P95 inquiry

[Altered]

I just picked up a P95 for playing and took it out for the first time a few days ago. Well needless to say it was not the best start of our relationship. Here is what happened.

I bought the gun at a local pawn shop. It seemed to be fairly clean and only lightly used. I took it to show a friend and just so happened he had his Springfield XD in his truck so we took off to shoot a few rounds before dark. Out of 4 magazines I had 2 rounds hang discharging and 3 jam. We were using 115 grain Federal and Winchester Super-X both from Walmart. I also was consistently 4 to 5 inches low @ roughly 25 to 30 ft. Not to mention the trigger felt not so smooth once applying pressure. I am familiar with guns I have had many rifles and shotguns over the years and some junk pistols so I attributed the majority of my issues to the gun not being clean. So this evening I spent a good while just cleaning the gun. After a good cleaning I am confident some if not all issues may be resolved. It was pretty dirty inside.

I would like to know what is a decent inexpensive round some of you have had good success with to use for just playing. We decided to order some bulk rounds as neither of us want to reload (for now). Also where online is a reputable place to buy bulk I have never ordered ammo online.

Also I have found random posts on the net about others having issues with the gun being off a little and getting help from Ruger with a different rear sight. Some mention Ruger sending them a different rear or them sending the gun in to be adjusted. Since my eyes are no where near what they use to be I was considering some of the other more visible sights available. Is there a consensus on what seems to be a better alternative for blind older fellas that wont cost $100. I see Williams and some others around the $50 range but I don't want some that are a disgrace to the gun or cause durability issues. Any pros or cons with some of these or any of the others in the under $100 range that I might should be aware of?

BTW I realize I can be the problem very easily but I have a old Helwan 9mm that I can shoot quite well. But my eyes cant hardly take the old style sites anymore and is probably 50% of what pushed for buying this gun. I know I will need practice with the new gun to be accurate and all but since its all new to me right now I figured changing the sights now would be the time to do so since I haven't become accustomed to the gun yet.

Thanks
Steve

 

[Striker]

My Ruger 9mm's a 93 and 95 have been flawless using Winchester White Box and Tula from Walmart, both are more accurate than I am and no issues of being off sight. What type of magazines are you using? From what I have read Ruger and MecGar are the two brands to use and other cheaper brands causing function issues. I'm sure others will chime in soon.

 

[lipofsky]

I have a P-95 and a couple things come to mind, obviously cleaning and the magazines. When I had shoulder surgery on my right shoulder and me being right handed, I tried to re-learn shooting left handed. The first 100+ rounds were beyond ugly and hilarious and many malfunctions were caused by limp wristing or improper grip or flinching or whatever you want to call it, as I was no where near comfortable shooting left handed. Ammo can be an issue but I have fed my P-95 thousands of "9mm anything on sale" with no problems that are actually related the gun.
Just my .02 cents, Have a Great Day

 

[dwd]

I'll bet you fixed your problem by cleaning the gun. Make sure you are not limp wristing, it sounds like you know what you are doing but just be aware of it so you can rule that out. I once bought a "like new" P95 from a guy who said there was something wrong with it because it wouldn't eject all the shells. I bought it knowing ruger would stand behind it if there was something wrong with it. The day I got it I took it out and put 80 flawless rounds through it. I just know he was limp wristing it.

When buying online I use http://www.ammoengine.com/ and http://gun-deals.com/ammo. Buy ammo you are familiar with from vendors you might know. Sportsmansguide has a lot holiday deals with discounts and free shipping right now.(alot of the gun places do)

I shoot Walmart Federal and Tula without any problems through my Rugers. Some makes are finicky about the Tula's hard primers, but not Ruger.

 

[Altered]

Ammo can be an issue but I have fed my P-95 thousands of "9mm anything on sale" with no problems that are actually related the gun.

My Ruger 9mm's a 93 and 95 have been flawless using Winchester White Box and Tula from Walmart, both are more accurate than I am and no issues of being off sight. What type of magazines are you using? From what I have read Ruger and MecGar are the two brands to use and other cheaper brands causing function issues. I'm sure others will chime in soon.

I only have 2 magazines and both are Stainless steel, 15-shot Ruger brand. This is good to hear as I have seen way more posts that say the same about pretty much any round works for them. But a few, possibly had magazine or cleaning issues, posted having better luck with one brand vs another. I just did not see any consistent brand being the one of choice. Before I purchase a couple a hundred $ in ammo I wanted to at least make an attempt to get something others were having good success with. Thank you for the replies.

 

[Pyromike]

Been shooting Winchester White Box 115gr for a few years and never had a problem. My P95 will eat anything I feed it but since I trust the WWB I stick with it. Price is reasonable also.

