[rblack]

Found this on Rugers web site. Says its thinner and lighter than the current P97. Has a new polymer frame with or without rails, and will be available 1st of May. I think it looks like an improvement and might just be interested.................

[NJ3]

Looks interesting, maybe they'll make a compact one too.

[tc300mag1]

looks pretty decent

Also see there gonna release a MK III series 22's

[StephenT]

I want one! I wonder what the capacity is. Ruger doesn't seem to have this model posted on their website.

[rblack]

8 round capacity is what it said, so I suppose that would be 8 plus 1 so you could carry with 9. It is on their web site, but I had to look around. It could be under news, but I honestly can't remember.

[laynlow]

I had a P97 that I enjoyed shooting. The trigger was nothing special, but the gun always worked. I sold mine to a relative, and might just be interested in one of those.

[HIPOWER]

Looks pretty good. It is good to see Ruger doing further development in the P-series. I've always liked them.

The only thing I could do without in this new model is the magazine disconnect. Blah!

[Josey]

It STILL looks like it should be painted white/orange say U-HAUL on the slide and have a tow hitch in the back.:neener:

[Lobotomy Boy]

Yeah, they've announced a new Mk III, as well as a Mk III 22/45. That's an odd-looking little gun, but the new Mk III looks pretty tempting with its bull barrel and standard Weaver rail.

[What No Gravy?]

Yeah, they've announced a new Mk III, as well as a Mk III 22/45. That's an odd-looking little gun, but the new Mk III looks pretty tempting with its bull barrel and standard Weaver rail.

They are putting a mag disconnect and internal lock in the new MKIII as in the KP345. I guess all gun companys are heading in this direction.

[Lord Bodak]

Very interesting... and I just bought a 22/45 in February! :)

However, I sure hope someone points out to Ruger that the Walther P22 has a loaded chamber indicator, so they're incorrect when they say theirs is the first.

[Waxed Canvas]

I'll take some of that action.

[denfoote]

It's got an internal lock!!
Kills the design for me!!
I'll keep my P67 thank you very much!!

[Tamara]

That looks way too non-ugly to be a Ruger centerfire semiauto. Gotta be a photoshop joke. :scrutiny:




;) :D

[Lobotomy Boy]

I was just cleaning a couple of the guns I decided not to take with me to the range this morning, both of which are new this year and both of which have the internal lock. I have never once moved this lock from the "fire" to the "safe" setting, but while I don't use it, it has never caused me any problems. I hate that it symbolizes the intrusion of the nanny state, but for all practical purposes the lock has no effect on my use of the gun. My oldest son and his fiance are going to try to have a child as soon as they get married this summer, which will make me a grandpa. It will also mean I'll have to take my safe gun storage procedures up a notch. Who knows? I may even use the internal locks on guns that have them as an added measure of safety.

[Denmark116]

If Ruger can make a gun that looks like that, and make it smaller, I might have to add another Ruger back into my collection...

As for the lock....

As a father of a young child, I perfer guns with them.... I almost did not buy my DW because it did not have one....

[sundance43.5]

I had a P90 and liked it. I shouldn't have sold it. I may just buy one of these to atone for that mistake.

Chris

[WhoKnowsWho]

Hey, it has a normal mag release and it looks pretty good! Ruger in my future? Chances have gone up!

[Preacherman]

Tragically, they've added a magazine disconnect safety... :barf:

Why, oh WHY, did they go this route? I won't use a S&W autopistol because of this, and now Ruger have gone and copied them! I'm afraid that I'll probably have to put Ruger pistols on my "do not buy" list, particularly if they extend the concept to the rest of their line.

If I can't shoot the round in the chamber if and when I need to (e.g. while changing mags in a firefight), I won't carry the gun. Period.

[Nightcrawler]

I'm thinking I'd better hurry up and buy a GP100 soon, before they all start coming with internal locks. *barf* Is Colt going to be the only revolver maker out there without internal locks now?

[Denmark116]

Preacherman stated:

If I can't shoot the round in the chamber if and when I need to (e.g. while changing mags in a firefight), I won't carry the gun. Period.


What do you think has the higher probability:

A. Multiple Magazine Firefight?

B. Someone trying to wrestle your gun from you?

take you pick and plan accordingly..... I personally would rather have the mag disconnect (as many LE's I know do and many PD's require of all sidearms in Illinois).

[Waxed Canvas]

guys I just talked to the owner of a large gun shop in Dallas. He sis some chekcing for me and in typical Ruger fashion, it may be 18 months before these hit the market for sale. I hope I am wrong but in our phone conversation, the owner pointed out examples from the past on how Ruger makes a press release and then the product is available several months later.

