Let me start out by saying I am a 1911 single action fan. I have shot these pistols since I was 16 and taken Deer, hogs, javelina and exotics with the standard model 1911. I am a fan of the .45 ACP but do prefer the 185-200 grain hollow points over ball ammo for hunting and self defense. That being said there are often situations that I do not wish to carry one of my 1911 pistols. I ran across a Ruger P345 and thought this just might be the gun to carry when I do not want to carry one of the expensive 1911 guns.
The gun I bought was used but had less than a box shot through the gun. I went to my ammo drawer in the safe and cleaned out all the loose .45 ACP ammo I could find and managed to come up with a bag full of lead hardball, semi wadcutters, and different weights of hollow points along with about 5 brands of 230 grain hardball. I loaded the magazines with this ammo at random to test reliability and function of the P345. If it was going to jam or fail to fire this ragtag assembly of ammo would give it the chance. I was not expecting great accuracy because of the compactness of the pistol, the double action trigger and the just barely over four inch barrel. After the first eight rounds I was amazed to see the group in the bull at 20 yards, it was roughly a three inch group. I found the Ruger P345 very easy to control and the single action pull quite good. The double-action trigger reach on the P345 is just 2.835 inches, which is almost identical to the trigger reach on my 1911 autos. It is even less in the single action mode.
The gun I bought was used but had less than a box shot through the gun. I went to my ammo drawer in the safe and cleaned out all the loose .45 ACP ammo I could find and managed to come up with a bag full of lead hardball, semi wadcutters, and different weights of hollow points along with about 5 brands of 230 grain hardball. I loaded the magazines with this ammo at random to test reliability and function of the P345. If it was going to jam or fail to fire this ragtag assembly of ammo would give it the chance. I was not expecting great accuracy because of the compactness of the pistol, the double action trigger and the just barely over four inch barrel. After the first eight rounds I was amazed to see the group in the bull at 20 yards, it was roughly a three inch group. I found the Ruger P345 very easy to control and the single action pull quite good. The double-action trigger reach on the P345 is just 2.835 inches, which is almost identical to the trigger reach on my 1911 autos. It is even less in the single action mode.
I fired over 60 rounds without a single malfunction. The pistol accuracy was on par with my best model 1911 and the three dot sights were pleasing on my old eyes. I have always liked the looks of the Ruger P series pistols but found them too bulky for my short fat fingers and hands. The P345 on the other hand is slim and fits my hand well. I am having problems adjusting to a de-cocker instead of a safety but that is just something I have never experienced so it will take some getting used to. The Ruger has a loaded chamber indicator on top of the slide that can be seen or felt and I liked that feature. Two things I do not like but can live with are the fact that the gun will not fire without the magazine in place. The gun also has a key that can lock it in a non firing position. I am a safety fanatic but teach my household about guns and keep them in the ready to go stage. A gun that can not be put into immediate action is of no use to anyone. I unlocked that feature and put the key in the safe to never be used again.
At the end of the day I found the Ruger P345 to be a reliable firearm in a fight stopper caliber. It is not my favorite .45 ACP but then it did not cost and arm and leg either. It will find a place in my holster often. Practice a lot and stay safe, Wild Ed
Ruger 45ACP P345 pistols offer the following features:
Dovetailed, three-dot sight system for faster, more precise target acquisition.
Slimmer contoured slide and frame.
Custom compounded polymer frame and exclusive Ruger cam block design help reduce felt recoil.
P345 pistols feature a frame with checkered grip areas, front-strap and back-strap, loaded chamber indicator, magazine disconnect, and an internal lock.
P-Series pistols are designed to be easily maintained and can be field-stripped into five major subassemblies for cleaning, without the need for special tools.
.45 Auto holds eight rounds in the magazine plus one in the barrel.
Ambidextrous manual decocker style safety
A frame-integral Picatinny-style accessory rail.
Link to Ruger website with more information along with videos on assembly and disassembly of the P345
http://www.ruger.com/products/p345/extras.html
Remember to click on comments below to leave a comment or read the comments from other readers
1 comment:
I always emailed this blog post page to all my contacts, as if like to read it then my friends will
too.
Visit my website - ffl
Post a Comment