Why so few Rugers in USPSA Production Class

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steelshooterco

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Was watching a show on Outdoor Network featuring USPSA Production class competition. They talked about S&W, Glock, Springfield, Sig and Tanfoglio, but no mention of Ruger.

Looked at their listing of approved production class guns and lots of Rugers are listed there including the American pistols. The program indicated that 9mms were the most popular and it tool an accurate factory firearm to do well in the competitions.

Was wondering if anyone here on the forum competed in the production class, if they used their Ruger and the percentage of Rugers they saw in matches?
 

steelshooterco

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Edited title, was wondering with so may pistols out there, especially the new American, why there is not that much dominance out there by the Ruger brand, and other manufacturers seem to place better and higher.

Guess I did not state it that well. Part of the problem may be factory sponsored teams, with maybe those dominating the sport more.

You'd think you'd see more Rugers though.
 

steelshooterco

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So then the SR9s, SR9 and new American Pistol in 9mm should have a good showing, or am I missing something, based on the Striker Fired dominating?
 

DPris

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Previously, Ruger's centerfire autos have not been considered "competition grade".
The SR9s are not all that great in that setting, but the American may make some inroads over time.
It's a major step up.
Denis
 

Yawn

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I drive a Toyota Camry. in fact many people in America drive a Toyota Camry. either that or Honda accord. My Toyota Camry does exactly what it was built to do. it's a great family commuter sedan. I definitely would not take it to the dragstrip or down to the track to race it against say stock cars Or indy cars... Nor would anybody really want me too. And the fact that I wouldn't and no one else would want me to doesnt make my Toyota Camry or someone's Honda Accord garbage, that's just not what it was built for. Ruger's centerfire pistols are camerys and accords and are perfect for what their built for. But they arent the lotus thta passed me on the freeway today. They arent sigs, or czs, or even springfield's match grade line. Yes, the Ruger American appears to be their closest offering of that yet... so it is the new Toyota Supra or Honda Spider or maybe even a ford mustang (not the shelby line though) all really nice cars.... but still not track worthy. I cant afford a lotus, and dont need one. I own a Camry amd it does breat for what it was built to do. But please people, stop putting decals on your 08 Accord and pretending Nascar is gonna come acalling.
 

22/45 Fan

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pruger45 said:
Not their intended purpose perhaps?
I think their initial "intended purpose" was to have a viable entry in the military's recent replacement handgun trials (won by the SIG P320). But, after seeing how much was involved in both cost and time, Ruger opted not to enter that competition and just placed the gun on the civilian market.
 

mohavesam

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Yawn said:
I drive a Toyota Camry. in fact many people in America drive a Toyota Camry. either that or Honda accord. My Toyota Camry does exactly what it was built to do. it's a great family commuter sedan. I definitely would not take it to the dragstrip or down to the track to race it against say stock cars Or indy cars... Nor would anybody really want me too. And the fact that I wouldn't and no one else would want me to doesnt make my Toyota Camry or someone's Honda Accord garbage, that's just not what it was built for. Ruger's centerfire pistols are camerys and accords and are perfect for what their built for. But they arent the lotus thta passed me on the freeway today. They arent sigs, or czs, or even springfield's match grade line. Yes, the Ruger American appears to be their closest offering of that yet... so it is the new Toyota Supra or Honda Spider or maybe even a ford mustang (not the shelby line though) all really nice cars.... but still not track worthy. I cant afford a lotus, and dont need one. I own a Camry amd it does breat for what it was built to do. But please people, stop putting decals on your 08 Accord and pretending Nascar is gonna come acalling.

This is a pretty decent analogy. I would say Ruger guns in competition shine when talking about slow-fire sports like Silhouette, etc. They certainly hold their own when the Redhawk, SRH, and some Blackhawks appear with requisite gunsmithing for accuracy. They last longer between rebuilds, thats for sure.

But Ruger never really offered anything for the competition crowd. Oh some would scream about the Palma rifles and trap shotguns, but those are very rare and not subjected to rough-n-tumble use in my travels. I shot next to some guys wearing P345 guns at Gunsite once, however at least one was a writer whom I later learned had received his gun from a factory rep, so I wouldn't place him in an answer to the OP. BTW, all those P345 pistols ran flawlessly and accuracy was very impressive without mods.

Seems like any model that got close to competition use always neglected the trigger, match sight options, or selected barrels, etc.
 

revhigh

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mohavesam said:
Seems like any model that got close to competition use always neglected the trigger, match sight options, or selected barrels, etc.

LOL ... except for those 3 minor items ... and accuracy ... they're definitely competition grade ... :D

REV
 

DGW1949

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revhigh said:
mohavesam said:
Seems like any model that got close to competition use always neglected the trigger, match sight options, or selected barrels, etc.

LOL ... except for those 3 minor items ... and accuracy ... they're definitely competition grade ... :D

REV

Ole Rev sure knows how to get right down to the heart of a matter don't he?... :lol: :lol: :lol: .

DGW
 

DonD

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I think it's perception, nothing more. My SR9Cs are, in my opinion, better guns than the several Glocks I've had, a recent Beretta Brigadier, and a CZ P-09.

From guns tests I've seen the Rugers are as accurate as any of the others out of the box. Yeah, far more accessory parts for Glocks but the only edge a Glock has in my view is that it has the easiest takedown on the market, nothing more.

