Ruger P90--I think it's good looking

[American1776]

Found a brand new P90 45 auto with the blued slide. Still has the inspection stickers on the frame.

There was quite a bit of old oil inside the gun, so I cleaned it out and coated everything with Ballistol. Then some Corrosion X grease on the frame rails and barrel hood.

I like the size and weight of this .45. Folks talk about how ugly and clunky these alloy P series are, but I love it. Really, it's no bigger than a commander 1911 in length, and about the same weight as one too. Just a little thick in the frame--but with aluminum, thick is good.

Big fan of this gun already. Looking forward to shooting it at the range.

Anyone else like this old style Ruger?

[lagco]

The P series guns aren't sleek, slick and sexy. They are from the era when everything Ruger made was big (even their small revolver was big). If Bill Ruger was involved with the design, it was over-engineered ...built to withstand more than would ever be thrown at it. It may not win a beauty contest, but may win your heart with reliability, ease of use, and accuracy.

I've thought of getting rid of my P89 (my first centerfire pistol), but discarded the idea. Say what you will about the other full-sized service pistols and their advantages ... the Ruger just flat-out works, time after time, without a hiccup.

As for the company itself ... how can you not love a company still actively seeking to support a product that it hasn't made in nearly fifty years ?

[philadelphia patriot]

I wonder if Ruger will go back to building hammer fired pistols?

[American1776]

I wonder if Ruger will go back to building hammer fired pistols?

I think the writing is on the wall: hammer fired pistols are going extinct. The polymer striker fired pistol is the mainstream now, and I don't see it going back.

All my handguns have hammers, and are made of metal.

[cephas]

Had an early one. Remember it being nicknamed "the brick". The "American Rifleman" summed it up with "it looks like what it is".
Wish I still had it.
It was brought online in the early 90's and Mr. Rugers rep was heavily criticized a tad earlier due to his support for magazine capacity limits.
Many hoped for a higher capacity P90.
Recent events with Springfield and Rock River brings it to mind.

[lagco]

I wonder if Ruger will go back to building hammer fired pistols?

I think that metal-framed hammer fired pistols are going the way of the rear-wheel-drive car, and for the same reasons :

1) There is a perceived advantage in polymer (light weight) striker (consistent trigger pull) pistols, just as front-wheel drive cars are better in snow
2) The new guns are cheaper to manufacture, as is FWD

The gunmakers will continue to sell their manufacturing improvements as beneficial to the consumer, as does the auto industry. What was considered normal or standard will become boutique.

[Ecclectic Collector]

I bought a practically unused P90 a year or so ago.

I like the blocky, rugged looks. It has good sights and nice features like an ambi safety system.

However compared to other guns of its era it has some ergonomic flaws: For one, the safety is designed to be worked with the off hand in spite of being ambi. It isn't where it needs to be on a combat pistol. The Derlin plastic grips have a slight inward/downward taper. This makes the pistol twist even in my somewhat large hands. I replaced them with Hogue grips to get my groups to tighten up. The trigger pull isn't exactly great either. I guess eventually I'll get some Wolfe springs to replace the stock set to do something about that too.

I never did understand why Ruger didn't just make the platform compatible with stock 1911 magazines. The P90 uses its own even though the only thing Ruger would have had to have done was move the magazine release. Factory P90 mags are expensive.

Don't get me wrong. I like the gun. However it is not some ultimate shooting machine. Its successor the P97 was better in some ways, but then Ruger handicapped it with a decocker only safety system. I think they got it right with the P345, but I guess by then they were replaced by the SR series within only a few years.

[39flathead]

I bought a practically unused P90 a year or so ago.

I like the blocky, rugged looks. It has good sights and nice features like an ambi safety system.

However compared to other guns of its era it has some ergonomic flaws: For one, the safety is designed to be worked with the off hand in spite of being ambi. It isn't where it needs to be on a combat pistol. The Derlin plastic grips have a slight inward/downward taper. This makes the pistol move in my somewhat large hands. I replaced them with Hogue grips to get my groups to tighten up. The trigger pull isn't exactly great either. I guess eventually I'll get some Wolfe springs to replace the stock set to do something about that too.

I never did understand why Ruger didn't just make the platform compatible with stock 1911 magazines. The P90 uses its own even though the only thing Ruger would have had to have done was move the magazine release. Factory P90 mags are expensive.

Don't get me wrong. I like the gun. However it is not some ultimate shooting machine. Its successor the P97 was better in some ways, but then Ruger handicapped it with a decocker only safety system. I think they got it right with the P345, but I guess by then they were replaced by the SR series within only a few years.

Ruger loves selling overpriced magazines.
Bill Ruger was not a fan of the commoner having more than 10 rounds available to them.
Ruger has always made cash on magazines, I'm surprised their 1911's don't take a magazine other than every other 1911 out there.

That all said, I picked up an as new P95 earlier this year for $205 OTD.
I like the P series guns, if I come across the other models in nice condition I plan on picking them up.
The P89 series was THE gun when I was just getting interested in guns, they were "modern" at the time and had a higher capacity than many other guns out there at a price the average guy could afford.
I'm no Ruger fan, but I can applaud their innovation when it's due.

[Noah_Zark]

The Ruger P-series is (IMO) top-heavy and has one feature that I cannot abide -- the triggerguard slopes back and down to meet the grip, with no clearance for the middle finger. That down-sloping TG shifts the P-series grip further UP in the hand, making the pistols even more top-heavy and increasing the felt recoil by increasing torque on the wrist. Because of all that, I find holding and shooting a P-series to be noticeably uncomfortable.




At a time when the rest of the world was "notching" the rear of the triggerguard to allow some clearance for the middle finger, Ruger took a big step backwards.

SIG P228, with down-sloped TG:


SIG P6 / P225, with horizontal TG:









Colt came late to the party:



But so did Ruger:

SR series:


American series:



Noah

[Jhaydeno]

I love my stainless P89. 15 rounds of 9mm, 20+ years old, thousands of rounds down the pipe, and as solid as the day I bought it. That one might get buried with me!