SR9/c Lanyard Attachment Point Part II

[NixieTube]

A couple of weeks ago I asked for people's thoughts about using the backstrap pin/dowel on the SR9 as a lanyard attachment point, seeing how it looked like Ruger deliberately made the channel in the backstrap rubber large enough to do it conveniently. Here's the original thread:

http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtop ... ht=lanyard

Of course, it's not mentioned as a lanyard attachment point in the manual. And Josh Hearne and I both worried about breaking the frame of the gun if you pulled too hard on the lanyard. The upshot was that I tried it and gave it a few moderate tugs and bounces with no problems, but I ended up thinking: "This is for emergencies only, and an undocumented feature at best."

Well, if you wait long enough with a good question, someone else eventually gets the same idea. In the Guns and Ammo review of the SR9c, the author mentions it as a "lanyard attachment point" on page 2.

The SR9c has the reversible backstrap and lanyard attachment point of its bigger brother, although the two models' backstraps are obviously not interchangeable.

http://www.gunsandammo.com/content/rugers-new-9?page=2

So Guns and Ammo is calling it a "lanyard attachment point" also, which raises some questions: Since they've had extensive time with the pistol and presumably talk with people at Ruger, did someone at Ruger tell them the pin could be used with a lanyard? Has the SR9c manual been changed to show it that way? Or did the author just assume as I did that Ruger intended it to be used that way?

I'm going to email Patrick Sweeney and ask him, using this post as a reference, and see if he responds.

 

[Grendel]

Ruger call's the two parts that make up what you're referring to the Backstrap Pin (Part 57 for the SR9) and the Backstrap Bushing (Part 59 for the SR9). I would tend to go with what the manufacturer calls it.

My concern with attempting to use that as a lanyard attachment point is that it takes very little force to push that pin out. Enough lateral tugs on the lanyard in either direction could very well start the pin walking out. If it does and you're not paying attention to it, in the event of whatever emergency you feel may necessitate the need for the lanyard, the pin pops out and there goes your gun.

Worse case scenario, maybe, but for me, I ain't risking it. However, I also see no need to use it as such, either.

YMMV

-JT

 

[NixieTube]

Good point and also, the bushing is made of rubber, it's not metal or even hard plastic. If you apply a lot of force to the rubber, you'll split it, and then the pin will come out even easier. That bushing has to be a 25 cent item but once you lose it...

Soooo....combine the risk of damaging/cracking the frame with the prospect of losing the pin at an inopportune moment and my guess is that Ruger doesn't call this a "lanyard attachment point" for a good reason: you could use it like that in an emergency if you really had to, but it wasn't designed to be one.