The Security-9 is a low-cost service pistol suitable for all types of everyday-carry. (Photo: Ruger)
Through the ’70s and ’80s the Ruger Security Six was one of the shooting world’s go-to handguns for personal protection, duty and home defense. Now Ruger’s bringing back the Security brand and while it’s completely different, in a way, it’s exactly the same.
The new Ruger Security-9 is a polymer-framed double-stack pistol chambered for 9mm Luger. It’s a mid-size handgun with a 4-inch barrel and compact grip with a standard capacity of 15+1.
This is the definitive all-purpose handgun today. Following the baseline set by the Glock 19, the Security-9 is the right caliber and the right size to get just about everything done.
And it doesn’t hurt that Ruger’s newest 9mm is priced to move. Even if — on paper — the Security-9 doesn’t do anything new, with its $379 MSRP, it undercuts all its competition.
That means, at full price, the Security-9 will cost less than other mainstream service pistols. With real-world pricing being even lower, buyers can expect to find Service-9 pistols starting around $300.
The how behind the low pricing is a bit surprising. At the heart of the Service-9 is the LCP, Ruger’s wildly successful concealed-carry pistol.
It has simple controls and an even easier manual of arms. (Photo: Ruger)
Unlike the majority of service pistols in this format, the Security-9 is actually hammer-fired. Ruger’s spent years developing their hammer-fired operating system to make it even lower-cost than common striker-fired mechanisms.
The hammer-based firing system is fully-cocked to give the Security-9 a true single-action trigger. Single-action triggers are making a serious comeback in the service pistol market because they handle and shoot better. Single-action triggers also have short and crisp reset points. And with current trigger safeties, they offer the same security as a double-action trigger.
Because it’s hammer-fired users also don’t need to pull the trigger for disassembly. This addresses a real safety concern, particularly for law enforcement and agency use. It also makes the slide easier to rack and everyone likes that.
Another plus for both departmental and private shooters alike is that the Security-9 uses a dead-simple interchangeable sight system. The front sight indexes with a roll pin while the rear sight is adjustable and held in place by a screw.
The Security-9 has a standard white dot front sight with a white outline rear. They also offer red and yellow sights separately for just $9 with more sight options to follow.
See Also: Ruger Drops Floor on Concealed-Carry Costs with New EC9s
Other benefits from using the LCP fire control system include a one-piece sub-frame that provides full-length rails for the slide. This improves reliability and can promote accuracy. It’s machined from lightweight aluminum and it uses an internal hammer catch and spring-tensioned sear for drop safety.
The Security-9 has two external safeties, a passive trigger safety and a manual thumb safety. Hopefully Ruger has plans for a model without a manual thumb safety like with the LCP Pro.
From there on the gun is pretty vanilla. It weighs 23 ounces unloaded and measures in at 5 inches tall and just over 7 inches long. It has a textured glass-filled nylon grip frame with a blued slide and barrel and comes with two steel-bodied magazines. Additional magazines are priced about where you’d expect with a $39 MSRP.
It looks like the new Security-9 is a solid do-everything pistol and is in a good place to inherit the Security brand. With a little time, aftermarket and accessory support, the Security-9 could be at the top of the list for go-to handguns for anyone, especially people on a budget.
I bought the Security 9 and have already shot it. This gun feels good in your hands and doesn’t have a lot of recoil. The Security 9 has one of the easiest slides to pull back that I have experienced with a 9 mm. The trigger is crisp and responsive. It is easy to achieve rapid follow up shots that are back on target. I think Ruger sold themselves short on the ergonomics and quality of this pistol as they bring it to market as a simpler and more economical defense weapon (good for the buyer). Don’t be afraid to add this pistol to your carry as it has so far shown me to be competitive with much higher priced contenders and is made in the USA.
If you are worried about rust, get your gun coated.
Yes it would be great to see the new pistol in 40sw and 45acp.
I still have my security 6 in 357mag that I got so long ago, my dad used it all the time.
I am all most 80 and I have super bad arthritis in my hands, and i would love to have a small auto in my pocket around the house if I ever had a problem with a break-in. But my problem is i have not found one I can rack. My hands do not have the strength any more, but i would love to have a small pocket size in a 380 or 9 and be able to rac it the first shot. i do not like one in the chamber, like I do not like in a pistol having a round under the hammer. Does anyone know of a small pocket size auto that will let me rack it and have a small trigger pull both. Trigger pull around 3 or 4 lbs. I would love to hear from sone one who has this problem and how you solved it. Thank you, from the good ole doctor. God bless.
