a first time owner's review of the p95

[sicboy13]

Hello all, I just purchased a P95 stainless and wanted to post my intial "review".
I have never owned an auto before and just recently picked this one up. I picked the Ruger because of brand recognition and price.
I went out today and fired off 3 different types of rounds:
a. Remington UMC target rounds, 115 grain - 3 FTF's out of 15 rounds, but it being my first attempt, I think I was limp wristing it.
b. Remington HP's, 115 grain - 1 FTF and one stovepipe out of 15 rounds, but again, I think I was limp wristing it again.
c. Winchester 115 grain target rounds - Either my grip improved or this ammo rocks, because I blasted thru 60 rounds with no issues. I couldnt pull the trigger fast enough! It was awesome!

I posted on another board, but they were mostly Ruger-haters, so I split from there. I wanted some real thoughts, advice & experience from Ruger users.... was my experience normal? acceptable? I feel satisfied with my purchase, but the only thing that concerned me is that I emailed Ruger for warranty details "in case" i ever need it, and got a lengthy reply about how they don't offer a warranty? Does this mean if it is defective they say tough? I hope not!

Any way, thanks for reading

 

[Mr. Boom]

I hope you didn't get a lemon. Mine has been flawless. Eats anything.

 

[Anonymous]

Not a ruger hater because I've owned one or another, off and on, for the last forty years. BUT; I do have a bone to pick with Ruger quality control the last couple years or so. Just too many new models being recalled and current production models having to be returned back to the factory to be fixed.
I've owned p95 since about June of last year and took way to much effort/time and a trip back to Ruger to get it to work right. fortunately Ruger seems to have got all the bugs out of it . Last two trips and about 200 plus rounds of ammo it's worked great. BUT again, it should have done that first time I ever shot it after a few rounds to break it in.

*If you continual to have problems, call Ruger to send it in. They did mine on their dime, shipping and repairs. 8)

Oh yeah, don't believe in all the limp wrist BS!

 

[graygun]

I don't understand Ruger giving a reply like that. Did you buy it used or new?

The only Ruger I have is a SR9 and it has done well through almost 1,300 rounds. There's plenty of information about the P95 on here as well as a lot of other models. Read and see.

The only other pistol I have is a used Bersa Thunder 380 which I put about 100 rds through w/o problems.

Anyhow,welcome to the forum;I hope your P95 works out for you. That's a model I was thinking of buying and first heard of on another forum. I was looking for a gun in the 300 to 500 dollar range.

 

[aaronrb204]

My P95 has performed wonderfully since I bought it in 2004. I have had two issues with it though but they are common and Ruger helped me out. The first is the mag catch spring being weak and the mag shooting to the floor after every shot. Then the little collar that keeps the springs on the guide rod came off and the springs became uncaptured. That problem as also remedied with a call to Ruger but did not affect function in any way--just had to be careful where the springs went during disassembly.

As far as ammo choices, I have always liked the Blazer and Speer products as well as Sellier & Bellot. The only reason I stopped buying the Blazer aluminum cased stuff is that one of my other pistols didn't eject it properly.

 

[blume357]

I suspect you were limp wristing what I presume is a new gun....

Here's the only experience I have with the P95... I own 3 and they all are flawless, never had a problem.

As for the warranty thing.... what people fail to realize is most warranties are written to protect the manufacturer. Read them and realize even the 'lifetime' ones are 'limited'. From what I understand, If you have a problem with a Ruger, you send it to the factory... as long as you did not abuse the gun they will fix it for you for free.

I can't really swear to this because even though I own 18 various Rugers, I've never had one break... other than a firing pin in a mini-14 and my local smith took care of that.

I think you did good. I actually had trouble getting used to shooting the P95.. couldn't hit a damn thing with it at first... but I learned.

 

[BuckJM53]

I wanted some real thoughts, advice & experience from Ruger users.... was my experience normal? acceptable? I feel satisfied with my purchase, but the only thing that concerned me is that I emailed Ruger for warranty details "in case" i ever need it, and got a lengthy reply about how they don't offer a warranty? Does this mean if it is defective they say tough? I hope not!

sicboy ... First of all, welcome to the forum and congrats on your new P95. Secondly, in answer to your questions, my thoughts are as follows:

1. While your initial issue may have been "limp wristing", there are also other possibilities. I would start by giving your P95 a good clean and lube and give her a second try at the range (by your post I'm assuming that it is a new gun and that you shot it the first time without eliminating the factory lube/packing grease which can slow down the cycle a bit).

2. If you still experience the problem, I would have an experienced semi-auto shooter try it out to determine if it's you (limp wristing), or if there is some issue with the P95.

3. If it turns out to be an issue with the P95, either take it back to the gun shop where purchased (if thery're a quality shop they should be willing to help), or call Ruger directly as they have an excellent service department (don't be concerned about the written warranty thing ... Ruger takes care of their customers!)

