WILL THE RUGER SR9C FIRE OUT OF BATTERY?

[Downwind]

Was at the range today, (coooold) and someone showed up with a Ruger sr9c. In firing his first mag of ammo he had a case head blow out! When this happened the huge loaded chamber indicator broke off and hit him on the forehead. He didn't know what hit him at the time but after further inspection, by me, I noticed the missing part. Still haven't found it!

After inspecting the brass (Federal factory load), it was blown out just ahead of the extractor groove.

Took the firearm apart for further inspection and there didn't seem to be any other damage.

Found out that he had shot the gun yesterday with a case head blowout also.

Dropped a new round in the chamber and it sat flush with the hood on the barrel and seams to have a little relief at the ramp/chamber intersection.

Will this gun fire out of battery?

Should he be looking at the ammo?

He tried to call Ruger but got no answer at customer service #

Dealer will send it back, but he is pissed and doesn't even want the gun anymore!

What do you think?

THANKS
DOWNWIND

 

[ToddDubya]

Geez, I've never heard of this. I thought it had a safety that gets disengaged when the slide is closed. I'll take a peek at mine and see if it allows a trigger pull (and striker strike) with the slide not fully closed. Obviously I'm not going to try with live ammo, but I'll try it empty.

My first thought is that it's junk and he should send it to me for proper disposal.

 

[Downwind]

Geez, I've never heard of this. I thought it had a safety that gets disengaged when the slide is closed. I'll take a peek at mine and see if it allows a trigger pull (and striker strike) with the slide not fully closed. Obviously I'm not going to try with live ammo, but I'll try it empty.

My first thought is that it's junk and he should send it to me for proper disposal.

The odd thing is, I have been researching this model, in depth, just recently

Have seen nothing but rave reviews except for 1 person who has had problems, but Ruger made good on them in 2 try's.

I've never owned a striker fired pistol before.

Now I'm not so sure I want it on my "WANT LIST"

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[Len-2A Training]

I just tried this on my SR9c. When out of battery, the barrel is tilted down a small amount and no way could I get the trigger to release.

 

[CasualButJiggy]

What do you mean by case head blow out? I own one, and I'm not following what happened. Thanks.

 

[jeffC]

I think the most feesable explanation would be he had delayed primer, and didn't wait the 30 seconds he should have. Tried to rack the slide to check, and it blew while he was checking. That's the only real way I can see a round going off with no direct contact to the pin. Could have been an overcharged round too. I've seen overcharged rounds blow the grips clean off a 1911.

 

[el duderino]

Sounds to me he found a quicker fix to removing the loaded chamber indicator.

 

[warpig]

So is this all I need to do to get rid of my loaded chamber indicator?

 

[ToddDubya]

just tried this on my SR9c. When out of battery, the barrel is tilted down a small amount and no way could I get the trigger to release.

Same here. I tried holding the slide back ever so gently and like Len said, it won't fire. In fact it just pulls it farther out of battery. My guess is on a bad batch of ammo. You said it happened twice. Any chance that was the same box of ammo? The SR9c is rated for +P+ ammo according to Ruger, so I doubt the gun malfunctioned.

When I drop a round in the chamber, it goes in almost to the extraction groove, like your friend's.

If your friend still has the bad cases, maybe there are some clues there. If you can, post some pics and maybe the brass gurus can help shed some light on potential weaknesses in the case. It's probably worth it to call the ammo manufacturer. If they have a bad batch they may tell you and put an end to the search.

Good luck, keep us posted.

 

[Downwind]

What do you mean by case head blow out? I own one, and I'm not following what happened. Thanks.

The brass splits just ahead of the extractor groove, releasing all the pressure into the breech/mag well area.

 

[Downwind]

Wondering if the ramp is overcut and not giving the head of the cartridge full support?

 

[Downwind]

My recommendation was to send the gun back to Ruger with the two blown pieces of brass.