UPDATE, Ruger SR45 test shoot @100 yards, weak hand

[WildBill45]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuzEZvIkCy4

Here if the final update on my Ruger SR45 after it's mag release problems of last Monday. I picked it up today at the UPS hub, and shot it this evening (Monday after)... I shot it left hand, at 100 yards, no sight in on paper. The first shoot where I could actually shoot it without issues stopping the show... Works great, shoots better still!!!

The video says it all...

Update: Shot up my last box of Russian, Tula ammo, functioned perfect, but smelled funny and is very dirty, groups were not good as well. I will not use it unless it is the only brand on the shelf when ammo is needed...

[ritepath]

When I sighted in my son's muzzle loader at 50 yards, I took the time to shoot the SR 10 times from the rest. I easily pulled a 10-12" group, with wally world wolf.

I carry this thing as my coyote pistol when bowhunting.

[passtime]

Good to see and good to hear. I am glad it all worked out for ya. Happy Trails.......

[WildBill45]

Good to see and good to hear. I am glad it all worked out for ya. Happy Trails.......

I love it when a plan comes together! ( The A-Team)

I will put it through the paces you can be sure...

[passtime]

I have put about 400 rounds through mine since I got it back from Ruger. No problems so far. Sometime this week I am going to put another hundred or so through it. If all goes well it will become my HD handgun along with my 870 shotgun.

[WildBill45]

If all goes well it will become my HD handgun along with my 870 shotgun.

Sounds like it is ready now! There is no magic number to break in a semi ... one of the things that makes me trust my wheel guns so much more ... cops are issued guns today and carry tomorrow without much fanfare or issues in most cases. Just like some here, some do have issues and not shooting them 10,000 times before carrying had nothing to do with it.

You get on these sites and folks quote statistics from who knows where:

You must shoot 500 rounds through it before carrying ... where does one get 500 rounds on the spot these days? Does a stalking victim wait for months to break in her new gun before defending herself? If you think so, then buy her a revolver!

Safety or no safety ... depends on whether you are trained and experienced ... experienced means thousands of rounds and hundreds of hours, not 500 rounds ... if you were trained or trained alone with a safety, then all is well, if not, don't get a safety mounted gun ... simple, no set rules.

Most of these rules are for rank beginners to get them started ... master shooters know the main rule is being safe and not missing the bad guy ... the rest is fodder.

As I said, I think it is ready now, but continue to shoot, not just to break it in, but to break YOU IN! You and your gun become mates!

[passtime]

In my opinion you just can't get any more dependable than a wheel gun. I used to own many revolvers and one semi auto. A S&W 659. The only other semi auto I have owned is my SR45. I lost all my firearms in a fire back in the nineties and have slowly been buying a few here and there, mostly long guns. I chose a semi this time around because my eyesight is pretty bad and I wanted to have a few more rounds at hand if needed. lol, that may sound bad but at 25 yards I can get all my shots into an 8" circle and most into 6". Next on the list is a wheel gun. I don't plan on having near as many firearms as I did before that fire but I sure do miss my revolvers and I will pick up at least one before I check out.

[WildBill45]

I sure do miss my revolvers and I will pick up at least one before I check out.

I think that will be a while, so check out the new wheel guns!

I miss my ole hunting dog and that blonde that got away!

Remember, wet dogs and old men smell bad!

So get your gun before you get wet!

[JohnKSa]

You must shoot 500 rounds through it before carrying ... where does one get 500 rounds on the spot these days?

The number is arbitrary, the point is that one needs to do enough shooting to verify that the chosen ammunition is compatible with the gun and that the gun doesn't have any function issues that weren't detected at the factory. Like a faulty magazine release, for example.

It's not so much a matter of break-in (although that may be part of the issue with some guns), it's a matter of determining gun/ammo compatibility.

