Ruger and Magpul RXM Pistol

Standard Where It Counts; Custom Where You Like
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Coined by networking technology executive Ray Noorda back in the ’90s, “coopetition” is one of those made-up words, but I think it’s earned its place in the official Merriam-Webster dictionary. Our world is chock-full of successful examples of coopetition — companies working together while concurrently locked in competitive battle. It’s a bit like the New York Giants and New York Jets sharing MetLife Stadium. In more business-world examples, consider how Apple and Samsung fight over the smartphone market but share product components. Toyota and Tesla collaborated on electric vehicle technology but will cut each other off at the knees to sell an extra battery-powered go-kart or two.

We even have examples of healthy coopetition here in our industry. Throughout the history of gun companies, we’ve seen numerous examples of proprietary cartridge ideas from one gun company becoming adopted industry-wide. Or consider the Ruger 10/22. Through standardization, consumers have a wide variety of customization options from numerous independent manufacturers. Ruger’s embrace of the aftermarket is a complete win for customers and arguably one of the reasons for sales of 10/22 models exceeding 6 million.

Now, the Ruger folks have done it again and embraced the widespread success of the GLOCK platform. In a new collaborative product launch with Magpul, the company brings to market its RXM family of pistols. Magpul supplies its EHG (Enhanced Handgun Grip) and PMAG 15 GL9 magazines (two per pistol). For those of you trapped in freedom-challenged states, the companies are offering 10-round configurations also. Ruger, of course, builds the shooty stuff.

I love this, primarily because it is just so darn customer-centric. When gun companies cooperate on basic things like sight-mounting specs or optics-mount standards, it makes life much, much easier for us buyers.

Appearance & Operation

I do love the look of this compact pistol. The sample shown here includes a dark gray grip frame and a “satin black-like” slide assembly — somewhere in the middle of matte and shiny. It looks fantastic — much more interesting than an all-black pistol. The trigger, magazines and controls are finished in black, too.

As for the subjective ergonomics overview, I like the feel of the RMX much more than that of a GLOCK. I’m certainly not going to complain about one of the most popular handguns in history; I just prefer the more rounded corners of the RMX grip. While there’s still an underlying rectangle, it doesn’t feel nearly as boxy in my hand.

The pattern on all four sides of the grip (with allowances for smooth corners) is the Magpul TSP pattern. I’d describe it as skateboard tape after soaking in a hot tub listening to Miles Davis records. It’s a mellower version — still “grippy” but far less abrasive on the skin. That applies to both the shooting hand and your midsection should you carry inside the waistband. The slide features front and rear cocking serrations — standard squared grooves with a raked forward orientation.

I found the controls snug but easily operable. For example, the magazine release button, recessed in a nifty cutout, has plenty of room to travel but is still shielded from unplanned holster pressure drops. I found similar results with the slide stop. If you’re of the thumb release vs. racking persuasion, you can do it without contorting your firing hand for leverage.

Takedown is all GLOCK-like with the dual spring-loaded slide lock. First, clear the gun carefully, point at a safe backstop carefully, and release the trigger. Then, just retract the slide a hair, about 1/16th of an inch, being careful not to go so far as to cock the striker, and pull down on the dual slide lock levers. The easy way is to use one hand to apply pressure on the levers while retracting the slide with the other until things release. At this point, the slide assembly moves right off the fiery end, and you can remove the recoil spring and barrel for maintenance. Super easy.

Modularity

As with a growing number of pistols on the market, the “gun” isn’t really the gun, at least not in the traditional sense. The “gun” is a fire control assembly mounted by pins in the polymer grip module, in this case, the Magpul EHG (Enhanced Handgun Grip) frame. That means you’ll be able to order different sizes, shapes and colors of grip modules. Just remove the serialized fire control module from your existing gun and drop it into the new module. Add the slide, barrel and recoil spring from the old gun, and you’re off to the range. The sky is the limit for grip frame options and future variety only relies on what consumers demand and what the market offers.

Removing the fire control insert is easy. After field stripping, remove the locking block pin, then the side lock lever, and finally, the takedown pin. At this point, the fire control insert will lift up and forward out of the frame body. If you’re just deep cleaning, you’re good to go at this point. If you’re changing frames, you can then remove the takedown spring and slide lock spring so you can move them over to the replacement frame. We’re talking a minute or two of work here requiring nothing more than a 3/32″ punch or something of similar size.

Optics & Sights Features

The RXM is optics-ready out of the gate. It’s a direct mount for certain optics footprints. Red dots compatible with the Trijicon RMR, Shield RMSc or DeltaPoint Pro footprints will directly mount to the slide — no adapter plate required. To make this work properly, the slide’s optics mount area is pre-drilled with lots of holes for the four dowel pins included with the pistol and for appropriate optics mount screws.

