Ruger P89DC question.

[Storm]

This week I corrected a mistake that I made years ago when I traded my first P89. I finally found the right one to replace it that is NIB. The thing that has me scratching my head is that there is only a decocker lever on the left side (which is fine by me). I've seen photos of the same gun in that configuration but it seems that the vast majority have the decocker lever on both sides. Does anyone know if the single lever on the left side was a factory option?

 

[Storm]

Oops, sorry, wrong section. Please move to semi autos. Sorry about that.

 

[kozak6]

Google suggests that P89's with a serial number below 304-70000 have these.

I'd email Ruger and see what they say. They have excellent customer service, so hopefully you'll get a good answer.

 

[mark1616]

I just want to say I let go my P89 and am still regretting it. Go for yours!

 

[Miata Mike]

Now you have me wondering about my levers. I have 4 P series pistols and swear all 4 are left side decocker lever only.

 

[Mike J]

My only P-series is a P944. It has levers on both sides. If you know the serial number you can go here http://www.ruger.com/service/productHistory.html# & see what year it was made. I don't really know the answer to your question but I would bet that someone at either rugerforum.net or rugerforum.com would.

 

[Storm]

I did a good amount of research at the Ruger Forum (forgot about them) searching through about four years of P89 threads. Once I'm off this phone keyboard and back in front of a computer I will post what I learned for the sake of posterity since I raised the question in the first place.

 

[Storm]

I will share a bit of what I learned about the issues that I have raised as to the singe decocker lever. It seems to be present only on early P89. There is a serial number break point at 304-70000. I have found no evidence that it has anything to do with the switch to the ambidextrous decocker lever. That serial number cutoff has more to do with mag compatibility with guns below that number taking the older P85 mags and guns above taking the new P89 mag. There was an overlap of a year or two with the introduction of the P89 and the end of the P85 MKII. Early P89 apparently used P85 frames hence the mag issue requiring the use of older P85 mags. Somewhere along the line the P85 frames ran out and the new P89 frames kicked in. The use of a newer P89 mag in an older P89 seems to have a success rate of 90%.

Over the years I have looked at many, many P89 and mine is the only one that I have seen that has the single decocker lever. It also has the hex sight adjustment screw set into the slide just in front of the rear sight. I have never seen one of these and was unaware that it even existed until I got this P89. BTW, my gun has a serial number of 303-12XXX which makes it a very early P89.

There were some changes to the P89 after the 304-70000 serial number break point mostly to the barrel profile and to trigger geometry with the most significant changes right before it was discontinued in 2007. Some report greater accuracy in late production guns while others see little or no difference.

One way or the other the P89 seems to get a lot of respect teetering on the order of the popularity of the Smith 3rd Gens. In a lot of ways they are similar. When I handed my P89 to a buddy of mine he noted how big and heavy it was. This is a guy who (like me) shoots a SIG 226. I had to remark that the SIG is two ounces heavier. Prices for the P89 remain very favorable around from around $250 to $325, most in the $280 range. Condition varies greatly. I saw one last year with the slide painted with what looked like plastic model paint and the grips glued on. I paid $262 for mine, unfired, with box, papers and four mags, two of the mags in factory packaging. Kinda hard to beat, all things considered.

 

[regularjoe]

I just went to the Ruger web site. Did they stop making the P89? It did not show up in their product list.

 

[Storm]

I just went to the Ruger web site. Did they stop making the P89? It did not show up in their product list.

I believe that it was discontinued in 2007. The P90 was also discontinued in the last year.

 

[Mike J]

The P95 & the P345 are the only P series pistols Ruger is still producing. There are still a lot of the other models around many of them new in box. It will take a while for all the left overs to dry up.

 

[Storm]

There are still a lot of the other models around many of them new in box. It will take a while for all the left overs to dry up.

That is quite true. Here in Metro Atlanta most shops seem to have one or two P89/85. P90 are rare. Adventure Outdoors in Smyrna had close to a dozen P89/85 as of earlier this week in varying condition and prices. They always seem to have the best selection. Prices seem to stay pretty stable although I would expect to see some possible increase as supplies dry up especially as to the P90, not so much with the P89/85. NIB guns are are not all that uncommon such as the NIB P944 Special Edition that I picked up last year. These guns are often sold as used but are obviously unfired by their previous owner(s). One may not make money on these guns but one won't loose much either.