Picked up a copy of Gun Tests, December 2013 issue at my dad's house over the weekend. They put a Gen 3 Glock 21 (should have been a Gen 4) up against a Ruger SR45. Personally, I think they should have compared the SR to the G30sf or 30s, as they are all 10+1 semi-autos. That being said, here's how they stacked up. They did like the ergonomics of the Ruger over the chunky Austrian, although the Glock holds three more rounds than the SR. They also had good things to say about the Ruger's ambi thumb safety and ambi mag-release buttons. The soft rubber insert for the grip also drew kudos from the GT staff. It was clear that Ruger had used many design cues from the older Glock, especially inside. The guys liked the simplicity of the Glock over the Ruger. They also said target acquisition was a bit quicker with the G21. Field-stripping favored the five piece Glock over the six piece Ruger. One of the Ruger's most important takedown parts, the cross pin, is also one of its smallest - advantage Glock. The Glock shot flawlessly with Winchester BEB 185 gr FMJs, Speer Lawman 230 gr FMJs and Corbon185 gr JHPs. The same cannot be said of the SR45. It had big time problems with the Winchester ammo. Most of the time the primer was "barely dented", according to GT. Advantage Glock. The other problem the GT staff had with the big Ruger was the magazine disconnect. The article concluded "Although we liked the SR45, we would not buy it until Ruger had eliminated the non-firing option when the magazine is removed." They said Ruger is trying to make the gun too safe (thank you, lawyers) and it could get an owner killed. I could not agree more. Not being able to fire your handgun with the mag out is defective logic. Glock 21 grade: A "We've always liked the simplicity of the Glock design. There are no controls you don't absolutely need, and while it might not be the finest gun for left-handed people, we liked its setup." Ruger SR45 grade: F "The gun had rugged good looks, was smoothed for easy holster entry, had excellent sights, easy takedown and workable checkering. It just didn't go bang all the time." I'm just relaying info here. Don't get butt-hurt if your SR45 is awesome. I love my Rugers and my Glocks.
An F is rather harsh per the pluses and likes.....So it didn't like some ammo. Don't use that ammo is an easy solution. I have nothing against Glock, except Glock groupies that condemn every other brand on planet earth......The company itself is first rate. Don't know anything about Gun Test personnel, but they sound like Glock Groupies.
I agree that an "F" is a bit strong, but I don't think that makes them Glock fanboys. The Ruger had performance issues and the mag disconnect feature was one the GT staff felt could be potentially dangerous, even fatal, to its owners. That combination led to the low score. I've seen GT give "F"s to other firearms, not just the SR45. In recent issues, they gave high grades to the LCR, SR1911, SR1911 CMD, GP100 and others.
I guess I'm just slow on some things.....Firing the gun with the mag out allows for 1 shot. If I'm in a self defense situation, I'm 99.9% going to have the mag inserted and going to shoot it empty. If I'm then going to reload, I'm going to insert another mag or cram shells into the empty one. I danged sure don't believe I'm going to try and load 1 round into my gun?????? What am I missing here?
Here's a really good explanation. This one doesn't even involve an SD struggle for your weapon, where the mag could inadvertently drop or become unseated, rendering your firearm useless. I'd certainly rather have my pistol cook one off in the BG's direction as opposed to having that round sitting worthless in the chamber. http://www.gunnuts.net/2009/03/16/why-i-hate-magazine-safeties/
Gun Tests magazine has been around for awhile...and doesn't accept ads from gun manufacturers...so they can be unbiased in their reporting. Having said that...depending on which team members they use...the team member bias can skew some of the judging. I had a subscription to Gun Tests for a few years, and like it in general... but like everything else used when formulating my opinions...I take some of what they say into consideration.
bah humbug. I 'll keep my SR45. it runs like a champ and cost me way less than a Glock. I have also fallen in love with the Sr1911CMD. 629 Obama bucks and it is as good as my Kimber which was about 40% more. I wonder if they cleaned the striker channel on that Ruger or if they just started banging away?
Have run about 800 rounds threw my SR45 without any problems, it was super tight when new and would not cycle with a full mag and one in the chamber and loading 10 rounds in mag was almost impossible, but after 200 rounds it broke in really nicely. It has always fed and fired whatever type of ammo i have run threw it with no problems. The mag disconnect safety should not be an issue, it can be removed in less then 3 minutes, I have removed it from all my SR pistols. Picked up a Smith & Wesson M&P45 in April and i have to say that it is every bit as nice as SR45, would be a hard to choose one over the other.
I've put something like 750 rounds through my SR45 with zero issues. But I can understand that if, in the test, the test gun did not handle Winchester ammo, that is an issue. I absolutely do not mind a magazine safety. This has always seemed like one of those things that people just get fixated on in defiance of logic. I would and do trust my life to my SR45. Nothing against Glocks but I just plain don't like the clunky things. The SR-design disassembly is plenty simple. I have absolutely no qualms about it.
