The Blackhawk and Super Blackhawk, the Mark II, Mark IV, the Mini-14, the American Rifle…Ruger has been churning out some of the biggest hits in the firearms industry for decades. They’ve kept a keen eye on what the American civilian shooting market is looking for and they’ve gotten very good at serving it, selling more guns in the US than anyone else.
The American shooter has always demanded two things in particular — reliability and value. Now, more and more, they’re also demanding modularity and customization as well. This Christmas, Ruger has teamed up with Magpul to give the American shooting market exactly that. The Ruger RXM 9mm handgun is the newest modular polymer striker-fired handgun on the market. And yes, it really does take GLOCK magazines.
In short, the RXM is a Ruger-made modular G19 chassis gun…and that’s pretty awesome.
The modular chassis sits inside Magpul’s new Enhanced Handgun Grip (EHG). By the time you read this article you may see an array of EHG grips available in various colors and sizes for the RXM on Magpul’s website.
The EHG has a lot of the common features we see now on “upgraded” GLOCK frames. There’s full texturing throughout with a straight grip and no finger grooves. The mag well is flared for easy insertion. You’ll find a textured thumb index point on each side and a wide, slightly extended beavertail for a high grip.
Removal of the RXM’s serialized chassis — Ruger refers to it as the Fire Control Insert — from the Magpul grip isn’t completely tool-less. A small punch is required. That said, I just used the small Torx wrench supplied by Ruger to remove the optics plate instead of a proper punch. Using that and the manual, there were no problems removing the chassis and re-installation is just as easy. There’s no reason it should even take five minutes. Takedown is similar to many other polymer-framed striker-fired pistols and exactly like GLOCK pistols.
The slide on this model RXM is 4 inches and, put together with the supplied EHG grip, you have very G19-sized handgun, which is to say one that’s ideal for everyday carry. Using the supplied Magpul GL9 magazine, you end up with a 15+1 compact-sized pistol.
Of course, you could also run magazines from 10 to 30 rounds or more, and magazines made by GLOCK, Magpul, or anybody else that happens to make GLOCK-compatible mags. Many many millions of magazines to fit this pistol have already been made so they shouldn’t be hard to find or expensive to buy when you do.
Ruger advertises the new RXM as being “Gen 3 compatible.” It’s obvious that includes the magazines, but what else? A lot, actually. For instance, I took a SilencerCo threaded barrel I had installed in a GLOCK 19 and tossed it into the RXM. There were occasional failures to chamber with some JHP ammo when running it in the RXM with the SilencerCo barrel, but no more than when I ran the same barrel in my G19.
Note the single light mounting slot on the frame. I pulled a Streamlight TLR-7A light off of my current G19 EDC and moved it straight over to the RXM with zero changes to the mount.
The same goes for holsters. With the TLR-7A attached, the RXM locked tightly into a Haley Strategic Incog X, a holster specifically designed to work with the G19 and this light. Without the light attached I was able to securely carry the RXM in a variety of holsters that were originally designed for GLOCK pistols. When Ruger says the RXM is Gen 3 compatible, they mean it. Wanna throw a Gen3 GLOCK (or aftermarket) slide on top of the chassis in the Magpul EHG? Send it.
The RXM has a flat-faced trigger and the pull is reminiscent of some of the better striker-fired pistols on the market. It’s markedly better than the early GLOCKs and at least on par with the most recent generation. There’s some predictable squish and then a break, averaging 4lbs 12.6 pulls over five pulls with my Lyman Digital Trigger Pull Gauge.
The RXM comes fully optic ready. The optic plate pulls off with two screws revealing a host of slots milled into the top of the slide. By installing the appropriate set of supplied posts into those slots, the RXM accommodates direct mounting of sights with the most popular footprints including RMSc, RMR and DeltaPoint Pro.