[mbott]

may be 18 months before these hit the market for sale.

I go with what the press release says: May, 2004.

As for the mag disconnect, there may be the option to remove it, like the Browning HiPower. I've removed one from a HiPower clone that had a trigger like sandpaper. It remains in place on my MK III as it doesn't seem to affect the trigger other than it's intended purpose.

--
Mike

[Waxed Canvas]

Mike:

The dealer I talked with is large volume. He pointed out that Ruger is always very late on delivery like with the side by side shotgun. He called all the master distributors that sell for Ruger and none of them have plans to deliver the 345 in May of this year. I was prepared to buy one up front, sight unseen. He gets frustrated since Browning, Beretta, Sig and Glock will sell him direct but he has to go through someone like Lipsey's. Daividson's or Sports South for Ruger. To give you an example of this guy's clout, he bought 200 Beretta AL390 NWTF versions when Beretta was phasing in the AL391.

[Mossyrock]

I have to admit that I like the looks of this pistol. The frame contours look to be a big improvement on Ruger's current polymer offerings. I am curious about the rear sight, though. From the side, it looks like it might be an Ashley Express rear sight. If not, at least Ruger has knocked the sharp edges off of their normal rear sight.

Mag disconnect? I can live with it or work around it. Internal lock? Ignor it.

[Matt Sutton]

Did anyone notice the Ruger MkIII announcement? Magazine disconnect, internal safety, and US style magazine release. It's a shame that Ruger is allowing such a classic design to be ruined by lawyers!
Ruger sucks.

[SnWnMe]

I didn't think it was possible to make the P series autos uglier. :barf: :barf:

[arinvolvo]

I dont understand the hatred of internal locks..if you dont like it, dont use it...

I dont use it on my steyr...and it doesnt bother me that it is there.

[arinvolvo]

and aside from that...for the people who cannot afford nice safes, etc...i think it is more secure than a cable lock. You can take out a cable lock with some wire cutters....but a stolen pistol that is locked via the internal lock has a better chance of not being used (fired) in a crime...i would imagine.

[clubsoda22]

I'm still buying a P90. I like the fact that with $70 worth of drop-ins i can shoot +P and .45 super all day. Can't do that with their poly guns.

[caz223]

Gotta admit, it's downright pretty for a plastic ruger.
Hmmmmm.....
Where's my wallet?

[clubsoda22]

Gotta admit, it's downright pretty for a plastic ruger.

That is one thing, i think anyone has to admit that it looks nicer than the p97. The plastic grips on the P95 and 97 were just plain ugly.

[c_yeager]

It's MSRP is right in with the rest of the "P" series too. So, it should sell for a nice price. I think FAR less ugly than most rugers. And they claim that it is "slim" which is how i like my pistols. I may have to check one of these out.

Im not a fan of magazine disconnects though. But, hopefully it can be removed. Otherwise ill have to think about it. I dont care about internal locks in the least though since it doesnt do anything if you dont use it.

[Lobotomy Boy]

Sportsman's Warehouse, if you are fortunate enough to live near one, sells P97Ds for $319. That's a lot of gun for that money. If they price the new P345 the same way they price the P97, it could be the bargain gun of whichever year it is introduced. My local dealer called his distributor on Friday and chances of a May delivery sounded grim.

[Waste of Money]

8+1 capacity? Sounds like a single stack. Hmmmm....very interesting.

[Lobotomy Boy]

It will certainly be single stack, since the current .45 ACP Rugers are single stack.

[Old Fuff]

On seldom considered problem with a removing a magazine disconnect safety is that this can open up a can of worms if a justified shooting is followed by a civil suit. A bottom-feeding lawyer will try to use it to impress a less-then-knowledgeable jury or judge. While this may not be probable it is certainly possible. On several occasions I was hired by an attorney to disassemble a firearm and examine it to see if any mechanical alterations had been made. Obviously they were looking for something to use for a pry-bar. There are two simple solutions. If the feature doesn’t bother you buy the gun. If it does, (and I go with Preacherman’s views), then buy a different make or model – if necessary an older gun. If sales suffer the manufacturers may rethink their positions, but at the present time they see mechanical locks, loaded chamber indicators and magazine disconectors as the wave of the future. You can use your votes and pocketbooks to change their, and the politicians minds if you chose to.

