Ruger LC9 Failure

Praxus · May 26, 2011, 04:07 PM

I was shooting my fathers new LC9 for the first time last week and I experienced what i call a significant failure. The extractor, extractor spring and a pin that appears to hold it all together were blown out of the gun. I fired the pistol and was struck in the face in several places by "shrapnel" which turned out to be these parts. I have never experienced such a failure with any other handgun and to be quite honest it was a little disturbing. This gun has fired less than 50 rounds at this point. When I looked at the gun there was a spent casing in the chamber and it was trying to chamber a second round. I'm assuming that the pressure in the chamber caused the extractor to be blown out of the slide. This is rather troubling to me because I also own an LC9 which I intended to use as my edc during the warmer summer months. I have fired between 50 and 100 rounds through mine and now I'm convinced that I need to do some serious endurance testing to determine whether in fact it is a reliable carry weapon. I'm posting this to find out if anyone else has had these types of problems with their LC9. The guy at the range where we were shooting said that they have seen several LC9's with the same failure. If you have experienced this type of failure with your LC9, please share your experience and what Ruger's solution, if any, to the failure was. Thanks

Smaug · May 26, 2011, 04:12 PM

1. I'm sure Ruger will make it right, although I admit it is a pain.

2. Have your father ask which serial number range of LC9 is affected by this flaw when he sends his in with the required letter. (check yours to see if it is in the effected range of serial numbers)

3. In the meantime, wear your safety glasses.

dsa1115 · May 26, 2011, 04:37 PM

Were you shooting reloads or factory ammunition?

Coltman 77 · May 26, 2011, 04:42 PM

Sorry for your problem. Let us know how Ruger takes care of you.

greyeyezz · May 26, 2011, 06:11 PM

Ammo that was used?

DonutGuy · May 26, 2011, 06:44 PM

I recently bought an lc9 and have had no probs with 100 rounds of 115 fmj, and 50 rounds of 124+p federal hst. Awesome gun, skinny and fairly inexpensive. This won't be a range gun, ccw only. So i'll continue to load it with the 124+p HST.

KyJim · May 26, 2011, 06:58 PM

Like others, wanting ammo info. Specifically, was he using reloads. If so, I would guess a double charge.

lcpiper · May 26, 2011, 07:01 PM

A guy at THR posted this....

Quote:

Ironically both guns failed within minutes of each other during some range time. His slide locked shut and my extractor broke. We were using Win white box.

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/i.../t-582309.html

KyJim · May 26, 2011, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Ironically both guns failed within minutes of each other during some range time. His slide locked shut and my extractor broke. We were using Win white box.

Okay, those are a totally different kind of problem the OP posted about.

lcpiper · May 26, 2011, 07:31 PM

Not if the extractor broke before his last shot and he just didn't notice it until he fired and it spit the remaining parts back at him right ?

I would think that would explain it not extracting the empty and trying to feed the next round behind it.

Quote:

When I looked at the gun there was a spent casing in the chamber and it was trying to chamber a second round

secret_agent_man · May 26, 2011, 08:34 PM

This is exactly what they are talking about over of the general handguns thread under "autos can be iffy."

Praxus · May 26, 2011, 08:49 PM

Ammo being used was factory produced ammunition. Winchester white box and remington umc.

9mm · May 26, 2011, 09:02 PM

Quote:

extractor spring and a pin that appears to hold it all together were blown out of the gun

Now just watching a video today, this is what I suspect happen, on GEN 4 glocks the guy in the video showed both Gen 3/4 being fired, and he said that the rounds tend to bounce around and fly out sloppy on the Gen 4's. With the Gen 3 it was way better. I suspect that this happen to your gun, and being such a small pistol it broke it.

Thats just my 2 cents...

Praxus · May 26, 2011, 09:17 PM

Update: I fired 100 rounds of winchester white box through my LC9 today, not the one that the extractor failed on. There was no failure and I now have approximately 150 to 200 rounds through the gun without problems. I'm still not sure that I'm 100% comfortable with carrying this firearm for my personal protection. I really think I need to put another 250 rounds through it to really convince myself that it's not going to fail at the moment of truth. For now I will keep carrying it since it's really the only summer time option that I have. It's a little difficult to conceal a glock 17 or 30 which are my other two options, under a t-shirt. My father sent his lc9 back to ruger today, when I have more info to share on their response I will share it.

