My Thoughts on New Ruger SR40c

M

Mauser69

New member
I recently purchased a new SR40c, based heavily on my faith in Ruger and the great reviews everywhere on the SR9/SR40 guns. Unfortunately, I am surprised and a bit disappointed about a number of things. More importantly, I am quite surprised that these things didn't really show up in the reviews, at least not in a way that would particularly call attention to them.

First, the great thing is that the gun is a dream to shoot. I have only put a couple of hundred rounds through it, but it is quite accurate and has light recoil. It feels significantly larger than the specs.

The first bad thing is specific to my gun - LOTS of failures to feed - often impossible to even get the first round into battery. This is using two different brands of factory ammo. Called Ruger before I even tried to shoot it, since I could only get about 10% of rounds to chamber. I was somewhat taken aback when they said the techs wouldn't even look at it until I had run a couple of hundred rounds through it - insisted it would operate differently when fired than when I was just jacking the slide! I didn't argue - thought I'd save that until I could honestly say I tried to shoot it. Suffice it to say they were as wrong as I suspected - slide hung on virtually every single round - some I could get into battery by thumping with the palm of my hand, some not at all.

A bit of research on the various forums turned up lots of info that this problem is not super rare with these guns, but most of the reports were from several years ago, so maybe I just got an odd one now? Most of the owners that reported what was done to fix their guns said that Ruger replaced the extractor. Sure enough, I had already noticed that the rim of the cartridges seemed to be hanging on the sharp lower corner. A little careful work with a tiny file and the problem seems to be fixed.

Problem #2 - a few rounds did not fire on the first pull, but did when I reset the striker and tried a 2nd or 3rd time. I HAD seen this reported in one review, so mine is not unique there, but something that still must be totally resolved before I could trust the gun. I had somewhat discounted that review since no one else seemed to be experiencing the problem. I haven't pulled the striker out to fully clean it yet, but that is obviously the next step.

Problem #3 - The slide release is just a little square button, not a larger lever like my other guns, and there ain't no way you can release the slide with it unless you first pull back on the slide with your other hand first! Seems like a specific design feature since the manual specifically tells you that is what you need to do, but that sure does make a quick reload and return to the fight far slower than just popping in a new mag and sweeping the release with your thumb.

Problem #4 - two design features that I'm not sure I can live with, and they both involve the safety. Let me say right up front I am the kind of person who likes the safety - I was taught the importance of proper safety use on all guns way back 50 years ago, and my mind just doesn't want to change that now! I fully understand the arguments that people make against even having any manual safety on an auto, and I know how safe the guns are with trigger blocks and other automatic safeties, but I still like to have and use the manual safety. My other autos have them, and they work just fine; I carry cocked and locked, and not having the "lock" is disconcerting. So what is the issue with the SR40c? It is that this safety is (in my opinion) about the most stupid design I have ever seen! First, you cannot put the safety ON before you load it - it is locked in the FIRE position unless the gun has a round in the chamber, and then if you do put the safety ON, it locks the slide and you cannot unload it without putting it back into FIRE position!!

I'll be honest here - I did see this mentioned in several reviews, but only as a passing comment - the reviewers obviously found that design just fine and dandy, so it didn't even make any impression on me when I read it. But the instant I picked up the gun and started playing with live ammo to test functionality, it was like a very hard slap in the face to find that I could not operate the gun with the safety ON in what I consider a very normal and safe method.

Wish I had seen someone discuss this issue before I bought the danged thing, so I figured I should share my thoughts about it now. Maybe I'll get used to the thing, and maybe I won't, but I'm sure gonna shoot a lot more ammo through it to find out!

On the minor irritant side of ledger, the springs in this thing seem to be designed for the Hulk (all except the striker spring, of course)! Now I am a pretty big guy, well over 6' and close to 250 lbs, I don't have any problem with my hands other than not being able to find gloves big enough, and I can carry about 200 lbs without much problem, but operating the slide on this thing takes some effort. I doubt seriously that my wife is going to be able to do it. And I have never encountered a magazine that took so much effort to load. I initially thought that the loader Ruger including in the case was just a nice touch, but now I know that they did it just to keep people from complaining that they couldn't load the danged magazines!
 
