A really dumb semi-auto question - Ruger LC9.

[Cal44]

How do you tell if your pistol is in battery?

Perhaps I should post this on the Ruger forum, but here goes anyway.

I have a Ruger LC9.

I didn't list it on my CCW license because I'm not confident in it yet.

The problem is, when I load it and cycle the slide, sometimes it doesn't go into battery. This is when I do it by hand. After the first shot it works reliably.

At first, I found myself guiding the slide the whole way with my hand, and that was causing it to not return fast enough to get fully into battery.

But, even without that obvious mistake, It still sometimes isn't ready to shoot.

At the range I can test to see if it's in battery by pointing it at the target and then pulling the trigger.

But at home, before putting it into my holster, how do I tell it's ready to shoot? I can't exactly try a test shot in the bedroom.

I'm afraid I'll get into a SD situation, pull the trigger, and nothing will happen.

 

[Smoke]

If you don't trust the gun don't carry it, that's number one.

Have you tried field stripping and doing a good cleaning and lube? Have you noticed any burrs or metal chips in the slide?

 

[petepeterson]

More range time will make you more confident, as well. I would also suggest you not carry it until you are sure it's going to work for you. It may need to "break in" a little, even though most modern autos should be ready to go right out of the box.

 

[hobby-gunsmith]

dumb question

There really isn't a dumb question when it comes to firearms. We have all been there and learn what seems to be common. First of all, do not ride the slide. If you have a hard time charging the round, push the gun forward with you strong hand gripping it and pull the slide rearward with your non shooting hand very fast and let go. Some guns need to be more aggressive than others. When you lock the slide back, do not release the slide with the slide stop. Pull the slide back to release the stop and let it go into battery. Sometimes releasing the slide with the stop will short cycle the round. Checking to see if you have a round in the chamber, pull the slide back slightly to check the chamber. That will let you, visually, check to see if a round is in the chamber and your finger off the trigger.

Nick

 

[vipermd]

Is it dirty? Did it ever go into battery from when you first received it? How new/old is it? 100-500-1000 rds? If it is clean, 500 + rounds through it, I would contact ruger. Obviously you could tap on back of slide to "assure" yourself that it is in battery each time you took it out. I would not find that acceptable, it has to go into battery when I rack the slide or it needs to be looked at and adjusted otherwise I would not feel comfortable carrying it. Be Safe,

 

[murphydog]

It's a fair question. The definitive way - make sure the chamber and magazine are clean, along with your ammo. Pull the slide all the way back when the slide stop is engaged on a loaded magazine. If it does not go fully into battery and fire there may be a problem with the gun.

The less definitive way - do the above without ammo. The slide will probably not appear to be fully forward if it is not, and it won't go "click" either.

 

[Big Cholla]

Why not just look at the rear of the slide and determine if it is flush with the frame? If it is the slide is 'in battery'. If it won't fire in that position there is a problem with the internal workings and the problem is not from being out of battery. If your semiauto is not returning to 'battery' often, you need a stronger main recoil spring and/or a good cleaning. ........... Big Cholla

 

[federali]

Factory Ammo Only

While testing, practicing and evaluating your new handgun, use factory loads only as this often eliminates one source of reliability issues: Ammo that does not quite meet specifications.

 

[Cal44]

Is it dirty? Did it ever go into battery from when you first received it? How new/old is it? 100-500-1000 rds? If it is clean, 500 + rounds through it, I would contact ruger. Obviously you could tap on back of slide to "assure" yourself that it is in battery each time you took it out. I would not find that acceptable, it has to go into battery when I rack the slide or it needs to be looked at and adjusted otherwise I would not feel comfortable carrying it. Be Safe,

I've fired 100 rnds in it. I appears clean, but I can try a thorough cleaning.

This failure to go into battery problem happened 4 or 5 times out of 100 rnds.

The trouble is, I have lost confidence in it, and now don't trust it. So it's spent the last nine months in my safe.

I'd like to be able to use it as it conceals well, and has more fire power than revolvers.

But I'm not sure anything would restore my confidence in it short of about 1000 rnds with no failures at all. And it may not be worth the time and ammo to shoot it that much.

Maybe I should just give up on semi-autos and stick with revolvers, although I have never had any trouble with my 1911 colt.

 

[lhump1961]

If it's a new gun with only the 100 rounds through it then perhaps it will clear up after another couple of hundred, BUT...as I read your post it is having issues only when hand chambering and not during actual firing. Hobby-gunsmith said it about "riding the slide". In most autos the "slide lock" is confused with "slide release"...I never chamber an auto using the slide lock but instead always push or pull the slide all the way to the rear and release. There's more than one reason for this but the biggest is to give the slide a full run as the gun was designed. Second, for me anyway, is I don't want to wear the slide lock integrity over time by forcing it metal against metal and rounding it off. JMHO.