9mm · May 26, 2011, 09:33 PM

Why is the Glock 30 hard to CCW? I have done it many of times around my yard(G19) are you using a cheap holster? I got one of those Galco King Tuk's it's almost invisible

Praxus · May 26, 2011, 09:37 PM

The glock 30 isn't impossible to conceal, with the proper cover garment. I just can't conceal it under a t-shirt alone, that's why I bought the lc9. I carry the glock 30 almost exclusively when the weather turns colder and I can get away with wearing heavier concealment garments.

tim419 · December 17, 2011, 03:35 PM

Hello Praxus,

I noticed how old your post about the LC9 was; however, I have just had the same problem with the ejector.
At the range, I fired a single shot, with only one bullet in the magazine, it ejected. I loaded another bullet, individually, and it cycled.
I then loaded a magazine and after the first bullet was fired, it failed to eject. The spent cartridge stayed in the barrel. I subsequently noticed, after several attempt to complete the cycle by hand, that the ejector was missing.
The last time a cleaned it was months ago and i just cycled rounds out of it without incident.
This leads me to believe, the extractor just blew off the pistol.
Does this sound like your problem? If so, how did you resolve it?
Tim

Praxus · December 17, 2011, 04:53 PM

Hi Tim,

This is exactly what happened to me. It was actually my fathers pistol that I was shooting, I also own one. He contacted Ruger and sent the pistol to them and they repaired it. Since it was returned to him he has not had another problem with it, I'm not sure how many rounds he has put through it since he got it back but it was around the time of my original post. I have not had any problems with my LC9 and I have put around 300 rounds or more through it. My advice would be to contact Ruger and explain the problem, our experience was that they were aware of the problem with the ejectors on some of the pistols and were willing to repair the pistol. I hope this helps.

Joe

kennethlee · December 17, 2011, 11:06 PM

My son and I took my new LC9 out to the desert to fire it for the first time today. We ran about 30 rounds through it and had a feed failure just as described earlier. Upon inspection I found that the extractor was missing so assume it blew out while firing. We took it back to Cabela's and they took the extractor assembly from a new gun and put it in mine. I've not fired it with the replaced extractor as yet. It seems like this may be an issue with the gun.

This is my first post. I have read the Forum frequently over the past couple of years and find the dialogue useful. Thanks all.

(*_*) · December 17, 2011, 11:35 PM

First sig and now ruger...

Praxus · December 18, 2011, 07:25 AM

Kenneth,

My advice would be to send that pistol to ruger before firing it again. They took care of my fathers pistol, although it took about 6-8 weeks to get it back. I would say that in situations like this it is best to let the manufacturer repair and or replace the pistol. Just my $.02 worth, but ruger did my father right by repairing the pistol.

-Joe

Marquezj16 · December 18, 2011, 08:21 AM

@Praxus -What did Ruger do to resolve your Dad's problem? Did they replace the parts or replace the gun? You stated Ruger was aware of this problem. Did they elaborate on which production run was affected or just random guns?
For those whose pistols failed, did you take any pictures? I'd like to see which part actually blew out?

I have an LC9 also and I have not experience any of the problems people have posted. I'm around 750 rounds so far. However, if it does happen, I want to be prepared. Thanks for the info.

kennethlee · December 18, 2011, 09:23 AM

Thanks Praxus. I think that is good advice and will take it.

madmag · December 18, 2011, 10:49 AM

I am also a LC9 owner. 300 rounds with no issues, but I would like more info or pics if possible. Keep us posted. Thanks.

Just noticed this is an older thread, but maybe someone has updated info.

Praxus · December 18, 2011, 07:14 PM

@Marquezj16 Ruger replaced the parts, I'm not sure if I have any pics but I will look and if I have any i will post them. I'm not aware if there was a particular production range that exhibited this problem except to say that Ruger was aware of the problem. I have an LC9 as well and I have had no problems with it after several hundred rounds.

