What am I doing wrong - SR9c

admcd

admcd

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Hi, folks.

Pretty much a total gun newb here with a perplexing (to me) issue. I bought a (used) SR9c shortly before Christmas - My first firearm purchase ever.

I finally took it shooting for the first time and it was great. Brought it home, cleaned and lubed it up and put it back in the safe.

A few weeks later, I brought it out again to take my future sister-in-law to the range with me. She was having a lot of trouble getting the first round out of the magazine to feed when pulling back and releasing the slide to bring it into battery with a fresh mag. The round looks like it was getting its nose hung up on the feed ramp. Racking the slide to clear the malfunction brought the same issue back again. Since I didn't do much shooting that day, I didn't worry about it too much -I figured it was due to weak hand strength and not getting the slide all the way back before letting go. Brought it home, cleaned and lubed it up and put it back in the safe.

Then it happened to me on my trip to the range on Monday.

I've tried different ammo and three mags - All the same results. About 75% of the time the round would hang up. One mag seems to have the issue "more" than the others, but it does happen with all three of my mags.

I'm thinking the issue is on my side of the trigger. Anyone have any thoughts? Or should I reach out to the friendly people at Ruger?

Thanks.

AM
 
I owned a Ruger SR9 (big brother to the SR9c) and I never lubed it after every range trip. Are sure you haven't gummed it up?
 
If you cleaned and lubed it before shooting it, and the guns new to you....its a possibility you reassembled it incorrectly, happens to us all!!!. Also, with a compact gun like the sr9C, have you tried using the slide stop lever to bring the gun into battery? This is sometimes recommended (Kahr, i know, requires it)
 
I clean mine every few trips now. I have easily 5k rounds. Never one hang up! Maybe polish the ramp. What about magazines. Does it do it in all the mags
 
You said it worked perfect until you took it apart to clean and lube? I'd say there's your problem. You said you're a gun noob, any chance you put it together wrong or lubed what you shouldn't?

First thing I would do is have someone experienced look at it. Since you bought it used maybe contact the previous owner for help?
 
Thanks, everyone, for the quick responses.

I haven't tried putting anything other than FMJ target rounds through it yet. Wanted to become at least minimally proficient before spending good money on a defensive load.

Rotaryrocket said:
I clean mine every few trips now. I have easily 5k rounds. Never one hang up! Maybe polish the ramp. What about magazines. Does it do it in all the mags
Click to expand...

I've noticed it occurring in all the mags to one degree or another. There's one mag in particular that seems to be more prone than the others.

JeffC said:
If you cleaned and lubed it before shooting it, and the guns new to you....its a possibility you reassembled it incorrectly, happens to us all!!!. Also, with a compact gun like the sr9C, have you tried using the slide stop lever to bring the gun into battery? This is sometimes recommended (Kahr, i know, requires it)
Click to expand...

Ruger is pretty adamant that you don't use the slide stop to bring it into battery. I'll give it a shot though - It's worth a try.

As for cleaning and lubing, I thought I was careful just to use oil on the slide rails and other metal on metal contact points - I pretty assiduously avoided places where the videos I watched didn't put any lube.

I bought the pistol from Four Seasons, so there really isn't a previous owner to check with - I'll see if any of the guys at the range I belong to (MFS) might have a eyes-on thought or a moment to check it out.

I'll check out a couple of videos to make sure I didn't accidentally put the spring in backwards - That's about the only thing I wasn't 100% positive on.

If there's anyone reading this in the general Framingham neck of the woods who'd be willing to offer their expertise, I'd be more than happy to throw a four pack or a growler of Jack's Abbey's finest brew to make it worth your time.

Thanks again, folks.
 
Id be more then happy to take a look at it. We can even compare in to mine. I'm in Milford. I belong to hopkinton sportsman's if you want a tour or we could go to MFS as ur guest
 
admcd said:
I bought the pistol from Four Seasons, so there really isn't a previous owner to check with - I'll see if any of the guys at the range I belong to (MFS) might have a eyes-on thought or a moment to check it out.

Thanks again, folks.
Click to expand...

I would def go back to four seasons. I bought my SR9c there and they spent time with me until i was comfortable field stripping and assembling, also what needs lube.
 
