New SR-9 Owner

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SeanFloyd

Bearcat
Joined
Aug 4, 2009
Messages
10
Location
Arizona
Howdy,

I am a first time handgun owner and I bought an SR-9 3 months ago, in addition I've been lurking this site for about 4 months. I've been shooting with friends (Glock owners) for approximately a year and subsequently became interested in handguns. Suffice to say, I did some research for about a month and ended up purchasing an SR-9 on account of almost universal positive reviews from online publications and after handling several in stores.

I've been shooting with it three times with it since my purchase and have put about 300 rounds through it. So far I am liking it very much despite my limited experience but I find it comfortable and ergonomic.

The two points of my post are to introduce myself and also to express some anxiety about the level of negative comments regarding the SR-9. The majority of the issues I am reading about regard the trigger (doesn't bother me) and peening or reliability concerns. Granted this is the internet we're dealing with and it's not empirical evidence, I still am unsure of the degree to be concerned. Until there is something official stated by Ruger is this mere talk or could the SR-9 have serious design issues thus making it inappropriate in being my only home-defense weapon?

Thanks for taking a minute to express your opinion if you have one.
 

slippingaway

Blackhawk
Joined
Oct 19, 2007
Messages
525
Location
Strum, WI
First off, welcome to the forum!

Second, and to the point of your post, I can understand your anxiety about the concerns people have raised here. My opinion (which may or may not be worth $.02) is this. I think that a lot of forums, this included, have a disproportionate amount of problems posted. Part of that is due to human nature, people share stories of problems much more than stories of normal operation. The other part is that when someone has a problem, the first step for many nowadays is google, which leads to a product specific forum.

I don't doubt that there have been problems. I've seen many pictures of sometimes severe problems posted here, and I feel bad for some of the people who've had to send them in, sometimes multiple times. However, I think the design is sound, and most problems are probably related to tolerances and other manufacturing issues.

If your gun has been working well so far, and you like it, I'd say you did good. Keep shooting it, keep an eye out for the problem areas, but don't lose any sleep over it. Congrats on the purchase!
 
Joined
Jan 16, 2009
Messages
1,121
Location
SE Michigan
SeanFloyd-Keep the courage of your convictions. Kudos and credit for buying the SR9 after monitoring this site and shooting with glockaholics.
You made a fine choice for a pistol. There's room for all of the fine weapons available. And there's also room for bias, as long as it's recognized. In the end, you've got to do what feels right for you. I'm very happy with my SR9 and LCR, even though I always preferred traditional, simple wood and steel. But I passed on the LCR, too small in my hand. Individual preferences prevail. Welcome to the forum. You'll learn a lot. See the Stickys on SR9s. they're very good.
 
Joined
Jan 16, 2009
Messages
1,121
Location
SE Michigan
Just saw on the venerable Sig Sauer site there's a safety recall on their new model P238 (I think). It seems the pistol can fire by simply taking it off safety. Looks like Ruger's not alone after all in the recall arena.
 

tookalisten

Blackhawk
Joined
Jul 19, 2009
Messages
651
Location
NC
I am also very pleased with my SR9. In addition, I want to thank Josh for the video links and instructions on this forum. Watching the video and seeing the ease of use for breaking down and cleaning, it pretty much sealed the deal for me to purchase. Josh needs a commission!
 

Ski

Bearcat
Joined
Dec 26, 2007
Messages
69
Location
Minnesota
Welcome to the world of the SR-9. I bought one of the first production run guns and have put about 1000 some rounds through it without a hitch. I would venture that there are a lot of others like me that have little or no problems and are very satisfied with their SR-9's. Remember the 80/20 rule. As others above have said, keep shooting, learn the gun and how it shoots and it will be a very good defensive wepon for you.... and if you should have problems, Ruger will help.
 

yooper1

Single-Sixer
Joined
Feb 28, 2009
Messages
467
Location
U. P. of MI.
I think it is like this.