The mounting process couldn’t be simpler. I removed the cover plate with two screws using the included Torx tool, added two dowel pins to the correct holes for the RMR HD, rested the sight, and used two Trijicon screws to mount the sight. If you’re going with something RMSc or DPP-compatible, you’ll use all four included dowel pins. Ruger does not include the optic screws as there are so many variations in length and thread pitch depending on the optic. For example, the RMR HD uses a 6-32 UNC thread pitch, while the DPP uses an M4-40 pitch. And then you might run into variations in length. So, use the screws that usually are included with the optic itself.

Once mounted, I found the RMR HD sat low on the slide, as expected. This is good as the factory standard sights can co-witness with this optic. I’d estimate the top slivers of the front and rear sights occupy about 10% of the RMR HD window — maybe a hair less. You can certainly use the irons, but you’re getting a partial view of the sight notch and post.

If you want to use this pistol in the traditional “iron sights” configuration, this sample included an H3 (Tritium) front sight paired with an all-black rear notch sight with horizontal serrations to reduce glare. The iron sights are taller than standard — the front peaks at 0.24″, presumably to allow for some co-witnessing. The sights are mounted using the GLOCK-compatible system; the front is screwed through the slide, and the rear is a dovetail mount, adjustable for windage.

Magazines

The RXM ships with two Magpul PMAG 15-round GL 9 magazines. That’s a lot of code letters for polymer, GLOCK-compatible mags.

If you’re familiar with original GLOCK magazines, you’re going to love the maintenance features of these Magpul offerings. Ever tried to disassemble a GLOCK magazine to clean out accumulated dirt, grit and other assorted junk? Getting that baseplate off is an exercise in pain and frustration. This one is a delight. The magazine spring seat “pin” has a diameter larger than a pencil. That means you can use almost anything to depress it and unlock the baseplate from the magazine body. A pen or pencil works fine, and if you’re at the range, you can even use a round-nose cartridge. It’s easy. Better yet, when you do this, the floorplate slides right off. No need to scrunch the sides of the magazine body as with many GLOCK-compatible magazines.

The magazines go into the well effortlessly, thanks to the flare built into the Magpul frame. I did notice there’s a little play when the magazine is in place. However, it locks in solid and isn’t going anywhere. The benefit of having a bit of room is that both empty and full mags drop reliably. Maybe it’s my imagination, but a full mag does seem to “grow” a tiny bit from its diet of 15 cartridges. The last two require serious pressure to load. That seems to occupy some of the well space, tightening the interior fit a little more.

Trigger

The trigger is GLOCK standard, so the interior and exterior parts are familiar. The trigger face is flat and smooth, including the safety leaf insert. I measured the pull weight right around 5¼ lbs. and would describe the feel as GLOCK-familiar. You’ll get about a quarter-inch of takeup, followed by another quarter-inch of constant pressure, followed by a surprise break. I wouldn’t describe it as “crisp” as there’s no real detectable shelf when it’s about to break, but I wouldn’t call it mushy, either. It’s a consistent break and I had no trouble shooting this gun accurately as the trigger was nothing if not consistent. If you don’t like it or have different weight and movement preferences, there’s a significant aftermarket of triggers and parts that will work with the Ruger RXM because of its GLOCK Gen 3 compatibility.

Off To The Range

The RXM arrives new, pre-cleaned, properly lubed, and ready to shoot. No cleaning or oiling is required before you check it out. I did mount a Trijicon RMR HD optic before heading off for the first range trip.

I brought four types of 9mm ammo: Black Hills 115-grain JHP, Norma MHP 108-grain defense, Federal Syntech Action Pistol 150-grain and Federal NATO 124-grain. The RXM is rated for +P ammo but not +P+.

The RXM is comfortable to handle and easy to shoot well. Without the magazine in place, my size large hands fit comfortably and I easily fit all fingers on the grip — none were applying pressure to the magazine itself. With its 4″ barrel, the pistol measures 7.15″ long and weighs 23.2 oz. empty.

As for accuracy, I used my standard 25-yard target setup and proceeded to shoot five-shot groups using a Ransom Multi-Caliber Rest and a Garmin Xero C1 Pro Doppler radar chronograph. First up was the Black Hills 115-grain EXP JFP load, which produced 2.80″ at an average velocity of 1,186.8 fps. Federal NATO 124-grain measured 3.2″ at 1,188.2 fps while the same company’s 150-grain Action Pistol Syntech load produced 2.6″ at 892.2 fps. Last but not least, I clocked Norma’s 108-grain MHP defense load at 1,153.3 fps while printing 2.4″ for five shots. All in all, great consistency for various bullet weights and jacket types.

The Final Word

This is good, customer-centric business. Right off the bat, there are hundreds, or maybe thousands, of aftermarket components that will work with this pistol. Sights, trigger components or assemblies, levers, barrels, slides, cosmetic bits and more, thanks to the GLOCK Gen 3 compatibility. And the best part is this pistol is priced to allow some budget space for personalization, carrying an MSRP of just $499.

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