Why Don't LEOs use ruger SR9/SR9C?

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Tequila Jake

Bearcat
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Texas
It seems that most LEO agencies use S&W M&Ps, Glocks, Springfield XDs, or SIGs, but very few if any use Ruger SR9s or SR9Cs. Why not? Is there something that makes the Rugers unsuitable for LEO use? The only plausible reasons I've ever heard is that the other manufacturerers give LEO agencies a break on the price and/or they don't like the Ruger magazine disconnect.

Anybody know for sure?

Tequila Jake
 

revhigh

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Lack of quality.

Lack of consistency.

Persistent recalls.

To name a few.

Ruger could EASILY beat everybody else's price.

Ruger counts on the majority of their guns only shooting a few boxes of shells, so the quality issues arent even realized. At Ruger ... the QC department is the customer.

Unfortunately ... its the way its been at Ruger for the last 10+ years.

Especially since these LCWhatevers came on the scene.

REV
 

t-reg

Single-Sixer
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MI
Does Ruger even try for a slice of the LE market?

Seems like the SR9e might be a candidate................
 

Tequila Jake

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Texas
Jim Luke and Revhigh:

Thanks, appreciate the info. I don't currently own any Rugers, but have in the past--probably won't in the future, at least not the semi-autos.

Tequila Jake
 

OldePhart

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Back in the old six-shooter days you could find a few departments carrying security sixes. These days, with the shift by LEAs to almost exclusively autoloaders and the shift by Ruger to "QC by return"...well, LEAs and LEOs by and large have no patience with that nonsense.

It's a shame, really, that an old and respected American company not only can't compete with foreign companies but seemingly has no real interest in doing so.

I guess that the bean-counters that run the company now are perfectly happy cranking out thousands of low-budget drawer queens...

Sigh...you're going to get me wound up, again... LOL
 

Cheesewhiz

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Feb 8, 2008
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Chicago, IL
Many, most handguns come in wanting in some aspect or another, it is just so, at least with me.

I love full sized and compact CZ's when it comes to a great shooting handgun that just feels right. They won't be a great concealed gun, especially the full sized ones and the steel framed ones are pretty heavy even for OWB police service.

Striker fired plastico's are lighter, easy to carry and the small ones fit the concealed carry want pretty well ...and most just suck in form or fashion.

Glock has been making them for years, they're fairly good at it, they are also very good at making a package that government bean counters love. Smith paid agencies to buy their products, paid a lot, look it up. Smith can also put a package together with their longarms for different LEA's. Springfield doesn't have all that much of a foothold in the police ranks, it is approved for many police agencies where the officers have to buy their own weapons but it's really hard to compete with Glock or Smith.

Ruger does what they do just like any consumer based product maker, some moves look brillant, some not so much. Sometimes the winners in this game probably should be the losers.

If only I were King.
 

BuckJM53

Single-Sixer
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Mar 25, 2008
Messages
337
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SW Ohio
revhigh said:
Lack of quality.

Lack of consistency.

Persistent recalls.

To name a few.

Ruger could EASILY beat everybody else's price.

Ruger counts on the majority of their guns only shooting a few boxes of shells, so the quality issues arent even realized. At Ruger ... the QC department is the customer.

Unfortunately ... its the way its been at Ruger for the last 10+ years.

Especially since these LCWhatevers came on the scene.

REV

WOW :shock:
 

revhigh

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Big Old Boy said:
Wow indeed no love for Ruger on the Ruger forum!

Theres a lot of love for the good Rugers.

Some are great ... revolvers, MK's, 1911's, rifles, .... some not so much.

REV
 
Joined
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Northern Illinois
I don't know how often an LEO fires his/her service firearm, but based on what my son (a former big city LEO) has told me, I doubt that its a very high number. He stated that although he (and fellow officers) had access to as much free ammo as they desired for range practice, very few actually made even minimal use of that benefit. Most officers, he said, were not "gun people" and fired only as much as they were required to do for their recertification. So even if Rugers were not as durable as some of their competitors it would not matter in the real world. Glock discounts their guns tremendously for law enforcement agencies, and this as much as anything is probably why Glock is almost the standard for police organizations.

