New Ruger American pistol. Why?
- Thread starter bricz75
- Start date
Carl the Floor Walker
Moderator
Excellent review.
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I will not engage in a word-by-word comparison of the two pistols.
I will not participate in your defense of your choice.
They fit in different categories & I stand by what I've previously said in answer to the original question.
I have answered that question.
Whether you agree or not makes absolutely no difference to me.
If you like the SR9, keep the SR9.
I'm not trying to sell you anything, and you're not going to sell me anything.
Denis
I will not participate in your defense of your choice.
They fit in different categories & I stand by what I've previously said in answer to the original question.
I have answered that question.
Whether you agree or not makes absolutely no difference to me.
If you like the SR9, keep the SR9.
I'm not trying to sell you anything, and you're not going to sell me anything.
Denis
Carl the Floor Walker
Moderator
Yes, I see where this needs to be not discussed. I will take the word of folks who have actually owned one and know the gun.
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How many rounds may someone get out of the SR9 before a rebuild?
I guess the new RAP is designed for a huge amount of rounds, like a Glock.
Carl the Floor Walker
Moderator
Yes, you are right.
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Carl the Floor Walker
Moderator
Both seem like nice guns.
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Carl,
Denis likely has more hands-on experience with more different pistols than you and I and 3 other posters combined. If he has an observation on a matter, I'd be inclined to trust his judgement.
Incidentally, I'm in agreement with him regarding the Ruger SR-series. If it were a camera, it would definitely be a consumer-grade product. Which is not to belittle your trusty blaster, because lots of amateur photographers do great work with 2/3-scale sensor cameras. But at the end of the day, for somebody who's making a living working with the product, there are better options.
The "thumb" safety on the SRs is an afterthought. It's small and not well located for ease of use. Look at the S&W M&P series for an example of where and what kind of thumb safety should be put on a pistol. The top of the slide LCI? Again, inconveniently placed and under-sized for it's purpose. (Better idea, omit the top of slide LCI entirely, as on the SR9E.) And then there are the stories of the pistols being damaged by dry-firing without a magazine due to the magazine disconnect.
The Ruger American Pistol is a much more robust design. Larger locking blocks, slide rails, etc. And the thumb safety is large enough to be useful on the models equipped with one.
Now I understand, you are a very satisfied owner of an SR-9c. If you like it, there's no reason to dump it just because there's a new girl at the dance. Ruger has a very long history of producing consumer-grade products to competitive price points, and backing them with great service. However, they've historically been behind the ball in fit, finish and general product refinement compared to their more expensive competitors.
And I know you're about to come after me asking about my experience, qualifications, etc. Let's just say I have had plenty of Rugers and still own 3 of them. To be honest, the others went down the road after something more refined came into my hands and displaced the Rugers. Single-Six revolver? Traded after acquiring a S&W K-22. Ruger 96/44? Replaced by a Marlin 1894. Ruger Super Blackhawk? Say hello to a S&W Model 629. I still have a 10/22 Carbine, mostly because it's not valuable enough to be worth trading for something more accurate. My S&W Model 17 REVOLVER can probably out-shoot it.)
Denis likely has more hands-on experience with more different pistols than you and I and 3 other posters combined. If he has an observation on a matter, I'd be inclined to trust his judgement.
Incidentally, I'm in agreement with him regarding the Ruger SR-series. If it were a camera, it would definitely be a consumer-grade product. Which is not to belittle your trusty blaster, because lots of amateur photographers do great work with 2/3-scale sensor cameras. But at the end of the day, for somebody who's making a living working with the product, there are better options.
The "thumb" safety on the SRs is an afterthought. It's small and not well located for ease of use. Look at the S&W M&P series for an example of where and what kind of thumb safety should be put on a pistol. The top of the slide LCI? Again, inconveniently placed and under-sized for it's purpose. (Better idea, omit the top of slide LCI entirely, as on the SR9E.) And then there are the stories of the pistols being damaged by dry-firing without a magazine due to the magazine disconnect.
The Ruger American Pistol is a much more robust design. Larger locking blocks, slide rails, etc. And the thumb safety is large enough to be useful on the models equipped with one.
