Ruger P90DC

Status
Not open for further replies.
Tallball

Tallball

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2014
Messages
7,822
I have never owned a Ruger P series pistol before, but I lucked onto one recently. I won it on Gunbroker for a $170-something bid. That was a couple of weeks ago. I have been very busy and finally got a chance today to pick it up from my FFL - a LGS whose owner has been very good to me (we discovered that our ancestors served in the Civil War together).

I didn't realize that these pistols were so large. It fits my giant gorilla hands very well. The trigger is nice. I like that it is a DC version, since I see no need for manual safeties. It has nice big sights, which is important to me. I believe it is a police turn-in. It has a lot of surface wear, but the rifling looks very clean. I haven't field stripped it yet, but I am guessing it is one of those typical police turn-ins that was carried a lot and seldom shot.

I won't be able to shoot it until next week. I don't even know how to field strip it yet, but YouTube will solve that problem in just a few minutes (probably tomorrow).

In the meantime, tell me what you know about these pistols: the good, the bad, the indifferent. What is your experience with them? Are they accurate? Are they reliable? Are they fun to shoot? Do you have a cool story about one?

Thank you in advance for sharing with me.
 
Mas Ayoob has written about them in the past, he had good things to say about them, particularly in the accuracy department. For $170, it would be hard to go wrong with it.
 
Nothing wrong with it if you like transitional DA pistols. Its a Ruger, so you can count on it being reliable, as well as good support from Ruger if you have problems with it.
 
My first semi-auto handgun, other than a .22lr was a KP90DC. My cousin and I decided we needed to get into semis and he decided on a Glock G17 and I got the Ruger. He made fun of mine and I his. When I got mine the trigger was gritty and his G17 was........well a Glock trigger. I took mine home to clean and lube and while it was down I decided to polish the trigger stuff and see if that helped. That weekend we went shooting. He no longer laughed. My trigger had transformed into a sweet, smooth SA and not too bad on the DA.

His was still a Glock trigger.

The P90 shot rings around the G17.
The only comeback he had was I had to load a lot more often than he did.

I let him have that one.

Stupidly I sold it and later ended up with another KP90 but it has a safety and not quite as good of a trigger. This one shoots just fine too.

Wanna trade?:D
 
I have a P95 with the safety I got used from a LGS for slightly more than you paid, mine was 200. Mine also looks like a former LE gun by the wear on the slide.

I had shot a buddies before I got mine and was in the market for a DA/SA just to have one, so I wasn't completely unfamiliar with them.

I have nothing bad to say about the series. They're built like a tank and shoot just fine. Mine has a HEAVY DA but the SA is pretty sweet. As accurate as any of my other FS or duty sized pistols.

As long as it functions, for $170 you did great.
 
Tallball

Never did find any of the P series to fit my small hand very well. Since you've got big mitts then the P90 should be just the right size for you. I did know some folks who had them and liked them for their "built like the proverbial tank" construction, their reliability, and for their affordable price. I had to wait for the SR9c before I found a Ruger 9mm. semi-auto that I could literally wrap my hands around, and I would add, was well worth the wait.
 
I have had several. They are big, reliable and accurate.

Not a gun you will probably want to CCW but would make a great Home or woods gun.

You got a smoking good deal on it.

I had a problem with the first one I had. The magazine latch would not hold the magazine in when I fired it. The first shot the mag would drop out.

Quick call to Ruger and they sent me a new latch and spring that fixed the problem

Did you get the Stainless or the blue?
 
I had a P90 in the late 90's, pretty good pistol. It went away in a forgotten trade. Don't even remember what I ended up trading it, but it was probably some flavor of 9 double stack of the period (Beretta 92FS, Sig 226 or CZ-75).

Nothing earth shattering to report, just a mirror of what everyone else is saying.

• Somewhat large. (Not quite CZ-97 or Desert Eagle stupid large, just the regular kind of large).
• Hammer reliable
• Decent support from Ruger.
• Typical accuracy that you'd expect from a major gun manufacturer.

That's a screaming deal. Nice score.
 
The slide is stainless. It has an ambidextrous decocking lever. Someone apparently put a small rail on it (the rail doesn't look original). The DA trigger is pretty good. Apparently I have become a Ruger fan. I own a dozen or more of their firearms, more than any other brand. I will take it to the range on Thursday or Friday and post about the results. I also need to take some pics of the last few firearms I have purchased (fallen behind lately).

It's really just a range toy. I have more appropriate handguns to CC, and prefer revolvers/shotguns for HD. Once I have put a few boxes of ammo through it trouble-free (seems very likely), I certainly wouldn't feel unarmed with it. If I can shoot it well it will probably be my preferred range 45acp for a while, until I finally get a trigger job done on my Witness target model. I have trouble turning down a good quality handgun that costs $200 or less. I figure that I can always get my money back out of it NP if I need to.

Thanks for all the responses! :)
 
Last edited:
I've had mine for about 10 years now with no problems, I added Hogue wrap around grips and good to go. Its not my everyday gun, but its an excellent house gun and a really enjoyable range gun. As other have stated, its a very reliable, accurate and well built handgun.
002-1_zpsom6c16s9.jpg
 
Well the design is dated and I don't particularly care the trigger. Accuracy is so-so probably because I don't the trigger pull. However like you I brought mine (P89DC) cheap enough I am unlikely to part with it.

My advice is replace the mainspring, recoil spring and firing pin spring with new ones. I used Wolff after I started getting light primer strikes.

Mecgar magazines are affordable and work well.
 
