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A Ruger P90 surprised me.

S

sodacan

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I'm a huge fan of the 45acp cartridge. I shoot a lot of it, mostly in revolvers with moonclips, but I've accumulated a few semi-auto pistols that I really like in that caliber. No plastic, striker fired or 1911 pistols. I like all metal, DA/SA guns with external hammers. I was reading an article a few weeks ago about 45 acp pistols that happened to mention the Ruger P90, which has been out of production for about 12 years. I had heard all of the stories of it being fat and ugly, but also the ones about it being very robust and reliable. On a whim, I went on that famous auction site that we all love to hate and found what appeared to be a high condition gun from a reliable seller and put in the minimum bid. I wasn't going to bid any higher than I did, but surprisingly the bid held. Anyway for $346.00, including the fees, shipping and taxes, I owned it. Came with the box and mags, and showed almost no use. Took it to the range today for the first time, and put 125 rounds through (230 gr. ball). Turns out all of the stories are true. It was a lot of fun to shoot, and pretty accurate for my first time shooting it. The trigger is better than I was led to believe, and the reset is pretty short. The sights are acceptable. One downside is that there are no slide serrations. Am I in love? No, but it's a pretty cool gun.
 

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I've had one for 20 years. Wouldn't trade it for anything. Put Hogue finger grips on it and you'll like it even better.
 
GypsmJim said:
I've had one for 20 years. Wouldn't trade it for anything. Put Hogue finger grips on it and you'll like it even better.
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The Hogue grip came with the gun. I'm not a fan of rubber or finger groove grips on a semi-auto, but you're certainly not alone in your liking for it.
 
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Had one. Shot great. Thought I needed a Sig 220 more. Sold it. Bought the Sig. Should have kept the Ruger.
 
Does it rattle? All Rugers of that era are supposed to rattle. Guard at a place I used to work had a Ruger 89. He said if he didn't rattle when he walked then he knew he'd left his gun somewhere.:D

I have a Ruger P95DC I bought on a whim for about $200. Remarkably easy to rack and very gentle in recoil, ideal as a learning gun. Only Bill Ruger could find a way to overbuild a polymer gun. It does what is says on the box...and it rattles.:p
 
I had 1 quite a while back and sold it. Saw 1 on Armslist, and went to see it. Ending up with a P90 again for $300. They have a unique recoil feel. It has a rolling feel instead of recoil? Bob
 

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Once had a tentative deal for one.
‘If it don’t sell soon, I’ll trade for your lens.’
But he sold it!
Everyday I have to cry some!
 
A KP90DC was my first gun. Big, blocky and not the best looking gun. But dead nuts reliable and far more accurate than it should be at its price point.
 
bananaman said:
I had 1 quite a while back and sold it. Saw 1 on Armslist, and went to see it. Ending up with a P90 again for $300. They have a unique recoil feel. It has a rolling feel instead of recoil? Bob
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I would have preferred the black finish, but it's pretty rare and sometimes you gotta take what you can get. I'm happy with gun, and the price was right. The recoil was sort of what I would expect, but because the gun is fairly heavy and wide, it was well absorbed.
 
bananaman said:
I had 1 quite a while back and sold it. Saw 1 on Armslist, and went to see it. Ending up with a P90 again for $300. They have a unique recoil feel. It has a rolling feel instead of recoil? Bob
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I have a theory on this. The recoil system on the P95 is what call "permanently engaged" to the frame. I assume the P90 is the same. I believe this gives a smoother recoil feel over a typical Browning style gun where the recoil spring engages a lug on the barrel. With a Browning gun the barrel has to move before it drops and engages the frame, and only then is the recoil force transferred to the frame with a bit of a jolt because the slide is already moving.

"Permanently engaged" pistols include the P95, Sig 210, Star 30M, and the Grand Power pistols. They always seem that bit smoother than my Browning style pistols.
 
I don’t like P series, because of bulk. I’ve owned several and never found them to rattle. They also are much more dependable and accurate than a lot of more fashionable pistols on the market. Durability goes without saying. Only thing it got against it is bulk/ looks.
 
Come to think about it the first 1 that I had was the silver grey color. Now a black one. Bob
 
Easily the softest-recoiling .45 I have ever shot, among Gov/Comm patterns, P220, and G21 and perhaps even Smiths's (been too long, LOL).
I wish that Ruger had updated it to the P94 configuration. Trigger guard meeting above the mag release, for more room on the frontstrap...and nicer curve in the trigger blade.
 
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