The optic mount setup leaves the rear sight in place. I mounted a Leupold DeltaPoint Pro prior to shooting and ran it for the entire review. The POA/POI never shifted and the optic remained tight and in place. The factory sights are higher than most, but they still aren’t quite high enough to co-witness with the DeltaPoint Pro. Optics with a shorter footprint — which is most of them — are more likely to co-witness.
Without the optics, the factory irons are far better than you’d expect on a pistol at this price point. Decidedly not GLOCK, they’re all steel with a tritium tubed front and a serrated, U-notch, drift adjustable in the rear.
Out on the range, the Ruger RXM was exactly what I thought it would be: simple, familiar, and effective.
Reliability was predictable, well, perfection. With 500 rounds fired using the supplied factory barrel and Magpul magazines, I didn’t experience a single failure of any kind. I shot a variety of FMJs, JHPs, and IMI’s weird “die cut” round in weights from 90 to 147 grains. There were no failures to feed, fire, or cycle.
The magazines, both from Magpul and GLOCK, never failed to lock into place or eject and the gun never failed to lock back on an empty mag. Prior to firing, I sprayed the gun liberally with CLP and didn’t clean or lube it again for the duration of the review.
At the bench, the RXM shows a very good, if not exceptional level of shooting precision. A 6 MOA dot and a heck of an astigmatism didn’t help much in terms of producing tight groups. Consequently I shot smaller groups with the factory irons than I did with the reflex sight installed.
Armscor 115gr FMJs shot fairly well, printing 3-inch five round groups averaged over four shot strings. Wilson Combat’s 147gr Signature Match round shot the tightest groups at 2.6 inches. Right there in the middle somewhere was IMI’s 124gr +P die cut round at 2.9 inches. All shooting for groups was done untimed, off bags, at 25 yards.
The fact that all the groups were so close together in size, despite the variety of manufacturers and bullet types means that’s just probably as well as I can shoot and the gun might be able to produce better groups with a better shooter.
For a “plastic fantastic” the Ruger RXM 9x19mm feels pretty good to shoot. Anyone who’s familiar with modern semi-automatics will have no difficulty at all and recoil is minimal. The RXM weighs 23.2oz empty, enough to keep the gun still in the firing cycle, but not enough to weigh it down on your hip. The gun stays right in the hand during the recoil impulse. There’s no fighting to keep the grip from twisting and no need to reestablish a grip after a long shot string.
As a guy who likes the biggest backstrap on any pistol that offers it, I feel like this particular EHG was a bit small for me, and if I was looking for a perfect fit I’d wait for Magpul to release a version with a slightly larger (front to back) grip in order to get a more ideal length of pull.
There’s no external safety on the RXM, although wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Ruger include one on a future model. There’s the now ubiquitous trigger safety, of course, and it seems to work just fine.
Really, the entire RXM package is exactly what you’d expect an EDC pistol from Ruger to be. It’s simple, serviceable, reliable, and affordable. And yet, I certainly didn’t see something like this coming.
Yes, several little companies and a few big ones make chassis guns now, and some of them take GLOCK magazines. Some of them fit in GLOCK holsters. But none of them are a Ruger. None of them have the massive manufacturing, purchasing, and distribution power that Sturm, Ruger & Co. has. They are unrivaled in their ability to churn out products and deliver them to the American gun-buying public and their customer service is legendary. Given the possibilities presented by a modular handgun system like the RXM, that will likely mean more products,in more stores at a lower cost than anyone else can match.
The unique optics mounting system on the slide and the RXM’s modularity promised by Magpul grip frames mean that Ruger is now firmly at nor near the lead with one of the most modular and user-customizable pistol platforms on the market. With an MSRP of $499 for the RXM we should see retail prices a bit less in stores…if they can keep them on the shelves. I’m thinking that’s a big “IF.”
