Ruger American Reports,Owners,Users?

S

Skeets

Member in memoriam
Trying to acquire some good info on the new Ruger American 9mm.Looking to TFL for help.Thanks guys,Skeets
 
I'm also curious! The 9mm version looks very appealing to me, I'm a big Ruger fan and I'd love to know how it compares against the big Striker player, the Glock.
 
Ruger gave one to almost all the ranges for demo. I think it is limited to 5 rounds though. Maybe they will let you shoot more through it if you buy the ammo.
I was able to shoot one a while back and gave a review.

I first shot it with the medium grips. Mid sized felt comfortable holding it, a little odd firing it and it didn't group well(probably felt right b/c it was close to Gen III Glock I normally shoot). Switched to the small module. Felt weird in my hand holding it, but felt great shooting and group closed to fist sized at maybe ten yards. Maybe seven. I wasn't really measuring. 1/3 the size or smaller as with the medium. As accurate as I could expect for a factory pistol the first time in my hands and plenty accurate for a duty/carry/defensive pistol IMO. The grip seemed to have a lot of clearance carved out for the trigger finger on the grip. Felt like much more clearance than my Glock and a little more than XD or M&P. That was great for my small hands.

I thought the trigger was smooth, reasonably light, and not too long for a factory trigger. I like the Kahr DA trigger, so YMMV.

Three dot sights were pretty standard. Not my favorite set-up, but use-able.

I was able to operate the mag release and slide stop without any issues. Not the norm given my small hands.

The craziest thing: I'm not sure, but I think there is a lanyard ring molded in the back of grip below the back strap. I can't find a good picture of the feature.

I thought the the factory blow-mold box and other accessories appeared to be slightly better quality than I am used to finding on pistols and slightly larger with a little extra room inside. A small plus for me as I like to keep accessories such as extra barrels, grips, and magazines in the OEM pistol box.

Two other shooters with more years and considerably more rounds down range also fired it. They both repeatably had an issue with the trigger resetting and or the trigger safety locking up. I was able to purposely press the center "safety" portion of the trigger to the left instead of pulling straight back and reliably recreate the issue while dry firing. The center section would catch on the outer section. If one pulled hard on the trigger it would sort of clunk past the catch and still fire. I am uncertain as to whether this was a model problem or something with the specific pistol on hand. It was not something I did naturally on any of the shots I took. I had to attempt to create the malfunction after watching one of the other shooters.

The grips did not change easily. A lot of trouble getting the medium grips that came installed off, the small went on pretty smoothly, came off with only a little trouble, then were unable to correctly install the large back strap correctly. When switching the small to large it was decided the instructions indicating the slide must be removed were lawyer nonsense as it is really difficult to shoot yourself with the slide removed. This turned out not to be true and may have lead to not being able to install the large back strap correctly. The two post tabs at the top of the backstrap that should slide into the frame did not appear to fit right. They were going to work on it, but I left as I was quite certain it wouldn't fit my hand with the large anyways and was unsure how long it would take. Since the pistol wasn't mine, I didn't want to be the one prying. Engaging and disengaging the cam lock with the included torx wrench was not difficult, but the grips all fit very tight. In normal use this might not be an issue as you usually find the right size and leave it alone after.

I agree it will sell quite well. I never buy new models of cars or guns, but I will be keeping my eye on this as it matures.
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The biggest innovation is the wrap around grip modules instead of back straps. The grip size is extremely adjustable because of that feature.
I don't think the pistol will be a commercial success unless it can pull in some large contracts.
 

Capacity10+1
Slide MaterialStainless Steel
Barrel Length4.50"
Grip FrameOne-Piece, High-Performance, Glass-Filled Nylon
GripsErgonomic Wrap-Around Grip Module

Slide FinishBlack Nitride
Width1.40"
SightsNovak® LoMount Carry 3-Dot
Weight31.5 oz.

Overall Length8"
Height5.70"
Grooves6
Twist1:16" RH
CA ApprovedNo
MA Approved & CertifiedNo
Suggested Retail$579.00

Trigger features a short takeup with positive reset.

Recoil-reducing barrel cam, low-mass slide, low center of gravity and low bore axis.

Performance tested for sustained +P ammunition use.

