What about the Ruger P85?.....

Status
Not open for further replies.
jmars

jmars

Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
Messages
113
Location
Indiana
I never see them mentioned on here. Are they in general "liked"?

I purchased one back in the 90's for a pretty low price ($180), and although I think it's kinda ugly, it is very reliable.

Comments, please?
 
jmars said:
I never see them mentioned on here. Are they in general "liked"?

I purchased one back in the 90's for a pretty low price ($180), and although I think it's kinda ugly, it is very reliable.

Comments, please?
Click to expand...
I hope Ruger re-release the P guns!

correct me if wrong: 85 ment 1985 release date, 89 ment 1989 release date…???
 
They might not be the most refined, but the generally accepted superior feature is it's rugged durability and "bulletproof" design/quality.

I love the Ruger P series as long as you don't expect Swiss refinement.

I do love the more "ka-chunk" recoil impulse, especially on my P90, even if it's still there on the P85, P89, P95.
 
Kinda crude and chunky, and, except for a few cheesy plastic bits, dead-nuts reliable. I had 4 or 5 P-series and all possessed accuracy between "good" and "very good," but none would be my first choice for a target pistol.

Some had plastic mainspring plugs which can pop loose, the original hard plastic grips can sometimes break at the bottom attachment screw, and magazine baseplates on the P90s were a constant problem. Finding factory mags can be a chore these days.
 
I had one of the first P85's in my area, but
it sure wasn't 1985, more like 1987.
It was a pretty good pistol for what it was,
only the hole in the end was too small.
It was one of several small hole pistols I
tried, and was ok
They came out with the P90 way after
that, but I'd already filled the need with
other items and never bought one

( yeah, I know. That was 30 some odd
years ago and ammunition is different
now. . .)
 
I have three Ruger P-series pistols. They are ugly and have mediocre triggers.

They also go bang every time and I shoot them as accurately as most service pistols.

The 45 is a police turn-in that had obviously been shot a lot. It still goes bang every time.

They were insanely cheap a few years ago. This one was something like $200 plus shipping and FFL.

View media item 1446
 
Usually, you can't see a review on P series pistls without the phrase,"built like a tank" coming up once or twice. They aren't the prettiest, or the lightest, but they are meant to work. They are the full sized, 4WD, long bed pick up truck of the gun world.
 
I still have a .40 flavored P94. I seldom shoot it now. When I do it is kind of like running into an old friend that you haven't seen in years & everything just falls in place. Rugged & reliable. My biggest dislike about it was the slide mounted safety. If mine was decock only I might still carry it.
 
bannockburn said:
Loved my Ruger revolvers but never could get into the P Series semi-autos. I didn't care for their ergonomics or their design features. Greatly prefer the SR Series, especially the SR9c version.
Click to expand...

Didn’t Ruger stop making that model? I think they did, and I have to wonder why. A buddy has the compact and it’s a nice little piece.
 
potmetal said:
Usually, you can't see a review on P series pistls without the phrase,"built like a tank" coming up once or twice. They aren't the prettiest, or the lightest, but they are meant to work. They are the full sized, 4WD, long bed pick up truck of the gun world.
Click to expand...
I find them more of the Prius Uber car of the Gun World.

When I think truck… Remington 870
 
Anchorite

I think the Ruger SR Series had a pretty good run for something like 12 years (2007 to 2019), and that Ruger decided to go with the Security 9 Series (introduced 2017), to replace the SR line-up. That and the Ruger American Pistol Series (introduced 2015), kind of over crowded the marketplace from Ruger's standpoint. I'm sure there were also some cost saving measures involved with their decision as I believe that the SR Series were over-built and more expensive to make.
6qvaE77.jpg
 
bannockburn said:
Anchorite

I think the Ruger SR Series had a pretty good run for something like 12 years (2007 to 2019), and that Ruger decided to go with the Security 9 Series (introduced 2017), to replace the SR line-up. That and the Ruger American Pistol Series (introduced 2015), kind of over crowded the marketplace from Ruger's standpoint. I'm sure there were also some cost saving measures involved with their decision as I believe that the SR Series were over-built and more expensive to make.
View attachment 1055984
Click to expand...
Ruger when from cool looking “ tank” gun to back plastic tuper wear! I still love RUGER!
 
Ruger sold versions with a safety and versions with a decocker only (e.g. P89DC).

Does anyone know how difficult it is to convert from safety to decocker? Is there a kit with any needed parts?
 
I like the p series. Had a p95dc and it was reliable. Accurate too. I could hit a coke can at 50 yards with it. It never offered a licks worth of trouble and never malfunctioned. I sold it like a moron.
 
Not to thread hijack, but I hope Ruger eventually updates the American, that pistol had potential, but I think they dropped the ball. Overall, I still like the SR series better.

But an updated P series would be awesome. Since HiPowers are the new hotness, maybe Ruger and Smith can get back in the hammer fired game!
 
I had a Ruger P94 as one of my first guns. Fun to shoot, that big slide made recoil easy. Only downside to them was they were pretty hefty to carry IWB.
 
They work and they keep working.
They are big and heavy.
The ones I've owned (P89s, but they are pretty much the same gun) were just decently accurate--nothing special at all in that department.
The DA trigger is pretty bad, SA trigger smooths out and is pretty good.
They rattle.
Mine have been pretty tolerant of ammo with the exception of S&B. It will shoot steel-cased stuff with no problem--chews through the Winchester Forged stuff that everybody badmouths with no problems.
Ruger sold off nearly all of their parts for the guns they have discontinued awhile back and there's not much aftermarket support so when something does actually break (kind of unlikely), you may have trouble getting it fixed.

I've had a few and sold a few, but every time I sold one, I would buy another one before long, so I finally just kept the last one.
Keep some light grease on the slide rails to prevent excessive wear.

$180 was a good deal. Shoot it and have fun with it. You'll have more money in ammo through it in no time at all. ;)
Does anyone know how difficult it is to convert from safety to decocker? Is there a kit with any needed parts?
Click to expand...
My impression is that it would not be possible. I think it's a completely different slide. I've never seen any sort of conversion kits for them.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

R
  • Locked
ruger mags
Replies
13
Views
581
rogdigity
R
J
  • Locked
Question about 9mm loads.
Replies
10
Views
822
PabloJ
P
arcticap
  • Locked
Shot the Ruger P85 MKII
Replies
5
Views
835
arcticap
arcticap
Eagle103
  • Locked
Are Ruger Pistols Underrated?
2 3
Replies
54
Views
3K
foghornl
F
Sammael94
  • Locked
P85 for a bug-out sidearm?
2
Replies
39
Views
3K
DeadEye9
DeadEye9
Back
Top