My SR9 Rocks! (Ghost Ultimate and SS Guide Rod too)

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pamato18

Bearcat
Joined
Feb 26, 2010
Messages
23
I've wanted to write this post for a while as I feel that often the negative opinions are heard the loudest, and wanted to try and balance it out a bit.

First things first. My SR9 freaking rocks. I am not an experienced pistol shooter by any means and will be the first to admit that. The SR9 (all black version) is my first pistol, and I couldn't be happier with the purchase. When I bought it at my local gun store I was looking at some higher end used guns, but being new to pistol shooting didn't feel confident in my ability to fully inspect the guns, and also wanted a new gun for my first. For its price range the SR9 felt awesome in my hand, looked sweet, and I had heard good reviews on the pistol. It fit the my requirements of a pistol being chambered in 9mm, and having high capacity magazines, allowing me to put a lot of rounds down range in practice. I loved the ergonomics with a high bore axis, slim profile, and 1911esque look. I also loved the lightness of the pistol. It's incredibly and important as I am an avid hiker and outdoorsman and would want to be able to carry the pistol hunting or throw it in my backpack hiking and not feel the weight. The pistol seemed rugged and durable, and I wanted something that I could use a lot and not worry about beating it up a bit.

Now I understand the gun is not perfect. I purchased the pistol in January of this year and as so the trigger was smooth, but a bit heavy ( a jerry rigged water bottle testing showed an approx. 8 pounds). Yet overall for the price as a brand new pistol, understanding that I didn't want or expect a custom 1911, it was expected to have some ruff spots. Other than the trigger there wasn't too much about the pistol I didn't love.

Yet I am a tinkerer by heart and wanted to give myself a reason to fully take down the gun and also give it some personal flair. Incredibly the Ghost trigger bar came out, and that was my first modification. I got the Ghost Ultimate 3.5# trigger bar, and it has worked great in my gun. After dry firing it 50 times, and now having put 200+ rounds down range, it has smoothed out, and I have a consistent trigger pull as what I would guess is around 4.5-5#'s. I also removed the magazine disconnect (helped smooth out the trigger more) and while I was at it cleaned the striker assembly; there was a little grit on the striker and so I wiped it down, and did a good clean. The final piece that I just got in and tested was a custom steel guide rod from steve bedair (he is incredibly professional, quick, and does great work. Would highly recommend). Honestly the main reason was just for aesthetics, but there are some durability, flex, and reduced muzzle flip pros that I liked. What has really surprised me is how much it feels to have smoothed out racking the slide. It has given it a much smoother pull making it feel lighter(i know its not) and easier to rack. These little mods (while not necessary) have been a lot of fun and made the gun a pure pleasure to shoot. I guess the only thing left on my to do list would be a fluff and buff, but I don't have a dremel as of now, and so will have to wait a bit to get one.

All in the gun is a pleasure to shoot. I hit the 500 round mark last night and besides some break in period failure to ejects due to some limp wristing the gun has eaten up all the federal and UMC 115 FMJ ammo I've given it. I've been getting consistently more accurate with the gun, and after putting 500 rounds through it I can say that the thing rocks. For the price range it is a fantastic pistol and I will not be parting with it hopefully ever. After reading about Rev's and Cheese's (along with others) beautiful 1911 builds I can't wait to get the experience and money to do something like that, but for my first pistol the SR9 has been a great gun and a blast to shoot. Thanks for everyone's help on the forum and enjoy your shooting!
 

jhearne

Buckeye
Joined
Jul 14, 2007
Messages
1,365
This thread is worthless without pics!

Glad you like your SR9, get us some pics to go with that review....mainly just Bedair's work on the Guide Rod. :) Please!

Josh
 

pamato18

Bearcat
Joined
Feb 26, 2010
Messages
23
Will get some pics up by tonight...didn't have my camera with me when I wrote it.
 

recoilguy

Bearcat
Joined
Oct 13, 2009
Messages
52
Location
Minnesota
I feel exactly the same as you about my SR9's I really love the way they feel and look and the ease to take them down is great. I hate the trigger and yesterday ordered the same trigger you put in. It says it will arrive Saturday. I am hopeful it improves the weapon so I can once again smile when I am shooting them.