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Wow, thanks for sharing. I doubt the "dream to shoot" would make up for the problems for me to want to keep it. My opinion from this side of the computer screen is that this just isn't your gun. I'm not a fan of the manual safety, but since you are, and this safety system works quite different than your other guns, I'd say get rid of it and choose a pistol with a safety that works like you are used to.
 
You know, there was just a thread by a gentleman about buying an LC9 that had the same striker fault- the first shot not working but subsequent shots working I mean.

I think you should send it back to ruger and tell us what they think, specifically about that failure to fire. Very concerning.
 
I am currently working on a friend's SR9C as well as his wife's, both of which have displayed some of the same issues you have found on your SR40C.

They are both very casual shooters, and both pistols have the very same FTF's which you describe, and cannot get through a single magazine without failures to feed and/or fire.

Because they aren't very knowledgeable about firearms, the first thing I did was a detail strip of the slide, and found a lot of burned powder and junk under the extractor, which leads me to believe they had never taken the slide down this far. If you have been there, it is a bit tricky to reassemble the extractor to the slide, what with the fairly strong spring under the extractor and trying to balance it with the firing pin safety button just behind the breech face at the same time, and driving the 1/8th inch roll pin to retain the extractor.

I also stripped the magazines down and cleaned them out. That, I am sure had never been done either, but just to bring everything back to a baseline.

I oiled the barrel and slide with Tetra and took them both to the range.

I fired a 50 round box of WWB in 115 grain ball, and they did much better than before. I did notice the sharp lower edges on the extractors of both, and because there is a lot of meat on the extractor hook, I am going to file a small bevel in order to see if it will feed more positively. And because of the recoil spring, I think they might function better with 124 grain ball.

I was impressed with the trigger pull on both weapons. For a striker fired pistol, they are pretty light for a production pistol and controllable. The fact that I cannot engage the thumb safety really doesn't bother me much-I am a die hard 1911 fan and you cannot engage the thumb safety on those without a cocked hammer either. Neither can you unload the chamber with the thumb safety applied.

The beef I do have with the thumb safety on the SR's is the actual placement of the safety lever. It is way too far back to engage or disengage with the thumb of your shooting hand.

Ruger center fire auto pistols have never been the kind to win a beauty contest, but I wish I hadn't sold the P-89 I had years ago. Handled okay although a big weapon for the caliber, it was accurate, good capacity, and above all else extremely reliable.

In fact, the SR9 is the first Ruger pistol I have run into that I would not recommend for a novice shooter.
 
Slimjim is probably right - Even if I can eventually accept the differences, I am concerned that having to adjust to the differences when switching guns is just introducing unnecessary danger.

And David's comment about the 1911 safety explains a lot about why no one else seems to be surprised or concerned about this functionality - after all, that is not exactly a rare weapon! But I do not like nor do I own a 1911, other than an NRA commemorative that has never been out of the box.

Although I own three other auto pistols in .40 S$W and have been carrying/shooting them for 20 years, I do not consider myself an expert in this type of gun by any stretch of the imagination. My preferred weapon is a 7 1/2" barrel SAA (with or without transfer bar safety), which is what I carry daily on my rural property, but those just don't make a good CCW, ya know? So my inclusion of small automatics was done out of necessity, not love of the design. I guess I just got "lucky" that the first three autos I purchased didn't have these design "quirks" that I am unhappy with on the SR40c.

So although the Ruger SR series may be great guns for lots of folks, it looks like they are not for me. Can anyone familiar with both types tell me how the M&P Shield compares to the SR40c in these specific areas?
 
I had light strikes with my SR45, so I removed the mag safety. That seemed to fix the problem so far.

I agree that the thumb safety is almost useless. 1911 / High power thumb safeties are big honking things you can swipe off during the draw. The SR one are little nubs that I could see fumbling with in a stressful situation.
 
Another possible selection might be a DAO. No safety to worry about but requires a long pull on the trigger much like a double action revolver. A slide mounted safety might also be a consideration as it can be employed whether the weapon is loaded or not. Beretta PX4 compact gets some good reviews from what I have read, but I have not handled one. Ambi slide mounted safety and a 10 round capacity in 40 S&W.

I know you don't think much of the 1911 safety setup, but like most of the Colt line up, the thumb safety blocks the sear, which can only be engaged with the hammer in firing position. The grip safety blocks the trigger from being actuated unless one has a proper firing grip, and the disconnector prevents sear disengagement once the slide has moved a quarter inch rearward. The half cock notch will catch the hammer fall should the hammer be bumped off the primary sear engagement.
For the Series 80 firing pin safety, in addition to all of the above, the trigger must be deliberately pulled in order to move the plunger out of the way or the firing pin has no chance of discharging a loaded round in the chamber.
 