Genuine Novak® LoMount Carry three-dot sights.

Modular wrap-around grip system for adjusting palm swell and trigger reach.

Safe, easy takedown with no tools or trigger pull required.

Ambidextrous slide stop and magazine release allow actuation with either hand.

Safety features include internal, automatic sear block system, integrated trigger safety and no trigger pull required for takedown.

Also includes - Two nickel-Teflon® plated steel magazines; medium and large grip modules; hard plastic case.


Didn't really know about this until saw this post. Looks pretty good. I have a recent Ruger sr22 that is very nice and was thinking of purchasing another .45 Glock, but this one looks pretty good.

I am a little afraid of new guns though. Went down the Caracal route and ended up with my money back. But this is an American co., so should not be a problem.

I might go to range in my area and give it a try next to my Glock G21 (3rd gen) or I can bring my Beretta px4 9mm.
 
I rented one and put about 200 rounds through it. It's a solid gun, I really liked it. It shoots well, handles recoils well and the stock trigger is nice. I might buy one in .45 (I shot the 9 but I'm not in the market for another 9 right now).
 
I just bought one a couple weeks ago (.45 cal). I love it. it is probably my favorite handgun. Stock trigger is great, and its just an overall solid pistol. Shoots great. I've only shot cast reloads through it, and it is dead accurate with those (especially for me, I'm not a great handgun shooter). One thing I did notice though...It seems to have a short chamber, or throat, or something. I have to load my cast SWC to a very short OAL for them to chamber. This is my only 45, so maybe thats not out of the ordinary. Haven't loaded for any others to know for sure.


Overall, definitely a great gun.
 
I held one today and I have a fairly positive opinion so far. We'll see if anything changes once I get some rounds down range with one.

The feel of the gun was pretty good and the grip felt good in my hand. The trigger was not the best in terms of pull weight, break, take up, etc but, not bad. The reset was longer and not as tactile as I thought it might be. The mag release was hard for me to operate without adjusting my grip even though I have larger hands. Build quality was Better than what I expected and it did not have a cheap feel to it. I really like the fully ambidextrous mag releases and slide stops/releases. The gun I held had the medium grip module installed and is a good feature. Not really so innovated seeing how the Sphinx SDP has been doing it longer and better as the have a much cleaner and tighter fit.

If it turns out to shoot well, Ruger should have a pretty good model on their hands.
 
Not really so innovated seeing how the Sphinx SDP has been doing it longer and better as the have a much cleaner and tighter fit.
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Well, you are right, but there are probably already more Ruger American pistols on the market than Sphinx SPDs. Maybe already more than they will ever produce.
 
Well, you are right, but there are probably already more Ruger American pistols on the market than Sphinx SPDs. Maybe already more than they will ever produce.
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Maybe, I doubt the Ruger American has surpassed the SPD already. I don't have any production numbers, perhaps you do though. I don't know anyone who owns an American but I do the SPD. I agree that the much less expensive Ruger American will surpass the Sphinx SDP in both sales and production. So what? I don't care one way or the other, I hope they both do well.

Like I said, I think the Ruger American is decent gun and I have a pretty good opinion of it so far.
 
Well, I guess I'm trying to say that, although Ruger didn't really innovate, they probably will be the one who brings the innovation to market. Much like Glock is credited with producing the first polymer pistol.
I'm not sure how many there are, but they gave away a ton to shops for demo guns.
My Kahr T9 has a wrap around grip that I could change out(no extras included from factory). They make less than 100 a year.
 
Nothing innovative about the Ruger American pistol. Nothing bad about that but, it's just another striker fired gun among many others. Ruger can't bring an innovation to market when some else already has brought it to market.

If the ill informed and ignorant what to believe the Ruger American is innovative and Glock was the first polymer gun, that does not make it true.

I've not seen any Ruger American's as a rental yet. I have shot three SDP rentals. Granted I've not been at a place with rental hand guns in about a month or so.

I don't care who ends up with more sales as I don't have any skin in the game.
 
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That's good they are getting them out to ranges for people to try. More companies should do the same. I found four, two within reason and two out of state. Still don't make it innovative or a better seller at this point than another model. Again, I don't care one way or the other.
 
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