Special to Shooting Wire: Ruger American Pistol

Jan 4, 2016
During our hiatus, Ruger was shipping production samples of their new striker-fired service pistol to various media types around the country. The Outdoor Wire Digital Network ended up with a pair of them at different locations in the country. This is our first look at the gun but there's also the results of an interview with Ruger's Pistol Product Manager, Brandon Trevino, that tells the back story of the new piece. To start with, the nuts and bolts: the sample is a 17-shot 9mm striker fired pistol. It's fitted with genuine Novak sights, with the conventional 3-dot pattern. If you want black sights, or 'night' sights, you can find them at ShopRuger.com. The slide stop is located on both sides of the pistol, as is the magazine "latch" – a term Ruger uses in the instruction manual.
The sights are genuine Novak's -- and are so-marked.
The slide and chassis are stainless steel finished with black nitride. There are two, nickel-Teflon plated steel magazines provided with the gun. The magazine is proprietary to the pistol – that will likely irritate some who would like to interchange the SR9 magazines they already have, but it wasn't possible to make it all work. The pistol comes complete with two extra "grip" units – the medium was fitted to the gun and the size large -- with more back strap and palm swells to give a longer trigger reach -- and small were in the fitted polymer case. The Ruger American Pistol was provided in Ruger's "Pro" format – no magazine disconnector and no manual safety. The magazine disconnector feature originated from a bad idea: if an idiot strips the magazine from a pistol, he won't know there is a round chambered without going to all that horrible drudgery of just checking. Having a gun that won't fire without a magazine means that magazine loss is catastrophic and can lead one to the stupid habit of not checking chambers. Magazine disconnector features are not safeties: they are accidents waiting to happen particularly if you ever have to use a gun that's not so-equipped. That said, if you have a pistol with that dubious "safety" and someone is trying to rip if from your grasp, dumping the magazine could neuter the pistol – unless there was already finger pressure on the trigger.
One of the available holster choices is this Blade-Tech Eclipse marked with the Ruger American brand.
The manual safety of the SR9 is likewise a nice gun retention feature in the sense that a gun-grabber will have to find it and press it off to shoot – and that attacker may assume that all guns are "point and press" devices, giving you a little time. The Ruger American in the Pro model is devoid of these features. I shot the gun as it fell from the factory box without changing grip features. That it was a soft-shooting gun was remarkable. The trigger was a little "too good" for me – just shy of six pounds on the scale, it felt like three. Some of that is due to the shortness of the press of the pre-tensioned striker and some due to the built-in trigger stop. The reset is short and crisp. The guns will be provided, at first, in "Duty" and "Compact" forms as either the "Pro" or "Standard" pistol in 9mm or .45 ACP. The .45 is a 10- shot gun. According to Brandon Trevino, Pistol Product manager, the gun was first designed and built as a .45 – a .40 and 9mm version followed. The Ruger American Pistol replaces the "P"-series pistols – remember those? The space needed to manufacture the Ruger P97 and other hammer fired pistols of the type was cleared to make room for the American. This design has been in development for four years and was originally conceived in response to the "Joint Combat Pistol" program specifications from the US military. As the Modular Handgun System requirements were posted in 2014, Ruger adjusted for those standards but Trevino said the pistols weren't submitted for the program. The standards they sought to meet had to do with ergonomics, environmental test standards, accuracy, endurance and maintainability. The Armorers' School curriculum is written for the new gun – something that speaks to applicability for law enforcement purchasers. I noted that the gun was surprisingly soft-shooting. Brandon said the American has a lighter slide and lower slide velocity than a heavy slide pistol – say in .45 ACP. The barrel cam at the foot of the barrel – it interacts with the locking block – is configured to keep the pistol in battery longer. By further delaying unlocking, the gun is in battery longer – allowing the departing bullet to be further along before things come apart and allowing the use of less slide mass.
the controls on the new pistol are bilateral: the magazine "latch" and slide stop are on both sides of the American.
For those concerned about such things, the pistol is disassembled without a press of the trigger – more a concern for police agencies and other outfits that ignore Rule 1 and Rule 2. To disassemble the piece, remove the magazine, lock the slide open and pivot the take-down lever to six-o'clock (don't turn it beyond the "click" that indicates the stop). With the magazine out and the slide locked to the rear, pressing that take-down lever down takes tension off of the striker – the reason you have to press the trigger on other designs. With the magazine in the gun, the take-down lever won't move. Under control, allow the slide to move forward and off of the frame. Remove the recoil spring and barrel in the usual fashion. The Blade-Tech Eclipse – with gear to make it an IWB – was one of the holsters already available for the new gun and is marked "Ruger American." It can be configured to wear for right handed shooters or for left-handed shooters. After my first range trip, I made it a left-handed holster: my work with the gun will be as a southpaw. The Ruger American is a pistol that a left-handed person can use as easily as those who are right handed and makes it a perfect vehicle for me to 're-learn' how to shoot. Holsters, magazines and sights are available for the new gun. There's nothing to stop you from pulling the trigger on this one. Take a look at the Ruger website and check out the Ruger American Pistol at your local gun shop. -- Rich Grassi