Ruger LC9 like it or hate it?

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bspillman

New member
After several disappointing outings with my PF9 I'm looking at the LC9. I don't like the feel of the kahr or the beretta nano. With that being said do those that have experience with the Ruger do you like or hate it and why?
 
I have had mine for a couple of years and like it just fine. I have fired hundreds of rounds through it and it has never malfunctioned. I haven't carried it, but I would do so with confidence.
 
One for the "I Like Mine" side,,,

One for the "I Like Mine" side,,,
Mine is the original gun,,,
Not the "s" version.

People carp about the trigger,,,
It took me two whole boxes of ammo to get used to it.

The recoil was a tad snappy,,,
But a $12.98 grip sleeve cured that.

Pachmayer makes it and it truly transformed my gun,,,
It's their grip sleeve with the part number 05177.

I couldn't believe the difference it made,,,
Felt recoil went down quite a bit,,,
Now I actually like shooting it.

I can put 50 rounds of FMJ downrange and experience no discomfort at all.

Aarond

.
 
I've owned a couple PF9's. Just couldn't get them to be 100% reliable. I looked at and shot an LC9, before I settled on a Shield. I didn't car for the trigger on the original hammer fired version. Sure, you could get used to it, but why? However, now that the striker fired pro (no safety) version is out, i may just have to try one. It's slightly smaller than the Shield which might make it pocketable.
 
I have the striker version and it's a sweet little handgun. Very accurate and easy to shoot. Mine has been reliable although I did have some reliability issues when using the magazine extension.
 
I've been carrying mine now for over 2 years. I like it for a DAO. It's rugged, reliable and I can pocket carry (front pocket) it when I need to. I have dropped it several times - knocked the front sight loose. I used blue locktite to put it back on and it hasn't come loose.

Way too many people make an issue out of the trigger. It's about as good as any other DAO trigger in its price range IMHO. Trigger is long, and Glock-fans don't like the reset because......its.....not.....like.......Glock!

For a gun I paid under $300 for, its been a good carry piece. If it was slightly smaller, I'd like it better.
 
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I don't hate it (rather liked its size and magazine capacity in 9mm) but found the trigger draw was too long, as was the reset travel. I enjoyed shooting it, but the trigger travel gave me too much misalignment to the target...a natural "pull" issue in NRA training.

I was delighted when Ruger issued the LC9s striker fire. I traded up in an instant! 50% less trigger draw, and 35% less reset. To me, it's the ideal CCW pocket semi-auto on the market, with enough safety features the LCP does not have.
 
The LC9 is a great pistol, perfect size for CCW yet still can be accurate at the range. These days you have to look at all three versions of the LC9, I recently bought the striker fired LC9s Pro and am pleased with it. If you get the older hammer fired LC9 be sure you can live with the long trigger pull and all the extra safeties (hole lock, thumb, magazine disconnect and large LCI).
 
I really like the trigger on the LC9s (I'd go with the Pro to be rid of all the safety junk). I don't care for the DAO hammer-fired LC9 much.
 
My buddy owns one and from my experience, for the money, it's Just okay.

Trigger isn't great but it isn't terrible.

Overall, his was reliable and had no issues with feeding or ejecting.

The only issue with his is that it wouldn't seat the magazines. If he bumped them or shot the gun, the mags would simply drop out of the gun. After three trips to Ruger, the problem seems to be fixed but they told him going forwards, he must keep the mag latch depressed while inserting or removing the mags.

I own a few semi autos and I have a problem with that explanation from Ruger. Personally, I believe it's a design issue and if you google, his was not the only gun with this issue.

That said, Ruger stands behind their product and if you have an issue, they will fix it.

I did find his to be very accurate by the way.
 
My LC9 was ok only after I put a RTK trigger in it and just OK, I picked up a LC9s pro and wouldn't let the salesman have it back. Gave my LC9 to my dad.
 
I really liked my LC9 but the trigger was a big issue for me. As others have said you can get "used to it" and learn to shoot it well but if you have multiple guns that you shoot often you may find it annoying to have to "relearn" the LC9 trigger over and over. I sure did. It was my carry gun for a while and I eventually decided I wanted a carry gun that had a similar trigger to the majority of my other handguns so I ended up selling it. I gave the LC9s Pro a try recently and I am not regretting it at all. It has a fantastic trigger and I'm not missing the 500 levels of safeties on the LC9 either. Putting a Pachmayr grip glove on it to bulk up the grip surface has made it into my ideal carry firearm.
 
...but if you have multiple guns that you shoot often you may find it annoying to have to "relearn" the LC9 trigger over and over.
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The three pistols I shoot the most are: Sig X-Five 9mm (SAO); Tanfoglio Stock 10mm (DA/SA); and Ruger LC9 (4th would be Glock 17, but not as much anymore). All of these triggers are very different (although in SA mode, the Tanfoglio and the X-Five are only a little different from each other). I simply haven't experienced this problem at all.

I do want to check out the striker fired LC9, however.
 
I have a family friends that owns one and I've shot it quite a few times. It always takes me a couple mags before I'm hitting anything and its not just the trigger. The grip is too thin for my hands so I'm constantly adjusting my grip. I've shot the LC9s and with a houge handall I think it would make a nice carry gun. If you have not already, you should check out the shield.
 
I've seen a few jamming problems with them, but they all seem to be the result of a combination of using large cavity hollow points and limp wristing. I find the gun to be unpleasantly snappy, however it is made to be a CC gun, not a plinker. I think it is a reliable and (as far as single stack polymer CC guns go) ergonomic firearm. I do prefer something like a sig P239 personally, just because the slightly rounder grip makes a world of difference when it comes to comfort of shooting. But I threw a pachmyr grip glove on a LC9 and with that and the pinky extension floor plate, I think it is a fabulous gun for its purpose.
 
Banger357 said:
I've seen a few jamming problems with them, but they all seem to be the result of a combination of using large cavity hollow points and limp wristing.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I never considered that it was the bullets AND limp-wristing (probably I've never experience limp-wristing failures on any other locked-breech pistol I've ever fired). I can attest from personal experience that my LC9s does not like Critical Defense or Regular Winchester JHPs at all. But it eats Gold Dots like candy.

I guess I will have to re-try some of those ammo types while I have a death grip on the gun (not how I like to shoot). If the gun really is more sensitive to limp-wristing than most locked-breech guns I will have to reconsider it as a defensive firearm.
 
It's what I carry most of the time that I carry. I have confidence in it, and it will shoot 'minute of felon' with no problem.

You hardly notice the trigger after shooting it a while. It's a Ruger, of course it has a crummy trigger. It's traditional. I'm a big Ruger fan, so don't get excited.

When I was practicing for the CCW class last year, it was monotonously accurate magazine after magazine.

Nobody is going to shoot a bullseye match with one, but that's not what they're made for.
 
Heel release

The one time I'd prefer a mag release on the heel of the LC9s grip. Big hands, smallish grip, mag safety & what feels like an obtrusive mag release button, makes for occasional frustrations. I have to use mag ext, hogue grip & concentrate on hand grip. I guess even with the LC9sPro, I'd still have mag release issue, even w/out mag safety. After market low profile mag release button?
 
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