MIM parts, how much does Ruger use?

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Anonymous

Hello All,
I'm new here and want to say hello - Hello.
I am a new owner of an SR9, I plan on taking it to the range tomorrow. Hope is performs well.
To let you know, I mainly purchased this pistol because it is made in America and I like the safety features. This will be my second Ruger, my first one is a 10/22 that has performed well for about 35yrs or so.

First question, does my SR9 have MIM parts in it? I've performed a search and have not seen any good matches to my question. Most likely I have missed a previous post about this, if I've done that then I'm sorry.

Ok, this is one of the few pistols that I've bought new and I've never had a spent brass case included in the purchase. The spent brass case was in a nice little envelope with some data and a signature on it. What is this?

Any tips on the ownership of this pistol, please do tell. :D

Will post my first experience with the new SR9, in anyone is interested in hearing about it.

Regards,
snojet
 

jhearne

Buckeye
Joined
Jul 14, 2007
Messages
1,365
Hi and welcome snojet!

Congrats on the SR9, mine has performed very well, zero issues to count for.

As for MIM, I don't believe so, Ruger uses Investment Castings (owned by Ruger) for many of their cast parts, it's a company that other manufacturers use as well. I couldn't tell you much more than that honestly. They are machined here in the states, and assembled and test fired in Arizona, rifles and revolvers are made in CT.

As for the Spent Casing, some states (California is one I believe) require that a shot be fired and recorded for record keeping on the ballistics of that particular weapon. Ruger is one of the companies to supply the casing for all their firearms to cover all their bases for state regulations. Essentially a fingerprint of the barrel.

Tips? Clean the factory grease out, otherwise you may run into trouble at the range with some FTF's. In the bottom of my post there's a link to a How-To on the SR9, covers field stripping and detail stripping, even Polishing too. Don't do the polishing or full tear down until after you've made sure your gun is solid.

It should feed and fire anything you can find in 9mm. I haven't came across a bad ammo for it yet. Please do share a range report once you take her out :).

Josh
 

Pinecone

Blackhawk
Joined
Jan 29, 2007
Messages
970
Location
Maine
snojet, Welcome to the forum! I'm not aware of Ruger ever using MIM (Metal Injection Molding) parts in any firearm. As noted above, they have been in the Investment Casting business for a long time. Actually in the right setting, MIM parts are very functional and require no machining so they are cost effective in the long run. One "downside" of MIM parts is that the case hardening is very "thin" with a very soft inner core so taking anything off the parts in fitting (stoning/fileing) is usually prohibitive......................Dick :wink:
 

Iron Mike Golf

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Joined
Feb 15, 2010
Messages
945
I think Maryland is another that wants a spent casing. It is part of the forensic DNA stuff. The idea is Law Enforcement has data on the marking the gun leaves on the case (primer strike, ejector strike, etc).

Of course, that assumes no one does something like chage out the striker/firing pin, ejector, extractor, barrel, etc. Nonsense, if you ask me. Most jurisdictions don't require it.
 

writwing

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jan 5, 2008
Messages
429
Location
Connecticut
I believe that Ruger only has offices in CT, they left many years ago. Some of the castings,maybe all, are done in New Hampshire @ Pine Tree Castings a Ruger owned company.
 

pisgah

Buckeye
Joined
Apr 17, 2006
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1,633
Location
Upstate SC
S&W aficianados complain about MIM parts but, in truth, while they aren't as purty they are in some ways superior to forged parts. When it comes to a Ruger lover questioning MIM, it is well to remember that for at least a couple of decades people said the same sort of stuff about investment cast bits and pieces, not to mention (gasp of horror!) major components...
 

45flattop

Single-Sixer
Joined
May 8, 2005
Messages
392
Location
Jackson, MS USA
The newer Smiths I've had a chance to work with simply do NOT
compare in quality, fit or finish to the older ones pre the MIM parts,
the trigger pulls are difficult if not impossible to make as good as the
older ones, and those insane locks they've let the bottom feeding
legal types compel them to install, frequently fail so spectacularly
that they lock the gun up so badly, nothing but a trip back to Smith
will fix them. As others have stated, Pine Tree Castings, that does
all the investment casting for Ruger, their parent company, also
does supply other things to other gun makers and industries. At
times Pine Tree has even made golf club heads such as metal
drivers out of Titanium but i highly doubt there have ever been MIM
parts in any Ruger product.
 

ArmedinAZ

Buckeye
Joined
Apr 27, 2009
Messages
1,639
Location
over the hill from Preskitt
A pro gunsmith did a detailed inspection of a Ruger 1911 and observed this:

"The grips safety appears to be a stainless steel MIM part. There is a lot to be desired in having it blended to the frame. That being said, the frame tangs have not been overcut as to make it unsightly if it were dressed up a bit. It has been set in such a way as to allow for minimum pressure to release it while still engaging and has the relief cut on the arm to allow it to be removed without removing the mainspring housing.

The thumb safety appears to be a carbon MIM part. It functions as it should. It does hang over the edge of the frame when disengaged but does not reveal the access hole when engaged. This is a small problem that could be fixed either by blending and re-bluing it or welding it on the inside and refitting it to the frame.

The sear spring is of the standard variety and has not been modified on the ends of the fingers for smooth function.

The hammer appears to be MIM. It does have a positive half cock notch. The hooks of the hammer are .0265" long and undressed. The distance from the outside of the pin hole to the primary hammer flat is .200" which is within the acceptable range of .200"-.205" for good geometry.

The sear appears to be MIM. The oal measures .768" which may appear a bit short. However, the distance from the pin to the engagement surface measures .455" which should be long enough to allow for the primary surface to be cut and polished to a correct angle as it is currently in the rough as is the rest of the sear.