May 26, 2011, 04:07 PM	#1
Praxus Member Join Date: February 1, 2011 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 25	Ruger LC9 Failure I was shooting my fathers new LC9 for the first time last week and I experienced what i call a significant failure. The extractor, extractor spring and a pin that appears to hold it all together were blown out of the gun. I fired the pistol and was struck in the face in several places by "shrapnel" which turned out to be these parts. I have never experienced such a failure with any other handgun and to be quite honest it was a little disturbing. This gun has fired less than 50 rounds at this point. When I looked at the gun there was a spent casing in the chamber and it was trying to chamber a second round. I'm assuming that the pressure in the chamber caused the extractor to be blown out of the slide. This is rather troubling to me because I also own an LC9 which I intended to use as my edc during the warmer summer months. I have fired between 50 and 100 rounds through mine and now I'm convinced that I need to do some serious endurance testing to determine whether in fact it is a reliable carry weapon. I'm posting this to find out if anyone else has had these types of problems with their LC9. The guy at the range where we were shooting said that they have seen several LC9's with the same failure. If you have experienced this type of failure with your LC9, please share your experience and what Ruger's solution, if any, to the failure was. Thanks __________________ The right of the people to bear arms SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED!!!! Glock 17 Glock 30 Ruger LC9

May 26, 2011, 04:12 PM	#2
Smaug Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2004 Location: SE Wisconsin Posts: 3,210	1. I'm sure Ruger will make it right, although I admit it is a pain. 2. Have your father ask which serial number range of LC9 is affected by this flaw when he sends his in with the required letter. (check yours to see if it is in the effected range of serial numbers) 3. In the meantime, wear your safety glasses. __________________ -Jeremy "Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength." - Eric Hoffer

May 26, 2011, 04:42 PM	#4
Coltman 77 Senior Member Join Date: October 3, 2009 Location: NC Posts: 1,244	Sorry for your problem. Let us know how Ruger takes care of you. __________________ "A man can be destroyed but not defeated". Ernest Hemingway Protect our 2nd Amendment Rights -- Join the NRA

May 26, 2011, 06:44 PM	#6
DonutGuy Senior Member Join Date: January 31, 2010 Posts: 327	I recently bought an lc9 and have had no probs with 100 rounds of 115 fmj, and 50 rounds of 124+p federal hst. Awesome gun, skinny and fairly inexpensive. This won't be a range gun, ccw only. So i'll continue to load it with the 124+p HST. __________________ McLovin? Yeah. Great name. It is, it just rolls off the tongue. 'Sounds like a sexy hamburger!

May 26, 2011, 08:49 PM	#12
Praxus Member Join Date: February 1, 2011 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 25	Ammo being used was factory produced ammunition. Winchester white box and remington umc. __________________ The right of the people to bear arms SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED!!!! Glock 17 Glock 30 Ruger LC9

May 26, 2011, 04:37 PM	#3
dsa1115 Senior Member Join Date: March 10, 2010 Location: Illinois Posts: 444	Were you shooting reloads or factory ammunition?

May 26, 2011, 06:11 PM	#5
greyeyezz Senior Member Join Date: November 19, 2001 Location: N.E. OH Posts: 385	Ammo that was used?

May 26, 2011, 06:58 PM	#7
KyJim Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2005 Location: The Bluegrass Posts: 9,142	Like others, wanting ammo info. Specifically, was he using reloads. If so, I would guess a double charge.

May 26, 2011, 08:34 PM	#11
secret_agent_man Junior member Join Date: March 25, 2011 Posts: 463	This is exactly what they are talking about over of the general handguns thread under "autos can be iffy."

May 26, 2011, 09:17 PM	#14
Praxus Member Join Date: February 1, 2011 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 25	Update: I fired 100 rounds of winchester white box through my LC9 today, not the one that the extractor failed on. There was no failure and I now have approximately 150 to 200 rounds through the gun without problems. I'm still not sure that I'm 100% comfortable with carrying this firearm for my personal protection. I really think I need to put another 250 rounds through it to really convince myself that it's not going to fail at the moment of truth. For now I will keep carrying it since it's really the only summer time option that I have. It's a little difficult to conceal a glock 17 or 30 which are my other two options, under a t-shirt. My father sent his lc9 back to ruger today, when I have more info to share on their response I will share it. __________________ The right of the people to bear arms SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED!!!! Glock 17 Glock 30 Ruger LC9

May 26, 2011, 09:33 PM	#15
9mm Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2011 Location: Land of the Free Posts: 2,834	Why is the Glock 30 hard to CCW? I have done it many of times around my yard(G19) are you using a cheap holster? I got one of those Galco King Tuk's it's almost invisible

May 26, 2011, 09:37 PM	#16
Praxus Member Join Date: February 1, 2011 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 25	The glock 30 isn't impossible to conceal, with the proper cover garment. I just can't conceal it under a t-shirt alone, that's why I bought the lc9. I carry the glock 30 almost exclusively when the weather turns colder and I can get away with wearing heavier concealment garments. __________________ The right of the people to bear arms SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED!!!! Glock 17 Glock 30 Ruger LC9