I personally own four Ruger semi-autos, and all of them have been highly reliable and accurate guns (with the possible exception of my LCP). My P97 has never malfunctioned and I have fired thousands of rounds through this inexpensive but accurate 45. My LC9s is about as close to a perfect carry gun as I could imagine: small and easily concealable, reliable (so far, after about 500 rounds), reasonable capacity, accurate at self defense distances, excellent stock sights and an outstanding trigger. Maybe I've just been lucky but I have yet to have a single mechanical problem with any of my Rugers so I am surprised at the negatives mentioned on this thread about Ruger in general.
 

BuckJM53

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revhigh said:
Big Old Boy said:
Wow indeed no love for Ruger on the Ruger forum!

Theres a lot of love for the good Rugers.

Some are great ... revolvers, MK's, 1911's, rifles, .... some not so much.

REV

Glad you clarified REV. For a moment I thought you had written off all Rugers :)
 

revhigh

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BuckJM53 said:
revhigh said:
Big Old Boy said:
Wow indeed no love for Ruger on the Ruger forum!

Theres a lot of love for the good Rugers.

Some are great ... revolvers, MK's, 1911's, rifles, .... some not so much.

REV

Glad you clarified REV. For a moment I thought you had written off all Rugers :)


Absolutely not !

But there's no denying the history of recalls and issues that have plagued almost every new semiaotu release in the past 10 years or so.

You can deny them or not know about them but that doesnt mean they never happened.
 

22/45 Fan

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Pittsburgh, PA, USA
revhigh said:
Big Old Boy said:
Wow indeed no love for Ruger on the Ruger forum!

Theres a lot of love for the good Rugers.

Some are great ... revolvers, MK's, 1911's, rifles, .... some not so much.

REV
Ruger isn't alone in having problems with the initial issue of semi-autos. S&W made several running changes in the first years of the M&P's, Sig's problems with the P-250 are well established, Colt has had more than their share of QC problems, etc.

I agree that a lot of Rugers of all types get past QC and that shouldn't happen but they do get corrected and then the guns are very good.
 

OldePhart

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vito said:
I don't know how often an LEO fires his/her service firearm, but based on what my son (a former big city LEO) has told me, I doubt that its a very high number. He stated that although he (and fellow officers) had access to as much free ammo as they desired for range practice, very few actually made even minimal use of that benefit. Most officers, he said, were not "gun people" and fired only as much as they were required to do for their recertification...
Yeah, I've found this to be the case. The old stories about officers having to replace the green corroded ammo in their service revolver every year only because they were due for inspection and requal is not an exaggeration...

I was in an action-pistol club back in the late 80's in California. We leased part of a police range as our home range and so the cops had a standing invitation to come shoot any of our matches free. Very, very few took us up on it and when they did they typically shot in the bottom third. The range master knew us of course and would invite us to shoot the police qual with the cops when they had cancellations. We always embarrassed the cops at their own "game" - in fact, I think that's why the range master liked to have us shoot with them... :twisted:
 

t-reg

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MI
My FT .44 Spl whips my LEO buddy in games of limited targets! He shoots a lot, I hit a lot - and he's a "gun guy", trainer, SWAT, etc. LOL

He tells me stories about the piss poor shooting of officers and what they have to do to get those guys "qualified".

The SR40c also has a sterling record against his prowess when the playing field is leveled to an apples to apples contest. He loves it, wishes he could use one, but is stuck with a Sig.
 

DGW1949

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t-reg said:
My FT .44 Spl whips my LEO buddy in games of limited targets! He shoots a lot, I hit a lot - and he's a "gun guy", trainer, SWAT, etc. LOL

He tells me stories about the piss poor shooting of officers and what they have to do to get those guys "qualified".

The SR40c also has a sterling record against his prowess when the playing field is leveled to an apples to apples contest. He loves it, wishes he could use one, but is stuck with a Sig.

Your post reminds me of the time that the cops came to shoot in one of our CAS matches.
We let them use their modern day duty weapons to shoot against us old guys and our "outdated" cowboy guns.

The cops lost. :lol: .

DGW
 
Joined
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Messages
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Southwest Washington
revhigh said:
Lack of quality.

Lack of consistency.

Persistent recalls.

To name a few.

Ruger could EASILY beat everybody else's price.

Ruger counts on the majority of their guns only shooting a few boxes of shells, so the quality issues arent even realized. At Ruger ... the QC department is the customer.

Unfortunately ... its the way its been at Ruger for the last 10+ years.

Especially since these LCWhatevers came on the scene.

REV

You Sir, hit the nail on the head! I agree 1000%

Dave
 
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