Getting my hands on a Ruger SR9c and SR40c before their not readily available

 I spent a couple of hours this weekend pondering my next handgun purchase for the fall. There is this pattern that I've picked up since starting to collect guns. My hurry to compulsively buy a gun that's been on my list for a long time comes when I feel the gun won't be easily available any longer. A desire to answer my speculation starts with a couple of internet searches, and some in-store look around. Guess what I've spotted...or really didn't see much of?

Well, I'm pretty much use to seeing at least two or three Ruger Model SR9c or SR40c on display. It's been a guarantee to see one on the shelf for the last four years. Welp that time has changed and so have Ruger's production line. I'm pretty sure they are still producing the SRc line, but you bet your bottom dollar there are more Ruger American pistols being manufactured currently.    

But here it is. The Ruger SR9c is readily familiar to anyone who owns the full-size pistol, and as a serious carry piece, it has a lot to recommend it. The slide and barrel have been shortened by seven-tenths of an inch. This is a bit on the long side for a really compact carry pistol, but it does two things First, it provides just a bit more barrel for a bit more muzzle velocity (which in a 9mm is a good thing).

Second, the slide mass and barrel length allow for a bit more give in the cycling dynamics of the shorter barrel/slide combo as compared to an attempted micro-compact. The end result is an increased margin of reliability and a bit more muzzle velocity. As for the length concealed, the slide/barrel part is what is in your holster and is the easiest part of a pistol to keep hidden. Use a good holster and you’re golden.

The slide has all the regular SR9 features–a huge extractor, adjustable three-dot sight, loaded-chamber indicator and one new item forward cocking serrations. Through the years, I’ve been back and forth over them, and I recently realized that I just don’t like ‘em. But a lot of you do, so Ruger put them on the SR9c. They are, however, just as sharp and “edgy” as the original SR9, so if you plan on going to a shooting class where you’ll be racking the slide a hundred times a day, you might want to have a gunsmith knock the edges off the serrations. I have relatively tough hands, but even I’ve noticed the sharp edges on some occasions. In another small change from the SR9 (at least the first-run guns) the loaded-chamber indicator has impressed on the top “loaded when up” as well as red paint on its sides.

CCW Enhanced
Ruger went at the frame more aggressively, cutting just a smidge more than nine-tenths of an inch off the bottom, as the front is bobbed to match the slide and still retains the light-mount rail. The radically shortened frame is another combo of positives. First, it makes the SR9c a lot easier to keep concealed. When you’re packing, the hardest part of a pistol (or revolver) to keep out of sight is the frame or grips. By shortening the frame on the SR9c as much as they did, Ruger reduces the likelihood of your SR9c printing through your jacket, vest or shirt. Combined with the angled edges of the magazine buttplate/mag pad (which allows fabric to slide off), the SR9c should be easily carried. Also, the 10-round magazine holds enough cartridges to be useful without holding so many as to be prohibited in some states.

The mag pad also has two recesses on it to give you purchase should you need to rip the old mag out on a reload. The SR9c has the reversible backstrap and lanyard attachment point of its bigger brother, although the two models’ backstraps are obviously not interchangeable.

Now, while the shorter frame makes it easier to carry the SR9c and keep it concealed, it makes it a bit tougher to shoot. At least for those of us with large or larger hands. I can just barely get my pinkie finger onto the front lip of the mag pad, and it slips off during recoil with the hotter loads. Still, that is a small price to pay for such compactness.

The rest of the frame is the original SR9–the ambidextrous thumb safety, the thin, sculpted thumb grooves, the now-familiar two-part trigger and the ambidextrous magazine release. Right or left, thumb or trigger finger, you have all the options you need to ditch that empty and get a fresh magazine in place.