People will always post a complaint about something.

People hardly ever post that something works fine. (unless it is to counter a negative post on something, and that is infrequent)

Just like the Main Stream Media does.

They will print all kinds of stories about "AK-47's" and "Assault rifles" and "600 round per minute" crap just to get reviews and ratings.

they will never come out and say that what they said was an assault rifle is actually grandpas service weapon / hunting rifle etc. or that with 600 rounds a minute is IMPOSSIBLE to load that many magazines (quickly enough) needed to fire 600 rounds in a minute...in a minute

Plus, they (MSM) very seldom have any story showing the good people who use those AK-47's or assualt rifles in defense of someone. (unless there were shots fired, that makes for good reading...they think) and even then, they spin it so the good guy looks bad
 

yooper1

Single-Sixer
Joined
Feb 28, 2009
Messages
467
Location
U. P. of MI.
oops...I should also add I have an SR9 and I too am happy with it and have had no problems with it...other than the gunshop guy seeing a quick sale coming and ripping me off for big bucks.....
 

Jeff H

Bearcat
Joined
Jul 9, 2009
Messages
60
Location
Cincinnati, OH
My SR 9 has been flawless so far (9 months and 700ish rounds). It is the only striker fired pistol I own so I can't compare it to the glock, but I think it is miles better than my brother's Springfield XD in terms of trigger feel and overall accuracy. My neighbor (police officer) speaks very highly about the M&P 9mm, but I know nothing about it directly. I like my SR9 just fine, but I wish it was as accurate as my 1911 or blackhawk...
 

fossils and guns

Single-Sixer
Joined
Dec 9, 2008
Messages
158
Location
NW Arkansas
steveodtw":2pu36dw6 said:
Just saw on the venerable Sig Sauer site there's a safety recall on their new model P238 (I think). It seems the pistol can fire by simply taking it off safety. Looks like Ruger's not alone after all in the recall arena.

Everybody knows QC at Sig Sauer has been lacking for years, this is not a surprise... :D
Kidding of course, it happens to the best of 'em but I'm sure Sig will fix this. Ruger certainly is not alone and their QC is not as bad as it is made out to be.
 

nwh

Bearcat
Joined
Feb 13, 2008
Messages
2
Location
louisiana
My sr9 is about 5 months old and has about 600 rounds through it
without a hitch. Was somewhat concerned after reading about all
the problems other were having. Very slight barrel peening after about
75 rounds but this has stopped. I have numerous other guns and I am
very happy with the ruger. Also bought a LCP for my wife.
 

Yosemite Sam

Hunter
Joined
Mar 18, 2002
Messages
2,113
Location
Cape Cod, MA, USA
fossils and guns":11np6k0u said:
steveodtw":11np6k0u said:
Just saw on the venerable Sig Sauer site there's a safety recall on their new model P238 (I think). It seems the pistol can fire by simply taking it off safety. Looks like Ruger's not alone after all in the recall arena.

Everybody knows QC at Sig Sauer has been lacking for years, this is not a surprise... :D
Kidding of course, it happens to the best of 'em but I'm sure Sig will fix this. Ruger certainly is not alone and their QC is not as bad as it is made out to be.
This is more true than many would like to believe. But then, most other companies are having the same issue, as they attempt to cut costs to the bone. Relaxing QC standards means more guns in the pipeline. Who cares if they work!

I agree that Internet forums do tend to have more people complaining about a product than praising it, though this has been a reality in business for some time: One dissatisfied customer will make more noise than 1000 happy ones.

I have experienced this first hand as the owner of a Walther PPS. If you read one of forums I was reading a year ago you'd ever buy one of these. Mine has been 100% from day one, and I'm sure this holds true for thousands of other owners.

Heck, even my "Perfection" Glock 17L bobbled a few rounds when new. I've never had a Glock do that, and mine has never repeated it since the first mag. (I suspect the longer slide needed more lube than I'd given it, esp. since it was slathered in their copper-impregnated assembly lube.)