One poster thought the American gun might make inroads. All I've heard is that the SR9s have a better trigger than the American. Don
 

Yawn

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DonD said:
I think it's perception, nothing more. My SR9Cs are, in my opinion, better guns than the several Glocks I've had, a recent Beretta Brigadier, and a CZ P-09.

From guns tests I've seen the Rugers are as accurate as any of the others out of the box. Yeah, far more accessory parts for Glocks but the only edge a Glock has in my view is that it has the easiest takedown on the market, nothing more.

One poster thought the American gun might make inroads. All I've heard is that the SR9s have a better trigger than the American. Don

Yep... it is completely perception... or as you called it, your opinion. Which, is respected... thiugh i think misguided in its basis. Match grade barrels are not the same as regular barrels. The sr series has a good stock trigger, but it is still gritty and requires break in. Even then, it is still ratedfor defensive use, at 5 - 6 pounds with a bit of extra travel. A match grade trigger is closer to 2 - 3 and has almost no extra travel. It wasnt built to be at the level other guns were... doesnt make it bad, just makes it a camry
 

DPris

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As I said before- The previous generations of Ruger centerfire pistols have not appeared on the various competition circuits because they've simply not been viewed as "competition grade".

One analogy that might illustrate the idea is the camera world, with a close parallel in electronics & cars.
It involves the terms "professional grade" and "consumer grade".

In cameras, professional grade means cameras with a combination of quality, features, and performance that meets the more demanding needs of professional photographers.
Consumer grade means a cheaper camera with lower quality, less life expectation, fewer features, and basically of the "point & shoot" class.
Both take pictures, but there's quite a difference in performance and capability.

In electronics, picture the difference between an MP3 player and a full-blown sound-surround room music system.
Both play music, but there's quite a difference in how they do it.

Or, consider the difference between a dragstrip racer and a Prius.
Both will transport a driver.

These are extreme examples just to illustrate the point & I don't mean to put the Rugers down.
Simply saying that, before the new American, Ruger has tended to produce consumer-grade centerfire pistols.
They did their job, but their job was not competition.

The American is what I'll cheerfully call, after a long evolutionary process, a contender in the professional world.
Denis
 

shad

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May 2, 2015
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Well, I can understand the "perception" thing that others have mentioned. And I certainly can't fault other's opinions. But, being a long time Ruger fan, I bought a SR9 3 yrs ago specifically for shooting Steel Challenge in our local Pistol League competitions. Out of the usual 30+ shooters we have in a competition, I am the only one shooting a Ruger. I love this gun! I can usually make a good showing in a group of guys, most of whom are more experienced than I am, that shoot Glocks, SDs, SIGs, Kimbers, etc., some of which are sort of tricked out. The bottom line to me is the FUN factor. My stock SR9 (w/my handloads) very rarely if ever jams, usually hits what I aim at, and those two things are key in making it loads of fun :D
 

DPris

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There are obviously people who have used & do use the various generations of Ruger centerfire pistols in some form of competition over the years.

Nobody says they don't function.
Nobody says they're a bad product.

In the case of the SR9 family, it was very truly a major step forward in Ruger pistol evolution, but there were developmental issues in birthing it, and it is not what I'd call a stellar pistol.

I had an early one here.
My longtime gunsmith thought it was nothing special. Perfectly serviceable, but nothing great.

I sent that one back east to a well-known custom shop to have it "maximized".
It was returned after evaluation, the response was essentially "Nothing we can really do to it, not worth the effort."

Last year I approached another well-known custom shop down in Az, thinking by now maybe processes, mods, aftermarket accessories, and super-tune-ups might have developed to the point where it was worth pursuing again.
Their answer was basically "We can make it look fancier, but that's about all we'd do." As in cosmetics & maybe a light internal buff.

None of which is saying the SR9 is a bad design.
It's affordable, it functions well, it's dependable, and it's backed up very well by Ruger's customer service.

To use the Prius illustration again, the Prius is a product that does its job.
It's inexpensive, it runs fine, it gets people around.
But- there's a reason you don't see custom hotrod shops adding turbo-chargers, beefing up suspensions, installing other performance parts & systems, and throwing $4000 worth of rubber on 'em.

High performance parts are not available, those are not available because the Prius is not & never will be either a street rod or a track racer.
You CAN get a super-snazzy paint job on one, and you CAN put different rubber on it, but inside it'll never be a competition car.

The SR9 family is a gun-world parallel.
Can it compete?
Sure.

Can it win? Depends on the venue & skill of the guy or gal shooting it.

Will it hold up for 50,000 rounds on a competition circuit?
Questionable.

Will it ever be adopted by the top tier competitors?
No.

Does that mean you shouldn't buy one?
No.

Are there better choices for competition?
Yes.

Can you still have fun at competition events with a Ruger SR9?
Sure.

Can the SR9 compete with other brands in a production class event?
Of course. Anything can compete with anything else.

Do we know why Ruger centerfire pistols are not widely seen in matches?
Pretty much. :)

Should we avoid the SR9 family?
Hell, no.

Will we see the new American showing up more often as time goes by?
We will.
Denis
 

FergusonTO35

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Honestly, I see the easy availability of spare parts as one of the biggest reasons why Glock, 1911, Sig, and a few others are so widely used in competition. Unless Ruger makes spares widely available for the RAP I don't see why anyone would choose it for a high volume competition gun. Back in P-series heyday you could buy most parts for them from Midway and Brownells. Still, not much available beyond the small selection on Shop Ruger for the SR's or the RAP.
 
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