As mentioned on my Facebook page we’ve recently started to rent out the Ruger LC9 and Ruger SR9c at the West Coast Armory range booth. I decided to drag both guns out and do some comparative shooting to find out more about the LC9.
The first thing I did was line up the LCP, the LC9 and the SR9c for a side-by-side comparison. The LC9 is basically an SR9c-sized LCP. It’s maybe 1/4″ slimmer and 1/2″ shorter than the SR9c but the size difference isn’t nearly what I expected it to be.
However, because the firearm was larger than I remembered it being it shot better than I thought it would! When I say shooting the LC9 exceeded my expectations I should probably qualify that my expectations for this firearm were miserably low. Even though it did better than I thought it would the gun was was still a beast to shoot, it was actually painful and I came off the experience with a bruised trigger finger and a sore hand.
I went afterwards and shot the SR9c for comparison and because it made me feel better. You can see the obvious difference in controllability based on my two groups. The fliers from the SR9c aren’t nearly as numerous nor as far from the rest of the group as with the LC9.
I suppose if, for whatever reason, you absolutely must have a single stack the LC9 isn’t completely horrible as long as it runs, then again its design is very similar to the LCP and given my experience with the little guns I am not overly optimistic on the reliability factor of the LC9 either. The firearm definitely isn’t small enough for me to use for deep concealment, but I guess if you have really big pockets in baggy pants it would work. Or, you know, you could just buy an SR9c and not be in pain when you shoot, but this is coming from someone who’s not cool enough to comprehend the single stack 9mm trend.
“someone who’s not cool enough to comprehend the single stack 9mm trend.”
So long as you own up to your shortcomings.
Honestly, I don’t know what there is to “comprehend” about a small single-stack 9mm. It is what it is and if you don’t like it, then fine, don’t like it. Snarking about others who enjoy single-stack 9mm guns and find a useful purpose in their lives, now that’s just small of you. Or maybe elitist, whatever.
Me, I’m a large man and my normal pants have pockets large enough to accommodate a small single-stack 9mm. Ergo, I have a useful purpose for them. I also have large hands and these small 9mm’s are essentially the smallest handgun I can safely operate.
You are a smaller woman with smaller hands and smaller pockets, to you, there is no use for a small single-stack 9mm. That’s fine, but you don’t hear me making fun of you or anyone else for not being able to utilize this sort of gun.
I’m sorry you took offense, but I think you misunderstand.
You are now the second person I’ve spoken to, in the thousands and thousands I deal with on a monthly basis, who is actually large enough that they cannot safely handle pocket pistols even while correctly handling them.
While you represent the small, though undeniably existent, reasonable target market for this weapon most people can handle pocket pistols and it makes more sense from a reliability, controlability and concealability standpoint to go with an actual pocket pistol. Thus why I fail to understand single stack 9mms as a TREND, not as a product.
Thanks for replying.
RE the trends of guns. If gun owners were rational, the mares leg and shotshell revolvers wouldn’t have seen the light of day. Gun owners like weird stuff that doesn’t necessarily make rational sense.
It’s refreshing to see someone relatively new to firearms to be so ‘right on” with their gun views. You must have been hanging out with the more experienced crowd. The smaller is better marketing machine has co-opted the masses into believing that the pocket guns are adequate defense for them and their loved ones. In reality the pocket guns are fragile and extremely hard to shoot well. I can’t think of any respected trainers who advocate that smaller is better in a self-defense situation. Especially when there are so many compact guns like the SR9c, S&W M&Pc, and Glocks that can take the abuse of lots of practice and are so much easier to shoot accurately. And they are really fairly easy to conceal. Good luck with your competitive adventures and keep the good articles coming. I especially enjoy your articles from the prospective of an active range/gun store employee.
Shelley,
Thank you for the review. It looks like I’ll need to find a place to try one out for myself to see if I have the same issue with it beating up my hand. I am still curious to hear how well it, or any other micro 9mm pistols fare as rental guns WRT parts breakage etc.
I’m interested in a micro 9 because several years ago I was involved in an incident where I thought there was a high probability of my needing a firearm to defend myself. All I had was a P-32, I think I would have felt better if I’d forgotten my pants.
Fortunately I never needed the gun, but I was left feeling the .32 was inadequate for anything more serious than a mouse charge.
I seem to recall that the LC9 is about the same size as a Walther PPK, but obviously with a more potent payload. That’s why I’m interested.