I also have your problems, I bought a Remington RM380 and it is the easiest racking pocket gun I have found. Also shoots “soft” I love it.
Look at the Glock 42. Shoots nice. Trigger pull feels light, don’t remember the slide being hard to rack.
You mentioned that the security 9 had a firing system based on the LCP but some of your comments and comparisons sounded like you meant the LC9/LC380. Correct?
It will be a winner! And I am for an American Company that has the ability to take market share away from foreign manufacturers and make great profit. Ruger will provide newcomers/younger people (to whom this pistol’s market is aimed at) with a good, reliable and safe entry market hand gun. Sell, Sell, Sell.
Big deal, Ruger just re-tooled their P89. Only now there’s no way to cock the hammer unless your racking the slide. DUMB-JUST DUMB……
What is the difference between this and an SR9? Seems to be not enough to make a whole new pistol.
I like Ruger firearms. I feel they are quality firearms and I own quite of few revolvers semi autos. I’m glad to see Ruger is offering a low cost weapon in a caliber that has come a long way in recent years. As all new guns go, I’ll be waiting a while before getting one just to make sure if there are problems, they can get ironed out.
I jus want to know how is the trigger pull on the security 9 compared to the LC9’s.
Sorry to see Ruger moving into the Saturday Night Special market…
What? Are you inferring that a value priced gun is a ‘Saturday Night Special’? (You do realize that’s an anti-gun phrase used to classify handguns or a certain size, not a certain price point.?)
Ruger has had the LCP, LCP2,LC380,LC9 and several others on market and extremely value priced for some years. That’s kind of their gimmick in the pistol arena.
Is this guncapable of helping me in bad times?
Not by itself, you have to use it.
My first .357 was a Ruger Security Six (GAH-34). It was reworked by a gunsmith. I still love wheel guns. This thing was very accurate on double action and I loved it. There is no pistol in my mind that will replace it. I rely on accuracy as much as speed, and I don’t need to waste a lot of ammo to hit what I want.
Too bad I took a trip with it, and my luggage was stolen, and that gun will never be replaced.
My problem with pistols is that now almost everybody goes for 9 mm and I just feel it is too weak of a cartridge for rapid stopping power. I know there is new ammo to change this, but I am not going to pay $1 per round.
I feel for ya! I recently lost a Ruger Security-6 through theft as well. This weapon had a short barrel and was easy to conceal. I’m having a tough time finding a suitable replacement. I also owned a Security-6 years ago that was the most accurate handgun that I ever fired. I traded it for a Savage 24J over/under .22 LR/.20 Gauge. That revolver had a 5 inch barrel. I wish I never made that deal.
As a police officer in Texas I carried a Ruger Security Six on duty from 1976 to 1993. I liked the .357 magnum and it was always accurate.
In my opinion, it was and still is a great carry gun.
I still carry it off duty everyday.
*** Because it’s hammer-fired users also don’t need to pull the trigger for disassembly. This addresses a real safety concern, ***
still don’t understand why this is a ‘real safety concern,’ when most everyone who is the least bit serious about shooting does dry practice, and manages to exercise enough caution not to put holes in their walls, friends and family members regularly.
people just need to make like hickok 45 and rack the action of any firearm within reach three or four times every three or four minutes.
Now that hickock knock was hillarious!
He has to “rack and fire ” everytime he holds a gun….too funny
I’m glad someone else noticed that annoying habit of Hickok45.
Looks like Ruger might be on to producing a lower cost winner in the semi-auto handgun catagory that will sell to those who are on a budget and still provide a good higher quality and reliable protector. I actually favor the old style hammer guns over the strikers and feel far better with that hammer option for many reasons. However; I agree with several of the comments that the market is saturated with 9mm handguns of every size, configuration and variety simply because it’s somewhat inexpensive to shoot, low on recoil and gets the job done when needed… and the old 9mm has come a long way in performance over the past four or five years with the introduction of lighter weight 115 to 125 grain HP bullets at velocities over 1,100fps out of short 3 to 4 inch barrels… Now if Ruger wants to truly captivate my interest, they would start cambering these little jewels in 38 Super… which in my opinion is the best overall cartridge in the 9mm family and recoil is only slightly more than the 9×19 Luger… If they decide to produce a few in .38 Super… I’ll be first in line to purchase one.
