P95 vs. SR9C

New to Shooting. Want gun for protection and target shooting.
Today I looked at a P95 and a SR9C. Anything I should consider before deciding?

I believe either of these guns would work fine but these are 2 very different guns. The P95 being DA/SA & having a decocker is designed to have a long hard trigger pull for the first shot with a shorter, lighter pull for every shot after. The SR9c being striker fired has a consistent trigger pull for each shot. Things like this as well as which one fits your had the best should be considered. The SR9c would be easier to conceal. It is really all about figuring out what works best for you. If there is a rental range in your area it might pay you off in the long run to go rent both guns & try them out to see what is best for you.

Think of it this way, the P95 is the old classic car built like a tank, manual transmission. The SR9c is the new sports car, automatic transmission. So ask what kinda guy are you?

Hard to beat a P95 for accuracy, and it is very low recoil. The SR9C is much better for concealed carry, though. Both are good guns. For protection in the car and home and for less money, the P95 is a great choice. But for carry, the SR9C wins hands down. I carry a .380 and have the P95 concealed in the car.

I prefer the P95 for the range and home protection (the SR9C is better for concealment). The main reason I prefer the P95 is that it is hammer fired vs. striker. The first double action trigger pull of a hammer fired gun is long and hard -- which is great in a self-defense situation -- minimizes the chance for a mistaken or hasty discharge of the gun ("Sorry, Honey, I thought you were a bad guy!). After the first shot -- then the gun is cocked and the trigger pull in single action is much easier.

My P95, SR9 and SR9c are completely dependable, i can't remember any of them failing to feed or fire. I can shoot a little more accurate with the 9 and 9c but they are all quite accurate. For me the SR9c and 40c are much easier to CC, but for some people the others work well. For home defense and range shooting they are all great, the one that feels the most comfortable and is the most appealing to you is your best choice, whichever one you choose you can't go wrong.

Having owned both, I can say the above comments are right on target.

The 95 is a big, soft shooting tank of a gun. If you have small hands or short fingers, the trigger reach is going to be noticed immediately. It is a long pull in DA and, as Ashlander suggests, could be very welcomed in a HD situation. The SA pull has lots of take up but it breaks pretty cleanly. I never had a single problem, no failures of any kind.

But I did sell it to acquire the SR9c. Frankly, I couldn't be happier with this pistol. Is does have a heavy spring which does reduce the felt recoil but does make racking the slide a little more difficult. Mostly, I love the trigger. It's the same with every shot, no slack to take up and it breaks clean as glass. For me I am marginally more accurate with the SR9c but not enough to claim it as a quantum leap. With the 10 round mag, it makes a fine CC pistol. With the 17 round mag and grip sleeve, it is as comfortable to hold and shoot as any full size pistol. It too has been 100% reliable with any ammo I've fed it. I like the comfort level of the external safety and I find the loaded chamber indicator, which some just hate, to be a non issue and largely ignored.

I honestly don't think you can go wrong with either the P95 or the SR9c. If you prefer hammer fired over striker fired, big and reliable, go with the 95. And you'll save about $100. I think the new gun price is around $325 or so. You might find a used one for considerably less.

Personally, I like the SR9c. Fits my hand beautifully, great ergonomics, does everything the 95 does but small enough to conceal comfortably. For me, the 95 was a great pistol to learn with. But the 9c is a keeper for the long term.

Good luck with your choice. I don't think you can go wrong either way.

Because I liked the P95 so much I bought an SR9c. I have thousands of rounds through each without a failure. As others have stated they are two very different guns. Obviously the 9c is much easier to conceal but I'm more comfortable leaving one in the chamber of the 95 due to the safety and the long first trigger pull. The 9c's trigger is so good that I'm nervous about keeping one in the chamber EVEN with the safety on and I'm sure I'm in the minority about this.

You might want to get a new 95 just in case Ruger discontinues the P series. The SR line will be around a long time if you decide to get another, and I bet you will.

Even with Ruger dumping the P-Series guns there's still a lot of em' out there that can be had for a great price.
Personally, I don't care for the magazine safety or where the safety is on the SR-Series guns but I do like the older P-Series slide mounted safety and the absence of a magazine safety.
Also, with a good IWB holster the P95 packs just about as well as my Glock G19 did so for CCW it's not as big of a deal as many would think.
If you can find a dealer with both in stock give both a feel to see what fits your hand the best and go from there.

I haven't owned my P95 as long as many here but I can tell you if you do not have medium to large hands it may not be to your liking. I love mine but I have large hands . I know of a few cases where friends of mine liked the gun but their hands were on the small(er) side and they preferred a slightly more compact grip. As said before me, these guns are really not in the same class but either will easily do what your asking for. I would lean to the P95 myself based on what your intentions are as I do feel more comfortable for the same exact reason carbonyl stated. As home protection I like one in the pipe and it just seems to me mentally to be a safer firearm to have this way.

I've been looking at some p-series pistols myself. While I would opt for something more concealable in most cases, I have larger hands and find the fit for me better.

When I picked up the P95 it was love at first sight. I have found it to be extremely accurate. My daughter has no problem firing it. All in all a great gun.

The P-95 and SR9c are made for different purposes. The P-95 is pretty much a full service size gun while the SR9c intended for concealed carry where compactness is more of a concern and benefit. A more apples-to-apples comparison would be the P-95 to the full size SR9.

Something else that's a real surprise to me is just how easy the P95 is to carry concealed with a good IWB holster despite it's seemingly larger size. I noticed that back in '98 with m KP95(stainless version) and again now with my P95.
I'd not mind trying to find a P97 someday to go with my P95, I think that'd be a great pair of handguns to have.