Now I understand, you are a very satisfied owner of an SR-9c. If you like it, there's no reason to dump it just because there's a new girl at the dance. Ruger has a very long history of producing consumer-grade products to competitive price points, and backing them with great service. However, they've historically been behind the ball in fit, finish and general product refinement compared to their more expensive competitors.
And I know you're about to come after me asking about my experience, qualifications, etc. Let's just say I have had plenty of Rugers and still own 3 of them. To be honest, the others went down the road after something more refined came into my hands and displaced the Rugers. Single-Six revolver? Traded after acquiring a S&W K-22. Ruger 96/44? Replaced by a Marlin 1894. Ruger Super Blackhawk? Say hello to a S&W Model 629. I still have a 10/22 Carbine, mostly because it's not valuable enough to be worth trading for something more accurate. My S&W Model 17 REVOLVER can probably out-shoot it.)
carguychris
New member
I have a hunch he's referring to several generations of functional and durable but blocky, overlarge, and crude P-series pistols—guns that IMHO seemed designed for durability and low manufacturing costs above almost all else. Shooting tools, if you will.Carl the Floor Walker said:
Ruger IMHO kept them in production several years too long, after most competitors had introduced more refined and modern products (e.g. the M&P), seemingly relying on marketing strategy of simply undercutting everyone else on price. But I digress.
^^ This. Plus, they have a history of loading up their pistols with too many "safety" doodads, a habit they just recently seem to have broken.P-990 said:
Perhaps that's because the SR was never very expensive to begin with?=Carl the Floor Walker said:
Also, recall that Ruger sold the SR9 alongside the P95 for a while, and then dropped the P95 and rolled out the cheaper SR9E. The 9E remains a lot cheaper than the RAP. I'd argue that the SR occupies a lower overall pricing tier in the Ruger lineup despite a little pricing overlap between the RAP and the two-tone SR.
IOW I don't think that Ruger is hanging onto the SR because they somehow concluded that this whole RAP business was a mistake and that the SR was better all along.
IMHO the RAP is closer to what most buyers currently want; Ruger just had the bad fortune to roll it out when the market was flooded. It wouldn't surprise me if Ruger quietly axes the standard SR9/40 while keeping the SR9E to fulfill the sub-$350 market segment; Ruger has a history of marketing older designs alongside their intended replacements for a little while.Don't know about the SR9, but I sure ditched my SR45 because of two or three problems. First was the click no bang problem. No matter how much I cleaned the striker channel you'd still get light strikes. Maybe one in 50, maybe 3 in a magazine. The next issue was the slide lock, it was a cheap piece of bent metal doing a mans job. On two occasions I had to tweek mine back into shape. Never fear, my p89, LCP and MKII just keep ticking along.
Carl, I don't want to engage in an internet flame war, but I think if you knew more about Denis's resume, some of your assumptions might somewhat embarrass you. Making assumptions, especially from a presumed sense of superiority is a risky business that sometimes only leaves one with egg on his chin. I'm certain you are highly qualified to hold your opinions. So are others. You might want to look for a napkin.
TruthTellers
New member
Higher quality LCP? I've heard of frame pins breaking, but after shooting enough rounds through such a small, polymer frame gun I don't find that to be abnormal in the slightest.
Unless you wanted a tiny, but heavy .380, I don't see how Ruger could have made it better other than the awful trigger of the old ones.
TruthTellers
New member
I don't doubt that the American is built to last longer than the SR pistols, but if that is the case, why do the two pistols cost almost the same brand new?DPris said:
As I mentioned previously, I thought the SR pistols were going to have their prices slashed to fit into a lower price range while the American would take its place.
TruthTellers
New member
While you may not be interested in why Ruger prices their pistols the way they do, I only ask because, naturally, if I'm going to spend money on something, I'm going to want to buy the better quality item. If the American is going to last longer than the SR pistol line, yet costs the same, then I'm going to buy the American for the longevity.
If Ruger dropped prices of the SR pistol down to that of the S&W SD series, I don't see how they'd be able to keep up production on them. They would disappear of store shelves faster than a new video game console.
If Ruger dropped prices of the SR pistol down to that of the S&W SD series, I don't see how they'd be able to keep up production on them. They would disappear of store shelves faster than a new video game console.