07:49
Out of curiosity, what did you do for research? I cannot think of 1 instance I have seen the SR45 or SR9 recommended. I cannot really think of a reason one would get one, unless their other choices were Taurus and Highpoints .
Ruger pistols tend to be highly recommended by the berm shooting masses that populate a large number of forums
I had an SR9c that ran like a typewriter, stacked brass in a pile a few feet to my 4 o'clock, and was painfully easy to be accurate with. The RSA is truly a work of art. That thing was very soft and flat shooting. I know it's M4 faux paus to say good things about SR pistols, but that thing was awesome, except for the sub par surface treatment and the fact that I dislike thumb safeties.
Army Chief
10-27-13, 12:26
I know it's M4 faux paus to say good things about SR pistols, but that thing was awesome ...
Not at all, but it might be a bit more instructive if you shared a bit more detail, such as the round count on the gun, or the type of shooting you were/are actually doing with it.
AC
Redbeardsong
10-27-13, 12:49
I like my SR9c, and carry it when I need a more concealable option than my M&P9. I have probably 3500-4000 round a through it. Great shooter, but you do need to clean the factory grease from the striker channel. It can gum up and cause the light primer strikes.
Not at all, but it might be a bit more instructive if you shared a bit more detail, such as the round count on the gun, or the type of shooting you were/are actually doing with it.
AC
Stopped keeping track at 2,500 rounds, probably had 3,500 or so through by the time I traded it. As for what kind of shooting... Slow, fast, 3 yards to 50 feet, single target, multiple targets... A pretty mixed bag. Longest without cleaning was 800 rounds, IIRC. 6 different people shot it. 5 of us did consecutive mag dumps. Everyone who fired it loved it. Other shooters include casuals, as well as two veterans of special operations.
LowSpeed_HighDrag
10-27-13, 20:57
I have a history of researching stuff so much I end up not buying anything I was considering to buy. I'll find something I don't like about anything.
I did some searching on a few forums, not so much here though. I shot an SR9 and liked it, at least I shot it well. I have been wanting a .45 for a while. I saw a black SR45 and thought what the hell, why not give it a go, I like the size and look of it and the feel. I knew it had some teething issues with light primer strikes and occasionally the slide not locking back but everyone that seemed to have these issues had them supposedly solved quickly by Ruger. I figured waiting a wile and buying this month I may have gotten one that had the kinks worked out. Turns out I was wrong. Many of the posts I saw and read were dated early this year and I just didn't weed though them enough. I know there are good pistols to buy and you don't have to pay Sig or HK prices to get them. I made a gamble on a "deal" and its a fine example of, you get what you pay for. What I know now is I would not trust my life to a semi auto Ruger pistol. That being said I found it's replacement. I'll try and work with getting this Ruger fixed and sold, I will consult with the dealer I bought it though and see what can be done. I avoided the mistake of buying DPMS, Bushy, Oly AR but now I'll make that up with a poor pistol. :sad:
My assumption is that you did not find any legitimate reviews of the SR because a very small percentage of SR owners really put their pistol through its paces. Its very similar to the XD in regards to available reviews. The SR and XD line are generally purchased by people in the following two groups:
1) People who want a modern semi auto pistol, but do not want to pay as much as a Glock/M&P costs. The SR and XD line are generally about $100 cheaper than a standard Glock. These people, generally, do not shoot very often because ammo and range trips are expensive these days. Rarely do they attend any high round count classes.
2) Older gentlemen, or older souls, who attribute the names of Ruger and Springfield to the old guns of yesteryear that helped win wars etc. These gentlemen often read the rave reviews of these pistols in "American Rifleman" and believe the reviews word for word, because daddy had a Ruger and it always went bang. This group is not made up of shooters.
When either of these groups buys their pistol, they will shoot 50-200 rounds through it and then tell the world that it is 100% reliable and feeds everything they put through it. Could it be that they are in fact the most reliable pistols in the world? Sure, but the fact of the matter is that the SR pistol line has not been vetted in even half of the way that the Glock/MP has. Cousin Cooter shooting 200 rounds of WWB at old propane tanks and TVs at the landfill does not equal "vetting".
The SR/XD lines also have a very small following and take up a small portion of the semi auto pistol market. This leads to feelings of exclusivity and uniqueness, and leads to a heavy handed membership on XD/SR member forums. Bias will play a big role in reviews there (trust me, I used to have an XD and spend some time on XDtalk). When searching for a fairly unbiased review of anything firearms related, I like to check out the following message boards:
Here
http://www.firearmstrainingandtactics.com/
lightfighter.net
Those boards are full of real shooters that train and shoot more in a week than I could even afford to do in a year.
brickboy240
10-28-13, 14:13
Everytime you post how bad a certain pistol is...there is always one person that chimes in that THEIRS shoots 1" groups and has never failed. LOL
That said...yeah..other than their 22 pistols, single action revolvers and the 10-22...the rest of Ruger's line ranges from "so-so" to "you better stay away from it" and that does not seem to have changed in quite some time. 99% of the time....there is at least one decent alternative to choosing a Ruger anything.
