Ruger P345 - Good range gun?

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I'm kinda itching for a .45 ACP mainly for a range gun for fun and possibly HD, but would like to keep it under $400.

The P345 is more comfy in my hand than the older P-series Rugers, what's the consensus on overall reliability and shootability of these pistols?

I'm guessing the recoil is a non-event?

Do most people go with the decocker model or manual safety?

Anything else I should consider? Thanks!
 
General opinion is that it's a good gun - in some ways an advance on Ruger styling (I agree) and a good technical execution of a poly frame. The magazine disconnect bothers some people.

Other options in the price range would be a Taurus Millenium Pro series and the 24/7 series. I've had a 24/7 in .40 and in .45 - both were accurate, easy to service and a delight to handle. The .40 (and the 9mm for that matter) has a molded rubber over-grip ('ribber') which is REALLY comfortable. The .45, because of larger mags, has a still-comfortable ribbed surface.

Clint
 
Its a nice gun.

IMO, the Springfield XD45 is nicer and is close in price (if you shop around).

Give them both a try and buy what works best for you.
 
CZ-97 should be considered.
I think the EAA knock-offs of the CZ-75 and the Baby Eagle compact could be found in this price range.
 
I prefer the P90, but it does fit my hand very well. I also would suggest the decocker. I don't like manual safety versions, though that's what my P85 is. I'd rather the decocker return to fire position so I don't have to mess with it manually. I don't see the utility in a safety on a DA gun at all.

I haven't fired the P345, but that P90 is match grade accurate and don't have no stinkin' magazine disconnect. The trigger is very nice on it, too. Love that gun.
 
Are you after the 345 because of the acc. rail?

No, the rail doesn't matter to me.

I haven't fired the P345, but that P90 is match grade accurate and don't have no stinkin' magazine disconnect. The trigger is very nice on it, too. Love that gun.

Based on a few recommendations above, I need to check out the P90. I guess I assumed the P345, being the newer design, would be an improved version of prior Ruger .45s. I guess not! :)
 
I would check out the Ruger forum website - you will see tons of issues with the 345. I wanted to get one,a nd then changed my mind. True, people are more likely to complain than compliment. But the Ruger forum is full of Ruger fanatics who love the gun - and they are bitching.

I would get one of the old P series guns first.
 
Based on a few recommendations above, I need to check out the P90. I guess I assumed the P345, being the newer design, would be an improved version of prior Ruger .45s. I guess not!

It's a smaller, more compact gun, which is not necessarily an improvement for a "range gun" as it is for concealment. I have heard it's not as accurate as the P90s have a reputation of being and mine certainly is. And, it's cluttered up with safety crud that I just don't like. I'm the kinda guy that bypasses the seat safety switch on his riding lawnmower just because. :D I don't like the magazine safeties, see no need, don't want to be dead in the water if the mag were to get dropped inadvertently, not that it would, but you know about old man Murphy and his laws of reality.
 
I always hear about the P345 being a "soft-shooting" .45 - is the P90 the same way? In my limited .45 trigger time I thought that full-size .45s aren't too snappy anyway are they?

I've only fired a full-size Springfield 1911 in the Navy, and more recently a Glock 30. The G30, to me, shot softer than the G23 .40 S&W.

Although I don't need this gun, it's more of a want. My CCW is a .38 snub, and I'll soon have a 9mm subcompact to share CCW duty. But something keeps telling me I need a .45 in the handgun collection. Make sense? :)

I'm looking at this Hogue-equipped two-tone from Davidson's. It looks more comfy than stock, and the price is right:

p90th.jpg
 
Although I don't need this gun, it's more of a want. My CCW is a .38 snub, and I'll soon have a 9mm subcompact to share CCW duty. But something keeps telling me I need a .45 in the handgun collection. Make sense?

Of course it makes sense to me! I have a subcompact 9mm Kel Tec P11 and a .38 Taurus M85UL for carry that get carried 99 percent of the time between the two of 'em. But, I do carry the P90 in the cooler months sometimes just because I can in a Milt Sparks Summer Special. I have shot this gun in a lot of matches and I shoot it rather well, love the thing.

However, if you were to ask my wife, she probably wouldn't understand the need and it wouldn't make sense. :rolleyes: :banghead: However, I have enough guns now that if I get a new one, she doesn't even know. :D

1219454066.jpg
 
Of course it makes sense. I have 13 handguns and they all make sense. Wait a second..hmmm...THIRTEEN..uh oh...now that I put that in writing it only makes sense to get number 14. Just can't have an unlucky number like that...that doesn't make sense. :)

I have the KP97. It is the only 45 that I have. It has worked out so well for me in all areas (reliable, very accurate, and fits my individual hand very well) that I stopped looking at other 45 caliber handguns entirely. Just worked out perfectly for me.
 
Love my P90. More accurate than I am and recoil is real tame. I put about 5 boxes of WWB a month through it and have for 10 years.
 
When considering the price, it sounds like the P90 is a very underrated pistol,
accurate, soft-shooting and reliable. I do think Ruger's blocky styling gets them overlooked often times.

Does anybody like the factory grips, or are the Hogues a given?

I'm just looking for a "fun gun" to add to the collection, the Ruger seems a good choice. :cool:

I appreciate the replies.
 
For me, the plastic factory stocks were slippery and didn't afford a constantly repeatable grip on the gun. A sweaty hand made 'em worse. The Hogues are cheap enough, a little over 20 bucks, and they're mandatory for me. Gives the gun a great feel and repeatable grip on the draw.

