Ruger RXM

American-made handgun is far from just another Glock Clone and features lots of Customization Options at a Wallet-pleasing Price Point.

The Ruger RXM is a collaboration between Ruger and Magpul that builds on the legacy of the popular Gen 3 Glock 19 pistol while offering its own advantages. To understand the story of the RXM, you first have to go back and look at the history of the Glock. The 9mm Glock 17 was revolutionary when it hit the US in 1982. The striker fired polymer-framed pistol was unlike anything available at the time and quickly became known for its reliability, durability and ease of use. The compact Glock 19 followed in 1988 as a more size-efficient version of the design while still holding an impressive 15 rounds of 9mm ammunition. Since then, Glock pistols have become the market leader in the polymer service pistol segment for both armed professionals and private citizens. While other manufacturers developed their own polymer pistol designs, the Glock has always been the standard for comparison. When the Gen 3 Glock patents expired a few years ago, several companies started to offer polymer pistols that incorporated varying elements of the original design.

THIS LEADS US to the Ruger RXM. On the surface the RXM appears to be “just another” polymer pistol Glock clone, but a closer look reveals significant differences. The polymer grip frame, known as the Enhanced Handgun Grip, or EHG, is made by Magpul, an industry leader in polymer firearms products. The module features the Magpul TSP grip texture all
around. This helps the hand mate with the pistol securely, all without being so coarse as to become uncomfortable.
Additionally, recesses on each side of the frame, just below the front of the trigger guard, feature small textured patches. These are there so right- and left-handed shooters can consistently index their trigger finger off the trigger when not on target. The trigger guard is undercut and the dust cover features a single-rail accessory mount.

The metal components, including the slide, barrel and fire control parts, are made by Ruger. The slide and 4-inch barrel are black nitride coated. The slide has both front and rear grasping grooves for easier manipulation. The metal sights include a Tritium front night sight as standard with an all-black rear sight. The rear face is serrated to reduce glare. The sights are taller than typical to allow co-witness if a red dot optic is mounted. The RXM allows greater choice in red dots than other pistols, as the Ruger engineers designed the factory mounting system to work with the RMR, Delta Point Pro (DPP) and RMSc footprints. This allows the user to select the red dot that meets their needs and budget best with the
option to change to a different sight among those choices in the future.

The controls are straight Gen 3 Glock. The slide release is left-side only and the mag release is also left side only and is not reversible. The trigger is the standard Glock trigger with the now familiar trigger blade drop-safety. Ruger says the trigger and other fire control components are compatible with most factory and aftermarket Gen 3 parts. Takedown is the same as a standard Glock using the two-sided slide lock. The biggest difference between the Ruger RXM and any of the other clones (or the original Glock) is how much you can customize the design. The key reason for this flexibility is the use of a unitized fire control unit, known as the Fire Control Insert (FCI).

The significant difference between the FCI and standard Glock fire control components is that the FCI can be removed from the grip by the user. Since the FCI is also the serialized part, and thus legally is the firearm, this allows the user to swap out the standard grip module for a module of a different size or color. This will be more useful as Magpul creates more grip modules. Imagine a 17-round EHG (with appropriate magazines) combined with the standard G19-sized slide, for example. And assuming that Ruger offers different slide/barrel lengths, you can combine them with different EHGs to create even more customization possibilities. The EHG also addresses the problem many shooters have with the Glock 19. The EHG grip angle is slightly less acute than factory Glock and the grip shape is different, lacking the distinctive “Glock hump.” The stock Glock grip is a “love it or hate it” thing and reducing and reshaping the grip is a common modification.

I’M ONE OF the shooters who has always struggled with the Glock 19 grip, so I was especially looking forward to trying the Ruger RXM at the range. Due to the fact that I was recovering from bronchitis and pneumonia, and the weather was below freezing, I had to move my testing from the outdoor range I normally use to a local indoor range. This changed what tests I was able to do. Instead of 25-yard benchrest shooting at my own pace, I had to test the gun at a crowded indoor range under a time limit. I used the stock iron sights, as I did not have a spare red dot to mount on the test pistol. I warmed up by firing a magazine to get a feel for the pistol. Since the range did not allow drawing from a holster, I used my phone to play random start beeps and fired one or two shots from low ready at every beep. I quickly noticed that the RXM seemed to point naturally for me. My shots were generally well centered on the target without showing the significant left or low-left groups I normally get with my own Glock 19.

The trigger felt slightly better than a typical factory Glock trigger. The take up was a little mushy, with a hard wall and then a clean break. I measured the pull at between 5¼ and 5½ pounds. I expect the trigger will break in with use and smooth out a bit. Because I was at an indoor range, with no way to sit, I was not able to do the standard 25 yard benchrest accuracy testing. To help counter the dim light of the range, I put 3×5 index cards up on the target to give me a better reference point and then shot, slow fire standing, at 10 and 15 yards. The sights were well regulated and I was pleased to find my hits were well centered. I fired five rounds per target; by the third target, I was able to keep all the shots within the index card at 10 yards and, after a few more tries, again at 15 yards (although with a larger spread). While this is not nearly a good enough test to determine the best potential accuracy of the pistol, I am confident that it showed that the RXM is at least as accurate as other polymer pistols in its class.

FROM A PURELY subjective view, I really liked the RXM. The grip seemed to fix the issues I have with the standard
Glock 19 grip. The sights were good, the trigger was acceptable-to-good, the practical accuracy was good, and the pistol ran flawlessly. In all, I shot 100 rounds of mixed FMJ (115-grain and 124-grain), along with 15 rounds of 115-grain Speed Gold Dot JHPs. From a buyer’s perspective, I think the Ruger RXM may be the current best deal for a polymer service pistol. The MSRP is $499 with a street price of about $399. For that price, you get more features than the current Gen 5 Glock 19, including the metal night sights, factory red dot mounting options, two Magpul 15-round magazines and arguably better ergonomics.
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