I once had a P89 9mm back when I was in my early 20s and knew nothing. Traded it for my 2nd gen G17 (that I still have 18 years later) and never looked back.
Why Ruger cannot make a decent semi-auto centerfire pistol is beyond me but until the M&P...S&W had the same disease.
-brickboy240
Army Chief
10-28-13, 15:11
Older gentlemen, or older souls, who attribute the names of Ruger and Springfield to the old guns of yesteryear that helped win wars etc. These gentlemen often read the rave reviews of these pistols in "American Rifleman" and believe the reviews word for word, because daddy had a Ruger and it always went bang. This group is not made up of shooters.
When either of these groups buys their pistol, they will shoot 50-200 rounds through it and then tell the world that it is 100% reliable and feeds everything they put through it.
While this is obviously something of a foreign demographic to this particular community, I very much appreciated the way that you put this, and we would do well to respect these fellows for what they are. Benignly-ignorant, perhaps, but not driven by any malicious intent or a desire to be abrasive. They just don't know what they don't know. I still think we all gain by trying to show some deference to our elders. Not enough of that going around these days.
We have to remember context, as well. Many of these classic industry names were earned in the revolver business, and justifiably so, and it is doubtless difficult for certain old-timers to accept that a brand that never failed them before might somehow be producing something substandard now. And, as you state, how would they even recognize it as such, firing 250 rounds though it annually, if not in total?
I suspect that we all had an old die-hard Oldsmobile man in the family once upon a time, who stood by the brand in thick and thin, even when the marque was invariably going through the same highs and lows as the rest of the American auto industry. Loyalty like this, especially in men, can be very nearly as blind as love (and probably is a form of the same thing), and I don't fault the guy on the line with his Crap-O-Matic autoloader for his enthusiasm. The one that he'll probably take home in his '96 Ciera. ;)
Yes, I might struggle a bit more to let it pass in silence in the clubhouse when it gets passed on as "wisdom" to newer, younger shooters who have no basis from which to judge what they are hearing, but that's kind of a different situation, and even then, there is a lot to be said for the right approach and attitude. As we've discussed here many times before, being "right" in these situations is probably less important than trying to be considerate and (if possible) genuinely helpful.
People skills. Basic respect. Always relevant.
AC
I appreciate all the comments. I don't know the history of every company. I took my limited experience with a few Ruger firearms and went with it. I'll learn from my errors. I'm not here touting the excellence of the SR pistol. I learned a lesson. I'll pick myself up and move on. :cool:
Not to be dismissive here, but I really have to ask: has Ruger ever produced a semi-automatic handgun beyond the Mark II that was really worth owning?
AC
Ruger P90 .45 ACP - Accurate, built like a tank, reliable.
I know two gentleman who still own one and ironically both are hard-core 1911 guys. One is a bulls-eye shooter who competes with a Springfield Trophy Match tuned-up and has said the P90 with handloads doesn't lag too far behind.
I have shot several centerfire Ruger pistols and the P90 .45 was the most accurate. Ironically, while I have owned many Ruger firearms in the past I never*purchased a centerfire pistol. *
MountainRaven
10-31-13, 21:50
I had an SR9c that ran like a typewriter, stacked brass in a pile a few feet to my 4 o'clock, and was painfully easy to be accurate with. The RSA is truly a work of art. That thing was very soft and flat shooting. I know it's M4 faux paus to say good things about SR pistols, but that thing was awesome, except for the sub par surface treatment and the fact that I dislike thumb safeties.
My brother had an SR9 that couldn't shoot some of my dad's hand loads to save it from the scrapyard. At all. No primer strike heavy enough to make them go off. These same hand loads went bang every time in my dad's Walther P1 (which I haven't seen in a while and I think has kicked the bucket and been replaced with an M&P) and my (at the time, soon after became my brother's) H&K P30.
In addition, even my father - a man who can wring surprisingly small groups out of even Taurus revolvers with 20 lb. triggers - couldn't get it to shoot half as well as any other handgun we shot.
My earlier comments were simple statements of fact. I don't have any emotional need for SR pistols to be validated. I don't work for, own stock in, or own a product of Ruger. I commented on a sample of 1. No fudging, no exaggeration, just a report.
All things considered, my preference is Gen 4 Glock 19s and 23s. Despite my enthusiasm for them, I have to admit that the SR trigger and stock sights are superior, and muzzle rise is equally low. That's simply a matter of being objective.
If zero people run out and buy an SR after this post...
Cool. I obviously didn't keep mine, either.
Gary1911A1
11-02-13, 07:04
Ruger P90 .45 ACP - Accurate, built like a tank, reliable.
I know two gentleman who still own one and ironically both are hard-core 1911 guys. One is a bulls-eye shooter who competes with a Springfield Trophy Match tuned-up and has said the P90 with handloads doesn't lag too far behind.