That’s BLASPHEME ! calling THAT a Security 6.
Ruger’s just trying to sell an inferior sub caliber on the fame of one of their best ever wheel guns. I’ve owned (6) Security 6’s and (1) S&W 9mm (well actually 2 if you count the Ruger 357 / 9mm revolver I had when I was 17).
9mm is junk what ever you wrap around it and the market is flooded with them in every flavor.
If Ruger wants to do something of value then they need to FIX the problem of their stainless autos from rusting !
Their first ever 9 stainless that a friend of mine bought rusted on the slide , my 5 year old Ruger SR1911 slide is rusting and it spends all of it’s life in an ammo can that I take with me when I leave the house. It doesn’t get handled but yet it rusts.
Maybe you should give oil a try. That normally helps keep rust away.
Yeah, a little oil and TLC works wonders! There is a reason warriors are always cleaning their weapons–when not fighting of course.
You do still have to take care of stainless pistols. When they say stain-less they don’t mean it is impervious to staining, but that it will simply stain less than carbon steel. If you live in a climate with changing temperatures it is common for precipitation to form on a cold firearm when you warm up your car the next day for example. You could also see percipitation in a high humidity climate. Just being in an ammo can doesn’t make it impervious to rusting.
It’s too bad you have such a closed mind about nines in general. I think you should re-evaluate the caliber but by the tone of your post it seems you just don’t like anything that doesn’t have “magnum” attached to it. That’s OK……I have a few friends who are like that just like their dads were about 1911’s. Caliber arrogance, like yours, is really sort of childish in light of the improvements made in the past ten years to defensive 9mm ammo but please don’t let the facts cloud your judgment. By the way…..some gun oil applied to the slide and a pack of desiccant will cure the rust issues of your stored Ruger. I have three Ruger autos and have never had a rust issue of any kind. Lastly, I’m a retired LEO and have carried handguns in .357 Magnum, 9mm and .40 S&W…..they all performed fine for me in a variety of situations.
Maybe he could just refer to 9mm as “.380 Magnum”…
GVF, that is too funny, nice shot.
I’m a fan of that good old WD-40 and Remington Gun Oil and have many Rugers (and other brand) stainless and blued guns… some over 60 years old and none of them have any rust… in fact my Blued Ruger Flattop .357 has several thousand rounds through it was built in 1957 and would qualify as 97% condition. I also have a Ruger P-85 in Stainless manufactured in 1990 which has also had several thousand rounds through it and looks almost as good as the day I purchased it New… No Rust or Scratches. It’s all in how you take care of them, Clean immediately or ASAP after use and store them in such a way that they are not subjected to vast differences in changing temperature and high humid conditions… not in an ammo can.
Obviously never been hit by a 9mm hollow point I’m guessing.
You confuse caliber arrogance with caliber ignorance. One assumes knowledge and experience, the other doesn’t.
You speak of a Ruger LCP Pro. No such gun. Ruger makes the LCP, LCP Custom and the LCP II. Are you referring to the LC9s Pro?
I agree Max is likely referring to the LC9s Pro. Ref the link below for details in that model from Ruger:
https://ruger.com/products/lc9s/specSheets/3248.html
I am going to say, with argument waiting, What is wrong with 45 acp? I’ve owned several 9mm, but I prefer 45.
Lets get another caliber out sooner than later, My thoughts should count to the powers that be in the home/street security business. Thanks
Glad to see Ruger is not neglecting the low-priced market. The market is crowded with new offerings for full and mid-sized 9mms right now but most are still around $500. This shows American manufactures can compete with the low-priced imports from Turkey and Eastern Europe. I hope Ruger sells a million of them.
I thought the .40 S&W was the new 9mm?
It was until ammo manufacturers began designing greatly improved 9mm ammunition.
Learn how to care for your weapons. Stainless steel is resistant to corrosion but it will rust if not cared for properly. 5 years in an ammo can? Do you know anything about moisture, preservatives or care of firearms? I think not.
There has been a lot of talk recently about all of the improvements to the 9mm. All well and good. However, it seems to me that those same improvements would benefit any caliber, not just the 9. As an example the 380 is now being offered with improved bullet designs. Spread all of those improvements out over a wide range of calibers: 32 Federal, 380, 9, 40, 10, and 45, and all of a sudden the “which caliber is best” arguments start all over again. I suspect the 9 got the improvements first based on market demand for the 9, not because the 9 is inherently any better than the others.