P345 Peening - What's the story.

[HoosierQ]

I really like the Ruger P345. I keep hearing that the thing has peening problems. I know what peening is...cold metal bashing metal out of shape, denting, deforming, flaking, etc.

In the case of the Ruger P345, what is peening what exactly? I have seen reference to "peening problems" but not enough specifics. If you search on "peening" wow you get a lot of hits.

Thanks.

 

[StarDust1]

The 345's peen on the breech side of the barrel, on top, it can also happen to the slide as it goes in and out of battery!
I purchased two of those models about 14-months apart and had serious mechanical issues with both requiring multiple trips to Prescott for repair, I'd never spend a dime of my money on another Ruger Centerfire pistol myself, though I'm glad to see that you apparently got a good one and are happy with it...
One thing I do like very much about the P345's is the look & feel of them, they are very attractive for polymer pistols...

 

[HoosierQ]

Oh...well I haven't got a P345 at this time...looking though. If I had my druthers, I'd have a P97DC...the .45 caliber, decocker only version of the P95 which I do have...but Ruger stopped making decocker only products for some reason.

Are these problems current? Or new product issues? The P95 and its design predecessors have been out for years and years and folks are happy with them.

 

[gb6491]

Stardust1's experience with the barrel peening on his 345 is the first I've heard of it. I certainly don't think the 345 has a reputation for this type occurrence (the SR9 certainly does).
The predominant "peening" issue with the 345 involves damage to the magazine disconnect safety. Dry firing without a magazine in place is the culprit (IMO, the design is also flawed). When the magazine is not in place, the disconnect plunger blocks the firing pin; dry fire at this juncture and the firing pin will peen the plunger. The plunger can be deformed enough that it will not move out of position when a magazine is inserted, thus continuing to block the firing pin and the gun will not fire. If you don't dry fire without a magazine in place, then this should not be a problem. The disconnect can be removed quite easily and gun will function fine without it (though, it will fire without a magazine inserted). It certainly should be inspected if buying a used 345.
Regards,
Greg

 

[StarDust1]

Stardust1's experience with the barrel peening on his 345 is the first I've heard of it. I certainly don't think the 345 has a reputation for this type occurrence (the SR9 certainly does).
The predominant "peening" issue with the 345 involves damage to the magazine disconnect safety. Dry firing without a magazine in place is the culprit (IMO, the design is also flawed). When the magazine is not in place, the disconnect plunger blocks the firing pin; dry fire at this juncture and the firing pin will peen the plunger. The plunger can be deformed enough that it will not move out of position when a magazine is inserted, thus continuing to block the firing pin and the gun will not fire. If you don't dry fire without a magazine in place, then this should not be a problem. The disconnect can be removed quite easily and gun will function fine without it (though, it will fire without a magazine inserted). It certainly should be inspected if buying a used 345.
Regards,
Greg

I forgot about the magazine disconnect, another terrible design feature of the KP345 series of pistols...