One Ruger finds its way home and the other is adopted

[Frulk]

Friend stops 2 Saturdays ago...sends a text ahead to say he's dropping something off". Meet him out on the driveway and ask what's up. He reaches over and picks up a small gun box/locker/safe and hands it to me and says "Can't find the key and the battery is dead so can't get it open....whatever is in there is yours". Backs off the driveway and heads off.

I have the exact box in my truck and once or twice the battery died but I knew where the key was and it wasn't a problem. So I take it to the work bench. These boxes aren't meant for long term secure storage or to foil a serious criminal. I use mine for short term hidden storage if I'm heading into a place (primarily fed blds) that don't allow or screen for CCW's. I don't keep guns in them overnight and realize they only provide some deterrence to the druggie/thug who's looking to make a quick score at a moment of opportunity.



So I go to work on the box...A few minutes later it pops open with the assistance of a very large flat head screwdriver. This brief exercise made me realize that I need to upgrade the one I have (and I will shortly).

Inside I find this Ruger P89 I gave my bud about 5-6 years ago at the time I was liquidating all the 9mm's I owned. I was looking to reduce calibers and was well stocked with CCW sub compact .40's. He's moving back east and now reducing his gun collection down to a couple of plinkers and his carry gun (SIG). I originally bought it off another bud in the late 90's when he was going to the academy to become an LEO around San Antonio. He wanted to buy a GLOCK and practice with it as that was their carry weapon is the story I remember. I think he eventually ended up with the Bexar County Sheriff's office. At the time I paid $200. That I do remember.



I unloaded the mags.



I'm really not a semi-auto fan. I own them. The run of the mil ones just don't do anything for me...by run of the mil I mean polymer framed versions...GLOCKS....XD's (I own them and others) and so forth. Some of the higher end steel stuff does appeal to me...Coonan, 1911's those I can warm up to...but here's the thing...I like these darn heavy, bulky all metal utilitarian service pistols that Ruger pumped out for a few years in various guises...Damn if I can explain the attraction. Anyway...So I check it out and put it in the safe....it will prob sit in there until I give up the ghost and never be shot.

Then, this PAST Saturday I go to an antique gun show. I'm out west. Shows out here have a lot of lever guns and single actions...in fact they make up the bulk of the stuff for sale. I was hoping that I might find a full stocked CVA BP rifle in .45 cal or maybe a Ruger .32 H&R or something else I’m interested in.

It was actually a VERY decent show with almost 95% of the tables having guns vs. beef jerky, Pakistani knives and so forth. Prices were high but a lot of cool stuff I gravitate to. Probably 5-10 Ruger #1's but not in calibers I was hoping for. None were internationals : ( A few low and highwalls. Savage 99's were well represented and prices indicated they were now becoming collectible. Thankfully I have representative samples in the two calibers I want and wasn't motivated towards buying one. For some years they and the Win 88 were running well below the radar but that seems to have changed now.

While perusing one table I noticed a stainless Ruger P94DC in .40 S&W that looked like it left the factory yesterday. Just a couple of very minor handling marks you have to search for. I asked if I could pick it up and the vendor said sure. I racked the slide, dropped the hammer with the decock, did a once over and then looked at the price on the tag. $389. As luck would have it I didn't bring my concealed carry license, so he had to run a background check that cleared almost instantaneously. Must be my ex-altar boy credentials. I handed him the cash and about 10 minutes later I walked out with another Ruger P series auto. A model which as I mentioned earlier, I have a strange attraction to that I can't explain.



I ran the SN once I made it home. It was shipped in 1999. A quick disassembly and clean and lube job and into the safe it went next to the P89. One difference between the P89 and the 94 is I'm flush to the gills in .40 S&W ammo and this gun will get some use shortly at my local range.

 

[Smaug]

My second gun was a P90; the 45 ACP gun built on the P89 frame. It was a good solid gun and I miss it sometimes.

As I recall, Ruger built the P89 (or its immediate predecessor) to submit for the military contract that Beretta won with the 92F/M9. How Beretta beat out Glock’s 17 (lighter, smaller, more rugged) and Ruger’s P89 (home team, very good all around) I’m not sure I’ll ever understand. I bet some general just liked the Beretta better, as they’re so slick and elegant. (Which Glocks and Rugers aren’t)

The P94 is a bit smoother in the slide; a better looking gun. A bit shorter barrel, too. I think it was their last original metal framed pistol. That’s a keeper.

As for the P89, it’d be a shame to let it sit without at least shooting it one more time, for old time’s sake. I bet you’d enjoy it; they’re quite soft-shooting. It would be worth a box of 9 mm.

By the way, I just learned that Ruger is no longer making parts for P89s, so parts supply will be spotty, if anything ever wears out.

 

[Tallball]

My story is similar. I won a P90 police trade-in for a bid of less than $200. I think it was closer to $150. The pistol shoots just fine. NP.

Later I snagged a P94 in 40 caliber and a P89 in 9mm, both for very low prices.

Coincidentally, my friend just inherited the P89's predecessor from his father. It's called a P85. His is the improved version, which is pretty much the same as a P89.

As my friend is discovering, the pistols are okay. They go bang every time. They're as accurate as most service pistols. The trigger isn't great, and that magazine release is weird. (Do all of them have that? I can't remember.) But if you're used to it, it works just as well as a Glock or some other generic pistol.

My friend is getting used to his. At first he was disappointed by the trigger, but now that his accuracy has improved, he's starting to like it.

As for me, I got three functional service pistols in the three major calibers for $700-something total. They are fun to shoot sometimes. I can sell them for more than I paid if I ever need the money. Otherwise my kids can get something for them when I'm gone.

The P90 was carried a LOT. The P89 is in very good condition. The P94 had barely been handled or fired before I got it.

These are not pistols that I will wear out in my lifetime. If I get really fond of one, it might need new springs. They seem way too durable to be worn out by occasional use as a range toy or truck gun.

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[bannockburn]

Frulk

Congrats on giving a well kept, "vintage" Ruger P94 a new home!

I have to be honest and say that even though I have always been a Ruger fan with their revolvers (especially the Six Series family), I never cared all that much for their P Series of semi-auto pistols. To me they felt like they were too big with awkward handling, so-so fit and finish, and not having the best ergonomics either. I know they were built like tanks and very reliable; it was just that they weren't my particular cup of tea. I felt that the P345 was a big improvement and a step in the right direction but still not quite there yet.

Was at a gun show one weekend and saw a new SR series gun and I was interested though at the time I was not in the market for another full size 9mm. Some time goes by and I have a chance to shoot an SR9c and now I'm really impressed with it's overall design, build quality, and accuracy, along with a great trigger, and sights! So I pick one up and I have to say that (at least for me), Ruger got it right with the SR Series!

 

[Frulk]

Bannockburn said…“To me they felt like they were too big with awkward handling, so-so fit and finish, and not having the best ergonomics either. I know they were built like tanks and very reliable; it was just that they weren't my particular cup of tea. ”.

I dated a couple of gals like that.

 

[Bartojc]

A model which as I mentioned earlier, I have a strange attraction to that I can't explain.

You like what you like. No reason to feel bad about it or explain it to anyone.

I have to agree with Bannockburn with regards to the SR series. I own the exact SR9c he has pictured and it is still the semi-auto i shoot best. I almost traded it once upon a time but for some reason I could not let it go. I'll go for a while and not shoot it but every time I take it to the range it is the one I shoot best. It's a shame that series is not made anymore ( at least I think they're done).
-Jeff