MY RUGER SR9C, LIKE IT, BUT TRIGGER...

New member here. Thanks to any advice, tips, hints, and tips you can provide. I bought a Ruger SR9C in like new condition the other day. First off, this is my first handgun. I have shot others before. I researched this gun, shooting tips, and all those things related to shooting. I loaded and shot this thing and loved it. The weight, the recoil (not bad at all), overall feel, etc. were great.

The only problem. The trigger wanted to stay in the back position every once in a while. I would take the front of my trigger finger and push it forward. It took very little pressure to do this. Sometimes, the trigger did reset fine. However, I never felt comfortable rapid shooting because the trigger wouldn't reset properly each time. I never had any jams or anything like that. So, I know google is my friend. I looked it up, and read that it could be some grease/gunk in or near the firing pin mechanism. I looked up many videos related to tearing this thing down. The only part that looks though is the firing pin. Do I need to put a few more rounds through this thing before I send it to Ruger? Do I need to get it cleaned before I send it to Ruger?

I have never tore down or cleaned a gun. This is the kind of person I am: If I feel uncomfortable doing it, I won't do it out of fear that I will mess something up.

Outside of this obstacle, I was perfectly happy with this piece.

When I do start cleaning, oiling and all that, what solvents do I use, what oil do I use, what kit do I use, where do I find the cloth patches to use?

Many, many thanks in advice.

After about 1500 - 2000 rounds I started having a few failure to reset issues. I bought a can of gun scrubber and sprayed out the entire trigger group. I got a lot of stuff out of it. Reset problems went away. YMMV

If a good cleaning won't take care of it, I'm sure Ruger will.

Did you disassemble the gun at all before using the spray? Or how much of a disassembly did you do to use the spray? Where is a good place to find this spray at a decent price?

Thanks again.

I use Birchwood Casey Synthetic Safe gun scrubber to blow the junk out of my MkIII's after a trip to the range. There are some other brands as well but that's what I use. It can be a bit pricey but it's convenient.

You can find it at any well stocked store, including Walmart, Dick's, etc.

It is a fast evaporating solvent based aerosol cleaner that won't discolor plastics, but will get a good deal of carbon and crud out.

I can't speak for the pistol you're referring to but on the MkIII's I don't do any disassembly, just lock the bolt back, blast out carbon contaminated areas, allow to dry (about a minute), then lightly lube with CLP.

I have found many decent to pretty good videos on disassembling, cleaning, and oiling this gun. Very few people go as far as disassembling the firing pin mechanism. It does look rather intricate to say the least.

Anyone else have any input related to the original post about the trigger not returning to the reset position after firing? Like I said it doesn't happen after each shot, just every now and then.

Thanks.

Take the firing pin out and clean that channel out and the pin itself. Fine bits of brass gets in the firing pin hole and may cause light strikes. I clean mine every other range trip just to make sure. I carry mine for protection so it has to be 100%.

If the trigger does not reset on you again, I would pack it up, call Ruger and get them to fix that asap. They will fix it for free. They fixed mine and now 3,000 rds later no issues since it was brand new.

PS...
The firing pin is easy to do, all you need is a finish nail to slide the back cover off. Then it is a good time to remove the mag. disc. Makes the trigger even better.

collegefbfan8898 said:

Did you disassemble the gun at all before using the spray? Or how much of a disassembly did you do to use the spray? Where is a good place to find this spray at a decent price?

Thanks again.

Click to expand...

I just did the normal field strip. Removed the slide and sprayed down the trigger group. Then added the lube of my choice.

Well I went ahead and took the whole thing apart, used some solvent, used oil, and all that. Even though it was a little trying, I took firing pin out. It didn't seem as gunked up as I thought it would be. I am going to the range tomorrow to shoot. I have a feeling that the trigger reset issue will continue. I might shoot a couple hundred rounds over next week or so and see if it gets "broken in" as others have suggested. If the issue continues, I will be contacting Ruger.

after I spray mine with CLP and leave it sit a while I use compressed air to blow it out. do not fear field strip and clean, it is necessary and easy. follow instructions, lots of on line videos if you need them.

Yeah, I went ahead and tore the whole thing down, used solvent, and then applied oil. The only thing is, the gun didn't seem that dirty or grimy to me like ones I have seen in these videos. The other day at the range, I probably put 80 rounds through it. I mainly field stripped it due to the trigger reset issues. I plan on a gun range trip today if it doesn't rain here. This is the first handgun I have ever owned, and I must say I like it a lot. But if there was a case that rapid firing was needed, I could be in a bit of trouble. We will see what happens at the range later.

