Video of Ruger SP101, Separate Ejector Rod

Gun Watch ^ | 9 December, 2013 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

This video from INTOWEAPONS was interesting to me because it showed the person firing using a separate ejector rod to eject the empties.  You have to be looking for it to catch it, right at about 1:56 to 2:08 in the video, at the bottom of the screen.   When you hear cases being ejected at other points of the video, it is clear from the cadence that the separate ejector rod is being used there as well.  Most people do not use a separate ejector rod unless there is good reason to do so, primarily that the revolver's intrinsic ejection system is difficult to use.  It could be that the user did not have any full moon or star clips for the revolver's ejector to catch on.

I ran into this exact problem with three 9mm Smith & Wesson revolvers, using the full moon or star clips.  At times the problem was so severe that I cut the palm of my hand on the ejector rad trying to eject empties.  I sent them back to the factory twice, and the problem was much reduced; still, it was enough to make me give up on 9mm revolvers.  My speculation is that the tapered 9mm case simply does not work well with most double action ejector systems.   It should be less of a factor in single actions, the ejector rod there only has to  deal with one case at a time.

YouTube video of Ruger SP101 in 9MM being fired


I understand that Ruger no longer makes the SP101 in 9mm.

Has anyone else had this problem with double action 9mm revolvers?


©2013 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

[marktwain]

For some reason, the 9mm cases were very hard to eject from the Smith revolvers. I never had that problem with .45 ACP revolvers, but the case is not tapered like the 9mm is.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

What is the need to shoot a semi-auto round in a revolver?

Why not buy a revolver in a revolver round?

[Lurker]

Bill Ruger designed the 101 for .357 magnum. Chambering it in 9mm and .45 ACP was silly.

[dinodino]

Why would anyone want a 9mm revolver? That makes no sense to me.

[43north]

Isn’t this why revolver cartridges are used in revolvers and pistol cartridges are used in pistols?

To do otherwise is asking for malfunctions. I want my firearms to go BANG every time I press the trigger instead of CLICK. I won’t use a firearm that is painful to operate.

[The Cajun]

Ruger also had trouble with their semi-auto 9mm pistols when they first came out.

Many were sent back to the factory, several times.

[Tainan]

Availability of ammo is the biggest reason I have seen for 9mm revolvers usage. In some parts of the world 9mm is the common ammo and woe be on anyone who shoots a different caliber. This has changed a bit over the last 20-30 yrs, but it might still be a consideration in some places.
Couple that with a personal preference for wheel guns (not necessarily mine) and this can cause a few problems such as this.
Just my experience on "why a 9mm wheel gun."

[driftdiver]

I have it in .357. Not my favorite gun to shoot but it always works.

[marktwain]

“Why would anyone want a 9mm revolver? That makes no sense to me.”

Two reasons:

1. Common, cheap ammunition. In a lot of the world, 9mm is much easier to get than .38. Some people might just have a lot of 9mm ammo, and some might want the revolver as backup to their primary pistol, which would be a 9mm autoloader.

2. Fast reloading (in theory). The full moon clip system is the fastest reloading system for revolvers. It works extremely well with .45 ACP. A reload with .45 ACP in a revolver is nearly as fast as a reload of a autoloader.

Unfortunately, it does not seem to work that way in practice with the 9mm.

[Tainan]

Ruger also had trouble with their semi-auto 9mm pistols when they first came out.
Many were sent back to the factory, several times.

Man oh man...same same with the early S&W 9mm semis. Cracked frames, FTF's, FTE's, poor QC...it kept the factory repair dept. working over-time...lol.

[null and void]

It doesn’t leave brass at the scene?

[yarddog]

The 9mm actually makes a good revolver cartridge. You do have to use third, half or full moon clips or you have to use a pencil or something like that to push the empties out.

Using full moon clips is slightly faster than a speed loader.

For some reason the high pressure 9mm will out perform the .38 special by a fair margin in revolvers.

[Las Vegas Ron]

I have the GS100....well until that boating accident....why don’t you like it?

[driftdiver]

With .38 its not bad, but with .357 mags its like getting hit in the face everytime I shoot it.

Guess I prefer the .45 acp

[Las Vegas Ron]

Interesting....different strokes I guess.

Even the wife likes it, do you have the Hogue grips?

[driftdiver]

ouch

yes the hogue grips

[Las Vegas Ron]

Yikes, for me they’re comfortable, but not for you?

[driftdiver]

The grips are fine. Think I would like something with a longer barrel.

[MarkL]

What is the need to shoot a semi-auto round in a revolver?

Why not buy a revolver in a revolver round?

Actually, it's a pretty terrific idea, at least in the case of the S&W 625. If you use full-moon clips, it's like a speed-loader, but faster, since you don't need to release the cartridges. It's also incredibly convenient when you have both a revolver and semi-auto in the same caliber, especially if you reload.

To see how fast a reload with full-moon clip can be, take a look at Jerry Miculek breaking the world speed record with a revolver. Be sure to note how quickly he's able to reload.

Mark

[marktwain]

“For some reason the high pressure 9mm will out perform the .38 special by a fair margin in revolvers.”

It is not surprising that much higher pressures give higher velocities. My experience with the 9mm in revolvers is that the performance is very close to .38 Special +P.

The big difference is that the .38 or even .357 cases virtually always reliably eject, while the 9mm cases (in the revolvers that I had) had almost universal problems ejecting the cases.

Did you have any ejection problems with 9mm revolvers? It is one of the things I was trying to find out, I have read of problems elsewhere (vague memory), but was hoping for first hand experience.