 

[Altered]

I'll bet you fixed your problem by cleaning the gun. Make sure you are not limp wristing, it sounds like you know what you are doing but just be aware of it so you can rule that out. I once bought a "like new" P95 from a guy who said there was something wrong with it because it wouldn't eject all the shells. I bought it knowing ruger would stand behind it if there was something wrong with it. The day I got it I took it out and put 80 flawless rounds through it. I just know he was limp wristing it.

When buying online I use http://www.ammoengine.com/ and http://gun-deals.com/ammo. Buy ammo you are familiar with from vendors you might know. Sportsmansguide has a lot holiday deals with discounts and free shipping right now.(alot of the gun places do)

I shoot Walmart Federal and Tula without any problems through my Rugers. Some makes are finicky about the Tula's hard primers, but not Ruger.

Great advise I will be making a concerned effort to do everything better next time out. I wasnt sure if Ruger would be as honorable being I bought it second hand if there was a issue but the gun has a very good reputation so I took a chance. I too am confident the cleaning will do wonders the gun feels much smoother now just working the slide. Or maybe it is just in my head since I cleaned it. :lol: Either way its clean. Thanks for the sources for ammo I will be checking them out.

 

[Altered]

Been shooting Winchester White Box 115gr for a few years and never had a problem. Price is reasonable also.

That has been my take on it as well. I have shot those for years. But now that we have been shooting more regularly we thought we might get a better deal buying bulk.

 

[karateman]

http://www.freedommunitions.com/?Click=35

I love my P95. I order from here, and seems to work great in all my guns, Get 45, 38, 9mm and 223 from here.

 

[9mm Texan]

My wife is an avid shooter and has a P-95 that gobbles everything under the sun. Practice rounds are WWB carry rounds are Hornady Critical Defense. We shoot a couple of times a week and all fired guns get cleaned on Sunday after supper.

 

[AlanJ65]

I haven't had any problems with the 5 or so different brands I've tried in mine. As others have said a thorough cleaning will more than likely clear up any problems.

 

[Altered]

Thanks for the input fellas. For now I just picked up 200 rounds Winchester White Box 115gr tonight to try out Saturday. Without tax they were $23.97 per 100 or 00.2397 each at Walmart. I guess that is about normal buying retail?

Ill follow up with the results.

 

[blume357]

First, cheap ammo will not help you solve the problem. It may not have anything to do with the issues you had but you should start out with higher quality ammo if trying to solve this.

My first suggestion is as mentioned... clean and lube... after that.... hold the pistol tight when firing.... I bet part of the problem was limp wristing. When I first shot a P95 I could not hit the side of a barn while standing inside of it.

Best bulk ammo I've found is through Georgia Arms.... 500 rounds of 115gr fmj.... $115

http://georgia-arms.com/cannedheat9mmluger115grfullmetaljacket500pk.aspx

 

[kstoneking]

As far as the pistol shooting low, try using a "6 o'clock" hold, perhaps that will help with your point of impact issues. Please let us know how it all works out.

Kenny

 

[19&41]

I've bought a number of pistols from pawnbrokers. All have been very dirty or somewhat dirty. When you said you went to fire it without cleaning first, I could see what was coming. Williams Firesights are a bright sight and are available for P series pistols.

 

[Clovishound]

I have used both the Federal valuepacks, and the WWB. I much prefer the Federal, although Waly World has not had them in stock much this year. When they have them, the Federal are $20. I find the WWB to be very dirty. I am reloading now, and can spot a WWB case from across the room. Just look for the heavy layer of soot in them.

 

[Altered]

Good news! :mrgreen: Went shooting Sunday instead of Sat. and had a decent day.

Just as already mentioned in all the great responses. It was nothing more than a good cleaning needed. Only shot WWB from walyworld but the gun never even thought of malfunctioning. :lol: I on the other hand did not do so well but I am figuring it out. Towards the end I was getting the hang of it. Next time Ill take a bath before I go next time, it should fix me as easy as it did the gun right? :wink: Seriously though my biggest issue is remembering to do everything each time. I was getting better at the end but it was only because I was remembering to finish with a squeeze on the trigger. Earlier I was forgetting to squeeze or I would not keep my wrist solid enough. Ill get it, Im just a part time shooter so it may take a little while to get some consistency.

I want to thank all of you for the input and encouragement. I knew better than to not clean it first, but it was not a planned day to shoot. I took it to just show a friend. Low and behold he had his XD and some ammo. Well off we went. Not a great way to start as it had me concerned about the gun. I presume this is where a good Ruger punchline or advertisement for building a quality gun should be. Also thanks for the links to some places to purchase ammo. Looks like Ill be needing quite a bit more.

 

[Mobuck]

You can buy taller rear sights from Ruger to correct a low point of impact. They have two taller than the standard one installed at the factory. I'd suggest going one step at a time. I ordered the tallest option and now my P95 is shooting a little too high. For me a high POI is bettwer than a low POI.