New to Me Ruger P89

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Tallball

Tallball

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I already had Ruger P-series pistols in 45acp and one in 40 S&W. I decided that I'd keep my eyes open for one in 9mm, too.

This one is in nice shape. I won it for a $232 bid. It ended up being $277 OTD with shipping and FFL fee. I won the other two on bids of less than $200 apiece, IIRC. That's a lot of gun for the money, IMHO.

The trigger is like the other two I have. DA is longer and stiffer than I prefer. SA is pretty good. It fits my hand well.

If you've had a P89, is/was there some ammo that it liked better or worse than others? Is there a holster that fits it particularly well? Any advice on getting a spare magazine? It only came with one.

I'll try it out next time I go to the range, which may be a couple of weeks. My other two are completely reliable, and good shooters. I'm guessing this one will be the same.

View media item 1943
 
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My first autoloader was a used P89, great gun but the mushy trigger made it hard for me to hit squat with it. Or maybe it was because I was just learning to shoot pistol :)

Traded it towards my first 1911. Started that whole expensive obsession.

I put the rubber wrap around grips... hogue maybe? And they really made it a nice fun in the hand.
 
Thanks for the advice. I am making up an order for Midway, and have a Mecgar mag ($20.69) and Hogue wrap-around grips in the shopping cart. I read a few old threads, and it seems like lots of people find the Hogue grips to be helpful.

It seems like used P-series pistols "should" be more popular than they are. As far as I know, they are generally thought to be reliable/dependable pistols that are also very durable. Their triggers and ergos are kind of "so-so"... but here is where I am about to get heretical...

Some service-type pistols feel better to me than others. I prefer the ergos and sights and triggers of some to others. But, frankly, my accuracy with all of the ones I've tried (a lot) is pretty similar. Give me a 9mm or 40 or 45acp service pistol from one of the major manufacturers, and my accuracy with it will be about the same as with any of the others. Some might have slightly tighter groups than others, but not by much. If I were to take my Berettas, or Glocks, or Rugers, or CZ's to the range and shoot a bunch of calibers into a bunch of targets... the results would, in the end, be pretty similar.

I'm more of a revolver guy and tend to shoot them better on average. Maybe that's part of it. But give me some random semi-automatic service pistols, and my accuracy with all of them will be about the same.
 
Nice scores :) . I'm not a Ruger fanboy but I do like the Ruger P-Series, for the $ they're damn hard to beat. I had a P89 & a P94dc and like an idiot I traded them off for something else I just had to have at the moment. I also swore that the Ruger P-Series had the smoothest decocker I've found on a double action until I got my Spanish Astra mod A-100 yesterday evening, because the decocker on it is just as smooth if not a hair smoother than my P series which was surprising. Needless to say as soon as I run across another good deal on a Ruger P-Series I'll be adding it back to my collection :) .
 
Good going. I still have my old .40 caliber P94. It is a bit ironic. The factory grips feel better to me but I shoot better with the hogue wrap around grips. I would like mine better if it were the decocker only instead of the safety model. The P series are good guns.
 
I prefer the decockers, too. I don't really use safeties. My P90 is a decocker model; I think it was a police trade-in.

I have more Rugers than any other kind of firearm. :)
 
The 'P' series Ruger pistols are built like tanks and the only thing that really ever bothered me was the over-travel in the trigger. Easy enough to fix by filing a small chunk of brass rod and epoxying into the hollow back of the trigger. Filed until it just releases with a few strokes extra for good measure and it really transformed how the guns shot. Ended up doing this on a bunch of guns for friends who insisted after shooting mine. If you ever feel like tinkering...it's worth doing.
 
RecoilRob said:
The 'P' series Ruger pistols are built like tanks and the only thing that really ever bothered me was the over-travel in the trigger. Easy enough to fix by filing a small chunk of brass rod and epoxying into the hollow back of the trigger. Filed until it just releases with a few strokes extra for good measure and it really transformed how the guns shot. Ended up doing this on a bunch of guns for friends who insisted after shooting mine. If you ever feel like tinkering...it's worth doing.
Click to expand...
whoa looks hard video time 2:35/ 5:00
 
IMO, Ruger P series are a standard by which other models are compared. Rugged, good low profile sights,
great utility pistols.
 
As others have said the P series is a great value.