 

[Rpg]

I've fired 100 rnds in it.

This failure to go into battery problem happened 4 or 5 times out of 100 rnds.

The trouble is, I have lost confidence in it, and now don't trust it. So it's spent the last nine months in my safe.

I'd like to be able to use it as it conceals well, and has more fire power than revolvers.

But I'm not sure anything would restore my confidence in it short of about 1000 rnds with no failures at all. And it may not be worth the time and ammo to shoot it that much."

If you've lost confidence in the pistol, either get rid of it or dedicate yourself to the 1000 round solution.

If you can run a Colt 1911, there is no reason to abandon pistols as a group. They do take more repetition to use reliably, but not all are equally good.

You may have selected a defective example of an otherwise good pistol. Or, you may have selected a model that won't work well for you.

It may be cheaper to start over with another pistol than spend the money on the ammo with no assurance that, at the end of the day, you will develop confidence in what you have.

 

[vipermd]

+1 on RPG's statement, I believe it needs more shooting, if you really, really like it then work on it otherwise get rid of it now and start on a different weapon. My wife had a dream X3 that her 380 did not " stop the attack", it was taken out of service, sold. She now carries her Custom Colt Officers model. Be Safe,

 

[Cal44]

+1 on RPG's statement, I believe it needs more shooting, if you really, really like it then work on it otherwise get rid of it now and start on a different weapon. My wife had a dream X3 that her 380 did not " stop the attack", it was taken out of service, sold. She now carries her Custom Colt Officers model. Be Safe,

The interesting thing is, I really do like my LC9.

I find I can shoot it fairly well even with so little practice.

Many people complain about the long trigger pull, but to me that makes it similar to a double action revolver -- something I'm fairly familiar with.

It's a real nice carry gun IMO -- assuming you can count on it to work.

Plus I already have lots of 9mm FMJ practice ammo, so I guess it's time to get it back to the range and try to overcome the problems I have with it.

 

[sodacan]

Excuse my being blunt, but if you have to ask such a question, you shouldn't be on the range with any gun until you've taken a very basic course in using a hand gun and then learn the manual of arms for your particular gun. Good luck.

 

[Mushki]

Slap the back of the slide.

It may be the ammo not the gun. I shoot a lot of idpa matches. I also reload. I one time made a batch of ammo where the 9mm cases bulged enough to almost chamber but get stuck out of battery. I found out about this condition on the clock mind you. Tap, rack didn't bang because it was stuck so I beat it shut and went about my business. After the stage a buddy inquired as to what happened. We got to talking and looking at my ammo. There were a few badly (relative mind you) bulged cases which I separated and all was well. I now use a Lee factory crimp die and am problem free. I'm not saying its necessary but that it works.

The point of my story was that it may have been the ammo not the gun and that you could just give it a slap to be sure it's in battery. Good luck.

 

[Gunhacker]

Excuse my being blunt, but if you have to ask such a question, you shouldn't be on the range with any gun until you've taken a very basic course in using a hand gun and then learn the manual of arms for your particular gun. Good luck.

That was uncalled for... it's obvious (at least to me) that in the OP's 2nd post, which mentioned also having a Colt 1911, he's is NOT a total newbie to handguns, just unfamiliar with this particular one and asking a question of people that also have a Ruger LC9 whether or not his gun has a problem.

That's one of the things common interest forums are about, knowledge/experience sharing.

If it was mine, I'd start by eliminating the possibility of a mechanical defect by sending it back to Ruger, then after is returns with a clean bill of health... then start dwelling on "operator error" or other aspects, after the gun itself has been eliminated as the cause.

 

[lhump1961]

Excuse my being blunt, but if you have to ask such a question, you shouldn't be on the range with any gun until you've taken a very basic course in using a hand gun and then learn the manual of arms for your particular gun. Good luck.

People don't post with a question looking for finger wagging, condescending remarks about someone they know nothing about. As long as a person is handling the gun safely and responsibly then the range is exactly where you learn and gain skills.

 

[rwsmith]

This is a .....

Checking to see if you have a round in the chamber, pull the slide back slightly to check the chamber. That will let you, visually, check to see if a round is in the chamber and your finger off the trigger.

Nick

This is called a 'press check'. Many newer guns have flags, or holes to look through or some such to check for chambered rounds, but without all that the old 'pull the slide back just enough to see if there's anything in the chamber' trick will do the job.

 

[Cal44]

This is called a 'press check'. Many newer guns have flags, or holes to look through or some such to check for chambered rounds, but without all that the old 'pull the slide back just enough to see if there's anything in the chamber' trick will do the job.

LC9's have a flag.

 

[Tom_R]

Two dumb questions:

1: is it a magazine problem? Does this happen with just one mag or every mag?

2: have you broken down the gun via a field strip and lubed the slide/frame with gun oil? Did you clean the gun before you shot to for the first time?