RCG
 

waldo1324

Bearcat
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
77
Location
St. Louis
so how do you like the guide rod?
is it done with the screw and loc tite?
ive been flirting with converting the captive rod with a one piece open end machined rod a la steve bedair type deal.
it looks like the slide is a-ok with it not being captive and the only thing you need to worry about is the spring exploding out during takedown.
any thoughts ( all knowing jhearne)?
 

Scott

Single-Sixer
Joined
Dec 14, 2009
Messages
296
Location
Missouri
Glad you like your SR9 - I'm in a similar position; first semi-auto I've ever owned, also have close to 500 rounds through it, it's on my hip right now, and almost every waking moment. I've been happy with mine with no modifications except take down/clean/polish/etc. My only reason for liking all the naysayers is that I don't know how much a "better gun" feels, so I appreciate their input. It's glad to hear from what I hope is the silent, or quieter, majority that says this gun is not as bad as you could easily get the impression of.

I want some pics of that guide rod!
 

jhearne

Buckeye
Joined
Jul 14, 2007
Messages
1,365
waldo1324":8uaboruo said:
so how do you like the guide rod?
is it done with the screw and loc tite?
ive been flirting with converting the captive rod with a one piece open end machined rod a la steve bedair type deal.
it looks like the slide is a-ok with it not being captive and the only thing you need to worry about is the spring exploding out during takedown.
any thoughts ( all knowing jhearne)?

All knowing is a bit much. :lol: I just happen to have a really good memory when it comes to minor details sometimes...especially with things I like....like guns, cars and music.

I'm debating on my own 2 piece design out of Stainless with wrench flats with bevels to keep the springs from catching on the flats. Wrench flats incase I need to get it apart later to put in maybe an aftermarket spring setup. A one piece might work just fine, but keeping it captive seems like it'd be a cleaner and hassle-less field strip. Out of convenience is why I'm sticking with a captive design for mine.

Be on the lookout for videos soon, got a tripod this afternoon. Will be covering the Field Strip and Mag DC Removal tonight. Hope to get it online tonight....but most likely tomorrow.

Josh
 

jhearne

Buckeye
Joined
Jul 14, 2007
Messages
1,365
I'm trying to get my Flip Video to run through my USB AV setup so I can see what I'm shooting in real time so I get better shots and can get this thing done tonight, plus it helps me kill time until my neighbor finishes mowing :roll:

Josh
 

NixieTube

Blackhawk
Joined
Oct 14, 2009
Messages
988
Location
Massachusetts
I can't say it better than this post. The SR9 does indeed have a couple of "ruff" spots but the overall value proposition for a new handgun (backed up by Ruger service) is really great. I held five other 9mm full-size guns along with the SR9 and instantly, when I picked up the SR9, the grip feeling and overall ergonomics of the pistol outweighed everything else.

I'm proud to show mine to friends and recommend it to them for consideration, and that's only become more true the longer I've had it, particularly with the great advice I've found here. I've got approx. 1,000 rounds through mine and like it more than the day I bought it -- and I liked it a lot then.

I also chose the SR9 because of the ambidextrous controls: I shoot right handed, but I wanted this gun to be a weapon that my southpaw-shooting father could use also. He's not a big gun enthusiast and this pistol won him over, he enjoys shooting it and he really appreciated the ambidextrous controls. As a total gun novice, he was surprised at the price because to him it seemed like it should be a more expensive gun, and he's not an easy person to please when it comes to machinery.

Ruger really won me over with the value of this gun and I'm a tinkerer also, who doesn't mind working a little on his possessions, particularly when they cost approximately $400 and have so much built into them by a good company.
 

waldo1324

Bearcat
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
77
Location
St. Louis
j, im not sure, but i think making it non captive is not possible since you need the larger diameter to seat in the slide mouth near the mouth of the barrell. but the spring will not accept this larger diameter... what a quandry
 
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