One tidbit of info for you're knowledge of the gun, 1911 recoil springs will fit it. I had some Wilson springs left over from my 1911. I installed an 18 lb spring in the gun since I shoot mostly factory power level or hotter in the gun. It functions flawlessly with my loads, would no doubt cough on soft ball, but I don't shoot soft ball. It slows the slide down and, though I know the gun is tough, I think it saves a lot of frame battering when I wanna shoot +P stuff. The spring is preloaded in the P90 as the slide is shorter than a 1911s, but works great. The recoil spring in the standard P90 is wimpy and I just had these springs so I played with 'em and settled on the 18 lb one as best for the loads I shoot in it. I just wanted to safe some of the battering from the hot stuff. I didn't have a 22 lbs spring, was in my 1911 when it got stolen, but I think it'd be too stiff anyway just going on the ejection force with the 18 lb spring in it. Oh, and I'm not a "limp wrister". I shoot with a good solid hold on the gun. I haven't experimented with limp wristing the gun to see if I could make it cough. That might be a consideration depending on your shooting style/grip strength.

A 1911 shock buffer doesn't fit, tried it.:D But, the slide speed is low enough with that spring that I don't really worry about shock buffers. The gun is a lot tougher than any 1911 anyway. The gun will shoot just fine with factory .45 loads and the stock spring, I just like to tinker. That was most of the fun of the 1911, the tinkering.
 
Thanks for the 1911 spring info. That may indeed come in handy if I decide to shoot mostly hotter stuff.

I wanted to ask - any problems with aluminum-cased Blazer or steel-cased Wolf? Probably wouldn't use Wolf anyway since it makes a mess, but Blazer is affordable .45 for range use, cheaper than WWB or Federal AE.

No problems feeding JHPs?

Do any factory JHP loads stand out for SD in .45? This would probably be the best handgun in my stable for home defense. :D
 
Got me a P90

in fall 1992. Standard factory grips. Never had a problem with 'em, shooting in South Carolina. But I did put a strip of skateboard deck tape on the front strap, same as with all my non-checkered or non-stippled guns. A cheap and reversible modification.

That gun is very accurate, strong and reliable, and recoil is comfortable. It was an excellent buy, one of my wisest investments.
 
My P90 feeds ANYthing. I even tested it once by putting an empty case in the mag and seeing if it'd feed and it did! The feed ramp is integral to the barrel, but barely gets touched as the round feeds almost directly into the chamber throat unlike 1911s that have to climb up and over a two piece ramp. Feeding reliability is flawless in my P90. I feed it the old reliability tester for defensive loads, the discontinued Speer "flying ashtray" 200 grain JHP. I've never loaded that round in a 1911 that didn't cough on it. LOL Works fantastic in the P90. I only have a couple hundred of them left and am Bogartin' them. Figure I'll try the Gold Dots after they're gone, but I don't shoot 'em anymore, they're in reserve for carry. The things are accurate, too. That's what the round in that picture is loaded into the magazine. It's very short and has a HUGE hollow cavity in the nose. The Gold Dot is very similar and that's what I would use in modern ammo, I think. I like the 200 grain weight bullets, shoot to point of aim in my gun, it seems to like the weight for accuracy, though about anything shoots well in it, and it gives some decent velocity to make it open up where the 230s are slower.

I have yet to find the ammo that P90 WON'T shoot. I've fed a couple hundred aluminum cased Blazers through it with no problems. I have not, however, tried Wolf ammo. I handload so I haven't fired a factory round out of my P90 in at least a decade. At about $2.50 a box, I prefer my handloads.
 
I almost got a P345 until I heard about the various issues new owners had with it; I would think by now Ruger has the bugs worked out of it. So I made my first .45 the P90 in stainless and it's been a great gun. I don't particularly agree that the Ruger P-series pistols are ugly, though..blocky, spartan, no-nonsense, maybe, but even with all that, compared to the Glock the Ruger P-Series pistols are the sidearm equivalent of Sophia Loren. :D
 
The P345 was my FIRST handgun, purchased right about when I turned 21 in September of 2004. I sold it last December for a number of reasons.

1) I could not hit **** with it. I thought I was a bad pistol shot.

2) Magazine connection problem, mag would "pseudo connect" without being all the way locked into the gun, causing jams.

I now own a Glock 17, a Kimber 1911, a Kahr K9 all of which I can put rounds into a 4 inch circle at 10 yards. I was lucky if I could get all my rounds onto a sillouette at 7 yards.

Maybe they've ironed out the mag problem, I probably got one of the early ones. I must admit I don't like DA/SA guns. I want all my pulls to be the same.

I'd take others' advice and go for the P90 instead.
 
Well I handled a P90 for the first time today, tried it with and without the Hogues. Unfortunately it feels a bit big & blocky in the grip for my taste. I prefer the way the P345 feels and the slide stop lever is easier to reach as well. :(

So now I'm wondering - do I take a chance on the P345 that seems to have more complaints on the forums, or do I look for another single stack .45?

My small-medium hands rule out the CZ-97 & Glocks. Don't really want the DAO Kahr. Is the price/performance of the P345 unbeatable?

What else is there? How about S&W's 457? :uhoh:
 
The DA/SA nature of the P345 is what made me get rid of it. I can't shoot Sigs well either.

What I will say for the 345 is that when I slammed the mags in hard (read:all the way in) the gun NEVER failed to go "boom" when I pulled the trigger.

I'd say shoot it and see how well you like it.
 
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