Any Ruger Charger 9mm Owners?

[iWander]

I'm in the market for a 9mm PCC(P?). I've had a MPX, don't care for the Scorpion. Anyone own a braced Charger or has used one? Thoughts on reliability, ergos, manipulations?

[CCT125US]

Buddy has one, the dead blow action is no joke. I installed a VG6 brake for him, and the thing didn't seem to move off a 7" plate at 25 yards. So that's less than 3.5 inches of rise at that distance.

It's heavy, and it works.

I picked up a Stribog SP9A3, for reasons, and haven't shot them side by side yet.

I do have a 10/22 Charger takedown. The takedown action is occasionally useful, but it does affect accuracy.

Haven't tested repeatability with my buddies PC, so I won't speak to the degree it is affected. Something to keep in mind.

ETA: With Ruger, you have hopefully better CS and parts availability. My first Stribog SP9A1 needed a new barrel, 6 months later, the shop gave me another Bog. It was traded off, and I ended up with an A3 a year later.

[bofe954]

I have the takedown rifle and really like it. I don't shoot it a ton but haven't had any issues. Have just shot it with irons. Picked up a dot for it, and have a mount that replaces the rear sight so the optic will stay with the barrel. If you just want a plinker it's handy.

I like that you can change the side that the safety and charging handle are on, ability to use glock mags is nice. The mag release is far away if you want speed reloads.

Not sure about the utility of the takedown in a pistol, and I do think it decreases reliability to some extent. There is adjustment to the takedown system and if it gets loose you can have problems. I have not experienced this. Not sure if it's because of lower round count, low round count "sessions" where things don't get loose, or that I RTFM and am halfway mechanically inclined. I do believe it can happen though, and if the takedown wasn't there it wouldnt be an issue.

It's a risk worth taking for me to be able to have a rifle in a small bag. Not sure if it'd be worth it on a pistol with a side folder, but if you have a specific use in mind and you like it...

[MandoWookie]

Ruger needs to hurry up and make a non takedown version. That's the main appeal killer. It's not a feature I value on the rifle, and on the Charger it is completely useless.

[mrozowjj]

Had a full size and it was very reliable even with magpul glock mags and accuracte enough. I know people like to crap on the trigger but it was fine. It's not some match hair trigger but I never once missed a shot because of it.

It was so good it kind of makes me wonder why the other more expensive PCCs are so expensive.


Ruger needs to hurry up and make a non takedown version. That's the main appeal killer. It's not a feature I value on the rifle, and on the Charger it is completely useless.

I totally agree. A non-takedown model would likely be lighter and remove the one failure point of the gun; most of the issues with it ammount to people not reattaching the barrel correctly.

[HeavyDuty]

The takedown “feature” is what has kept me from buying one. I’m sure they will resolve it someday.

That said, if I wanted to invest in a double stamp gun it might be a good starting point.

[awp_101]

I’m not near my rifle to confirm, but IIRC there’s a nut to adjust the barrel/takedown feature. Once you get it running properly why not Loctite or Rocksett the nut in place? Or if you don’t want the takedown feature at all maybe Loctite/Rocksett the barrel in place like some people do on AR builds?

[mrozowjj]

I’m not near my rifle to confirm, but IIRC there’s a nut to adjust the barrel/takedown feature. Once you get it running properly why not Loctite or Rocksett the nut in place? Or if you don’t want the takedown feature at all maybe Loctite/Rocksett the barrel in place like some people do on AR builds?

The reason I don't want the takedown feature and I suspect everyone else doesn't is that it adds complexity to the design where there doesn't need to be any. It also likely adds some weight and some cost to the gun. Not that it's a very expensive gun to begin with but if it had a easier to make design it could possibly be a bit cheaper.

The point of that nut is to allow for slop that builds up over time so that you can retighten the barrel to the receiver. If you make that nut unmovable because it's working for you now and you need to adjust it later because of something down the road your boned.

The better method from a design stand point is just to not have it there at all.

[bofe954]

I bet if you adjusted the pistol and never took it apart you would not have any problems. Maybe take it apart and readjust every 5K rounds or something.

[kwb377]

I've had the carbine version for a couple of years, put maybe 2k rounds through it. I added a witness mark to the barrel nut in order to see how much it moved and give me a repeatable reference point should I need to re-tighten. I've taken it down numerous times, and the nut has only moved one notch. I have a Romeo5 mounted, and zero has never been affected.

[zaitcev]

Once you get it running properly why not Loctite or Rocksett the nut in place?
The nut has a click retainer, so it's not going to move on its own.

[zaitcev]

I've had a MPX, don't care for the Scorpion. Anyone own a braced Charger or has used one? Thoughts on reliability, ergos, manipulations?

I think that a connoisseur of PCCs, who got rid of MPX and turns away from Scorpion, is not going to love Charger. It is a very much a peasant PCC: cheap, rugged, reliable, but not tactical. It does not have a bolt release, you yank the charging handle after reload like on an SKS. You release the magazine with a support hand. Which is just as well, because you put it on safe with a support hand too. At least magazines drop free.

I saw people run Rugers in competitions, but it shines in Steel Challenge, where you never need to reload.

[42Willys]

I’ve recently acquired a Ruger PC (carbine version) with MI chassis, MI handguard, and magpul stock. I like it a lot. I previously owned a Kel-Tec Sub2000 and found the ergonomics made it shall we say suboptimal. Neat gun though.

The Ruger PC is easy to shoot. It is not a lightweight weapon but feels well balanced in action. I would not buy a Charger mode unless I planned to sbr it, given the way brace legality seems to be going.