Now, I'm about as traditional and conservative as it get when it comes to handguns. Just keep it simple. A pretty chunk of hardwood fixed to some shiny blue steel....and I'm happy. For over 20 years, my daily carry gun has been a series 70 Colt in .45ACP. Recently, I decided another pistol in the same caliber might be nice....so I went shopping. Lots of choices out there. So many possibilities and so much variety that goes far beyond the old 1911 configuration. After a lot of looking and handling I settled on a Ruger P97DC. This is about as far from my traditional concept of a combat pistol as I can imagine, but it fit my hand very well and the controls were friendly and well thought out. I have to admit that the pla....uh, polymer frame idea took a while for me to get used to, but the more I handle and shoot this gun, the more I respect it. I had heard horror stories of parts falling off and guns coming apart during firing, so I was a bit apprehensive. My fears were totally unfounded. This Ruger .45 is a real winner. It eats everything I feed it. It has never malfunctioned. Never. It even likes my favorite handload, the standby IPSC load. H&G 68 at around 900fps. Most surprising though is the accuracy. This thing gives my Colt a run for it's money in the tight groups department. How the hell can Ruger do all that and keep the cost so low? Is this gun a fluke or are my experiences typical of Ruger pistols?