One of Massad Ayoob's favorite... the Ruger P Series in .45 ACP

[pairof44sp]

I should have never sold it.

What former p series owners say. Many such examples. Sad!

 

[Miami_JBT]

The Ruger P90DC: The Gun of the Desperado that tells True Lies

Ruger, a synonymous with affordable American made firearms. What’s another thing synonymous with America? The .45 ACP cartridge of course. So that’s what inspired Bill Ruger to have his designers draw up a DA/SA .45 Auto and luckily they had the P85 and P89 to use as a cornerstone for the foundation that what would become the P90.



Finally finished in 1990 and originally released to the shooting public in 1991, the Ruger P90 was a hit.





An affordable DA/SA .45 Auto that didn’t break the bank and had some nice features. Ambidextrous slide mounted safety/decocker, a swappable magazine release, stainless finish, combat style squared off trigger guard, and a nice pair of fixed three dot combat sights.
They also released a Decocker Only Model and I happen to have my dirty mitts on one.



The difference between a regular P90 and the P90DC is that mine doesn’t have a safety. The safety lever is simply a spring loaded decocker. But other than that. The gun is the same.



The P90DC shipped from the factory with two seven round magazines. Ruger, when they later released the P97. THey released a eight round capacity magazine. The P97 and even later P345 used the same magazines as the P90. But Ruger at one point advised not to use the eight round magazines in the P90 and then they disregarded their own advise and started to ship the P90 with them.



7rd & 8rd magazines. Notice the difference in the followers.

Taking the gun apart is kinda like a 1911, well actually no. So make sure it is empty of course, remove the magazine, lock the slide back, flip down the ejector, and then align the slide catch lever with the takedown notch.





The nice thing about the P90 is that the slide catch lever is captured. So that is one less part you have to worry about losing. It breaks down into the frame, slide, barrel, recoil spring, and guide rod.



The barrel is a hybrid. It has a 1911 style swing link but a Sig inspired locking block.



So I said the gun was a hit. It got some modest contracts in the law enforcement market. Massad Ayoob even carried one.



And it was popular in the civilian market too. Since it was an affordable .45 Auto, during the Clinton AWB. If folks were broke and wanted a reliable pistol. The Ruger P90 was always a good choice. But other than the fact that folks were limited to ten rounds or less wasn’t the only reason why the P90 was a popular pistol. It also had some screen time too.

First staring with the big man himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1994 action comedy, True Lies.



It was Arnold’s issued pistol as an agent of the Omega Sector. The gun got ample screen time due to the fact that it was stainless steel and showed off well on the big screen.




The other film that the P90 got ample screen time in was the second installment in Robert Rodriguez’s Mexico Trilogy, Desperado.



Antonio Banderas, the titular hero dual wielded two P90 pistols in the film along with an assortment of other guns to hunt down the drug dealer known as Bucho. Again, being in stainless steel. The gun showed off well.



Yes, before anyone scoffs at the idea. Pop culture does drive gun sales. Dirty Harry was a huge seller of the Smith & Wesson Model 29 and and according to designer of the Wildey Survivor, Wildey J. Moore. Every time Death Wish 3 is aired on cable TV, sales of the gun spiked.
True Lies and Desperado had a similar story with Ruger and the P90. Both films were a hit and folks wanted to emulate and imitate the main stars. Sure, they didn’t have the good looks, the muscles, fancy cars, or exciting lives. But they could own the handguns at an incredible price, shoot them at the range and have fun.

So while the 1990s came and left us. The P90 stands as a tangible reminder of those yesteryears gone by. They’re still out and are pretty affordable. So if you find one in good shape and at a decent price, snatch it up. You might be surprised.

 

[Mike J]

View media item 1727

Tallball that looks almost exactly like my P94 .40 only mine has more holster wear. Interesting note. I like the way it looks & feels better with the factory grips like in your picture. It shoots better for me with hogue wrap around grips with the finger grooves.

 

[Tallball]

Mike J - I'll have to get some of those Hogue grips and see how they shoot!

The P90 was a police turn-in at some point and has a lot of holster wear.

The P89 and P94 hadn't been shot much, and probably not carried at all. That's why I had to pay more for them, somewhere between $200-$250 apiece, IIRC.

Back when prices on used pistols were still "normal", I felt that the P-series pistols were a real bargain.

Mine are just range toys, but they would certainly be adequate SD handguns if needed.

 

[loadedround]

Bought a Ruger p345DC when they first came out and after it was broken in removed the magazine safety (sometimes called ''cleaning the rear sight''). It is an extremely accurate pistol with anything I feed it but loves hard lead 200 gr SWC's over a charge of Unique. My P345 is my go to night stand pistol these days.

 

[.455_Hunter]

I tried the rubber Uncle Mike's checkered panels on my P-90, but will probably go back to the Hogues because the finger groves fit like a glove and provide extra support.

 

[bannockburn]

LaneP

Had a P345 for a short while but never bonded to it. Didn't like grip ergonomics which felt too square and I couldn't get it to group to my liking with anything I fed it. Traded it towards a Sig P220 (folded carbon steel slide version) and on its first outing it tore a ragged hole in the target with my go-to SWC handload and fit my hand like a glove.

That's the same way I felt about my Browning BDA .45 (a.k.a. SIG P220)! Everyone who tried it loved the way it felt in their hand and how comfortable it was to shoot with it. And talk about accuracy; in a stand-up competition using the same I.M.I. Match ammo, the BDA had no problem going shot for shot with a Colt Gold Cup!