Are you riding the slide back (at all)? You should be pulling it all the way back, and then let fly, allowing it to slam shut on it own. It you're guiding it in any way, I can see how that would result in what you describe.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk
 
And once you have it, polish like mine [grin]

e7mm1l.jpg
 
Awesome, everyone, and thanks.

When the fiance gets back from her yearly business trip to somewhere warm (Arizona this year), I'm going to see if I can't convince her to let me take the dremel OFF the wedding registry and put it ON to our workbench. I want my gun to be as shiny as ColdDay's!

Rotaryrocket, PM inbound shortly.
 
admcd said:
Ruger is pretty adamant that you don't use the slide stop to bring it into battery. I'll give it a shot though - It's worth a try
Click to expand...

Yea, they say its should only be used as a slide lock. You may not even be able to get it to release; even after 1000 rounds mine could never function as a release.
 
Steven Pom said:
my SR9 will release it with the slide stop, but it takes strong thumb [wink]
Click to expand...

Same here.

blindndead said:
That is nice! How did you do it?
Click to expand...

Soaked barrel in white vinegar for about 20 minutes, then cleaned it completely off.

Then 0000 steel wool + Flitz for about 20 minutes. Then a rag + Mothers Mag polish, until it's a mirror.

ld6hj.jpg
 
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StevieP said:
Are you riding the slide back (at all)? You should be pulling it all the way back, and then let fly, allowing it to slam shut on it own. It you're guiding it in any way, I can see how that would result in what you describe.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

+1. This gun wants that slide to go ALL the way back and then release.
 
Think a new captured guide rod/spring for this gun is cheap money. Try that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Shot this gun today. I believe the extractor is the issue. Side by side comparison his every actor where it goes over the rim is tighter then mine.
 
Just send it to Ruger and you will have it back in a week or so. They will pay for the shipping... I know it's an added hassle in your life but worth it IMHO.
 
Well, that was fast. Folks who say good things about Ruger Customer Service ain't lying!

Just spoke to the good folks in Prescott, AZ. They replaced the barrel, slide stop assembly and the extractor. I should have it back mid-week.

I think I'm feeling a Wednesday sick day coming on....
 
I didn't want to comment prior to this although I had read the thread. My guess reading the symptoms was that you got one of the ones that would have to be sent back. They're pretty rare but they happen.

It's good that you sent it back. Ruger is 110% behind their products, their customer service is second to none, and it's about as painless as it can be if you have to. Good luck with the pistol, there are lots of very happy people with them and I'm sure you will be too. Occasionally someone gets one that needs to be sent back, but in return in my experience you'll get back a gun with any problems completely solved and that will be the end of that, and the beginning of a lot of fun shooting it. I have a full-sized SR9 manufactured prior to the D shaped mag release (the "1.1" version) and my gun still runs perfectly and has since the day I bought it. I take pretty good care of it but nothing special. I don't feed it Winchester White Box and have never had trouble. In fact my not using WWB is probably not even justified, but I don't. When you get one that hiccups out of the box, put it back in the box and send it back to Ruger. Simple as that.

It shouldn't astonish anyone that occasionally a retail customer gets sold a "new" gun (and in this case it was a used gun) that actually has a problem that the seller didn't wish to reveal (or actually truly doesn't "know about"), instead relying on the customer service department of the manufacturer to take care of it. I have no hard numbers, but I'm pretty sure it happens from time to time out there in the real world. :)
 
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One quick addendum in my experience: The SR series pistols all have pretty stiff return springs particularly when they're new, or new-ish. When I bought my SR9 I was initially surprised at the effort it took to rack the slide. That is not necessarily abnomal, but what you *do* need to do is develop a little bit of "snap" in your motion. When the guns are new they're tight, in my experience, and you have to overcome the initial static friction plus the relatively heavy spring. The way you do that best is to learn to grab and pull the slide with velocity, like you mean it, in other words. :) Practice that when dry firing the gun because it gets easier quickly and you become a lot more confident in your handling. Remember to dry fire with an *** unloaded *** magazine inserted because of the magazine disconnect safety.
 
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