Ruger P95 question

[LVSteve]

As far as i can tell from the example I own, the slide on the P95 runs directly on the polymer of the grip frame. The frame rails are large with plenty of surface area, but even so it makes me wonder if this design shoots loose quickly. Never seen it discussed on the Web, so did Bill Ruger's polymer cookers come up with a material that resists wear very well.

Just curious.

 

[ColbyBruce]

It would be difficult to say as the Rugers were designed as combat/duty pistols, not competition pieces. I have owned three and while they functioned very well, accuracy was borderline acceptable in two of them while the third could not be counted on as a suicide piece.

All were previously owned…not that I believe a new one would of performed better.

 

[BrovoEchoSierra]

I have a gun smith friend that told me one time, that he had saw more wear on the slide than on the Polymer frames.
He thought it was pretty tough stuff.

My worry would be that the frame may over time get brittle. Not sure if that's a concern or not.

 

[Fishinfool]

Supposedly, the frame on the P-95 held up better than the earlier aluminum frames. The below quote is from a Shooting Times article -

"Features of the then-new pistol included a blued or stainless-steel slide, double action only (DAO) or decocker mechanisms, a 3.9-inch barrel, a three-dot sight system, and a polymer frame. The frame did not have any metal inserts or steel bearings in its rails and was described by Ruger back in 1996 as being a "magic" injection-molded, custom-compounded, high-strength polymer with long-strand fiberglass filler. It was tested extensively for strength and durability and outperformed other brands of polymer-framed pistols and even steel-framed models for durability. Eventually, Ruger offered a variation of the P95 with a manual safety, and in 2006 Ruger added an integral rail to the underside of the polymer frame."

The entire Ruger P series are, in my opinion, very reliable and good shooting guns. I spent a lot of time with the DAO P series pistols while instructing Federal Bureau of Prisons classes (The P series was their long time issue duty handgun). In the long term, they proves more reliable than a couple of highly regarded "operators" brand pistols. Accuracy wise, I never had any problem shooting perfect qualification scores with them while instructing. Bent magazine lips, and extractors were the only issues I ran into with the FLETC's well worn inventory.

Larry

 

[merl67]

Ruger 95's are built tank tough, and about as blocky. They aren't target guns but are plenty accurate for a duty gun. I would think if there were issues with excessive wear you would have already heard some chatter on the net. I had one years ago it eat everything I fed it from the cheapest on up.

 

[AlHunt]

I was looking at a P95 a few months back and searched for anything negative about the polymer rails. I came up totally empty. I, too, think if they were problematic, we'd know by now.

 

[skeezix]

I've had a couple of these guns in the past. I asked Ruger about the durability of the polymer slide rails. Answer was 50,000+ rounds.

 

[LVSteve]

Thanks folks, your replies are pretty much what I expected given the lack of negative reports. The P95 is a more interesting design than its homely looks would suggest.

 

[alwslate]

I have a stainless P95D that has never malfunctioned one single time. I decided not to worry about the polymer frame rails after Ruger did a test of a P95 with 20,000 rds of 9mm +P+ ammo with no damage.

 

[AlHunt]

Thanks folks, your replies are pretty much what I expected given the lack of negative reports. The P95 is a more interesting design than its homely looks would suggest.

I think the P series are great looking guns. Definitely not sleek like a 6906 or any 3rd gen, but I like the sort of industrial look.