would you mind detailing the ammo brand and type when you have any kind of issue?
would you mind detailing the ammo brand and type when you have any kind of issue?
Enjoying your updates, appreciate the testing.
I was able to get to the range last Friday and today, putting a total of 500 rounds through the 9E. In that time I only had one stoppage which was the mag falling out again (round 1,237). This occurred when I picked the 9E up off the table quickly, which caused me to establish my natural high grip and the mag to fall out after the first round was fired. Since then no other problems to report and I am really enjoying shooting this budget pistol.
Today I was able to go back and forth between the 9E and my normal G19. I alternated between which pistol went first in the test, and feel I can safely say that for me they are pretty equal in performance. I might be a little more accurate with the Glock, but I attribute that to the better sights (Warrens) at these distances. I still have not tried groups at 25 yards though so time will tell.
The top pistol is the pistol I shot first on each drill. I also started each drill from the compressed ready since I do not have a holster for the 9E. Performance went as follows-
The Test:
9E- Score: 97 Time: 8.23
19- Score: 99 Time: 8.79
5x5:
19- Time: 14.25 No penalties
9E- Time: 14.02 No penalties
Bill Drill (x2):
9E- Times: 1.76, 1.78 Best split: .16 Average split: .18
19- Times: 1.72, 1.73 Best split: .14 Average split: .17
1R1 7 yd (mag concealed/x3/reload times only):
19- Times: 1.7, 1.74, 1.65
9E- Times: 1.67, 1.57, 1.75
1 shot to 1” square at 5 yd, low ready (x10):
9E- Average Time: .9, 6 hits
19- Average Time: .8, 8 hits
Whichever pistol was shot second on a drill edged out the first pistol, which to me means the Ruger was not holding me back on the basic stuff. The new totals are-
Total range time: 4.8 hours
Total round count: 1,454
Pistol Stoppages: 21
Malfunctions: 0
Breakages: 0
Originally Posted by caleb
As I previously mentioned, since receiving the 9E back from Ruger after the last magazine-dropping debacle the only times I have had problems I can attribute to my grip. A few other shooters have taken the pistol for a spin and all thought it was enjoyable to shoot and were surprised at the price tag when I told them afterwards. No one else has had any issues with the magazines falling free, so I am confident in saying it is a shooter problem and not the gun.
Mag falls out-
Mag stays in-
Is the Ruger still rolling or did it bite the dust?
I will skip the excuses and just apologize for my absence the last couple months. The Ruger has been perfect for the last 400+ rounds (once I modified my grip). I will try to test its accuracy with some 124gr +p Gold Dot tomorrow night and report back. Hope to have a more thoroughly written conclusion by the end of this week.
Okay so the 9E broke the 2k mark last week without any additional failures. Since I have changed how I grip the pistol I have not had any more problems.
Current totals:
Total range time:7.5 hours
Total round count: 2,024
Pistol Stoppages: 21
Malfunctions: 0
Breakages: 0
Obligatory dirty pictures:
I had a chance to put 20 rounds of 124gr +p Gold Dot through the pistol, and this was the best I could do offhand. The lowest round I called but the rest of the group is,well, ehh.....
Compared to the group I was able to get out of the SD9
Now in all fairness this was just one type of ammo and maybe the pistol didn't like it, but knowing Pat Kelley had trouble getting this model to group well at 25 makes me think it isn't just the ammo.
Quick overview of the SD9 vs 9E:
1- SD9 has 2 mags out of the box compared to the 9E's 1.
2- SD9 just a little better for carry, just a tiny bit smaller footprint. A little more flexible at the cost of 1 round of capacity.
3- Ruger trigger is much nicer out of the box, although the SD9 has aftermarket options where the Ruger does not (that I know of).
4- Safety is a personal preference, love it or hate it. I personally don't count it for or against the gun.
5- SD9 uses M&P sights so options are endless, there are no aftermarket sights for the 9E that I know of. Huge win for the Smith in my opinion.
6- I actually prefer the 9E’s serrations to the SD9 since they're not too sharp and are more comfortable to use.
7- The Ruger should have a + for the ambi mag release, but since it caused me trouble I personally can't get behind it. YMMV.
Of course the elephant in the room is the fact the 9E had to be sent in multiple times to get it running right where as the SD9 ran out of the box with no problems. Sample of one, I know, but there are enough people running the SD9 where I still feel comfortable recommending it to people who are looking for a defensive pistol on a budget. That being said, Ruger took good care of me and did get it fixed. It would still be higher on my list than many of the other budget pistols around the same price.
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