Mine did not seem that dirty, as I would clean everything I could get to in the trigger group. But, when I blasted it with gun scrubber, there was a bunch of stuff that was flushed out.

Failure to reset is one of the more common problems I've seen on the forum with the SR9c. I don't see as many posts about it now, as I used to, but it is a known issue. Again, if a thorough cleaning won't fix it, Ruger will.

As far as gun scrubber goes, do you just point and shoot it where it needs to go like the firing pin mechanism? Do you rub this stuff off using the dry patches? I only as this because what happens if some of it gets in the end of the firing pin. Will this cause misfires, etc?

OK, back from range. I put 50 rounds through this gun. I paid attention to which magazine I was using. I thought all was going to go well. Then, trigger reset issues returned. It didn't seem to happen as much, but it still happened. I really like this gun, but this obstacle has me a little pi55ed. I stopped by the gun store where I purchased this gun. One guy said that some people don't smack the 17 round mag in the handle hard enough to make it far enough due to the spacer at the bottom. I thought okay maybe so. The owner of the gun range told me to use CLP. The guy at the gun store told me to use dry lube. Now, just from a guy that wants to target shoot and have a weapon for home defense, this is getting on my nerves.

Any ideas/advice from you guys would be more appreciated.

It's a used gun and therefore you need to think at some point how the previous owner took care of it. I won't argue that there may be a reset issue with some older models but the one thing I remember is there were some owners too lazy to rack the slide when dry firing. They use to push the trigger forward to reset the gun and gleefully posted it on this forum. That's not a good thing to do. It probably should go back to Ruger if cleaning it alone has not solved the issue.

If figured in that part too. Also, just a few notes to add. I will describe all the actions and you all tell me what you think it could be. I think I am going to call Ruger today and have them send a shipping label. All things with this gun work fine. Slides fine, bullet chambers fine, trigger pull is also okay, casing ejects without any problem.

You pull the trigger back, and the gun fires fine, the casing is ejected.
The trigger will sometimes hesitate and reset on its own within like a second or two.
Sometimes I place my trigger finger behind the trigger and barely nudge it back to reset (I promise there is no force needed here. Just a tiny pluck).
It feels like there is something making the trigger stick or hang but not every time.

Do I need to spray anything up into the trigger mechanism? Like turning the gun upside down and spraying something where the trigger goes up into the gun.

Just called Ruger. Found out that they use FedEx. I am not the biggest fan of FedEx's services. Also, the Ruger rep said that the gun can't be any older that two years to be covered. Is this true? Keeps getting better. :roll:

Thanks again.

collegefbfan8898 said:

If figured in that part too. Also, just a few notes to add. I will describe all the actions and you all tell me what you think it could be. I think I am going to call Ruger today and have them send a shipping label. All things with this gun work fine. Slides fine, bullet chambers fine, trigger pull is also okay, casing ejects without any problem.

You pull the trigger back, and the gun fires fine, the casing is ejected.
The trigger will sometimes hesitate and reset on its own within like a second or two.
Sometimes I place my trigger finger behind the trigger and barely nudge it back to reset (I promise there is no force needed here. Just a tiny pluck).
It feels like there is something making the trigger stick or hang but not every time.

Do I need to spray anything up into the trigger mechanism? Like turning the gun upside down and spraying something where the trigger goes up into the gun.

Just called Ruger. Found out that they use FedEx. I am not the biggest fan of FedEx's services. Also, the Ruger rep said that the gun can't be any older that two years to be covered. Is this true? Keeps getting better. :roll:

Thanks again.

Click to expand...

They gave me a lot of flack on my gun that was just a little over a year old! They wanted me to pay shipping and possibly for the repair! They finally relented and had FedEx pick it up, repair it, and ship it back. They paid for everything? Got me confused!!!

I would be shocked if they made you pay for shipping.

I contacted Ruger later yesterday afternoon. The rep I spoke with then was way better than the one I spoke with yesterday morning. I told her the whole deal and that this was my main pistol. She said to send it in with both clips. Shipping would be paid by them. They would take a look at it.

I will keep this deal updated.

Are you using the 17 round mag when it happens? The longer mag causes the trigger bar on mine to get "lazy" on the reset. The pistol functions 100% with the short 10 round mag.

I was under the impression that Ruger is now only offering warranty service for original owner sending in new guns. Certainly when ammunition costs are considered, even paying for shipping and repair is not all that bad. Glad the OP got a great deal repairing his second hand Ruger.