Post by Rohn on Sept 12, 2013 8:07:27 GMT -5
September, 10
Finally got out to shoot my new Ruger LC9.I loaded up some shells for this new gun to see how it would handle my reloads and see which recipe the gun performed best with. As far as hits on the target are concerned, I couldn’t get into the shed where we keep the little table we use for a shooting bench, so I had to shoot off-hand. It always takes me a while to get onto a new gun; get used to the trigger pull, figure out the sights and all that stuff. We started out shooting some factory loads so I could get a feel for everything. I shot a few clips and my daughter shot a couple clips, and finally my wife shot.
Then I started on my hand loads. I loaded four different powder charges all with “Unique” powder and I used Nosler 115 grain JHP bullets. I set all the bullets with an COL (cartridge overall length) of 1.169 inches. I color coded all my primers with colored Sharpies after I had each batch loaded. A different color for a different powder charge. “A batch” consisted of 14 shells each (2 clips worth).
The first batch I charged with 5.2 grains of powder. I started shooting and the second shot with this load jammed. I cleared the jam and thought that perhaps now my troubles were going to begin. But I finished that clip and put in the next clip and no more jams. I do no know what caused that jam. It could have been that those loads were to light, or I could have not been holding the gun as tightly as I should have on that shot, or who knows what. That was the only jam I had during my afternoon of shooting. To me that says a lot for this fine gun.
I then shot two clips (14 rounds) each with 5.6, 5.8 and 6.0 grains of Unique powder behind Nosler 115 grain JHP bullets. I think the accuracy got better as I worked my way through the loads from lowest to highest charges. I am sure that it wasn’t the powder charges that had anything to do with it though. I was just getting more familiar with the gun and learning how to hold the sights and getting used to the trigger pull.
Mentioning the trigger pull – the gun has a long trigger pull before you get any real resistance and then it was nice and crisp. I don’t have a trigger pull gage (I’ve ordered one for Christmas) so I can’t report on how many pound pull the trigger actually is. But it felt good to me. It just took a few shots to get used to the travel of the trigger before you get to serious stuff. By the time I got finished with my hand loads I was squeezing off shots without giving the trigger a second thought.
We shot a couple of boxes of shells altogether. I had a few more old hand loads that I was planning on shooting with this gun but today had to be one of the hottest days of the summer and we just wanted to get out of the heat, so when I finished my test with my hand loads we packed up and went home stopping for a milk shake to help cool us down.
I love this gun and find that it is perfect for concealed carry, I hardly know it is on my side. It feels good in my hand, just seems to fit right. Its recoil is very manageable, I could shoot it all day.
I am very, very happy with it.