 

[.455_Hunter]

The P220 is an outstanding platform too...

 

[tercel89]

These are my P90 at top and P89 on the bottom. They are fat and chunky but will give the high dollar pistols a run for their money. Extremely reliable and run like a well oiled sewing machine.

 

[.455_Hunter]

I need to find a later production blued P95 or blued P89 (preferably decocker only) to accompany by original PC9. My stainless P89DC is nice, but doesn't match...

 

[silicosys4]

I had a P89 that I bought because it was in great shape with a very distinct and lovely "plum" color to the blued slide. I'm a fan of plum bluing, even though its technically a flawed bluing process.
I shot it a little and thought it to be an average shooter, although comfortable.
One day I was messing with it, unloaded of course, and found by accident that with the safety on and the (empty) magazine in, if you turned it upside down and gave it a little shake, the trigger would start catching. Shake it a little more, and the hammer would start drawing back. Shake it a little more, and yup...the trigger would fully engage, and drop the hammer. All while fully on safe. Just to make sure, I very carefully tried with a loaded chamber, and yes. I could make the gun fire while on safe with a few shakes of my wrist.
I subsequently lost any interest in the P series of Ruger autos and traded that POS off for something that was better in every way.

 

[.455_Hunter]

I had a P89 that I bought because it was in great shape with a very distinct and lovely "plum" color to the blued slide. I'm a fan of plum bluing, even though its technically a flawed bluing process.
I shot it a little and thought it to be an average shooter, although comfortable.
One day I was messing with it, unloaded of course, and found by accident that with the safety on and the (empty) magazine in, if you turned it upside down and gave it a little shake, the trigger would start catching. Shake it a little more, and the hammer would start drawing back. Shake it a little more, and yup...the trigger would fully engage, and drop the hammer. All while fully on safe. Just to make sure, I very carefully tried with a loaded chamber, and yes. I could make the gun fire while on safe with a few shakes of my wrist.
I subsequently lost any interest in the P series of Ruger autos and traded that POS off for something that was better in every way.

I am confused- The shaking motion would overcome the hammer spring and cycle the DA mechanism?

 

[silicosys4]

I am confused- The shaking motion would overcome the hammer spring and cycle the DA mechanism?

I don't know what was happening internally. All I know is with the safety functioning normally, on safe you could pull the trigger and the trigger had no resistance, and would not engage the hammer. If you held mine upside down and shook the gun while pulling the trigger, after a few shakes the trigger would start catching on something then slip off and pull back without moving the hammer. Shake it a bit more and the trigger would move the hammer a small amount before slipping off of whatever it was engaging. Shake it a few more times and the trigger would fully engage the hammer, draw it back, and release the hammer.
I could easily fire the gun on safe by shaking the gun upside down for a few seconds.

Edit: my mistake, it was a P85, and the safety is a known issue with a recall

https://ruger.com/P85Recall/index.html

 

[.455_Hunter]

I don't know what was happening internally. All I know is with the safety functioning normally, on safe you could pull the trigger and the trigger had no resistance, and would not engage the hammer. If you held mine upside down and shook the gun while pulling the trigger, after a few shakes the trigger would start catching on something then slip off and pull back without moving the hammer. Shake it a bit more and the trigger would move the hammer a small amount before slipping off of whatever it was engaging. Shake it a few more times and the trigger would fully engage the hammer, draw it back, and release the hammer.
I could easily fire the gun on safe by shaking the gun upside down for a few seconds.

I understand now. My Ruger's are both decock-only, otherwise I would be on the way to the gun room to check.

 

[greenmtnguy]

I am re-thinking my home defense pistol options and am really considering a P345 or P97 for my nightstand gun to replace my GP100.

 

[tercel89]

I don't know what was happening internally. All I know is with the safety functioning normally, on safe you could pull the trigger and the trigger had no resistance, and would not engage the hammer. If you held mine upside down and shook the gun while pulling the trigger, after a few shakes the trigger would start catching on something then slip off and pull back without moving the hammer. Shake it a bit more and the trigger would move the hammer a small amount before slipping off of whatever it was engaging. Shake it a few more times and the trigger would fully engage the hammer, draw it back, and release the hammer.
I could easily fire the gun on safe by shaking the gun upside down for a few seconds.

Edit: my mistake, it was a P85, and the safety is a known issue with a recall

https://ruger.com/P85Recall/index.html

So you did this while pulling the trigger ? If so then no big deal to me. Now if it magically cocked the DA/SA mechanism all by itself then I would worry. Whether mine is upside down or right side up , I don't ever put my finger on the trigger unless I plan on shooting it. So it should be fine if your finger stays off the trigger.

 

[Cornhusker77]

Years ago my brother-in-law traded his step son out of a P345 in like new condition.
A few months later he traded me the Ruger and $100 for a Hi Point 9mm carbine.
My nephew wanted to buy it back a few years later, it was his first gun, so I reluctantly sold it to him.
Fast forward a couple more years and I found another one on Gunbroker that I thought was reasonably priced so I bought it.
I like it ok, and it's actually a few years newer than the first one.
Not my favorite .45, but it'll probably stick around.

 

[TTv2]

Every time somebody posts about a Ruger P series, I feel like Macho Man Randy Savage craving Slim Jims.



DA/SA trigger... Alloy frame... DA/SA trigger... Alloy frame... .45!

I NEED A P90 & I NEED IT NOW!!!

 

[kcofohio]

I have a P345, my second one. The first one I sold to my son. Someone at work was selling their's, and I jumped on it.
It has been very reliable, even with testing various handloads.