Ruger – Whats old is new again

Posted on by

As you may have noticed in some earlier posts, I am quite excited by Rugers introduction of a 9mm carbine that takes pistol magazines. The carbine comes with a magwell adapter to take Glock mags, but as-is the thing is made to take the mags from Rugers American series and their Security-9 gun.

Wait..Security what?

Waaaaay back in the day, Ruger made a k-frame-style pistol under a few different names – Police-six, Speed-Six, Security-Six. They were no-frills six-shot revolvers marketed towards police and security markets. A reasonable strategy in the day when only the most forward thinking groups equipped their guys with automatics.

As the revolver faded from duty holsters, Ruger tried to capture the market with their very good, very affordable, and very ignored P-series of automatic pistols. Their extremely low price would make them attractive to buyers who needed to equip agencies/departments on a budget. Sadly, the P-series never really caught on and it was quietly discontinued a few years ago. Personally, I’m a huge fan of the P95 series (Specifically the P95DC) and I can usually pick up a couple each year on Gunbroker for less than $200.

When Ruger came out with their PC9 carbine, the plan was that it would be a police carbine that would use the same mags as the pistol the officer carried. A couple problems with that concept was that a) cops that carried longarms usually went with M4s or 870’s, and b) virtually no department issued the P series as a standard sidearm. The Ruger 9mm carbine was discontinued about ten years or so ago and they command stupid prices on Gunbroker. But..that’ll change now because really the only market for the PC9 will be guys like me who have a mountain of P-series pistols. But….

Ruger has, it seems, decided to get into the budget wondernine market again with the Security-9 series. The most interesting thing is that dealer cost on these things is…$260~. Yeah, that’s not a typo. So you get, basically, Ruger’s version of the Glock 19 for only a hundred bucks more than a HiPoint. (Or, put another way, for the same money you get twice as much capacity, half as many guns,and  three times the respect of a HiPoint.)

The Security-9 is getting some reviews at the usual places, and I’m sorta curious about them simply because I still have the inexplicable attraction of a carbine and pistol taking the same mags. However, since the Ruger carbine will accept Glock mags there’s no need for me to get a couple (or five) of the Security-9’s to go with the carbine. But, considering their low dealer price, if they turn out to be a quality gun, at least on par with the P-series, then there might be some interest there. There are some differences…the P-series are hamer fired versus the concealed hammer, DA/SA, and have second-strike capability. The Security-9 offers…well..not much that I can see except perhaps slightly better ergos and a rail. I’d be very curious to see if theyre as durable as the tank-like P’s.

I’ll probably wind up getting one just to try out and if I like it, who knows…maybe I’ll retire the P-series to Gunbroker and restock with the Security-9’s.

Anyway, I find it interesting that Ruger has gone back to trying to get the ‘budget’ market for autopistols again. I suspect that these things will replace the P-series as the most common ‘big name’ autoloader in police evidence bins.

 

10 thoughts on “Ruger – Whats old is new again”

  1. New Ruger 9mm for not a lot more than old used second + hand Ruger just the kind of thing to drive the price of the P-series so maybe you will be buying the ones with the rails for a lot less.
    “I suspect that these things will replace the P-series as the most common ‘big name’ autoloader in police evidence bins” I’ve always read that S&W Sigmas were number one.
    https://youtu.be/gV3UUc9x-Nw

  2. I think they tried getting into the universal service pistol game with the SR9 and Ruger American and didn’t have much success. The price difference to proven options was nominal which was probably a big factor.

    Applying their proven formula of quality guns for the price sensitive consumer to their semi auto line makes a lot of sense.

  4. Between S&W, Glock, Springfield, Beretta, Walther, CZ, etc. the handgun market is pretty saturated in the middle. Ruger doesn’t quite have the reputation to shoot for the high-end commercial market against HK or Sig.

    Going down a weight class to battle Taurus and Highpoint is not a bad strategy, especially if Ruger can deliver reliable autos at or near their same price points. If I’m looking in a glass case at my LGS with $350 burning a hole in my pocket, and it’s a choice between the Ruger, a Taurus, or a Highpoint, that’s a no-brainer. And from Ruger’s perspective, it’s better to sell 10 pistols with a $50 margin vs. 3 pistols at $100 margin.

  5. Security-9 takes SR9 mags. I feel this was a major failing of the American series. And the American is kinda ugly, too.

    • I sent a email to Ruger about 18 hours ago to ask about that. Still waiting for the answer.
      “Can the Security-9 (15 round magazine) also take the SA-9 (17 round) magazine like the Glock 19 (15 round magazine) will also take the Glock 17 (17 round) magazine? I am asking as I the mag-well (Item # 90653) for the Ruger PC Carbine™ will take both SR-9 (17 round magazine) & Security-9 (15 round magazine). Which makes me think (first time for everything) that the only differences between them is that the SR-9 is longer.”

      • I just had the answer back – if you can call it that as what they sent has very little to do with what I asked, they could have just said NO;

        Dear Ruger Customer:
        The Ruger® PC Carbine™ Magazine Well Insert Assembly, SR9® & Security-9® Item #: 90653 is compatible with:
        · Security-9™ 15-Round, 9mm Luger Magazine Item # 90637
        · Security-9™ 10-Round, 9mm Luger Magazine Item # 90638
        · SR9® 9E® 10-Round Magazine Item # 90325
        · SR9® SR9c® & 9E® 17-Round Magazine Item # 90326
        · SR9c® 10-Round Magazine with Extended Floorplate Item # 90369
        The Ruger PC Carbine™ Magazine Well Insert Assembly, American Pistol Item #: 90655is compatible with:
        · Ruger American Pistol® 9mm Luger 17-Round Magazine Item # 90510
        · Ruger American Pistol® 9mm Luger 10-Round Magazine Item # 90514
        · Ruger American Pistol® Compact 9mm Luger 10-Round Magazine Item # 90617
        · Ruger American Pistol® Compact 9mm Luger 12-Round Magazine Item # 90618
        The Ruger® PC Carbine™ Magazine Well Insert Assembly, Glock-Style Item #: 90654 is compatible with:
        · Glock factory and Glock style 9mm magazines.
        The Ruger Security-9™ Pistol is compatible with Ruger Security-9™ magazines only.*
        · Security-9™ 15-Round, 9mm Luger Magazine Item # 90637
        · Security-9™ 10-Round, 9mm Luger Magazine Item # 90638
        * The Security-9™ 10-round and 15 round magazines will “fit” in the SR9c but are not compatible.
        Feed lips are different and there is no adapter sleeve. While you can make it fit, it will not feed properly.
        The Ruger SR9, and 9E are compatible with SR type magazines only.
        · SR9® 9E® 10-Round Magazine Item # 90325
        · SR9® SR9c® & 9E® 17-Round Magazine Item # 90326
        The Ruger SR9c is compatible with SR type magazines only.
        · SR9c® 10-Round Magazine with Extended Floorplate Item # 90369
        · SR9® SR9c® & 9E® 17-Round Magazine Item # 90326 (with adapter)
        I know this is a lot of information but hope this helps.
        Ruger Sportswear & Accessories

Comments are closed.