First seen at Gun Nuts Media:
Ruger announces their new “LC9” compact polymer 9mm pistol. Six inches long, 0.90″ wide, and 4.5″ tall, the LC9 weighs 17.1 (w/unloaded magazine) and has a capacity of 7+1. MSRP is $443.
The pistol will have both a manual (non-ambi) safety and magazine disconnect.
Looking at the picture, it would appear the safety locks the slide in place. This is a step backwards, in my opinion. One of the nicest features of modern safety-equipped guns like the M&P and HK USP/P2000 series is that they allow the operator to load and unload the weapon while the safety is engaged. This adds another level of protection against a moment of inattention during administrative handling.
Many will compare the LC9 to its brother the LCP. Let’s look at the tale of the tape:
| Spec | Ruger LCP | Ruger LC9 |
| Caliber | .380 Auto | 9x19mm |
| Length | 5.2″ | 6.0″ |
| Height | 3.6″ | 4.5″ |
| Width | 0.79″ | 0.90″ |
| Weight | 9.4oz | 17.1oz |
Assuming it runs well, this gun is sure to be a popular option among the “I can’t conceal something as huge as a Glock 26” crowd. It will likely be as difficult to come by as the LCP was when first introduced.
Personally, I have a difficult time seeing a need for one given my carry habits. At almost an inch longer and an inch taller — not to mention twice the unloaded weight — it’s too big to serve as a convenient backup (something the LCP does quite well). But so small and with such a low capacity, it wouldn’t be my choice as a primary CCW gun, either. Then again, I do not fall into the “I can’t conceal something as huge as a Glock 26” crowd, do I?
It will be interesting to see one at SHOT, but I cannot imagine switching to one of these in place of a P30, M&P, Glock 19, SIG P229, etc.
Train hard & stay safe! ToddG
So, they saw that Kel-Tec was selling a ton of their PF-9 pistols, and decide to make a similar pistol with the same capacity that was heavier, taller, longer, and wider? 🙂
The MSRP will help this sell, I’m sure. But I’m with Todd – they are attempting to solve a problem that isn’t there.
Ha, I just looked up the specs for the Glock 26. The 26 is about .5 inch wider, just .3 inch longer, and is actually .3 inches shorter than the new Ruger. And the G26 only weighs 2 oz more. Not much of a difference.
In fairness to Ruger, the casual CCW’er (a market segment many times larger than the serious CCW’er) will go mad for the LC9 (and the SIG P290, etc.).
I predict we’ll see “when will they be making a .45 version?” posted somewhere on the Internet before SHOT…
I’m with Todd, while I don’t have a heck of a lot of use for the gun (if I want small and low capacity, I have j-frames for that) I do think that the casual market will eat it up. Plus, Ruger > Kel-Tec as far as quality goes, so I actually think they’ll sell a truckload of the things.
Yeah, another Kel-Tec rip off. Ruger is now officially the gun industry’s version of the Hollywood remake.
Identical size/weight/capacity/price as a Kahr CW9.
No contest… Kahr wins.
Agree they’ll sell tons to casual CCW people. I think they over thought this one instead of keeping it simple.
Not my cup of tea either way but why didn’t Ruger just copy the LCP instead of adding all the junk from the SR series. Bulky overdone loaded chamber indicator, longer grip (more rounds in mag then LCP), longer barrel, bulk sights for pocket carry and safety when most would use it for a back up to non safety equipped striker fired guns. Leaving this stuff out probably could of cut a lot of manufacturing cost also.
On George’s comment for just a second, can someone explain to me exactly how this is a Kel-Tec rip off? Because it kind of looks like the Kel-Tec? Or because it’s a locked breech recoil operated 9mm? Because at a certain point there are only so many ways you can make a gun function mechanically.
I personally don’t think it is a Kel-Tec “ripoff” (and I’m not George 🙂 )—my comment was simply that it looked to me like Ruger noted that Kel-Tec was selling a lot of PF-9s, that there was a serious market for a small, flat 9mm, and decided to get in on that market and make some money.
(Probably also noted that many people bought LCPs, and then kept saying “I wish it was in 9mm.”)
