GaryT
Bearcat
Today I was finally able to take my SR9 (bought new from Gander Mountain) and gently-used P345 (bought from a forum member here) to the range. I took my 23-year-old son and his girlfriend along, since she's been wanting to go. It was her first time shooting handguns and she said she had a great time.
We didn't have a lot of time or ammo, we were able to put just 100 rounds through each of them, a mix of WWB and Federal Hydra-Shock. Both guns were flawless, with no failures of any kind. Cathy (the girlfriend) appeared to have "limp-wristed" a few times initially, and still there were no failures.
Accuracy was exceptional for both guns. Both shot to point of aim, which was better than my previous SR9, which, while it grouped well, shot slightly left. I didn't have a trigger pull gauge, but the DA on the P345 was very smooth and not very heavy at all. SA was a dream. The SR9 had a crisp release and very positive reset, which I didn't expect after reading some of the comments here. The SR9 pull wasn't all that heavy or gritty, either. At ten yards I was able to shoot groups you could cover with a playing card.
I did take one target and place it about five yards down range and tried the P345 DA only for each shot, one handed both left and right hand, one magazine per hand, taking head shots. I was able to place all shots in about a 7" group, all shots on target. Admittedly, I wasn't trying anything fast and fancy, just trying the DA pull. I did the same with the SR9 with similar results.
All in all, I'm very happy with both of these guns. If/when Ruger comes out with an SR40, an SR45 and/or compact versions of any of them, my collection will exponentially increase.
I've heard people berate others for comparing the SR9 to the Glock. I've had Glocks, for me the SR9 compares far more favorably than the Glock. Sure, it hasn't been around as long, but my experience with both SR9s I've owned has been nothing short of perfect. They're just as accurate, any difference in trigger pull is negligible, and the more user-friendly grip angle and the thinness of the SR9 places it ahead of the Glock. Again, these are my observations, and for me, the SR9 is the better choice.
The P345 is, for me, probably the sweetest shooting .45 I've ever shot. It's far more accurate than I am, very soft shooting, and light enough for every-day carry (when I'm in jurisdictions where I can carry.) Once I find a suitable holster for it, (and when Wisconsin gets concealed carry) it will be my carry gun of choice.
A great day at the range with a couple of keepers. (I'll probably keep the boy and his girlfriend, too.) Two new shooting buddies!
We didn't have a lot of time or ammo, we were able to put just 100 rounds through each of them, a mix of WWB and Federal Hydra-Shock. Both guns were flawless, with no failures of any kind. Cathy (the girlfriend) appeared to have "limp-wristed" a few times initially, and still there were no failures.
Accuracy was exceptional for both guns. Both shot to point of aim, which was better than my previous SR9, which, while it grouped well, shot slightly left. I didn't have a trigger pull gauge, but the DA on the P345 was very smooth and not very heavy at all. SA was a dream. The SR9 had a crisp release and very positive reset, which I didn't expect after reading some of the comments here. The SR9 pull wasn't all that heavy or gritty, either. At ten yards I was able to shoot groups you could cover with a playing card.
I did take one target and place it about five yards down range and tried the P345 DA only for each shot, one handed both left and right hand, one magazine per hand, taking head shots. I was able to place all shots in about a 7" group, all shots on target. Admittedly, I wasn't trying anything fast and fancy, just trying the DA pull. I did the same with the SR9 with similar results.
All in all, I'm very happy with both of these guns. If/when Ruger comes out with an SR40, an SR45 and/or compact versions of any of them, my collection will exponentially increase.
I've heard people berate others for comparing the SR9 to the Glock. I've had Glocks, for me the SR9 compares far more favorably than the Glock. Sure, it hasn't been around as long, but my experience with both SR9s I've owned has been nothing short of perfect. They're just as accurate, any difference in trigger pull is negligible, and the more user-friendly grip angle and the thinness of the SR9 places it ahead of the Glock. Again, these are my observations, and for me, the SR9 is the better choice.
The P345 is, for me, probably the sweetest shooting .45 I've ever shot. It's far more accurate than I am, very soft shooting, and light enough for every-day carry (when I'm in jurisdictions where I can carry.) Once I find a suitable holster for it, (and when Wisconsin gets concealed carry) it will be my carry gun of choice.
A great day at the range with a couple of keepers. (I'll probably keep the boy and his girlfriend, too.) Two new shooting buddies!
