Does anybody else find the SR9 hard to rack? It's slim, with lost of stuff to get your hand caught on, and the spring is so stiff. My High Point C9 is easy to rack comparatively, the slide is HUGE without any gizmo's or serrations on it. How does racking the SR9 compare to the XD and Glock? I thought the SR9 would be a good gun for my wife considering it is a slim grip, how does it compare guns other than the High point C9? thanks guys
Racking the SR9
- Thread starter BC2245
- Start date
Yeah, it's not too ergo friendly to rack. It loosens up after 500 or so. I've owned many handguns, the SR9 is probably the hardest to rack because of its slippery feel and the cautiousness around those razor serrations. Took a chunk of meat off the first time I racked it. Doesn't matter in the grand scheme, the best all-around 9mm I ever owned.
Owen
Bearcat
Glad I'm not the only one who noticed it. Tomorrow will be my first time shooting this gun which I picked up last weekend. I must have field strip the darn thing a dozen times.
NixieTube
Blackhawk
SR9 1.1 here with round magazine release bought more than 2 years ago. Yes, they are stiff out of the box.
Disassemble and clean. Clean striker channel too if you feel competent.
Dry fire the gun and practice racking the slide. Here's the secret in one word (plus three):
Velocity. (And Surface Area)
1) It gets easier after a few hundred cycles as said above +1 to Conn AK. Not tremendously easier, not flopping around, but not as stiff. Even after that, it's still a "tight" gun.
2) Use some SNAP in your motion when racking the slide. Don't tug on it lovingly like you want to ask it out on a date and woo it into racking ;). Grasp it firmly and put some *momentum* into your motion. Use some of the fast-twitch fibers in your arm and shoulder muscles and you will find that a firm grip combined with a swift pull will not only rack the slide better but it will also miraculously scrape off less skin on those slide serrations, which really are a little too sharp for their own good. Try to grasp the serrations with enough area of your fingers/hand that you're spreading the force around.
If the slide serrations REALLY bug you, take a dremel and stone the edges *very* lightly. They're cut sharp from the factory. Actually I think looking at them/feeling them causes new owners to "baby" the gun and exacerbates the problem.
It did with me when I first got mine. :oops:
"Those look sharp, better not pull too hard or fast..."
"Yeah, pull slow and don't grip it well, so they can either dig in there real good like or scrape off a lot a stuff...." :lol:
The key is to practice it a few dozen times. Get a lot of surface area on there, firm grip, and remember the Laws of Motion: kinetic energy increases at the square of the velocity, so put extra velocity into your motion. Amazingly with this technique you also treat your hands better.
There's nothing wrong with your gun. Mine was the same way.
Disassemble and clean. Clean striker channel too if you feel competent.
Dry fire the gun and practice racking the slide. Here's the secret in one word (plus three):
Velocity. (And Surface Area)
1) It gets easier after a few hundred cycles as said above +1 to Conn AK. Not tremendously easier, not flopping around, but not as stiff. Even after that, it's still a "tight" gun.
2) Use some SNAP in your motion when racking the slide. Don't tug on it lovingly like you want to ask it out on a date and woo it into racking ;). Grasp it firmly and put some *momentum* into your motion. Use some of the fast-twitch fibers in your arm and shoulder muscles and you will find that a firm grip combined with a swift pull will not only rack the slide better but it will also miraculously scrape off less skin on those slide serrations, which really are a little too sharp for their own good. Try to grasp the serrations with enough area of your fingers/hand that you're spreading the force around.
If the slide serrations REALLY bug you, take a dremel and stone the edges *very* lightly. They're cut sharp from the factory. Actually I think looking at them/feeling them causes new owners to "baby" the gun and exacerbates the problem.
It did with me when I first got mine. :oops:
"Those look sharp, better not pull too hard or fast..."
"Yeah, pull slow and don't grip it well, so they can either dig in there real good like or scrape off a lot a stuff...." :lol:
The key is to practice it a few dozen times. Get a lot of surface area on there, firm grip, and remember the Laws of Motion: kinetic energy increases at the square of the velocity, so put extra velocity into your motion. Amazingly with this technique you also treat your hands better.
There's nothing wrong with your gun. Mine was the same way.
NixieTube
Blackhawk
BTW my spiritual mentor on the advice I gave in this thread is Clint Smith at Thunder Ranch because he gives what I think is one of the greatest instructional demonstrations about clearing pistol malfunctions that has ever been done in the following video. Notice that he puts a lot of snap into his slide-racking motions. Regardless of the firearm, it's a quick, firm and deliberate motion. He is not "babying" any of these firearms and they don't need to be. On the other hand he is not damaging them. You will not be damaging your SR9 by handling its slide correctly, either.
YOU control the gun, not the other way around.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfyULpEhmug
YOU control the gun, not the other way around.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfyULpEhmug
Owen
Bearcat
@NixieTube: Very nice vid. Shot my new SR9 yesterday (in the rain) with over 200 rounds and it performed flawlessly.
NixieTube
Blackhawk
BC2245 said:
Practice makes perfect and technique always helps with anything new. Give it some technique and practice and you'll find the comfort zone with the gun.
When I first bought my SR9 I thought exactly the same thing you did, so don't worry about that part. Spend some quality time with it and you'll be happy. :)
Clovishound
Blackhawk
Yeah, my SR9c is somewhat hard to rack. It is the trade off for having reduced recoil. Probably more important in the SR9c than the SR9.
My buddy's wife was looking for a new CC weapon. She was very interested in my SR9c, until she tried to rack it.
