Ruger Security 9: Best Budget 9mm?

Working at a gun range I’m around guns all day and get to shoot a huge variety of firearms from .22 caliber pocket guns to the .454 Raging Bull to a lever action 45-70 and everything in between. Just as many of you like to have your friends try out your new gun, customers often offer the range officer (me) the opportunity to shoot their new or favorite gun. Before I go any further, yes, I love my job! Anyway, getting to shoot so many I am often tempted to buy more and who could blame me, but like most of you I also have a budget (and a spouse) that allows only so many new guns per year, sigh. However, recently I did shoot one that I was able to squeeze into that budget pretty easily: the Ruger Security 9.

Now I had seen the gun before and had actually sold a few of them in the shop, but what sealed the deal was running a few rounds down range. The gun feels solid, with a grip slightly smaller than my Glock 19, but about the same size overall. The trigger was pretty good, much better than a lot of other Ruger semi-automatic pistols I have tried, and has a nice crisp reset.

The Security 9 is hammer fired as apposed to the striker fired Glock and weighs 23.8 oz. almost identical to the Glock at 23.6 oz. It’s clear that Ruger was targeting the mid-sized polymer gun buyer, but also the price conscious buyer. Why am I comparing it to the Glock? Well, the Glock 19 really is the industry standard and I have carried one for nearly 8 years which obviously makes for an easy comparison and ultimately any entry into this category will eventually be compared to the Glock.

The Ruger comes with two 15 round magazines in America and two 10 round mags in California. There are several different models available; some with lasers and others with Hogue Grips. All models have the same trigger safety as the little LCPII as well as a manual slide safety.

When it really comes down to it, Ruger took the basic design of it’s highly popular LCPII and made a larger version of it. In doing so I created a rugged, large capacity 9mm pistol at a bargain price. Ruger lists the MSRP as $379.00, but I regularly see them sell for around $330.

Note: the Ruger has not replaced my Glock 19 as my primary carry, but it has however found a new home in my EDC bag replacing my tried and true SP101 .357 revolver. With just over 1,000 rounds run through it I have yet to experience a malfunction of any kind.

Now, a word of caution, never run out and buy a firearm based a magazine article, review or on the opinion of ANYONE for that matter. They make a thousand different guns for the same reason as they make a thousand different cars – we all like different things; we all have different wants, needs to fulfill and tasks to complete. You wouldn’t buy a car without a test drive would you? See if your local gun range has one for rent, or maybe a friend has one you can try, but if you’re in the market for a mid-sized semi-auto in 9mm definitely give this Ruger a look.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.