The pistol covered in this review is easily among the most welcome introductions of the year. For many shooters, it is the ideal piece for personal protection. I cannot imagine a person of average strength having difficulty manipulating and firing the Ruger Lite Rack Security-380.
Some folks have injury, age, or arthritis against them. I have all three, but manage to work out, hike, and engage in defense drills. It isn’t easy and gets more difficult. My blessed mother-in-law is well over 80 years old. She lives alone and some time ago traded her snub nose .38 for a small .380 that she doesn’t like much, but she can handle the recoil.
Features
She finds the Ruger Security-380 much more to her liking. The magazines are not difficult to load to full capacity. The slide is easily racked. After all, this isn’t a micro size pistol demanding a heavy recoil spring.
The slide isn’t difficult to rack. Recoil of the .380 ACP cartridge is modest in this size pistol. I must admit, I completely enjoyed firing this handgun. Most small .380 ACP pistols don’t impress me. The Ruger Security-380 is not only reliable, but also very easy to shoot well.
Accuracy is in the service pistol class. I burned up a good bit of my modest cache of .380 ACP ammunition while testing and evaluating this handgun. Actually, the evaluation was finished in less than 150 rounds. I knew exactly what the pistol was capable of. I fired another 100 rounds in accuracy testing — far beyond the distance the pistol would be used at and firing at range debris and dirt clods.
The Ruger Security-380 is fun to shoot. That means something in personal defense. My wife and mother-in-law both enjoy the pistol. A .380 in the hand beats a 9mm they don’t practice with. My wife’s number one handgun is a SIG P250 9mm and she does well with it. But the Ruger Security-380 is more pleasant to fire. In a few years, perhaps it may replace the SIG 9mm.
The pistol is a new introduction but based on the existing Ruger Security 9 9mm compact. The Security-380 is redesigned from locked breech to straight blowback operation. The soft shooting .380 ACP in a pistol this size is simply docile. Control is much easier. Accuracy is at least comparable to the 9mm compact version.
The .380 ACP cartridge isn’t as powerful or effective as the 9mm, so don’t kid yourself on that count. However, the .380 ACP is more powerful than any .22 or .32 and offers a reaosnable choice for many shooters. Accuracy may make up for power.
The trigger action is a unique, and useful action, known as the Secure Action. An internal hammer rides inside the slide. The hammer is partially cocked when the slide is racked. Trigger action does the rest. The result is a controllable, relativley light, trigger action. Control is good and reset is rapid.
The pistol has good safety features including a blade safety set in the trigger face and an ambidestrous safety lever. The pistol also features a modern drop safety locking the firing pin until the trigger is pulled fully to the rear. The safety is frame mounted and falls under the thumb in a natural manner, as the hand grasps the handle. Hand fit is good, and trigger reach doesn’t stretch the hand. Let’s look at some important dimensions.
Ruger Security-380
Overall length: 6.52 inches
Barrel length: 3.4 inches
Weight: 20 ounces
Magazine capacity: 10 or 15 cartridges
The Ruger Security-380 features a nicely machined chassis (in the modern manner) set into a glass-filled nylon grip frame (receiver). The frame features a rail for mounting a combat light or laser. This makes the Ruger Security-380 a serviceable choice for home defense.
The slide, true to the Lite Rack designation, is easily racked. The magazines are easily loaded. Quite a few modern high-capacity 9mm handguns are difficult to load to full capacity. The Ruger Security-380 is supplied with two magazines. One is a flush fit 10-round magazine and the other an extended 15-round magazine. Neither is difficult to load to full capacity.
The sights are excellent designs for personal defense. The rear sight is drift adjustable, and the front sight features a bright fiber optic component. The magazine catch is positive in operation.
Takedown and field stripping isn’t my favorite but neither is it difficult. Be certain the pistol is unloaded. Remove the magazine and lock the slide to the rear. Next, insert a fingertip into the chamber to be certain the chamber is not loaded.
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Pull the slide slightly to the rear and bump out the disassembly pin. Remove the slide from the frame, and the recoil spring assembly and barrel are easily tilted up and out of the slide. Maintenance, cleaning, and lubrication, are simple enough.
I fired a more diverse assortment of ammunition than usual in the Ruger Security-380 — after I lubricated the slide rails, barrel hood, cocking block, and muzzle. I had accumulated several partial boxes of ammunition. This included FMJ loads from Armscor, Federal, PMC, Remington, and Winchester. I also fired the Hornady Critical Defense and Federal HST hollow point.
Range Results
The Ruger never failed to feed, chamber, fire, or eject. The FMJ loads were about as accurate as the other. Recoil is difficult to describe. Certainly, it was greater than a .22 or .22 Magnum, but there was less felt recoil than any other .380 ACP I have fired. As a matter of fact, it was less than a service size 9mm Luger.
A 90-grain JHP at 950 fps or a FMJ/900 fps load isn’t a hard kicker. Disregard claims for extreme high velocity in the .380 ACP — they are not borne out by the chronograph. The greatest recoil exhibited came from the Federal 99-grain JHP. This load is a ‘hot’ number at 1,013 fps.
I drew and fired quickly. The pistol gets on target quickly. X-ring hits were easily accomplished at 5, 7, and 10 yards. The Ruger is tractable and moves along a line of man-sized targets quickly. At 10 yards it wasn’t difficult to put a magazine full of ammunition into a tight pattern.
After firing more than 100 cartridges through the Ruger, I was not tired and my wrists were not sore. I have enjoyed several similar range sessions. I also test fired the pistol across the benchrest for accuracy.
I fired first at 15 yards getting several 2.0-inch five-shot groups with Winchester FMJ loads. I decided the good sights, trigger action, and fit and feel, demanded a 25 yard test — outrageous for most .380 ACP pistols. Results were excellent with five shots falling into 2.2 to 3.0 inches.
Conclusion
The Ruger Security-380 is a nice shooting pistol. It is designed for those who have difficulty racking a slide, loading magazines, or handling heavy recoil. On that basis, I find no fault with the pistol. It meets all criteria set forth. The pistol is accurate enough for much enjoyment in marksmanship training and informal target practice. Ruger has a winner with this handgun.
Have you made the switch to a lower caliber, easier to operate handgun for home defense or concealed carry? What’s your take on the Ruger Security-380? Is it a viable option, or do you think there is a better pistol? Share your answers in the comment section.