Most evident are my personal shooting flaws, with both handguns showing decent (for me) accuracy. If anything, the Ruger may have a slight edge. This is with the 155gr FMJ, a load that is quite comfortable to shoot. I could plink all day long with either gun, except for the cost of ammo. At "social" range, accuracy would be fine for either one.
Also note how Ruger uses the 15-round full-size magazine from the SR40. A simple slip-over collar turns the bottom on the magazine into a nice grip extension. With the big mags, it would be a good-but-stubby service weapon in .40S&W.
As I was analyzing the design, I came across a potential fatal flaw that I believe I have exercised-out of the gun, or at least have a couple of possible fixes that would work. I found out that short-cycling the slide in a particular manner would result in a "cocked" trigger, yet the firing pin had not yet been unlocked for firing.
The damn magazine safety works by having a plunger in the slide push down on a hinged ejector, which in turn lowers the firing mechanism in the rear of the frame by a fraction of an inch. This, in turn, lowers the vertical part of the trigger bar enough so it can no longer contact the plunger in the slide that unlocks the striker, allowing it to be brought to full cock.
Real Glocks, and other clones, do not have that "safety" mechanism. Everything is nice and solid, and the trigger bar always can reach the firing pin lock. But even with the magazine safety removed, the tiny wiggle (a couple of degrees of roll along the long axis of the trigger bar) remains. The detent button is depressed only along its edge, rather than straight across the middle. Throw in the 32 ounces of pressure it takes to press in the detent, compared to the 10-12 ounces Gaston Glock decreed, and a rare but deadly malfunction is possible.
I polished the %^#%$@ out of the contact surfaces, which seems to have fixed things. Further testing will verify that. If a problem still exists, a tiny amount of shimming might help. A titanium detent plunger and weaker spring would be nice, too.
I'm fairly confident I have this fixed, and admit I was operating the action in an unnatural way. But this is how I analyze things, and how I build up my confidence in them. My first Glock, a G17, was serial US000033, one of the first 100 imported into the US. I was advised to grab it, because a campaign about the "undetectable plastic gun" was about to begin, and there was a good chance no more would be allowed in. BATFE and State have gotten a lot more practice with that stunt nowadays.
Anyway, I had my first Glock torn down and analyzed, and back together and burning ammo, before the first hysterical bleatings hit the media. So I think I've earned my stripes with Glocks and Glock clones. If I had to have only one weapon, and it had to be a handgun (God forbid), I'd instantly choose my Glock 21. But it's not something I'd care to carry around in a concealment holster day after day.
Speaking of holsters, leather holsters for the Glock 27 are almost a perfect fit for the SR40c after a bit of tweaking. If you know how to work leather, it's trivial, and the results are really nice.
The arrow points to where the edge of the holster touches the ambidextrous mag release on the right side. A tiny bit of leather carved away will fix that. But it did stune me when I stuffed the weapon in the holster the first time, and watched the magazine rocket away. :)
This may be my best carry weapon that combines the reasonable power of the .40S&W with reasonably small size, good accuracy, and pleasant shooting qualities. I ask myself, "self, why didn't I just start out with this?", and I realize it's all part of my continuing education process. If I hadn't started at Square One with something else, and studied, and pondered, and considered alternatives, I wouldn't have learned enough to ask more informed questions, and look for better answers. Even if I stay with one particular handgun, I'll always be checking out new ideas for holsters, and ammo.
For me, this business is too serious not to go through the arduous (and sometimes costly) process of re-evaluation. I need to have a handgun long enough to put several hundred rounds through it, and study it, inside and outside. I can't do that with a store rental gun, and 50 rounds of ammo, although you can at least decide if you want to buy one for further study based on a quick test drive.
I wouldn't buy a car, leave it in the garage, and then take it out once a year to drive it around the block. I'll reach a point of diminishing returns when it comes to handgun skills, but the subject is too critical to risk having those skills decline through disuse. Especially when a crisis never is polite enough to send advanced warning and allow you to brush up on your skills.