Ruger SR9
- Thread starter blr550
- Start date
An excellent reply with great info. I thank you for that as I'm sure a lot of other current SR9 owners will also do. I'm cutting and pasting this to my gun info archives for some future date.
- Location
- Niagara Region, Ontario. For now
You dont want a double action only pistol if you want to shoot accurately. Unless you wanna pay for some serious trigger work. And the damage occurs on the sr9 because when dry firing with no mag the mag safety is rubbing on top of the striker when it is cocked and released. Over time this leads to a really gritty trigger pull. You arent gonna break the gun but it isn't good for the trigger pull.
Unless you're an LEO why on earth would you want a DAO handgun? I've shot a DAO version of a S&W 9mm myself and seen some LEO's at our local Speed Steel events struggle with their service DAO's as part of their efforts to come to terms with the service issued arms. It's not something I'd want to subject myself to on a regular basis unless I had to for employment reasons.
And if you ARE an LEO or aspire to go to depot and train to become one then you'll want to opt for the regular service pistol of whichever force you're interested in joining regardless of if they are good or not.
Or is it more likely that you're using the wrong term when typing DAO?
- Location
- Niagara Region, Ontario. For now
No he isn't he wants a gun to fry fire without having to #### it or rack it.
Dude, the simple solution is start reloading and spend more time at the range. Dry firing is good for practice but recoil management is the biggest obstacle to overcome as a newbie. A flinch is the worst habit you can pick up.
Dude, the simple solution is start reloading and spend more time at the range. Dry firing is good for practice but recoil management is the biggest obstacle to overcome as a newbie. A flinch is the worst habit you can pick up.
Harrier .45
Regular
- Location
- Ontario, north of Toronto
The disclaimer in the Ruger manual suggesting not to fire the SR9 without a magazine in place refers only to the installation of a magazine safety/disconnect, which blocks the trigger and does not allow the sear to release. This has no bearing on the striker assembly at all.
In response to Mlehtovaara, the only way he will find a striker-fired gun that he can dry-fire without racking the slide is to purchasd a double-action pistol such as a Springfield XD, a Taurus 24/7, or a Walther P99, as these guns are "repeat-fire" models that do not require rearward travel on the slide to reset the trigger mechanism. The Glock pistols, S&W M&P, Ruger SR9, and several other striker-fired guns use what Glock has termed "Safe Action", which, for all intents and purposes, is a single-action system that requires the slide to move rearward in order to recock the mechanism to fire. In order to dry-fire a "Safe Action" style of pistol, one must rack the slide rearward between shots in order to reset the trigger system.
Again, dry-firing will not damage a modern firearm, however excessive dry-firing may cause vibrations in the firing pin and mechanism to form micro-fracture or stresses in the steel which may lead to breakages in the future. This practice should be kept to a minimum without the use of snap caps or other ammunition substitutes.
In response to Mlehtovaara, the only way he will find a striker-fired gun that he can dry-fire without racking the slide is to purchasd a double-action pistol such as a Springfield XD, a Taurus 24/7, or a Walther P99, as these guns are "repeat-fire" models that do not require rearward travel on the slide to reset the trigger mechanism. The Glock pistols, S&W M&P, Ruger SR9, and several other striker-fired guns use what Glock has termed "Safe Action", which, for all intents and purposes, is a single-action system that requires the slide to move rearward in order to recock the mechanism to fire. In order to dry-fire a "Safe Action" style of pistol, one must rack the slide rearward between shots in order to reset the trigger system.
Again, dry-firing will not damage a modern firearm, however excessive dry-firing may cause vibrations in the firing pin and mechanism to form micro-fracture or stresses in the steel which may lead to breakages in the future. This practice should be kept to a minimum without the use of snap caps or other ammunition substitutes.
If you REALLY want a serious use auto that can be dry-fired at home constantly without cocking or racking, I can think of a couple of options...
Any of the DA/SA guns should do this (personally I don't like DA/SA but that's just me). I would guess any DA/SA Sig or CZ could be dryfired over and over, eh?
The other option would be to get a glock 17 and put in a dry-fire practise trigger/trigger reset kit.
I have heard varying reports about these reset kits...some are apparently better than others. I would research before picking one if you go that route.
Any of the DA/SA guns should do this (personally I don't like DA/SA but that's just me). I would guess any DA/SA Sig or CZ could be dryfired over and over, eh?
The other option would be to get a glock 17 and put in a dry-fire practise trigger/trigger reset kit.
I have heard varying reports about these reset kits...some are apparently better than others. I would research before picking one if you go that route.
- Location
- Niagara Region, Ontario. For now
Sorry my friend but on the ruger the mag safety is not like the one in an M&p the mag safety on the ruger is directly on top of the striker and indeed rides on the firing pin when dry firing without a mag in. It has no effect on the sear whatsoever. I have one, and have removed and installed it more then once. You can see the marks it leaves on the striker.
- Location
- Niagara Region, Ontario. For now
Take a look. The rugers mag safety is in the slide. When the mag is in the pistol it exerts enough pressure to ppush the safety up to clear the striker. When no mag is in place it falls down and will ride on the striker and stop it from moving fully forward.