I agree that Ruger > Kel-Tec, but the current PF-9s are perfectly good quality-wise (the early ones had problems, but the current ones seem to have solved them), and Ruger’s offering is bigger, looks like its ergonomics push your hand farther away from the bore axis, and doesn’t offer any significant improvements in any other fashion.
(I don’t consider a mag disconnect or an external safety for this type of gun an improvement at all, though some do.)
At the price point, they’ll sell tons of these to the “Bubba Crowd.”
So Ruger saw a need for an M&P compact sized gun with a lower capacity? When will they recall this one?
The MSRP on the Kahr CW9 is $549. This is much cheaper. Some will feel that the Ruger is a higher quality gun than the Kel-Tec. Having 9mm over the LCP’s 380 will please some people. After the success of the LCP this is a natural. They will sell truck loads.
When I first saw it my first thought was “Wow that really looks like my Kel-Tec P11” as I read on and on I felt more like it was a rip off of Kel-Tec, glad to see Im not the only one thinking this after browsing the comments.
Given how wildly successful Ruger was when copying Kel-Tec’s pocket .380 and improving it, I’m again led to the conclusion that this thing will sell like crazy.
Walther PPS
Caliber: 9mm Parabellum, .40 S&W
Length: 6.3
Width: 1.04
Height: 4.4 (w/ 6-rd. magazine)
Weight, Empty: 19.4 oz
Barrel Length: 3.2
9mm Caliber: 6 & 7 Round Magazines Included (8 Rounds Available)
Stolen from http://handgundata.blogspot.com/2007/07/walther-pps-police-pistol-slim.html
Of course the Walther is more expensive. But the ambi paddle release on the Walther alone is enough to make it a more compelling option for me. Then again, I similarly have no problem concealing my USPc, so it’s a bit of a moot point.
All that said? This announcement gets a pretty big ‘meh’ from me. There’s just nothing attractive about a scaled up LCP with non-ambi controls and a tacked on safety to me.
>One of the nicest features of modern safety-equipped guns like the M&P and HK USP/P2000 series is that they allow the operator to load and unload the weapon while the safety is engaged.
Totally agree with you here. The thing I liked most about having the safety on my V1 USPc before converting it to LEM was that I could flick the safety on for that extra margin of error during administrative handling. Loading, unloading, holstering, are all that little bit less dangerous. I can’t see the point of a safety that locks the entire gun up (which is why I similarly don’t care for the grip safety of the XD series).
Make it the size and weight of a Rohrbaugh and I’m in like Flynn
I don’t think the safety locks the slide back.
There appears to be slide stop right in front of the safety, right?
Actually, there is one niche that a single-column-magazine “slim-nine” like this fills: a primary carry gun for a shooter with smaller-than-average hands. My girlfriend’s hands are just enough smaller than mine(approx. 1″ shorter from the base of the thumb to the tip of each finger) that she actually finds a Glock 26 difficult to manipulate, particularly when trying to manually lock the slide open. She’s test-fired a steel J-frame(S&W 640), but didn’t care for the recoil, so the current “girlfriend gun” candidate is my CZ75 Compact, which she can manipulate and fire in single-action mode.
Of course, we won’t know for sure until we test-fire it live, but a slim-nine auto like this might just be the ticket for her…
Meh, as well. Was hoping for an affordable Rohrbaugh, and instead got a slightly larger and heavier KT PF9. Nothing to see here. Move along.
The Ruger LC9 is ok, but I wish they would drop the safety off! DAO, just like the LCP.
Just keep it simple, like a Glock.
This is especially true for those wanting the LCP to be the backup for the LC9. Both should work the same way.
My recent, new pf 9 had 3 problems: bad mag follower not locking the slide open on last round, mag dropping out while shooting, and fail to feed. Keltec has fixed the first two by mailing me parts. I am waiting for a new mag to fix the last. A bit frustrating with all the reports that the pf 9 are now solid. I wish Glock made the pf 9. Looks like Ruger has.
My KelTec PF9 also had problem with mag dropping after every shot with pinkie finger extension installed. KelTec told me this was not a problem. Bull! I’ve read of others with same problem. Also had issues with FTE & FTF. What a piece of crap.
Kel Tecs with problems?
This is my shocked face.