chaim
Member
OK, I finally picked up and shot my new Ruger KP345 today. Mine is stainless (hence the K in KP345) and without the rail. I have nothing wrong with the rail, I just don't need it and they had one in stock without.
I couldn't wait to get it home and clean it thoroughly before shooting. So, I broke it down at the range and started cleaning out the shipping grease using only a rag (there was a ton of it on the internals and since I didn't have a pipe cleaner or Q-tip with me I didn't get it all) then I lubed it with Breakfree.
I got on the range, chambered the first round and the slide was hesitant but chambered. Fired, next round didn't fully go into battery and I had to assist it with a tap on the slide. Next round, same thing. Next round, the round wouldn't chamber and the slide locked half open. I had to really work to get the slide opened fully. At this time I'm worried I got one of the rare bad Rugers (and here I thought the early problems Ruger had with the KP345 were worked out).
So, when I finally got it opened I took it apart again, wiped it down again, and made sure that I had plenty of lube by applying more Breakfree.
Another possible problem, the mags load differently than others I've had. Once they stop with easy pressure, you need to push just a tad more. There is a bit of an indentation that holds the round lighly by the rim and many of the rounds in the first mag weren't pushed in all the way.
Anyway, after I loaded a second mag, and stipped it and re-lubed it, I didn't have another problem. It was only the first couple rounds. So, 250 perfect rounds later (200 Remington/UMC 230gr MC rounds, 50 Winchester 230gr JHPs) it seems to be working fine. Still, just in case the problem isn't as simple as the above, I'll wait for another 250 rounds or so before it will take its turn as my bedside gun- the jury is still out.
Shooting and handling impressions:
I love this gun. We'll have to see what I think after the new gun excitment wears off, but it may be in contention for "favorite gun" status.
Accuracy was good. Usually I primarily practice at short self-defense ranges. Additionally, I haven't shot much in the past couple years (its been about a month and a half since my last range trip). Still, I had pretty decent (for me) accuracy when I decided to try it at 50-75 feet- 4-6" 16 shot (2 mag) groups. Rapid fire is comfortable even though it is a 29oz .45ACP. It is very controllable. It was a ton of fun. I can't wait to take it to the range with my 1911 and my CZ75 to compare.
The mag release is a normal button right where it should be. It isn't like the puny little buttons my old P89 had. The P89 was ambidextrous though and this only has a right handed mag release (no big deal, a lefty could always use his/her trigger finger). Of course, the safety is ambi, though I'm not sure how big a hand you'd need if you wanted to actually use it (I would use this gun in DA mode with the safety disengaged, only using the safety as a decocker).
Take down is pretty easy and more or less what I remembered of Ruger centerfire autos. The only difference is I remember my P89's slide stop didn't fully come out and this one does. No big deal since most guns take down like that, but it is another small part to get lost so I was hoping for it to take down like other Rugers in this respect. It does have the funky Ruger thing where you have to stick your finger into the open ejection port to flip down the ejector to take down the rest of the gun (why do they do that
).
Fit and finish is fine. Better than I remembered from my P89. The combo of matte and polished sections on the slide looks great, but I may have the more polished section bead blasted if this gun ever gets carried. I love the huge gaping ejection port- it takes up the top of the slide as well as the side for the 1" or so length of the ejection port (window is a better word).
The sights are smallish but very usable. I like that the rear sight goes all the way back like they do on other guns, for some reason Ruger usually seems to mount them almost a centimeter further forward than other brands do and they don't on this gun. The dots are very small- I may either fill them in with black paint and ignore them, or go the other way and use florescent green (or night sights) to make them stand out more.
The gun fits me and is sized very well. Despite being a .45 it is pretty trim due to the single stack design and polymer construction. While a full-sized service pistol, it is just barely full-sized (it is sized about the same as a Commander sized 1911), and at 29oz it would be a great CCW arm when wearing a cover garment (probably too big for tucked IWB though). If it proves itself the next few range trips it just may become the gun that travels with me and is carried when I go to PA, at least when it is cold enough for a jacket or when I wear a suit (the rest of the time being covered by my Taurus PT140 M. Pro, Taurus 85CH and possibly S&W 442).
