Ruger Goes Gen 3: The RXM
Posted by SF on Dec 11th 2024
The polymer-frame pistol market is competitive. Every major manufacturer is vying for dominance in it. But a few companies are at the top. Anybody who knows anything about guns has heard of Glock. Even if you aren’t into guns, you’ve heard of them. Glock pistols are a staple of popular culture—from movies to music and continuing to video games; they are everywhere. But honestly, has Glock fallen behind? I’d argue their pistols are no longer cutting-edge. They’ve failed to keep up with modern pistol trends. With the Generation 3 patent expiration, many manufacturers are building similar firearms with updated features. Shadow Systems and Palmetto State Armory (PSA) are two that come to mind. Shadow Systems are an excellent pistol, and they enhance much of the Glock Gen 3 design, but they can be a bit pricey. PSA offers affordable options (and sometimes cheap ones). They do this by cutting out the middleman. They are direct to the consumer—you can’t go to your local FFL to check one out (unless you visit a PSA store). The market is ripe for another option. And that’s where the subject of today’s article comes in. A pistol was built to take on goliaths because goliaths in the industry make it.
Ruger X Magpul
Ruger is a long-standing and respected manufacturer. Their legacy consists of items like the 10/22, the Mark series of .22 pistols, the Single-Six, Blackhawk, and Redhawk revolvers, the M77 Hawkeye, and, more recently, the American series of rifles. With semi-auto pistols, Ruger has focused more on budget with the LCP Max, Security-9, EC9s, and others. But Ruger doesn’t necessarily have a “modern” striker-fired polymer handgun. That’s where their partnership with Magpul comes in. Magpul is one of the premier manufacturers of AR-15 accessories. They make nearly everything. And all of it at a high level. Their years of leveraging revolutionary manufacturing techniques to bring high-quality yet affordable accessories to market means they can build at scale. Just what a company Ruger’s size needs.
The RXM
The RXM is Ruger’s newest offering. But they couldn’t do it alone. While it’s a Glock clone, it enhances the foundational pistol. First, Ruger built a stainless-steel Fire Control Insert (FCI) that is serialized and can be easily removed from the chassis. Magpul, with its polymer molding know-how, designed and built the frame for the FCI to reside in (dubbed the Enhanced Handgun Grip, EHG). As part of this collaboration, Magpul will offer a variety of grip frames so that consumers can customize their pistols to meet shifting tastes and needs (I’m guessing different colors and sizes). As for other features on the frame, it includes Magpul’s ¾ scale TSP texture to promote a secure grip, textured indexing pads, a low-profile flared magwell, a trigger guard undercut, and a higher beaver tail cut for a higher grip that offers better recoil management. Additionally, the EHG will have a universal-pattern accessory rail (no more proprietary rail systems!) for lights and other items. All sounds like nice upgrades.
Here's where things get interesting: The slide is finished in black FNC nitride, which should withstand consistent holster wear. But the best part is the optic mounting system. The RXM’s slide allows for direct optic mounting of RMR, Delta Point Pro, and RMSc pattern optics—no adapter plates are necessary. Awesome. More companies should go to this (looking at you, Glock). The iron sights are steel and have tritium inserts. They are also tall, so they can co-witness with your optic. To wrap up the slide, Ruger added front cocking serrations. They aren’t the most aggressive to get the job done. One note on the FCI: it utilizes a flat-faced trigger, which is fine. Many companies have gone this route.