[Coffee357]

I like it! One of the big reasons I don't currently have any polymer Ruger autos is the slick grip. Can't hold on to them when wet and I don't like the looks of the grip sleeves. I am a 9mm guy, though, so I hope they offer one in the P95 series. Sucks about the internal lock, though. One more thing to go wrong. I can take or leave the magazine safety (but I would have to get used to them again!).

Coffee

[JeepDriver]

Being a Maryland resident I welcome the addition of the internal lock to Rugers line up.


Currently I only have 1 gun with an internal lock (Walther P22) and I have never used it!

If & when the new Rugers make it into this state I'll be buying the MKIII 22/45 and the 17Mach2 atleast.

[lee n. field]

8+1 capacity? Sounds like a single stack. Hmmmm....very interesting.

Probably the same 8 round magazine as the current P90 and P97.

http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/News-04-16-2004B.html .

So this is the long rumored new Ruger autoloader.

Magazine release looks better (and did someone say it's amtidextrous?) Size looks to be identical, weight is an ounce or so lighter.

Tigger guard is smaller (why?). Sights are a little different. Grip is checkered (yeah!). Got a rail, which I couldn't care less about.

Minor improvements, some questionable features. This is not any real great departure for Ruger, but does let Ruger sell in certain of our land's goofier states.

There's nothing here that's going to make me sell off my P90.

[Dienekes]

Very interesting. The P97 is the first of the P-series that feels good to me, and this looks like it might have gotten downright ergonomic.

Looks better, too.

[Chuck Perry]

What's up with that rear dovetail? It looks ENORMOUS!

[Dorrin79]

I like it!

If the trigger is improved from the P-89/90, I might have to think about getting one. I was always VERY impressed with my P89's reliability

[sturmruger]

My first pistol was an HP22 made by Phoenix Arms. It had some sort of wierd safety thing with the mag. All I did was break out the grinder and fixed it in about 5 minutes. If the Ruger is as easy to disable I will do it in a heart beat. I am not worried about the cops trying to charge me for changing the magazine disconnect I can't see how that could possible effect if I shoot some dumb punk. Now if I got out the stone and converted my pistol to a 1 lb single action trigger I could see them possible charging me with something, but a mag disconect is worrying a little too much for me.

[Ryder]

According to what I see in that picture this thing ejects brass to the left of the shooter. Most odd.

http://thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=960417

[arinvolvo]

um WHAT? I dont think so....im gonna have to guess that the extractor etc is on the other side:rolleyes:

[WarMachine]

"According to what I see in that picture this thing ejects brass to the left of the shooter. Most odd."

Are you referring to the fact that part of the ejection port extends down on the left side of the slide??? That same characteristic can be found on all of the Ruger P-Series, including my P89. And they all eject to the right (or back into your face on some unfortunate models :neener: )

[Ryder]

Geeze, these have external extractors. It's been so long since I got rid of my P85 (not a typo) that I didn't remember that. I thought I remembered the rear of the barrel as square and that bevel looking feature was the slide. My goof.

The good news is this that tommorrow is my last night shift for 4 months. Hoping that clears up my senses more than a little. :D

Can't wait to hear how these do.

[dsgrntldPW]

This looks interesting. But isn't the current P97 about 7 1/4" long? This one lists as being 7 1/2" in length. The picture makes the new P-345 look trimmer and possibly a bit smaller, which may not be the case. I guess we'll see when they finally become available.

[BlkHawk73]

Yup, saw/read about these last week sometime.. Been putting off owning a Ruger centerfire auto for quite a while now. This one is a bit more appealing to me. At first I said "NO", but upon reading and seeing that they'll be available WITHOUT that rails, I'm likely to purchase one. I'd be illing to bet that we'll see one in 9mm later. Maybe I'll wait for that one...:cool:

[mbott]

guys I just talked to the owner of a large gun shop in Dallas. He sis some chekcing for me and in typical Ruger fashion, it may be 18 months before these hit the market for sale. I hope I am wrong but in our phone conversation, the owner pointed out examples from the past on how Ruger makes a press release and then the product is available several months later.

Picked my KP345 up today, so it looks like Ruger didn't miss the May date by very much at all. The sealed envelope with the fired case was dated May 29th. Won't get to spend much time with the new pistol until this weekend: painting concrete block in the basement has priority at the moment. :(

--
Mike

[Lobotomy Boy]

Let us know how you like it. I'm thinking about getting one myself.

Any pricing on the MKIII?

[bubbaturbo]

Saw new 345 with rail in OKC this weekend for $399.00. I believe you put safety on then stick key through hole in safety lever into slide to lock safety in on position but not sure.