Ruger is asking owners of American Pistols chambered in 9mm to inspect their handgun to see if it qualifies for a retrofit.
Ruger put out a Safety Bulletin this week for certain American Pistols chambered in 9mm, asking owners to inspect theirs to see if it qualifies for a “retrofit.”
At issue is a crack that develops near the ejection port of the slide when the round count begins to exceed 10,000. The crack is caused by “premature wear of the locking surfaces between the slide and barrel,” says Ruger.
“The condition is easily identified during routine maintenance and cleaning, and the crack should be visible long before the pistol becomes unsafe to shoot,” adds Ruger.
Specific American Pistols affected will have serial number prefixes “860” and “862”, and again, this is only for pistols chambered in 9mm. It does, however, include full-sized and compact models in both Manual Safety and Pro (no manual safety) configurations.
“One easy way to tell if your pistol is subject to this Safety Bulletin is by looking at the barrel. If your 9mm Ruger American Pistol is equipped with a silver-colored, stainless steel barrel, you should follow the inspection procedure (see below),” says Ruger.
“Retrofitted and newly manufactured Ruger American Pistols will be equipped with a black, nitrided stainless steel barrel,” adds Ruger.
A crack will develop in the slide when the handgun exceeds 10,000 rounds.
To learn more about the safety notice and to see if your American pistol may be affected, visit Ruger.com. A pdf version of the bulletin can also be found below:
I am, it won’t necessarily. The issue is a fitment one, doesn’t mean it was fit up unsafe. The bulletin says they will inspect both slide and barrel and replace worn components. It does seem that since it is limited to a pair of serial number ranges that it also may be a heat treat issue with the slide. The tolerances have a minimum and maximum allowable ratios of fit, apparently after 10,000 rounds it wears the locking lugs in the slide, and the barrel and allows the barrel to transfer energy down the breech face and crack the slide rail. Ruger says they will get it back in a week which is phenomenal service. Not a lot of units will have to be done due to the round count being 10K.
I’m not a gunsmith, so I don’t understand how replacing the barrel will prevent a crack from developing in the slide. Unless it is a fitment problem, which would mean the gun was unsafe from the get-go.
Changing the barrel isn’t the fix. It just shows that the fix has been completed or not needed in the case of new firearms.