I have the KP89 DC. It is built like the proverbial anvil. I do not treat it all that well and it just keeps on working well. Bought it new and it took about 2K rounds to get the trigger to finally smooth out but otherwise no complaints. Heck of a deal BTW.:thumbup:
 
.455_Hunter said:
I think Ruger intended to make this gun in 10mm, but that fell apart when the .40 stormed onto the scene.
Click to expand...
http://rugerforum.net/ruger-pistols/8570-little-p-90-history.html
The P90 was not designed around the 10mm cartridge as many think. It was designed for the .45 ACP. During the design phase, the 10mm was becoming popular so Bill Ruger asked us to look at the feasibility of making a 10mm version while it was in it's design stage. But there were no plans to consider a 10mm until after the .45 was completed and on the market. By the time this occurred, the 10mm was already losing popularity and according to the ammunition manufacturers, 10mm ammunition was moving very slowly. Bill Ruger decided the investment wasn't worth it and the project was dropped. To my knowledge, and I was very close to the project, there were never even any 10mm prototypes made. There were a few prototype 10mm barrels made and a few prototype 10mm magazine shells and recoil springs made but that was about it. No complete (functioning) guns were ever built. The project was dropped at that point. The P90 was not designed around the impulse of the 10mm cartridge, rather that of the SAAMI 230 gr .45 ACP +P cartridge.
Click to expand...
 
My first handgun was a Bersa 380 and my second handgun was a Ruger P85. The P85 was a good shooter but I got a frequent razzing from my older more experienced firearm buddies and I succumbed to the peer pressure trading the P85 in on a stainless Beretta 92... that I still own. I never quite understood what was so bad about the P85, it always served me well. I think the propaganda from my buddies at the time was that it wasn't accurate and was a ghetto gun. I don't recall my buddies ever actually having shot my P85 before declaring it an unsuitable weapon.

This was many years before the great information exchange we know as the Internet.

P.S. I recall the same buddies asking me why I wasted $75 on that stupid M1 carbine... why didn't I buy a real rifle?
 
I ended up with a Ruger P95DC 9mm years ago in a deal that I diden't really like or want. It ran perfect and as accurate as you'd expect. Sold it, made 100 bucks and bought a 1911, HAPPY CAMPER. hdbiker
 
I have a P95 and 97 great guns at times I cc with them with no problem. When you pull the trigger they go bang with any food ! To be truthful I trust them to be there when it counts than my G22 ! To me they are a better made guns old school !!! That's my 2cents .
 
I like my P90. Cons: It's heavy and clunky, single stack.
Pros: Great low profile sights(IMO), good balance, fits hand and aims well,
DA/SA, well made, breaks down and re-assembles easily. Accurate and
dependable.
 
After having some regrets about selling my P97DC, I replaced it with a P90. Both are great guns. I usually don't care too much for finger grooves on my grips, but the Hogue's seem to make the P90 point much more naturally for me. Mine currently rides the nightstand. You got an outstanding deal.
 
Nice catch!
I've never been a fan of the P series, personally; I don't have big hands and personally find them absolutely hideous.
But that's not a consideration for something I'd bet my life on or use solely for putting holes in paper.
It may not win any beauty contests but I'd trust it in combat. Plus, even when it runs empty they'll make a passable club. Win-win!
 
My first auto was a P89 and it was a great gun.

Only complaint was a spongy trigger. Traded it in on my first 1911 and the rest is history for my collection.

170 is a great deal
 
I shot it today. It was just 50 rounds, but I know that I like it. It had zero malfunctions. The sights are very good. In single action the trigger has a lot of takeup, but I got used to it. I have a lot of service pistols, and it was obviously above average in accuracy. Recoil was easy. My FiL shot a magazine through it, and I am pretty sure he will buy himself one if/when the price is right (he has huge hands also). Apparently I should have gotten myself a P series pistol a long time ago.

Oh, and I was confused on the price. The FEG smc 380 I bought a few days later was $170-something. I paid $255 for the P90 (still a good deal).
 
Tallball said:
I have never owned a Ruger P series pistol before, but I lucked onto one recently. I won it on Gunbroker for a $170-something bid. That was a couple of weeks ago. I have been very busy and finally got a chance today to pick it up from my FFL - a LGS whose owner has been very good to me (we discovered that our ancestors served in the Civil War together).

I didn't realize that these pistols were so large. It fits my giant gorilla hands very well. The trigger is nice. I like that it is a DC version, since I see no need for manual safeties. It has nice big sights, which is important to me. I believe it is a police turn-in. It has a lot of surface wear, but the rifling looks very clean. I haven't field stripped it yet, but I am guessing it is one of those typical police turn-ins that was carried a lot and seldom shot.

I won't be able to shoot it until next week. I don't even know how to field strip it yet, but YouTube will solve that problem in just a few minutes (probably tomorrow).

In the meantime, tell me what you know about these pistols: the good, the bad, the indifferent. What is your experience with them? Are they accurate? Are they reliable? Are they fun to shoot? Do you have a cool story about one?

Thank you in advance for sharing with me.
Click to expand...
Great gun, Ive had 3.....
Magazines are getting scarce and expensive. Try looking for P345 magazines- they are the same mag and some retailers still list them.
Wouldn't count on much factory support, parts are trying up fast- but you're highly unlikely to break one of these tanks in the first place.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

G
  • Locked
Ruger P90DC Experiences
Replies
9
Views
1K
jed
J
F
  • Locked
I love my Ruger!
Replies
2
Views
519
Kingofthehill
K
L
  • Locked
Ahh finally, Sig p226!!
Replies
3
Views
474
lyricsdad
L
J
  • Locked
Hello Ruger experts: DON'T field strip my Mark2?
Replies
3
Views
340
hq
hq
W
  • Locked
How often do you takedown your ruger .22?
2
Replies
36
Views
3K
gogetumnow
G
Back
Top