The disconnector appears to be MIM. It is unpolished and measures 1.305" which falls within the proper specifications. The slide does stall slightly on the disconnector due to the lack of the MCP disconnector cut in addition to having a great deal of pressure on the middle leaf of the sear spring."


The entire read is here: http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=318234

Of course he certainly could be wrong.
 

gatorhugger

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Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
525
Location
North Florida
Iron Mike Golf said:
I think Maryland is another that wants a spent casing. It is part of the forensic DNA stuff. The idea is Law Enforcement has data on the marking the gun leaves on the case (primer strike, ejector strike, etc).

Of course, that assumes no one does something like chage out the striker/firing pin, ejector, extractor, barrel, etc. Nonsense, if you ask me. Most jurisdictions don't require it.

The more I try to wrap my head around this, the more ludicrous it is.
So Ruger fires a test bullet, to get a record of a spent casing. then sends that spent casing to the owner?
WHAT?????
How exactly is that going to help law enforcement?
Stupidiest thing I have ever heard.
How about it's just a PR move to show the owner of the new gun a small sample that the gun really works.
 

axisofoil

Single-Sixer
Joined
Nov 27, 2010
Messages
276
Location
Mesa, AZ
gatorhugger said:
Iron Mike Golf said:
I think Maryland is another that wants a spent casing. It is part of the forensic DNA stuff. The idea is Law Enforcement has data on the marking the gun leaves on the case (primer strike, ejector strike, etc).

Of course, that assumes no one does something like chage out the striker/firing pin, ejector, extractor, barrel, etc. Nonsense, if you ask me. Most jurisdictions don't require it.

The more I try to wrap my head around this, the more ludicrous it is.
So Ruger fires a test bullet, to get a record of a spent casing. then sends that spent casing to the owner?
WHAT?????
How exactly is that going to help law enforcement?
Stupidiest thing I have ever heard.
How about it's just a PR move to show the owner of the new gun a small sample that the gun really works.

FFL keeps the casing and files it with the gun registration. In those states, it doesn't go to the owner.
 

Boge

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jul 2, 2009
Messages
430
Location
On the Border
OP, forget all the Internet hysteria & BS about MIM parts. :roll: The Internet is full of pseudo "metallurgists."


http://www.stiguns.com/FAQ-MIM.php
 

TiteGroups

Blackhawk
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
513
Ruger is the king of castings, MIM parts shouldn't be a concern. The connecting rods in most GM engines are made using MIM.
 

NixieTube

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Oct 14, 2009
Messages
988
Location
Massachusetts
At this point MIM has been around since the '70s and if anything the use is increasing. I'm sure early MIM parts had quality control problems, like any new process. Key features are quality of feedstock and careful selection of material and then really doing a good job with design and process. Of course the people who are doing the work need to know what they're doing.

At the beginning there were a lot of bugs being worked out of the process, but this is more than 3 decades now and a lot of the anti-MIM hysteria is a legacy of the "bad old days" of the 1970s and early 1980s.
 

badge2283

Bearcat
Joined
Jun 10, 2011
Messages
1
Location
USA
MIM, is very common in the firearms industry. Some companies do it better than others. S&W are very good at it. The mim parts are drop in, there is no fitting needed. It uses metal powder mixed with a polymer, put in a mold and heated. The hardend serface is very thns and doesn't respond welll to trigger jobs and "slicking up". Kimber and Wilson use mim parts in their different models, and only for certain parts.
As for the fired casings they are removed before the end user receives the firearm, in states that require it. In the time this tracing system has been in effect, it has cost millions of dollars, with out one case being solved by the case tracking or case finger print.
 

NixieTube

Blackhawk
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Messages
988
Location
Massachusetts
Just an addendum: One of the most important things that's happened since MIM got started in the 1970s is the enormous increase in the power of the computers used in design, quality control, and process control. The computational power available to do those things has increased by many orders of magnitude. The parts are designed better from the start, taking into account the specific requirements of MIM that have been learned in the past 30+ years, and the parts are also created and finished and monitored better from end to end as a result of the same increase in ubiquitous, cheap computing power that allows me to type this message on Rugerforum with a computer I could buy from WalMart for less than $500, when in 1975 it wouldn't have been possible at almost any price.

At first MIM was exotic and experimental - imagine making a complex metal part almost as easily as a plastic part - with all the caveats that implied, but not any more. I'm not saying it's perfect - nothing is perfect - but a lot of the carry-over prejudice against MIM parts is unwarranted at this point.
 

revhigh

Hawkeye
Joined
Aug 31, 2005
Messages
5,590
Location
PA
I tend to agree ... MIM has come a long way ... and there's well-done MIM, and not so well-done MIM.

Used properly on non-laterally-stressed parts, MIM surely has it's uses ... badly done MIM, used improperly, ala Kimbers slide stops and safety levers ... doesn't yield very good results ....

REV
 

NixieTube

Blackhawk
Joined
Oct 14, 2009
Messages
988
Location
Massachusetts
revhigh said:
I tend to agree ... MIM has come a long way ... and there's well-done MIM, and not so well-done MIM.

Used properly on non-laterally-stressed parts, MIM surely has it's uses ... badly done MIM, used improperly, ala Kimbers slide stops and safety levers ... doesn't yield very good results ....

REV

Right. You have to have experienced people who understand what they're making and what the limitations are. If anything MIM is a good process now that's just going to get better. It'll never be a complete substitute for other kinds of machining, but every time you flip open a cell phone, it's because many of the hinges are made with MIM and there are literally hundreds of millions of them in use every day, all over the world in cellphones alone. Lots of complex medical equipment parts, too.
 

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