I'm not as loyal to S&W as I used to be

[vito]

I own a number of firearms, but my S&W revolvers have been my favorites. A beautiful Model 19, 4 inch, nickel, with Crimson Trace laser (I did have to take off the beautiful wooden grips) has been my go-to home defense gun for the last 35 years or so. My Model 642 has been my daily carry gun pretty much every day since I received my concealed carry license. But a recent non-S&W purchase has me slipping away from the loyal S&W club.

A few months ago I went to my LGS to look at a S&W Shield in 9mm. It felt to be the right size and weight and with a reasonable capacity for a concealed carry firearm, and I was ready to buy. Then the clerk said, "if you like the Shield you might like this". He handed me a gun that in many ways is very similar to the Shield, but the smoothness of the trigger made me think "this is the gun I want". That gun is a Ruger LC9s and I find that I now carry it at least as often as the 642. I've fired about 400 rounds so far without a signal problem. And for me, my accuracy at self defense distances is much, much better than I am able to achieve with the 642.

So I guess I am not longer a true blue S&W man, but that Model 19 would still be the last gun I would give up if I had to ever get down to only one handgun.

 

[madracr07]

I have my SD9, and I bought a Taurus P111 G2 millennium a month or so ago, for my truck gun

 

[RobzGuns]

Congrats!
When I was shopping for Subcompact 9s, I looked at the original LC9, but back then they didn't have the 9-S. What I didn't like about the LC9 back then, was the perceived recoil. My injury acquired arthritic wrist is VERY recoil sensitive. The Shield's recoil is very mild for a Subcompact 9mm.

When the LC9-S came out, I gave it another try and the Factory trigger IS nicer than the Shield's (but hey... Ruger had 2yrs to copy the Shield and make the striker fire trigger better, right? )
The kicker was, they didn't do a darned thing to try and tame the LC9-S recoil. If they had, I might have traded my Shield for the LC9-S, but its recoil was still more stout than the Shield.
I hope it shoots well for you.

BTW: I'll never give up my Model 19 either. After 40 years, it's still my favorite revolver.

 

[M29since14]

If you're happy, that's great! I don't see a problem. There are plenty of different but still tasty fish in the ocean.

 

[andyo5]

You are a TRAITOR! Hanging is too good for you!
Just kidding, of course. I have several Rugers, Springfields, Kimbers and others. No one company has a lock on goodness. Thay all make some great products and some less good products.
Enjoy your LC9.

 

[gc45]

Haven't tried the Ruger yet, but love my Shield 9mm. Nary one FTF and recoil is minimal to my hand; especially like the way it comes back on target when doing rapid fire tests plus being a great CC gun in the Fobus holster. My friend bought the same gun in 40 cal but now wants to trade for the 9mm.

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

My loyal 642 was sent to the safe about 6 months ago, the day I brought home my Ruger LC9s-Pro. I have carried the Ruger everyday since then, usually in a Crossbreed ST, but sometimes in a pocket holster. I am planning to switch to my M&P45c when winter comes and the clothes are more conducive to a bigger gun.

I added a CT Laserguard to both guns, a red for the Ruger and green for the 45.

 

[tim c]

I think all of us here like and own other brands saying this i shoot a Walther GSP in BE comp. and carry split duty a S&W 638 and my favorite little 9MM a Kahr PM9.

 

[ladder13]

I could see myself owning the LC9s Pro.

 

[petepeterson]

I mostly carry a S&W for carry purposes, however, I wouldn't be heartbroken if someone "forced" me to carry a Colt or Browning.

Certain tools are better for jobs than others. If the Ruger works for you, then that's the gun to carry. You can still like it the least, if you choose.

 

[Waveform]

I'm a total Ruger fan with more Ruger products than any other brand (rifles, shotguns, revolvers, semi-autos, etc.) but my everyday carry is a 637. Love that little J frame. It's great that we have so much to consider, try out and the opportunity to find what we like. Lots of great gun choices out there.

 

[buckshotshorty]

I know this is the S&W forum but, I love my Rugers and own more of them than any other firearm. The LC 9s is in a word sweet!

 

[grover99]

Just picked up my new LC9s last week and when I went to the range to try it out I was expecting stout recoil but I found the recoil to be very mild. I was shooting Speer Gold Dot for short barrels. Could the gold dot ammo have light recoil? It was all I had with me at the time. I just love this Ruger and plan on it being my main carry weapon.

 

[Sam Casey]

I have a Ruger LC9. Have owned it a couple years or so; must be the original version. I like it. Has a sturdy feel, nice predictable trigger and seems to be as accurate as my 39-2. Comes apart more easily than the 39 for cleaning & certainly cleans up more quickly than any wheel gun I own. Gets most carry time and maybe more shooting than others as it is usually included in range rotation for a few shots. Runs good; no malfunctions yet.

 

[alwslate]

I have a bunch of S&W revolvers, too many probably. But the hot
market today is the compact semi auto and there are several recently
developed models that are very good guns indeed. I was considering
getting a new single stack 9mm and trying to research test results of
various models and then go look at a few. To make a long story short
I bought a new Glock 43 last Saturday. In contrast to the mod 42 .380
I have read nothing but good about the 43 9mm. When I finally saw
one I compared the 42,43 and 26 models side by side in a GS. I was
and still am amazed at how small the 43 really is. I have read they
are too big for pocket carry but it actually is better concealed in a
thin pocket holster than my S&W mod 37 and weight is almost the
same. It's probably going to replace the 37 for EDC.