It may be time to start pricing holsters for this one as it will probably be sticking around.
I couldn't wait to get it home and clean it thoroughly before shooting. So, I broke it down at the range and started cleaning out the shipping grease using only a rag (there was a ton of it on the internals and since I didn't have a pipe cleaner or Q-tip with me I didn't get it all) then I lubed it with Breakfree.
I got on the range, chambered the first round and the slide was hesitant but chambered. Fired, next round didn't fully go into battery and I had to assist it with a tap on the slide. Next round, same thing. Next round, the round wouldn't chamber and the slide locked half open. I had to really work to get the slide opened fully. At this time I'm worried I got one of the rare bad Rugers (and here I thought the early problems Ruger had with the KP345 were worked out).
So, when I finally got it opened I took it apart again, wiped it down again, and made sure that I had plenty of lube by applying more Breakfree.
Another possible problem, the mags load differently than others I've had. Once they stop with easy pressure, you need to push just a tad more. There is a bit of an indentation that holds the round lighly by the rim and many of the rounds in the first mag weren't pushed in all the way.
Anyway, after I loaded a second mag, and stipped it and re-lubed it, I didn't have another problem. It was only the first couple rounds. So, 250 perfect rounds later (200 Remington/UMC 230gr MC rounds, 50 Winchester 230gr JHPs) it seems to be working fine. Still, just in case the problem isn't as simple as the above, I'll wait for another 250 rounds or so before it will take its turn as my bedside gun- the jury is still out.
Shooting and handling impressions:
I love this gun. We'll have to see what I think after the new gun excitment wears off, but it may be in contention for "favorite gun" status.
Accuracy was good. Usually I primarily practice at short self-defense ranges. Additionally, I haven't shot much in the past couple years (its been about a month and a half since my last range trip). Still, I had pretty decent (for me) accuracy when I decided to try it at 50-75 feet- 4-6" 16 shot (2 mag) groups. Rapid fire is comfortable even though it is a 29oz .45ACP. It is very controllable. It was a ton of fun. I can't wait to take it to the range with my 1911 and my CZ75 to compare.
The mag release is a normal button right where it should be. It isn't like the puny little buttons my old P89 had. The P89 was ambidextrous though and this only has a right handed mag release (no big deal, a lefty could always use his/her trigger finger). Of course, the safety is ambi, though I'm not sure how big a hand you'd need if you wanted to actually use it (I would use this gun in DA mode with the safety disengaged, only using the safety as a decocker).
Take down is pretty easy and more or less what I remembered of Ruger centerfire autos. The only difference is I remember my P89's slide stop didn't fully come out and this one does. No big deal since most guns take down like that, but it is another small part to get lost so I was hoping for it to take down like other Rugers in this respect. It does have the funky Ruger thing where you have to stick your finger into the open ejection port to flip down the ejector to take down the rest of the gun (why do they do that
).Fit and finish is fine. Better than I remembered from my P89. The combo of matte and polished sections on the slide looks great, but I may have the more polished section bead blasted if this gun ever gets carried. I love the huge gaping ejection port- it takes up the top of the slide as well as the side for the 1" or so length of the ejection port (window is a better word).
The sights are smallish but very usable. I like that the rear sight goes all the way back like they do on other guns, for some reason Ruger usually seems to mount them almost a centimeter further forward than other brands do and they don't on this gun. The dots are very small- I may either fill them in with black paint and ignore them, or go the other way and use florescent green (or night sights) to make them stand out more.
The gun fits me and is sized very well. Despite being a .45 it is pretty trim due to the single stack design and polymer construction. While a full-sized service pistol, it is just barely full-sized (it is sized about the same as a Commander sized 1911), and at 29oz it would be a great CCW arm when wearing a cover garment (probably too big for tucked IWB though). If it proves itself the next few range trips it just may become the gun that travels with me and is carried when I go to PA, at least when it is cold enough for a jacket or when I wear a suit (the rest of the time being covered by my Taurus PT140 M. Pro, Taurus 85CH and possibly S&W 442).
It may be time to start pricing holsters for this one as it will probably be sticking around.