My buddy's wife was looking for a new CC weapon. She was very interested in my SR9c, until she tried to rack it.
freedomcosts
Single-Sixer
Nixie has a good point- when I first started shooting autos I was concerned about racking- I quickly figured out sometimes if you DON'T be rough with it- it doesn't feed right. Took me awhile specially with new guns- don't wanta hurt em, ya know? Deliberately forcefully pull it back and let it go. That's what it's made for.
Owen
Bearcat
Obo2 said:
..been doing the same thing but with glove and snap caps.
NixieTube
Blackhawk
An update after thinking about it a little more and racking the slide a couple dozen times:
The slide might be a little stiff and that's not really a problem. However, Ruger could have made it easier by shaping the safety lever(s) better.
In the down "off" position, the farthest rear corner of both safety levers still protrude just enough above the frame that you hit/scrape your thumb or whatever on them, more often than not, when you rack the slide. It's because the levers rotate/pivot downward instead of just dropping downward.
After having realized I adapted around it (thanks to this thread) I also know that I want to machine off a tiny back corner of those safety levers, which shouldn't cause any trouble at all. Now that I think about it, the problem is that when they're in the down position (which they have to be to rack the slide), those rear corners stick up up there - the levers can't be pushed any farther down, and more often than not you wind up catching something fleshy on those corners as you rack the slide.
And of course, they're on both sides of the slide, little devils :lol:
That's unnecessary. The slide stiffness never really bothered me, and the serrations aren't that horrible once you learn a little and stop being scared of them. If you think about it, what bugs someone are the 2mm of the safety lever corners that poke/scrape you when you rack the slide.
I'm going to take the gun apart later this week and dremel the back corners off. Box their ears a little, so to speak. Otherwise superb grip ergonomics and I'm just realizing it was spoiled a little by the shape of the safety.
BTW you can see how the finish has worn on the take down pin/plate of my SR9, and how my hands have shined up the grip in the area of the beaver tail. I shoot ambi. and the plate wear is from my left index finger. On the other side of the frame, the finish on the pin has worn basically the same way. This gun is well past broken in and it's running great. And yes, if you look really closely in this photo you can still see the mold marks for the areas on the frame that *would* have been removed if this gun was manufactured maybe a few days later with the longer take down plate.
Thanks to everyone in the thread. It made me think twice about what I *didn't* like about the manual safety. There it is, right there.
The slide might be a little stiff and that's not really a problem. However, Ruger could have made it easier by shaping the safety lever(s) better.
In the down "off" position, the farthest rear corner of both safety levers still protrude just enough above the frame that you hit/scrape your thumb or whatever on them, more often than not, when you rack the slide. It's because the levers rotate/pivot downward instead of just dropping downward.
After having realized I adapted around it (thanks to this thread) I also know that I want to machine off a tiny back corner of those safety levers, which shouldn't cause any trouble at all. Now that I think about it, the problem is that when they're in the down position (which they have to be to rack the slide), those rear corners stick up up there - the levers can't be pushed any farther down, and more often than not you wind up catching something fleshy on those corners as you rack the slide.
And of course, they're on both sides of the slide, little devils :lol:
That's unnecessary. The slide stiffness never really bothered me, and the serrations aren't that horrible once you learn a little and stop being scared of them. If you think about it, what bugs someone are the 2mm of the safety lever corners that poke/scrape you when you rack the slide.
I'm going to take the gun apart later this week and dremel the back corners off. Box their ears a little, so to speak. Otherwise superb grip ergonomics and I'm just realizing it was spoiled a little by the shape of the safety.
BTW you can see how the finish has worn on the take down pin/plate of my SR9, and how my hands have shined up the grip in the area of the beaver tail. I shoot ambi. and the plate wear is from my left index finger. On the other side of the frame, the finish on the pin has worn basically the same way. This gun is well past broken in and it's running great. And yes, if you look really closely in this photo you can still see the mold marks for the areas on the frame that *would* have been removed if this gun was manufactured maybe a few days later with the longer take down plate.
Thanks to everyone in the thread. It made me think twice about what I *didn't* like about the manual safety. There it is, right there.
You ought to be a design engineer for Ruger. Sounds logical and I know first-hand that I left some skin on my SR9 because of the safety lever. Ever see the Sons Of Guns episode when they put a bar across the back of a Glock (like AR-type rifles) so the guy suffering a degenerative muscle disorder could still rack his slide buy pulling with two fingers? Why couldn't gun manufacturers do the same with semi autos for woman. Make the assist bars that fold out and fold back to clean up the lines of the slide. My girl has a tough time racking her LCP. She loves the SR9 but will never buy one because she can't come close to racking it.
NixieTube
Blackhawk
Conn AK said:
8) Thank you very much but it's not my bailiwick. Revhigh has to be rolling his eyes right about now :roll:. It's just that when I think of all the great things I've said about the SR-series guns here at Rugerforum (and there have been lots) I should also balance that out when I see something I really don't like. In this case I didn't even realize I didn't like it -- for a long time -- until I thought about it in the context of this thread.
I'm *truly* not beholden to Ruger in any way. I really like their firearms but on this one it was "call it as you see it".
As far as design is concerned, everything is this way in my mind - all the products I own and use, most of which I don't comment on here.
No I didn't see the episode of SOG but I've heard about it several times and I think what they did for the episode was great. As far as why more manufacturers don't make accessories and/or model variants like the one you talk about? That's a thread for another time... ;)