500 rounds may be a bit high, but it makes good sense to put a decent number of rounds of your carry/self-defense ammo through the gun before relying on it for self-defense. I've run into a number of good quality firearms that, for whatever reason, didn't "like" a particular loading. It's nice to find that out at the range, as opposed to in the middle of a critical situation.

What's the exact round count? It's hard to say, but it's safe to say that the number is larger than 0 and that the more testing you can afford to do the more likely the results are to be conclusive.

By the way, even revolvers can have ammo compatibility issues although it's not as likely.

[57K]

WildBill45, I'm glad Ruger resolved your problem the way that I had expected they would. Nobody has better customer service. I have over 600 rounds through my SR45, a good number of them +P type handloads. Then there are the lighter cast lead bullet handloads I make and shoot. My recommendations are based on experience with MY pistol which has been flawless with accuracy better than any poly framed pistol I've shot, 9mm or .45 ACP, including a few that cost twice the price. How Ruger is able to manufacture these pistols and keep the suggested retail price at $529 is rather amazing, IMO. Good old yankee ingenuity at its best. Like Ruger says, "it's mine and it's American."

[Hammerhead]

Nice shooting.

[g.willikers]

Yes, indeedy.
Good shooting for sure.
And it sounds like it made your day, too.

When I was a kid, my pals an I used to practice, with our trusty SA sixguns, on water filled bottles at 100 yds - gallon, quart and pint sized.
We got pretty good, too.
Awhile back, at one of the local matches, one of the stages was a single uspsa target at 100 yds, timed.
Very few could make hits rapid fire.
But the ones who could really shoot had no trouble making two good hits in just a couple of seconds.

Anyone here do long shots as part of their practice routine?

[passtime]

.......LOL.......

[passtime]

In response to g.willikers question. I used to when my vision was better. The S&W 659 I mentioned above could hit within an inch of a stick stuck in the ground out in a cornfield at 100 yards consistently. One of the most accurate handguns I ever fired. Now days 25 yards with a handgun and 100 yards with iron sights on a rifle are about my limit. I am still having fun though and for me that's what counts.

[WildBill45]

When I was in the Navy in the late 60s, early 70's, I was stationed at Lemoore Naval Air station, 45 miles out of Fresno. I used to hunt jackrabbits with my First Second Gen Colt SAA near Avenal CA, and learned to make a habit at hitting a few, and some at far range ... it is NOT easy to hit a running Jack with a handgun, trust me

I watched them starting to bulldoze the dirt to build a new highway in those days... HWY 5...

[dakota1911]

We smell bad??? (sniff sniff)

[guy sajer]

Thanks for posting ! I've got an SR45 coming .

[WildBill45]

Thanks for posting ! I've got an SR45 coming

If you are a trigger guy you will like this one ... it is the best of the type, but still inferior to the good ole Revolvers like the S&W 14, or 19!

Folks who shoot striker triggers all the time seem to complain that they cannot tell when the trigger of the SR45 is going to go off, this is because they are so used to crappy triggers a good one is bad in comparison. It is like someone who flies a 747 complaining that an F-22 is too fast to react to the movement of the controls!!!
Go figure!

Let us know how you like it!

Are you a single action trigger fan, or have you learned on a striker trigger (I hope not).

[guy sajer]

Are you a single action trigger fan, or have you learned on a striker trigger (I hope not).

I actually have a fair amount of trigger time with most handgun types . Revolvers SA / DA , autos SA / DA , striker . I don't have any trigger prejudices that I'm aware of .

I will report back , thanks

[passtime]

My SR45 is the first and only striker fired firearm I have used and the trigger is definitely strange to me. I can see the benefit of it I just have to master it. I polished the contact points between the trigger bar and the striker the other night as suggested in the video below and it improved an already good trigger greatly. I found the video on one of the forums but I have not been able to find the original post. Check out the video. It is worth the time and simple to do and will definitely improve the trigger. Took me about a half hour. In the video he is referring to an SR9C but it works pretty much the same.

You Tube