The new Ruger Security .380
By MARJ LAW
I see a video on the internet of a guy talking about this new little Ruger Security .380. He reports the slide is so easy to pull back, that he can do it with two fingers! And this doesn’t include his thumbs. Hahaha.
Many videos about handguns are made by healthy young 30-something men. You know the type: maybe ex-Marine, big boned, nothing will ever kill them types…
Do you, a small-boned woman or man, or a mature person, believe this guy on the video? Might be easy for him. Probably not so simple for you.
So, I get this little .380 because I do like a gun that’s easy to use. But jack the slide with two fingers? Sure.
I lift it out of the box. I grab the grip and the slide and, using my shoulders as leverage, rack that slide.
Zip! It flies back! I yanked it too hard!
I try again with less strength. Zip! Back it goes! How ‘bout that?
This time, I pull the slide using only thumb and index finger.
Zippy-do again!
Now, can it be pulled back just by using index and ring finger?
Yes, it can!
This is the easiest slide I’ve ever racked.
“Hey Joe, try this!” and I demonstrate racking the slide with two fingers.
“Nuh-uh,” he says, not believing, and he takes the gun and racks the slide himself.
Zip! Back it goes!
Now we’re both impressed. But the next question is: how will it perform at the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office range?
First, here’s the gun.
The Ruger Security .380 is small and has barrel length of 3.42 inches. Despite the small size, this little guy comes with both a 10 and a 15-round magazine.
The Security’s back sight is u-shaped and the front sight is bright green fiber optic.
You don’t see the hammer, but there is one and it is internal. It has a safety-bladed trigger, and it has a manual safety on the frame.
It weighs 19.7 ounces and is 1.02” wide and about 6.5” long altogether. Pretty small. And the grip is just fine for small hands like mine.
I give the gun to Joe again and ask him how he likes the grip. Joe has big hands.
“Well, I got pinky dangle,” he says.
So, I put in the 15-round magazine with the extra little-finger extension.
“This is comfortable.”
While he’s holding the gun, he asks: “OK to take it apart?”
“Sure!” I watch as he pulls the slide so the two half-circle cut-outs from the frame and slide form a full circle. He reaches with fingernails and picks out the pin that is now partially exposed. He pulls the slide off the lower.
It can’t be that easy.
“Put it back together!”
He does, and then he hands it to me.
I move the top and bottom circles together. Sure enough, you can see the top of the pin exposed.
Are my fingernails hard enough to dig this pin out?
Yes! Wow! Then I slide the top off the frame. Dang, that’s easy! We give the rails a bit of grease, clean the innards, then put the Security back together and head out to the WCSO range. Remember to always check and clean your new gun. It may have super goop as a rust preservative. That needs to go. Or, the gun might be dry and need some oil or light grease.
We have checked it and now we’re at the range.
I shoot first, rating the gun from 1 to 5, with 1 being “easy” or “like” and 5 meaning “difficult” or “don’t like.”
Trigger pull is a tad harder than I expect. I give it a 2.5. Trigger travels some; not too long. It gets a 2.5 as well. Fortunately, as the trigger travels, I do not feel any grittiness. It’s smooth.
Recoil? That gets a 2. When 5 is the hardest, a 2 is pretty nice. There’s not much of a kick.
Grip? This little gun with its 10-round magazine is fine for small hands. Fits me well. I give it a 1.5 for a good-size grip. As we noted earlier, the 15-round magazine fits Joe.
Racking the slide? This gets a 1 from me. I’ve never seen a slide like this.
My first shots hit all around the 8-inch target, but at least they make the target. After that, I get better, then manage a couple bulls eyes. These are great for the ego and help you know that your sights don’t need adjusting. The rear sights on the Security can be drifted right or left, as wanted. That’s called windage.
The Security shoots nice and flat as I become used to it.
Joe is next. He gives the trigger a 2 for difficulty and a 2 for travel. Those are pretty good scores: a bit lower than mine because he is quite a lot stronger. He doesn’t like the grip as well because I have put the 10-round magazine in it, but he’d like the 15-rounder.
Joe gives that slide a 1, for being as easy as a slide can be.
Like it? Sure do! I like the slide, small grip, lightish recoil, lightish trigger and easy break down. Oh, and the trigger is fast for a quick 2nd shot, in case Mr. Bad has a bad friend.
If you’re a newbie
I’ll bring the Security .380 to the WCSO range for the next couple weeks on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. if you’d like to see it.
Truly, the Ruger Security .380 has the best slide I’ve ever racked.
Marj Law is the former director of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful who has become an avid shooter in retirement.