I have shot several centerfire Ruger pistols and the P90 .45 was the most accurate. Ironically, while I have owned many Ruger firearms in the past I never*purchased a centerfire pistol. *
Mine is great too. Rumor is the P90 was designed to be a 10MM too, but sales of the round didn't take off so Ruger never produced it in 10MM.
brushy bill
11-02-13, 13:42
Mine is great too. Rumor is the P90 was designed to be a 10MM too, but sales of the round didn't take off so Ruger never produced it in 10MM.
I believe I read something similar from Ayoob in a gun rag years ago...he was seriously hyping Ruger semi-auto centerfires of every sort. Believe the agency where he worked as a part-time officer was one of the few that adopted Rugers. Seemed he had a lot to do with that decision. Not sure if there was a connection to Ruger or he genuinely liked them.
MountainRaven
11-02-13, 18:32
My earlier comments were simple statements of fact. I don't have any emotional need for SR pistols to be validated. I don't work for, own stock in, or own a product of Ruger. I commented on a sample of 1. No fudging, no exaggeration, just a report.
All things considered, my preference is Gen 4 Glock 19s and 23s. Despite my enthusiasm for them, I have to admit that the SR trigger and stock sights are superior, and muzzle rise is equally low. That's simply a matter of being objective.
If zero people run out and buy an SR after this post...
Cool. I obviously didn't keep mine, either.
I'm not saying that you were or are wrong or that your facts are wrong.
I'm just adding my personal experience with Ruger autos (sample of one and not even one I personally owned) which was the opposite sort of experience from yours.
Suwannee Tim
11-02-13, 18:45
I have had a LOT of experience with Ruger over the years. When I buy a Ruger I set my expectations very low that way I am less likely to be disappointed. When I buy a Ruger I expect to have to send it back to Ruger at least once, maybe twice to get it fixed unless it is big bore double action revolver and then I expect to send it to Cylinder and Slide to have it worked over by a skilled gunsmith at a cost of approximately the selling price of the revolver if not somewhat more. In a way I have to admire Ruger, making a large fortune selling garbage. I have bought two Ruger firearms that were right out of the box, a Mark II pistol and an LCR.
I've had my share of Ruger clunkers a 10-22 that wouldn't function a full factory mag to save it's life. A Mini 14 that was the closest thing to a shotgun I've ever owned in a rifle. But my experiences with both the P90 and the SR9c were stellar.
Both were extremely reliable and accurate and I have recomended both to people who were on budgets but needed a solid defensive handgun. Dont know what the issues are with the SR 45 but with the way that Ruger does things they will have the bugs worked out in short order. I also owned an XD tactical in 40 S&W and it was both superbly reliable and accurate just didnt feel good in my hand.
Not everyone can afford an H&K, not everyone loves Glocks or M&P's Which have also had their share of problems as of late Recals faulty extractors issues with flinging brass back into the faces of their owners. They all make clunkers from time to time.
Funny I've heard on this forum that SIG's are a crap shoot but we just transitioned to SIG 229DAK's a couple of years ago and not a one has been sent back for any kind of problem must also be a fluke, my new SIG 220 cary DAK was purchased because of my experience with our 229's and after cleaning the gun I put a thousand rounds through it in the first weekend after I bought it and have another thousand through it in the last month without a hickup.
I understand that this forum caters to professionals as well as wannabe professionals but intellectual honesty seems to be lacking on a lot of the posts dealing with firearms other than Glocks, M&P's and H&K's. Actual experience with the platforms not just what you heard about them from people with unknown skill sets seem to be the norm as well as outright weapon snobbery. It's just amazing and amusing as well. A true professional can pick up any weapon and run it to the capabilities of the weapon why not give some of the other brands a chance before proclaiming them to be garbage.
Not to be dismissive here, but I really have to ask: has Ruger ever produced a semi-automatic handgun beyond the Mark II that was really worth owning?
AC
THIS!!!!!!!
AC,
I have had a ruger Mk1, a Mk3 with a 10.5" bull barrel, a security six in 357 and P90 and have NEVER had even 1 problem. Ruger is good in my book.
Have a les baer TRS 5" right now but a commander sr1911 will be my next purchase.
Not to be dismissive here, but I really have to ask: has Ruger ever produced a semi-automatic handgun beyond the Mark II that was really worth owning?
AC
brickboy240
11-05-13, 10:37
Ruger is no different than many other gun makers.
They have a few offerings that are really consistent and good shooters, like the 10-22, the semi-auto Mk series 22 pistols and the single action revolvers. Then they have other offerings that range from ho hum to total disasters.
S&W, Remington, Winchester and other makers have the same situation when you think about it. They have offerings that are/were fantastic and offerings that are/were a headache.
Even Colt gave us the Double Eagle! LOL
Ruger is, however, much like Taurus. They give us guns that might indeed be good IDEAS but the build quality, materials used and execution means their products fall way short. The Mini-14 is a shining example of this.
-brickboy240
john armond
11-05-13, 11:08
My department issues the P89 DAO...GOD I HATE THAT THING!!!!!!
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.