I Like This Gun Better Now After 500 Rounds

Just an update after my initial negative review - I've put about 500 rounds through this gun so far, and it is smoothing out nicely. I really do like the way it shoots, and I have even mostly adapted to the safety and the pointless tiny slide release. My work on the extractor totally solved the failure to feed problem, and after a good cleaning of the striker, no more failure to fire issues.

The barrel surfaces seem quite rough, and I am having severe leading issues with my target rounds using Missouri Bullet 140 grain hard cast lead bullets, but I am still playing with various charge weights to see if I can improve that. I am thinking about trying to polish the bore, but I have not tried that before,

Unfortunately, my wife has also taken a liking to the gun and selected it as her new CCW of choice, so other than continued range work to complete the break in, I won't be seeing much of this gun in the future. She chose the SR40c over the little Taurus 740 Slim because it is so much nicer to shoot.

On the plus side, I got my pretty little Firestar .40 back from her now, which is still my preferred carry gun when I am wearing jeans with a stout gun belt to overcome the weight.
 
I don't know that I would condemn ALL Ruger pistols. I remember when the P-85 came out and there was some issue with it. Ruger, to their credit made the necessary changes and then re-issued the pistol as the P-89 which was quite a success. Accurate, reliable-my only beef with that pistol was that it was pretty blocky for a concealed carry weapon, but would have had no qualms about using it for duty. And compared to the M-9 Beretta, its nearly svelte, with no slides flying apart.

Their revolvers, both single and most of their double actions have a reputation for being overbuilt, strong, easy to detail strip-especially their double actions. Not the prettiest thing you ever laid eyes on, but a good, solid utility weapon.

Cannot speak to their centerfire rifles or shotguns because I have never owned one, but there seems to be a lot of happy customers out there.

I have had a 10/22 rimfire in my home for over 40 years of one kind or another and they work pretty well for what they are.
 
The safety on the SR9 operates exactly the same as a 1911. You can't put the gun in safe until it is cocked, and the safety on a 1911 locks the slide as well. I really like my SR9. Very smooth and dependable.
 
love my sr40c

I bought the Ruger sr40c new and in the process of breaking it in made some mods to it (that probably should've came with it) that makes it one of my most accurate and reliable pistols.
I change the plastic guide rod to a stainless one and put in a stronger 20 lb. spring. I also put in a Ultimate Trigger Kit with its springs and stainless indicator rod. That's dropped down the trigger pull to 4lb. 7oz. and it's smooth, real smooth. I did the work myself and coast around a hundred dollars.
Last but not least is the Liberty 60gr ammo I shoot. I was leery even to try it at first but it is long and by far the best ammo for this pistol. It is very accurate at 2000fps+. In a conceal carry situation it is light and will not penetrate more than a foot but shreds everything within that foot. The 60gr ammo is very clean (nickle plated) and a bit louder that conventional 40 cal ammo. Because of the lightness of the bullet there is less recoil.
So by the way I have this sr40c setup I swear by it. You just have to spend a few more $ to get it to that point.
 
Sorry about your shootin' iron, Mauser 69.
The rental SR9C was the best striker fired pistol I've ever shot.
No complaints at all.
But then it was no doubt well broken in, too.
On the other hand, I've never had any gun that needed breaking in to work as it should.
 
For the record, I am a Ruger fan. I own a few Ruger handguns including the SR9c. I have thousands of rounds through it, from cheap target to hot self-defense ammo) with no issues at all. I carry it nearly every day.

The slide lock is not a slide release. Will Bear arms, I could not possibly care less that no major military or police organizations issue Ruger. I have several friends who now own SR9c based on my experience. The only issue any have had is the white dot on the front sight of one was missing.

I am considering the 40c just to have a 40 in case ammo gets scarce again. Thanks for the review.
 
Just use the slingshot method of operating the slide, instead of relying on a slide release.
Done correctly (with authority as they say) it works every time.
 
It's been over a year now since this thread was started, and I'm wondering if the op still has his (or her) Model SR40c and if all of the issues he addressed have been resolved.
 
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