Ruger Max-9 Review: Semi-Auto Pistol Matches Its Name

Article, Reviews

By Paul Rackley, GunBroker Editor

It’s mostly accepted that high-end guns have lots of features, while lower-priced guns contain fewer. Middle of the road guns are exactly that. Lately, though, it seems as if companies have realized that adding desirable features in affordable guns means sales. Enter the Ruger Max-9.

The Max-9 is a striker-fired, semi-auto 9mm pistol. Ruger designed it compact for concealed carry, providing two barrel lengths from which to choose. The company also added good sights, decent capacity and an optics option. And while most would think all that would greatly add to the price. It doesn’t.

Ruger offers the Max-9 for a retail price of $439. This means that folks can pick one up for less than $400. Even better, for $50 more, Ruger throws in the ReadyDot reflex sight. So, for a little over $400, or maybe less, shooters can get a red-dot mounted 9mm pistol for concealed carry.

Max-9: In My Hands

Concealed-carry guns are made to be used. For this reason, I started testing the Ruger Max-9 cold with the Baer Standard drill. At 3 yards, I rapid fired five rounds into a square, transitioned to put five rounds in a second square, performed a slide lock reload and fired three rounds into a small circle. I didn’t run the drill cleanly, but I came close. However, since those were the first 13 rounds I’ve ever fired from this pistol, I was quite impressed. It took two more tries to run the drill cleanly in under 9 seconds.

From there, I bounced between slower strings for accuracy and defensive drills. These included the Failure, Bill and variations of the Threat Response drill. Throughout the sessions, I performed both speed and tactical reloads. I even went out at dusk to see how well the tritium/fiber optic front sight worked. When the light waned, I brought out a tactical flashlight, as situations also happen at night.

I ran a little more than 200 rounds through the Ruger Max-9. It offered up zero hiccups or problems. Rounds hit where I aimed, and the recoil was quite manageable, particularly with the 12-round magazine, which provided a full grip, if barely. With the 10-round magazine, my pinky hung off. Ruger, however, includes a finger grip extension floorplate, which I added to the smaller magazine. It allowed all fingers to fit on the pistol, if barely once again.

The front sight was very easy to see, in both light and dark scenarios. I ran it from dusk down to full dark with no problems. Even having black rear sights caused zero issues. The black stood out against the fiber optic during the day; the tritium is really all that’s needed in the dark. And that tritium stood out when hit with artificial light from the rear.

The 4-inch barrel provided plenty of accuracy. Freestanding slow strings at 20 feet produced a 3-inch, 10-round group. Groups opened when movement was added but hits stayed in the target zone.

Pros & Cons: Ruger Max-9

II’ve been looking for a concealed-carry 9mm for a while. As such, I was pretty excited to get hold of the Max-9. It is in the zone for what I’m looking. It’s compact, easy to carry, but still holds a decent round count. Carrying it fully loaded with both magazines provide 23 rounds.

It’s also quite accurate for both self-defense and longer ranges. I tended to shoot a little left, but I’m convinced that I was pushing it slightly. The shift was minute and completely disappeared when I paid attention to it.

The 4-inch barrel provided more sight radius, even though it felt front heavy when unloaded. This leveled out when loaded, and even seemed to help mitigate recoil. I do, however, think the 3.2-inch barrel might be better for those concerned with concealment.

Now, it took a couple of draws to get used to the manual safety. It’s fairly intuitive, but small. I just missed it right at first. The Ruger Max-9 also comes with an integrated trigger safety and internal striker blocker. It even has a loaded chamber indicator.

I really only had a couple of things I would change. To start, provide two, 12-round magazines. The difference in length between the pair is miniscule, maybe a quarter inch. I would prefer having the extra length and two more rounds.

I also wouldn’t mind the grip being a little longer or thicker, as I had to shift my grip when performing reloads or my palm would contact the back of the magazine. This prevented the magazine from dropping freely. It only added a quarter second, or less, but it did add time.

I would also like a larger slide stop, which is small and hard to press. Pulling the slide gets around this, but lots of shooters like like the stop, particularly 1911 aficionados.

Overall, the Max-9 shot well with Federal target ammo and Ammo, Inc. Signature hollow points; accuracy was similar with both; I only ran a few hollow points, mostly to make sure there weren’t any issues. The Ruger Max-9 is an excellent concealed-carry pistol for those who can’t justify dropping $600 or more. It’s not perfect, but it is good.