I’m 5′ 11″ and 190 pounds. I’ve been carrying a Walther PPK clone AIWB at about 1 o’clock for about two years now, but only when I need deep concealment (which is at my civilian job.) I made the choice to carry the gun in this position because I can always be aware of my concealment, since I can just look down at where the gun is at. Also, bending over and generally moving about doesn’t do much to make the gun print.
When I don’t need to practice deep concealment, I have a full size M&P9 that I carry either IWB or OWB, between 3 and 4 o’clock. Truth be told, I’d like to carry the M&P9 OWB daily, but economics dictate that if I want to keep buying guns, I’ve got to keep my desk job. So deep concealment it is…
I’d been mulling over the 9mm single stack options for quite a while, since I consider the 9×18 Mak rounds in my PPK clone to be on the weak side (even weaker than the 9×17 – AKA .380 ACP – that most “pocket pistols” are chambered in.) I also have three other 9mm pistols and plenty of good carry ammo in that caliber, so it made sense to find a 9mm to replace the PPK clone simply from an ammunition commonality standpoint. My personal standard for carry ammunition is any reputable 9mm hollowpoint, I carry Winchester Ranger SXTs. None of the single stack 9mm’s that were available until recently really struck my fancy. I don’t trust Taurus enough to buy one of their products. Ditto on Kel-Tec. I haven’t been impressed with any of Kahr’s boxy offerings, nor any of Sig’s. I had almost decided to buy a Walther PPK, but I couldn’t get past the mag release and the funny mags.
I’ve considered purchasing an M&P9c to complement my M&P9, but I find carrying a gun that thick AIWB can be downright uncomfortable. I buy my pants a size large to accommodate my carry habits, and while that works for carrying a double stack IWB at 4 o’clock, carrying that same pistol at 1-2 o’clock is a recipe for pain when sitting down. Double stack guns also print much easier than single stack guns.
When the LC9 came out, I figured Ruger had missed the opportunity to take my money based on some of the feedback on the web. But once I handled the display model in the store, I realized that it was much closer to what I was looking for than anything else out there. It’s thin enough, the slide is about 0.9″ and parts of the frame are even narrower. It has nearly the same dimensions as my PPK clone and even fits in the same holster, although tightly (I ended up buying a slightly larger holster for the LC9.) It’s actually designed around the 9mm rather than the .40, which is a plus given the history of guns that are chambered in one caliber or the other as an afterthought.
There are the usual shortcomings. The recoil is snappy. I don’t mind that, the PPK clone is snappy too. The trigger is very long. But it’s also very slick, and I find that I’m able to group well with it. The capacity is one more than what I had in the PPK clone, so that’s a plus. And the sights are much better.
It is a bit upsetting to see the idea of these pistols poo-poo’d repeatedly on different gun blogs. Everyone has their preferences, but it seems as though there’s this overarching hatred of anything that resembles a PF-9 knockoff. It seems like it actually upsets people to see others create sufficient demand for what was once a niche product to the point that there’s basically a new market segment being frequently filled by new designs. And it’s all down to not identifying with the people who purchase these pistols, which leads to animosity towards them as it does with anything else.
Your solution to your inability to identify with this group of firearms enthusiasts seems to be to mock them. I don’t know if you expect them to go away or what…. I guess I’ll stick around for Caleb’s posts.
Thanks for the great article. I’ve been waiting for someone to compare the single-stack 9mm’s with the double-stack 9mm’s; and using the Ruger designs is a great way to do so. I’d thought about getting a LC9 for pocket carry; but, after trying my XDsc 9mm in my pocket, I think it would work just as well as the LC9. Heck, it’s even comparable to a .38SPL snub for that particular job. If I need to go smaller, I’ll probably get a NAA Guardian or a Micro-Eagle. Thanks again!
Great thoughts. I’ve shot both the SR9c and the LC9…along with the LCP and the LCR–all from Ruger. I like the SR9c and it has the best trigger of the many semi-auto pistols that I own. The LC9 has the worst trigger of any pistols I’ve ever fired! I have come to believe that a lot of the people that buy these tiny pocket pistols plan to carry them but hope to never have to shoot them. For them small size and light weight are the most important considerations. For those that carry concealed and that shoot a lot, something larger makes a lot more sense.
I am 6’4 240, I can palm a basketball. I was not interested in the lcp, but the 9mm has me intrigued. Shelly I have never met you, but you look thin or petite in yours past pics. This gun is not for everyone.