Harrier .45
Regular
- Location
- Ontario, north of Toronto
Take a look. The rugers mag safety is in the slide. When the mag is in the pistol it exerts enough pressure to ppush the safety up to clear the striker. When no mag is in place it falls down and will ride on the striker and stop it from moving fully forward.
Many thanks for the update. However you will note that I stated this was an issue only on guns that did not have this safety feature installed, as is the case with the guns we have here at Epps, as these guns will fire with or without the magazine installed.
- Location
- Niagara Region, Ontario. For now
No problem just glad I can educate some people. I have taken both the m&p and the ruger mag safeties apart and it is funny how different the 2 designs are. Regardless I would take them out if I still owned either guns. For target and competition shooting it makes no difference, and I am pretty sure even ipsc production rules allow the disabling of the mag safety. Epps prolly removes the mag safeties to prevent any damage caused by owners who don't read the manual and would complain if anything ever happened from their ignorance. Saves you the headache in the longrun.
Cheers
Cheers
Harrier .45
Regular
- Location
- Ontario, north of Toronto
We do not make any modifications to the guns we well at Ellwood Epps. The Ruger SR9s we have received have never had an active magazine safety installed. After viewing your photo I did take one of our SR9s apart, and while the mechanisms do look the same, these guns will fire with or without the magazine installed. This is true for every one of the SR9 pistols we have had pass through our store since we received our first shipment near the beginning of April of this year. Perhaps the pistol you purchased is a variant of this model, as there seems to be no magazine safety active in our guns.
As for IPSC rules, if you are shooting Production Class, modifications are not permitted. It is also my understanding that modifications to safety systems installed by the manufacturer are also not permitted. This is why a number of IPSC shooters using the S&W M&P pistols have been searching for blue magazines in order to safely decock their guns on the course.
I do not shoot IPSC, however I welcome any IPSC shooters to correct me if I am mistaken in my statement.
As for IPSC rules, if you are shooting Production Class, modifications are not permitted. It is also my understanding that modifications to safety systems installed by the manufacturer are also not permitted. This is why a number of IPSC shooters using the S&W M&P pistols have been searching for blue magazines in order to safely decock their guns on the course.
I do not shoot IPSC, however I welcome any IPSC shooters to correct me if I am mistaken in my statement.
- Location
- Niagara Region, Ontario. For now
The mag safety on the ruger still allows you to pull the trigger when a mag is missing it simply blocks the striker from moving forward far enough to hit the primer. You can see in my pick the heavy ridge on the striker that catches on the magazine safety if a mag is not putting pressure on it holding it out of the way. This is why you can damage the striker when dry firing without a mag in place. Why do you keep arguing with me like I don't know what I am talking about. You wouldn't know if you are just playing with an unloaded gun, Hence the warning in the manual. Please lets stop this banter as it is clear you do not own nor have much experiece with this gun other than handling one at your place of work. I am not trying to be argumentative or start some fight, but I would not be posting if I had no experience with the gun in question, and I expect the same from other members here. You have at least 2 posts in this thread with misinformation and I would not want others to think that people at Ellwood Epps don't know what they are talking about. I love shopping at Epps when I get up that way, and will continue to do so.
As far as IPSC rules are concerned I am not positive but USPSA allows for the removal of the mag safety. I have read somewhere in a ruger sr9 forum that it is legal to remove the mag safety but I may be wrong.
I am going to respectfully bow out of this conversation now as it seems we are the only ones keeping this thread alive. I hope the OP has gotten the answer he came here for, and we have all learned a little something.
Cheers
ML
We are not talking about can or cannot fire with the mag safe, we are talking about the damage of the striker when dry fire without the mag inserted, if you want to know more, I high recommend you go visit Rugerforum.com.
Best regards
Trigun
I have just thought about this SR9. I might look into the rule myself.
But if the Mag. safety is not there...as in not installed by the manufacturer. It should be considered a 'production' gun.
It was made that way, not altered.
Changing it to include the mag safety would actually be 'modifying' a production gun.
Finally shot my SR9 the other day. It started off fine then started to jam(did not eject spent shell). The person I was at the range with thought it was because my grip was too weak, he only experinced the issue when he was shooting with one hand. I was making sure that my arms were not coming up but was still jamming. Can someone explain how "weak" grip could cause jam's as I am unable to think of a mechanical explanation for the grip causing the jam. It was something I was doing but can't figure out what. Note the amo was 115 gain.
bigdaddyeo
Regular
- Location
- Canning, NS
My wife had the same problem with my SR9 the first time she shot it. First time out I had one FTF and she had 3 FTE but since then not one problem. I think that it was her grip too...
It's called limp-wristing.
The shooter, unwittingly acting as a shock absorber, damps the very force that is required to cycle the slide reliably.
Once one understands the cause and effect, one can often self-identify this cause of malfunctions.
The shooter, unwittingly acting as a shock absorber, damps the very force that is required to cycle the slide reliably.
Once one understands the cause and effect, one can often self-identify this cause of malfunctions.