My P95 is a safety/decocker model that has some wear but for $200 was a decent deal to me. Mine serves as a range toy and occasional truck gun. IMO the DA on these guns is one of the heaviest I've experienced but the SA is pretty good for what it is.

I got lucky and picked up 2 extra used factory mags at a LGS a couple months after I got my gun.


Here's mine....



IMG_20170423_180456347_zpsabflwdi1.jpg


IMG_20170423_180520025_zpsqfts2fes.jpg
 
P89 was one of my first pistols the trigger takes some getting used to but always shot good with it.
The difference between da and sa trigger pull will make you think its broken it has so much travel in sa mode.
 
I've never had one, but as time goes on, I appreciate the look of the Ruger P series pistols more and more.
 
Gosh I have a P89DC that I brought used around 1993. I have Hogue wrap around grips on it. It is just a ok gun in my books. The gun design is out dated and the trigger action sucks. I don't at all care for the springs in the action.

A few years ago I started having problems with it so I replaced the mainspring, recoil spring and firing pin springs with new ones from Wolff. Since that time I have not had any problems. As for reliability I did a test to see if the gun would make it through 1,000 rounds without cleaning but got bored after about 600 rounds with no problems so I quit shooting it. Maybe this winter I will put it in the garage, let it get cold in below freezing weather and see how it functions. The problem will be if I have problems is whether it is gun or the ammo.

I have a odd ball collection of Ruger manufactured magazines and some Mec Gar. I really like the quality of the Mec Gar mags.

I have a Uncle Mike's owb holster when I take it out of the safe for a walkabout.

While not my favorite gun by any means (I will not buy another) I have it stored in the vault with a couple of loaded magazines ready to go if the stuff hits the fan.
 
I own a P89DC stainless. While it is not bullseye shooting great, for a 9MM that is built like an anvil and always goes bang when I pull the trigger for several 10K rounds over 15 years so far, it has a place in my safe for good. It will be shooting ammo long after some of those plastic fantastic frames give out I bet. Mine came in a gray Ruger box and that is where it lives but my full sized 1911 holsters seem to work OK with it FWIW.
 
My first semi-auto was a P89. Got it used in the late 80s and had it till earlier this year. Shot the crap out of it using mostly Remington UMC. I thought it was very accurate and don't recall ever having an issue with it. It wasn't cleaned to often which it didn't seem to mind. I grew up shooting revolvers so the DA trigger didn't bother me. I traded it in on a Ruger PC9.
 
One of these is on my buy list eventually. When I was purchasing my first handgun (about 15 years ago now) I was waffling between the P-89 and the P-95. I ended up getting the P-95 which has also been a good gun for me. I don't tend to buy any brand exclusively but I do tend to like Ruger guns quite a bit and feel they deliver good value for the money.
 
I have a P series pistol on my "buy eventually" list, too. I'm not sure why, but I like the looks of them, and I'm not even sure which one I'd like to buy, but I'd sure like to shoot one, just for funsies.
 
Tallball said:
Thanks for the advice. I am making up an order for Midway, and have a Mecgar mag ($20.69) and Hogue wrap-around grips in the shopping cart. I read a few old threads, and it seems like lots of people find the Hogue grips to be helpful.

It seems like used P-series pistols "should" be more popular than they are. As far as I know, they are generally thought to be reliable/dependable pistols that are also very durable. Their triggers and ergos are kind of "so-so"... but here is where I am about to get heretical...

Some service-type pistols feel better to me than others. I prefer the ergos and sights and triggers of some to others. But, frankly, my accuracy with all of the ones I've tried (a lot) is pretty similar. Give me a 9mm or 40 or 45acp service pistol from one of the major manufacturers, and my accuracy with it will be about the same as with any of the others. Some might have slightly tighter groups than others, but not by much. If I were to take my Berettas, or Glocks, or Rugers, or CZ's to the range and shoot a bunch of calibers into a bunch of targets... the results would, in the end, be pretty similar.

I'm more of a revolver guy and tend to shoot them better on average. Maybe that's part of it. But give me some random semi-automatic service pistols, and my accuracy with all of them will be about the same.
Click to expand...
I’m pretty sure I have a P89 mag in my magazine stash. I’ll send it to you if you want it.
 
They are Great guns I have a P95 and P97 they are like a Timex they just keep ticking every time you pull the trigger .I take the 97 in the woods during hunting season and its the nightstand gun for the house .the 95 is second string to the sr9c .Rogers are hard to beat !
 
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