Specifications: Ruger RXM Modular Handgun
Caliber: 9mm
Capacity: 15+1
Front Sight: Tritium
Rear Sight: Co-Witness Height, Steel
Magazines Included: Two Magpul PMAG 15-round GL9
Barrel Length: 4 inches
Overall Length: 7.15 inches
Slide Width: 1 inch
Weight: 23.2 ounces
Height: 5.3 inches
MSRP: $499
I did not see this coming! Why reinvent the wheel when you don’t have to? They really should offer an option for a manual safety to really set them apart from Glock. They’ll get the customers that might otherwise want a Glockish pistol if it had a manual safety. This product may also be an admission that their American pistol series hasn’t been very popular. I’m disappointed to see the continued trend of blacked out rear sights. That makes it very difficult to align sights quickly in low light situations. It’s a carryover from daylight competition shooting. Give me subdued rear tritium inserts please.
I probably missed it on first read but is the frame compatible with Glock slides of any generation? I know several people who have various parts and a 9/40/357sig not Sig modular pistol would appeal to them.
I assume Gen 3 compatible slides would work. I’m sure we’ll know soon enough as people experiment with this.
Works just fine with Gen 3 Glock and Gen 3 Glockish (aftermarket) slides.
I don’t get it either. Since every plastic SFP is mostly Glockish anyway, why make this (which still isn’t a copy)?
And why Gen 3, which still exists because “Glock Gen 3” is on The List in California, but a “Ruger RXM” isn’t? I’m not a hater, but even Glock found room for two more generations of “Perfection”.
Glock mags are common, but they’re also plastic and fully doublestack .40, making for the thickest / blockiest grips in the class.
Modularity is cool, but since Glocks use different camming geometry for different barrels, slides likely won’t interchange.
Slides are interchangeable.
One of the most recent Glocks made a big deal of the fact that it used interchangeable 19 and 17 length barrel-slide assemblies because previous versions (including all Gen 3s) were not.
“Of course, the main draw to the G47 MOS is the modularity. With the shortened dust cover, you’re able to swap slide assemblies with the Gen 5 Glock 19s and Gen 5 Glock 45s. If you want a little bit extra concealability, throw a G19 slide/barrel on there.”
This was pushed as a big selling point of the G47 (similar to a G17 in most other respects) because previous Glocks (including all Gen 3s) could not do this.
Glock OEM polymer magazines are metal lined; Magpul polymer magazines are not metal lined.
I understand that the earliest Glock magazines were unlined, followed by a partially-lined version, and finally becoming fully metal lined, as they are today.
Are the fully metal-lined Glock magazines superior to the unlined MAGPUL magazines?
I use only Glock OEM magazines. I will leave it to those who use MAGPUL magazines rather than Glock OEM magazines to explain their reasoning if they should choose to do so.
The bulk of what I think I know I have learned from others.
I own both OEM and Magpul mags for my G19 and have never had problems with either. The only drawback I’ve found to using the Magpul magazines is the lack of a metal liner means they don’t work with a NeoMag magazine carrier. Aside from that, they’re a good alternative.
https://www.shootingnewsweekly.com/gear-review/good-gear-neomag-magnetic-pocket-magazine-holder/
That’s awesome. The biggest detriment to a Glocks versatility is the serialized frame.
I’m definitely in for one.
I think I’ll just have a Glock or Canik.
Yeah, give me a Canik.
The RXM pistol appears to have the Glock grip angle (which pretty much has to be the case if it uses Glock magazines). Is that correct?
And why didn’t Ruger design it with an ambidextrous slide release?
Ruger RxM : It reads as though it is a sure hit. Living in California, I can’t buy one as yet. If it lands on the DOJ approved list, I would imagine they will sell millions of them here. The reason being it jumps to the latest style Glocks in form and function at about a third of the price . And it’s a RUGER with Magpul’s ergonomics !
You may be looking at a product (tool) with actual synergy.
Make the USA policies and buying the first priority again! Austria is doing better than the America currently.
Any indications whether the RXM fire control module may be compatible with any aftermarket trigger components?