I'm somewhat surprised that Ruger has had recall level problems with so many of their latest guns, but at the same time, their making a transition from working with steel to working with plastic. I'm sure it takes a different skill set. I hope they get things sorted out.

-- Sam
 

SeanFloyd

Bearcat
Joined
Aug 4, 2009
Messages
10
Location
Arizona
Thanks for the replies guys. I had a feeling I was noticing a disproportionate amount complaints but it was just semi-shocking considering the near unanimous praise I was hearing about the product. At the end of the day I just want a gun I can rely on and that will last me a substantial period of time/rounds.
 

papuppyowner

Bearcat
Joined
Jul 22, 2009
Messages
12
Despite my small problem with my sr9. I love the gun. I have over 1000k rounds threw it in a 2month time frame. I have never had one issue with it.
I think it's a very good solid gun to have as a home defense 17+1 and for a first time shooter like myself plenty of fail safes that will or could come in handy in the case of a struggle.
 

ArmedinAZ

Buckeye
Joined
Apr 27, 2009
Messages
1,639
Location
over the hill from Preskitt
Like the OP I bought an SR9 in April based on several glowing reviews I read in magazines. My new gun was a stovepiping machine for the first 100 rounds. After some polishing as explained in the sticky and lots of dry fires and graphite on the different sliding surfaces it's doing OK now, still wimpy to eject the spent shells but no FTEs lately. I won't carry it for protection until it has quite a few more rounds with no failures. I really like the grip and the trigger is tolerable after the polishing etc.

That said, I have to respectfully disagree that the fairly large number of posts of owners of SR9s with problems is common to all gun owner forums and should be ignored. I spent some time searching 5 or 6 of the popular make owner groups and find that by far negative threads about the SR9 problems far outweigh any other make or model. I didn't do this to prove the SR9 bad but to see if this assertion is in fact true and I didn't see it. Maybe Ruger owners are bigger whiners than other owners? :roll:

I like my SR9 a lot but ain't blind that the model has some problems.
 

SeanFloyd

Bearcat
Joined
Aug 4, 2009
Messages
10
Location
Arizona
Went and put another 200 rounds through the SR-9 yesterday. Had a great time, only issue was I had two FTE's. The gun was feeling extremely hot (we were in the desert 100+ degrees) after putting about 100 rounds in it so perhaps that is the reason why.
 

81aggie

Bearcat
Joined
Jul 7, 2009
Messages
24
Location
San Antonio, TX
I've had my SR9 for 2 months now and have put about 400 rounds through it with no problems at all so far (I'd have shot it more but usually shoot 3-4 different guns each trip). It gets cleaned after every range session so I've been watching for the peening problem but nothing yet. I was a bit concerned about the negatives I was seeing on this and some other forums but haven't had anything to complain about. Overall I'm happy with the gun and have no regrets buying it.
 

Bersa45

Bearcat
Joined
Dec 31, 2007
Messages
19
Location
Jefferson, ohio
Welcome SeanFloyd, You'll enjoy your SR-9. I have about 2000 rounds through mine and shot it at an IDPA shoot. It was flawless. Have fun and shoot often.
 
Joined
Apr 5, 2004
Messages
2,791
Location
Granbury, TX. USA
I just handled an SR9 again at a local gun shop, the trigger was night and day from the previous SR9 I had played with. I was amazed at the difference in fact. It was pretty much a Glock trigger in disguise. It felt "right" for a change. Are the triggers hit and miss like the peening is? I asked the shop owner if it was a used one or if it had any mods. He said it was one of the latest ones from the factory. Obviously this gun hasnt been discontinued.
 

810wmb

Single-Sixer
Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Messages
140
i just got in from shooting mine...along with my new S&W 1911!

i'm loving my sr9 more and more.

ummm, the 1911 ain't too shabby either!
 
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