P95 or P345?

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MikePGS

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I by no means am attempting to start yet another 9mm vs. .45 thread so please avoid comparisons of the cartridges, just the guns.

I'm looking to buy a pistol, and it seems that Rugers are quite reliable. The only real complain i see in regards to them is that they're "blocky" and thus hard to conceal. I'm mostly going to use the gun for range time/home defense, but in the future ccw is probably going to be something i take the classes and etc for, so its a consideration. Does anyone have any opinion as to which of these two might be more suitable for my purposes? If ammunition was equally priced for both, i'd probably get the p345 without question, but at the same time the P95 is dirt cheap (relatively speaking) and since i have a baby on the way (well, my girlfriend does) the more money I could save the better. Is there any overwhelming reason why the P345 should be taken over the P95? Thanks in advance for any input.
 
I think Ruger did a good job designing the 345. It is the thinnest most concealable auto Ruger makes. I had one of the early ones that had to be sent back. You are not supposed to dry fire the 345 unless an empty magazine is in the gun and no warning not to do so was included with the early guns. A lot of people do not like them because of all of the safety features. Mine was accurate and reliable after being repaired, but I sold it because I could never bring myself to trust it again.
 
If you are tight on cash, I would go with the P95. There are some really good deals on them at the local gun shows around Houston. And 9mm ammo is a lot cheaper than 45acp so you can afford to practice more. I have had a P89 for years and it is very reliable. I would suspect either of your choices to be the same.
 
Well, baby on the way means about 5-7 diaper changes a day for a few months. That adds up to a few dollars. Baby checkups, mommy checkups, infant formula, baby wipes, strollers, car seats, cribs, cameras, video recorders, and clothes all tally to a few thousand.

Why are you inclined towards Rugers? You have a deal spotted with a local gun shop between the P95 and the P345? I have seen used P95s for $350, and P345s for $400. Ammo will be about $16 for a 100 fmj WalMart pack, and about $20 for the 45 FMJ Walmart pack. They are both solid guns. The P95 has a newer pebbled grip version, compared to teh older, very slick grip frame. The P345 has a thin, and very nicely checkered grip, but the slide safety is not my favorite.

Both have thinner slides than the older P89 and P90 tanks, if you plan on carrying it IWB. For OWB, it really does not made much difference.

Either way, you may spend $400-500 total package with taxes, fees, ammo, and holster, and lock/case.

There are so many great, solid, economical used 9mm platforms out there for $400 on the used market. The Rugers should be competetively priced.

Congratulations, by the way. No gun you buy can ever be as warm, soft and cuddly as the little one coming into your life.
 
I haven't shot a P345, but I own a P90 and have shot a P95. From what I've read, a P345 is a little more concealable than a P95.

However, since 9mm is an option, have you thought about an SR9? Looks to me like that would be much more concealable than either the P95 or the P345. It costs a bit more, but if concealed carry is definitely in the cards for later on, I think it'll be money well spent.
 
i have a ruger p345 and it is the most accurate handgun that i own. i had a p95, but it was too big for my hands and i didn't shoot it that well. also the da/sa on the 95 was no where near as good as that on the p345. the 95 was reliable and i had no issues with it. i think the p345 is the better gun well for me anyway and that is the way that i would go.
 
I bought a new P345. It would load anything I fed it, including reloaded SWCs. I like DA/SA and was very happy with it except for one thing - it wouldn't hit the broad side of a barn! I had several others shoot it with the same results. I talked to many 345 owners, both in person and on the various forums. It seems I am the only one who ever had one that wasn't a good shooter. I finally traded it, but now wish I had sent it back to Ruger for repair. If I ever run across a nice used one, I'll probably grab it.
 
I owned a P89 for about 12 years and it was extremely reliable over 4K rounds. Wasn't terribly accurate, but certainly passable. Sold it last year to finance other purchases. I've never owned a P95, but have shot a couple belonging to other people and they were very accurate.

I currently own a P90, a P97 (basically a 45 cal P95), and a P345. All three are SCARY accurate. I have range buddies who gripe because they paid twice what I did for their gun and mine shoots better.