December 17, 2011, 03:35 PM	#17
tim419 Junior Member Join Date: December 17, 2011 Posts: 1	re: LC9 ejector failure Hello Praxus, I noticed how old your post about the LC9 was; however, I have just had the same problem with the ejector. At the range, I fired a single shot, with only one bullet in the magazine, it ejected. I loaded another bullet, individually, and it cycled. I then loaded a magazine and after the first bullet was fired, it failed to eject. The spent cartridge stayed in the barrel. I subsequently noticed, after several attempt to complete the cycle by hand, that the ejector was missing. The last time a cleaned it was months ago and i just cycled rounds out of it without incident. This leads me to believe, the extractor just blew off the pistol. Does this sound like your problem? If so, how did you resolve it? Tim

December 17, 2011, 04:53 PM	#18
Praxus Member Join Date: February 1, 2011 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 25	LC9 Failure Hi Tim, This is exactly what happened to me. It was actually my fathers pistol that I was shooting, I also own one. He contacted Ruger and sent the pistol to them and they repaired it. Since it was returned to him he has not had another problem with it, I'm not sure how many rounds he has put through it since he got it back but it was around the time of my original post. I have not had any problems with my LC9 and I have put around 300 rounds or more through it. My advice would be to contact Ruger and explain the problem, our experience was that they were aware of the problem with the ejectors on some of the pistols and were willing to repair the pistol. I hope this helps. Joe __________________ The right of the people to bear arms SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED!!!! Glock 17 Glock 30 Ruger LC9

December 17, 2011, 11:06 PM	#19
kennethlee Member Join Date: December 17, 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 55	LC9 Extractor Blowout My son and I took my new LC9 out to the desert to fire it for the first time today. We ran about 30 rounds through it and had a feed failure just as described earlier. Upon inspection I found that the extractor was missing so assume it blew out while firing. We took it back to Cabela's and they took the extractor assembly from a new gun and put it in mine. I've not fired it with the replaced extractor as yet. It seems like this may be an issue with the gun. This is my first post. I have read the Forum frequently over the past couple of years and find the dialogue useful. Thanks all.

December 17, 2011, 11:35 PM	#20
(_) Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2011 Location: AL Posts: 160	First sig and now ruger... __________________ Though i did not know the place, i set out for the land of my dreams. Having arrived at the land of my dreams, i found i did not know the place.

December 18, 2011, 07:25 AM	#21
Praxus Member Join Date: February 1, 2011 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 25	LC( Failure Kenneth, My advice would be to send that pistol to ruger before firing it again. They took care of my fathers pistol, although it took about 6-8 weeks to get it back. I would say that in situations like this it is best to let the manufacturer repair and or replace the pistol. Just my $.02 worth, but ruger did my father right by repairing the pistol. -Joe __________________ The right of the people to bear arms SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED!!!! Glock 17 Glock 30 Ruger LC9

December 18, 2011, 08:21 AM	#22
Marquezj16 Senior Member Join Date: April 3, 2011 Posts: 2,088	@Praxus -What did Ruger do to resolve your Dad's problem? Did they replace the parts or replace the gun? You stated Ruger was aware of this problem. Did they elaborate on which production run was affected or just random guns? For those whose pistols failed, did you take any pictures? I'd like to see which part actually blew out? I have an LC9 also and I have not experience any of the problems people have posted. I'm around 750 rounds so far. However, if it does happen, I want to be prepared. Thanks for the info.

December 18, 2011, 09:23 AM	#23
kennethlee Member Join Date: December 17, 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 55	Good Advice Thanks Praxus. I think that is good advice and will take it.

December 18, 2011, 10:49 AM	#24
madmag Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2007 Location: The South Posts: 4,239	I am also a LC9 owner. 300 rounds with no issues, but I would like more info or pics if possible. Keep us posted. Thanks. Just noticed this is an older thread, but maybe someone has updated info.

December 18, 2011, 07:14 PM	#25
Praxus Member Join Date: February 1, 2011 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 25	@Marquezj16 Ruger replaced the parts, I'm not sure if I have any pics but I will look and if I have any i will post them. I'm not aware if there was a particular production range that exhibited this problem except to say that Ruger was aware of the problem. I have an LC9 as well and I have had no problems with it after several hundred rounds. __________________ The right of the people to bear arms SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED!!!! Glock 17 Glock 30 Ruger LC9