In a news release, Ruger President Chris Killoy declared the MAX-9 a “game changer.”
"With industry-leading features at a highly competitive price,” he stated, “this American-made handgun will provide a versatile option for consumers looking for a superior offering in the popular micro-compact market."
But there’s something else Ruger-related and it comes from Viridian Weapon Technology. It’s the E-Series™ Green Laser sight for the Ruger-57. This thing mounts on the front of the trigger guard, and it reportedly works even in daylight.
Viridian says its sight is 50 times brighter than red lasers and it can be seen at more than two miles at night. The on/off button is ambidextrous, and it is designed with a five-minute automatic shutoff.
Those are the new goodies and if I’m lucky, I’ll soon be trying them out.
Meanwhile, I need to do an inventory. Several years ago, while visiting the Ruger plant back in New Hampshire with some other gun writers, I was gifted a fixed-sight Single Six with the shorter grip frame. This wheelgun is chambered for the .32 H&R Magnum, something of an under-rated and overshadowed cartridge that delivers a nasty punch, especially with my handloads.
With the Ruger MAX-9, I’ve Lost Count of My Pistols!
Dave’s first .41 Magnum was this Ruger Blackhawk. He installed Pachmayr
grips and put the sixgun to work filling the freezer
As an aficionado of the revolver, I own several and among them are at least a half-dozen single-action Ruger sixguns. The other night I was thinking about them and believe I’ve lost count.
My first .41 Magnum was a 6-½” Blackhawk joined some years later by another with the 4-5/8” barrel, both now wearing aftermarket grips made from Magna Tusk, a product of Arizona Custom Grips. On the short one, I swapped out the alloy ejector rod housing and replaced it with a steel version. I don’t think I own a functional single-action that isn’t a Ruger.
Incidentally, that Magna Tusk is some of the toughest material I’ve ever seen, certainly on par with Kirinite — which Eagle Grips uses to make a series of replacement handgun grips. I’ve got a set of Kirinite grips on a Model 57 Smith & Wesson, but that’s another story.
It was with the longer-barreled Blackhawk that took my first buck with a handgun, a nice fork-horn mule deer high in the mountains, way-back behind Lake Kachess in the northeast of Snoqualmie Pass in Washington State. A second buck fell to the gun a couple of years later and the Blackhawk went with me to Southeast Alaska on a blacktail deer hunt one year.
The Blackhawk is a rugged wheelgun and I once observed you could probably smack one with a ball peen hammer and it would still work. I’ve never heard of one malfunctioning and both of mine have lots of miles and the holster wear to prove it.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. My first exposure to Ruger handguns came in my wasted youth. I had a mentor who had a Ruger Standard .22 pistol and we hunted raccoons together on several occasions. It shot well and many years later, I found one in remarkably good condition at a gun show and grabbed it up. At the range later in the day, this pistol put a bunch of tiny holes in the X-ring off a sandbag rest at 25 yards.
Then came the New Vaquero, a revolver with dimensions similar to the Single Action Army and with a modern frame-mounted firing pin and transfer bar so six rounds may be safely carried — that’s the way I carry it. My first was the model with color-case-hardened frame and 7-½” barrel. Later came one with a 4-5/8” tube. Both are chambered for the .45 Colt which they handle nicely in terms of accuracy and recoil.
Dave’s New Vaquero in .45 Colt wearing a set of Arizona Custom Magna Tusk grips.
This 7 ½” New Vaquero wears a set of Eagle Grips made from elk antler.
Then came the MK-IV .22-caliber pistol with the heavy target barrel and the redesigned frame allowing for remarkably easy takedown. Love that pistol, and it is also deadly accurate at reasonable ranges thanks to a good trigger and a bull barrel with good sights.
I think there are a couple of more Ruger handguns in there, which brings me around to Ruger’s recent announcement — they’ve introduced yet another handgun and it’s already getting some good reviews.
Enter the MAX-9 semi-auto chambered for the 9mm Luger cartridge. This pistol was just debuted, and despite its compact dimensions, it carries a 12-round magazine. With one up the spout, you’ve got a concealable sidearm that can deliver in the firepower and stopping power departments adequately if not admirably.
Ruger’s new pistol has some good features, not the least of which is size. The slide is less than an inch wide and the OAL is 6”. At 18.4 ounces, it’s got the weight-thing covered nicely and the frosting on this cake is a tritium/fiber optic front sight. Ruger went the extra mile by making this pistol optic-ready for a co-witnessed JPoint™ and Shield-pattern micro red dot sights.
The barrel measures 3.2” making the MAX-9 fit nicely into that category we generically call the “pocket pistol.”
The standard model has a thumb safety while the Pro model has no external mechanical safety lever. There’s an integrated trigger safety, and loaded chamber viewport.
The MAX-9 is a striker-fired model with a tough machined-aluminum fire control chassis and the pistol is delivered with a 12-round and 10-round magazine or two 10-rounders, all E-Nickel Teflon® coated.
Ruger’s newest entry is the 9mm MAX-9 semi-auto. It’s a striker-fired
12-rounder that is compact, yet delivers firepower and a punch.
The MAX-9 also offers a version with a safety who those who
want a little extra piece of mind.
Dave got a MK-IV in .22 with a target barrel for a field test. He liked it so much he bought it.
And let us not forget the Ruger 10/22 in my safe. This is quite possibly the most popular .22-caliber semi-auto rifle on the planet (with stiff competition from the Marlin Model 60). Mine is a rather plain-Jane specimen with a 2.5-4X scope and it is hell-on-wheels against small game.
Having two Ruger Blackhawks in .41 Magnum has allowed me to do a bit of experimenting over the years. I once ran a few handloads through it that obviously were pushing the envelope because the empties came out with flattened primers and difficult-to-read head stamps. Needless to say, I’ve backed off on that particular powder-bullet combination. It wasn’t all that accurate, anyway.
The Blackhawk will be my go-to sixgun for summer fly fishing jaunts on the horizon, and come fall during the September grouse season, I’ll be packing one or the other on a cartridge belt when I try some new hunting country where wolves are known to be a pain in the neck by the locals.
In my hunting camp, there’s invariably a Ruger firearm within reach and chances are it’s a sixgun. They are workhorse revolvers so with that pedigree, my guess is the new MAX-9 will make its own mark in the semi-auto arena.