For carry, both the 345 and the 97 see some use, but I don't enjoy carrying the 97 IWB much due to it's increased thickness over the 345. The 345 I can carry all day IWB or OWB and easily forget it's there.

Now I've got a couple kids too, so I know your standard day to day living costs are getting ready to skyrocket. But it's more than worth it :). That being said 9mm ammo is going to be cheaper than .45 ammo. Considerably so in most cases. I'm actually considering dumping my P97 and picking up an SR9 soon so I can shoot more (and I reload too.)

Either way you go, you're getting a solid gun that should give you long years of service.
 
P95 or P345?
I by no means am attempting to start yet another 9mm vs. .45
Click to expand...

Between these two I don't see a whole lot of functional difference except for the 9 vs. 45 caliber war.

If it was me, I'd probably get the .45, but only because I already have a P90 with a buttload of magazines, and I handload .45, so ammo cost is not such an issue.
 
Go 345

I had a P345, but was kinda big for ccw, and compared to my G23 in the pic, you can see why I changed. The P345 is a great shooter, the softest shooting 45 I have ever shot, and very accurate. I don't know if the P95 is any smaller than the 345, but the 345 is narrower in the grip, and has a great feel. Have fun choosing:)
guns041.jpg
 
Thank you all for the advice, and congratulations. I actually went to the gunstore today and checked them both out in person. I might be getting crazy in my old age (27), but in spite of the differences in barrel lenth (the p95's is shorter) the 345 actually seemed smaller somehow. I called up a local gunshop and they priced a 345 at 395 pretax. They have a P95 at budsgunshop for 300 including delivery, with another twenty for a FFL. I don't really know why this decision is so hard. The 9mm makes much more sense, but i think all of you on this board have brainwashed me into wanting a .45 :neener: I imagine the feeling of being better armed... in spite of the intellectual knowledge that i'd be equally armed either way really, especially with today's ammunition... would make this a 345. Thank you for the input, but i'm ashamed to say i'm not much better off than i was before in regards to what i should get in spite of the excellent advice from all of you fine people.
 
Hey Mike, they may be closing them out or something, but at the gunshow in Pasadena, Tx this last weekend, they were about $260 with 2 15 round magazines for the P95s. These were new guns. I nearly bought one myself! And don't worry about being undergunned with a 9, they are plenty. But that doesn't mean you won't have to get yourself a 45 after the baby is paid off!! This is a very addictive hobby.
 
I like the P95 better. I bought the P345 and I think I got a lemon. It would jam every 2nd and 6th round no matter what magazine I would use.
The P95 I have had nothing but great experiences with. It is very rugged and reliable.
Not too much to look at but it gets the job done. The only cpmplaint I have ever had about it is the ambi magazine release. I have had some trouble with that and that is it.
 
Wow, now thats what i call nice shooting possum! I think at this point (almost entirely due to ammo cost) I'm going with the P95, but hopefully in the future I can get a 345, even if I have to trade up.
 
Wow, now thats what i call nice shooting possum! I think at this point (almost entirely due to ammo cost) I'm going with the P95, but hopefully in the future I can get a 345, even if I have to trade up.
Click to expand...
thank you sir, i know that this gun is fra more accuarte than i could ever hope to be, and i am seriously thinking about buying a gun vise, to remove any human error .and reloading some rds custom tailored to the gun and see just how much accuracy can be squezzed out of it.
 
At the same time, you might be costing me some money, since you make very persuasive arguments for the 345, with pics to back it up :( Do you know how much extra in ammo you might cost me? :neener:
 
Jimminy Jillickers! Maybe i shouldn't get one after all, people might expect me to shoot better than I can :) Jd, if you don't mind my asking where did you get yours at? The lowest price i've seen one for in my area (metro detroit) is 395 NIB, which doesn't sound too bad.
 
Very nice price possum. Believe it or not, the one quoted for 395+tax (which would be 318) is easily the best price i've seen. The one gun shop i like a lot routinely has ridiculous prices, so I probably won't buy there unless i want to throw over a hundred or more on basically everything (glocks, rugers, springfields... everything) out the window. I need to call maybe two more shops, but the one for 395 is easily the least expensive i've seen.
 
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