FWIW ... my P95 is now over 6,000 rounds without a single failure of any kind and eats anything I feed it including reloads. Good luck and let us know how it turns out for you :wink:

 

[stoogeweb]

I've had my P95 about a month with around 500 rounds of mixed everything. No problems whatsoever with the exception of my getting used to the gun. Happy as a clam so far.

 

[Landshark]

I saw one today at Academy. Stupid Ruger, now I want one of those too!

 

[QB]

I don't understand the comment about "no warranty" either. My P95 had some failure to EXTRACT issues and I contacted Ruger. Then sent a prepaid shipping label to me via email and had the gun delivered back to my home within a couple of weeks. Invoice indicated they replaced the extractor and test fired 20 rounds.

Gun worked 100% after that.

 

[Mr. Boom]

It' simple really. A written warranty limits a manufacturer to what they can do. As it is, Ruger can go above and beyond the written limits, which they do.

 

[MustangAddict]

I agree, give it a good cleaning and remember that you have to run a few rounds through it to get it broken in.

I too have had an issue with the collar that keeps the spring captured. Called Ruger and the shipped me a packet of them at no charge. I've only needed the one. No problems since.

I did put a Hogue wrap-around grip on mine about a year after I bought my 95. It took a little while to get used to the feel.

 

[michael hacker]

I too have a P95 and the SR9... The P95 with about a thousand rounds with no problems at all. When I first got the SR9, it stove piped and had many FTF's. After a couple thousand rounds, and correcting my limp wristing, the SR9 is good to go, I would trust it with my life, and that's the point right? The SR9's gritty trigger, stout slide spring etc. are all smooth as silk now. The SR9's mag release was a bear as well, now smooth as silk as well. Upon realizing that the SR9's problem was me, and corrections made, it's nice and reliable now. I do like the P95 as well, and keep them both handy. With a full 15 round and full 17 round mags at the ready, I think I'm safe at night.

-Michael
www.michaelhacker.com

 

[sicboy13]

THank you for so many replies! I failed to mention, yes, this is a brand spankin new gun I purchased from Bass Pro Shops. I didn't clean it or lube it first, silly of me not to I presume?

I was a little disappointed at first about the whole warranty email from Ruger, but after reading the responses here, makes sense. It just seemed kind of "cold".... I wish I saved it and I would post it here...

I am going to pop off a few dozen rounds tomorrow and will report back...

 

[GhosT]

sicboy13,

I'm old school.

First strip and clean that sucker,then.....
Fire 500 rounds of FMJ's through it, clean it again...THEN test with yer favorite ammo!

Those 500 rounds tend to smooth the gun's action out.

My P95 tends to drive me a little nutz....
A Pre-rail model, and so wish could add a laser to it...lol
But accurrate and reliable as hell,so settled with MEPRO night sites!

"I purchased from Bass Pro Shops. I didn't clean it or lube it first, silly of me not to I presume? "

Now way a shot, but yeah, strip .clean ,lube it...then start from scratch JMHO.

 

[rp85]

hello;

have one p89 and 2 p95 rugers. the p95's ruger took @3-500 rounds to beak in. also, all three like to have a light coat of lube. suggest mobil 1 for a lube.

fired several thousands round in my rugers. use 3.3 grains of hp38, 135 lead bullet, speed 920fps. little or no leading of barrel.

one of the p95s had 3 fte. a light coat of lube solved everthing.


rp

 

[wildturk]

As mentioned, give it a good initial cleaning and it will most likely be fine. Keep a good grip to eliminate the Limp Wristing. Ruger will take care of you should you need service.

 

[sicboy13]

I went back out and shot another couple mag's of FMJ target rounds. 29 shot perfect, and one empty didnt eject, but didnt stovepipe either....

 

[rmansu2]

I bought mine from a gun show 2 years ago. Stripped and cleaned it the same day i bought it. First 500-750 rounds were flawless. I was so excited when my brother who has never shot a gun asked me to teach him how. I cleaned it the night before and went to the range ready to show of my stainless pistol.

I fired two mags, no problem. Reload and he shoots 3 or 4 rounds and a fail-to-feed. I clear it, and 3 or 4 later another. I realize its a limp wrist issue and rectify it. I shoot another half mag and FTF when I'm shooting. I had this issue through the 150 rounds. I took it to a local gunsmith and they checked it out. All was normal. Off to range again, same issue with less frequency. Also had some light primer strikes. I gave it a superb cleaning and soaked the pin channel in BreakFree CLP also lubed the rails.

Haven't been to the range yet, but if I have issues again it will go back to Ruger.

Up until now I love my Ruger. Hopefully this fixes the problem.

 

[karateman]

I know my P-95 does not like Rem. UMC. Everything else so far has worked with no problem, even wolf and brown bear.