From its humble beginnings in 1949 as a small machine shop working out of a rented building located in Southport, Conn., Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has established itself as one of the leading firearms manufacturers in the world. True to their tradition of quality and craftsmanship Sturm/Ruger introduced its first SR9c in 2010.

As a firearm afficinado and avid shooter I was delighted when I first laid eyes upon this little beauty in a local pawn shop. I had seen one of the original SR9’s, but was not yet aware of the compact series–the SR9c.

After quick consultation via my IPhone with the boss, my wife, I pulled out my driverslicense and my conceal/carry permit and excitedly purchased my treasure.

Design & Specs

The particular model I purchased has an alloy steel slide and a Nitrodox Pro Black finish. The SR9c utilizes either a 10 or 17 round magazine. It has a short 3.5″ barrel length giving it a total length of just 6.85″. Pistol height is 4.61″ and It has a standard high vis 3-dot sight system featuring a rakedforward front sight (to aid in ease of holster draw) and a rear sight that is adjustable for both windage and elevation. Unloaded, the SR9c weighs in at 23.4 oz.

The SR9c comes with an integral, Picatinny-like accessory rail which will accomodate most lasers and tactical lights.

A kin to the full-sized SR9, the SR9c comes with a plethora of safety features including the normal 1911 style ambidextrous manual thumb safety, an internal trigger bar interlock and striker pin blocker, a trigger safety, magazine disconnect safety as well as a visual loaded chamber indicator.

Range testing: ah, the smell of gunpowder!

Let the fun begin. Range testing of the SR9c was conducted at the Oakwell Armory and Shooting Range located in Kingsland, Ga. The facility itself is less than two years old and offers several ranges to include an outdoor 16-bay 25 yard range for handguns and rifles.

I loaded up both the 10 & the 17-round mags, inserted the 17-round mag, and racked one home. The SR9c felt extremely comfortable and surprisingly well balanced.

Shooting from 5, 7 1/2, 10, and 15 yards I was able to produce consistent shot groups slightly up and to the left of my point of aim. After easily adjusting the sights I was able to pull the rounds into a tight shot group within the bullseye.

Trigger pull was little long, but smooth and consistent overall, and not extremely heavy. Considering the integrated safety features on the trigger, I was impressed!

Ammunition utilized in testing were the “normal” 115 grain FMJ Winchester “white box”, the 115 grain MC Remmington “green box”, and the 115 grain FMJ Federal American Eagle. In addition I also shot 17 rounds of 115 grain Corbon JHP. No jams were encountered and operation of the weapon was flawless.

Final thoughts.

Yet again, the SR9c is another prime example of why Sturm/Ruger is as successful as it is. Very similar to the Taurus PT145 Millennium Pro, the Ruger SR9c is a very user-friendly and reliable weapon that I would feel comfortable using as either my primary or my backup. Well done Sturm/Ruger!

MSRP: $525 I was able to purchase mine used for $350.