Ruger P95 surprise and question

[Sub sailor2]

I had never really wanted one of the Ruger P series semi-auto pistols because I always thought the grip was kind of big and blocky. I saw a P95 pistol at a local gun shop and it didn't feel bad in my hand so I thought it might make a good truck gun. The price was dirt cheap so it was tough to pass up. I bought the gun and took it to the range, and that sucker shot great! The gun was very accurate and a joy to shoot. I was really impressed! My one and only complaint was that the magazine release was really small and difficult to push. Sometimes just depressing that little magazine release can border on painful. Does anyone make an after market magazine release that has a larger surface area to depress for that pistol?

 

[bisleyfan41]

I've not seen one. I always hit the mag release from the other side. Trigger finger side, not the thumb. P95s are good rugged little guns, if not a bit homely.

 

[HoosierBilly1]

The magazine release needs to be pushed forward instead of pushed in. I have fat fingers and I have never had an issue with the magazine release in my P95. I have the newer model though, the P95PR15. I don't know if there is any difference between the old and the newer model.

 

[the_leper_colony]

... Does anyone make an after market magazine release that has a larger surface area to depress for that pistol?

I don't recall ever seeing an aftermarket mag release for any of the P-series pistols. FWIW, I once bought a handgun that had a very stiff mag release, that was painful to push more than once or twice in a row. Reading up on it, I learned the issue with that particular model might be the mag catch spring. I managed to correct that by inserting a mag ALMOST far enough to lock in place, but not quite, and letting it sit. I checked it every day or two, and after about a week or ten days, the spring eased up enough that it felt closer to what I thought of as 'normal'. If it's an issue with the spring being out-of-spec/too stiff, that might be worth a try. As @HoosierBilly1 pointed out, it might be a different issue.

As always FWIW, IMHO, YMMV (a lot), etc., etc.

 

[pyth0n]

I had never really wanted one of the Ruger P series semi-auto pistols because I always thought the grip was kind of big and blocky. I saw a P95 pistol at a local gun shop and it didn't feel bad in my hand so I thought it might make a good truck gun. The price was dirt cheap so it was tough to pass up. I bought the gun and took it to the range, and that sucker shot great! The gun was very accurate and a joy to shoot. I was really impressed! My one and only complaint was that the magazine release was really small and difficult to push. Sometimes just depressing that little magazine release can border on painful. Does anyone make an after market magazine release that has a larger surface area to depress for that pistol?

Push the release forward, not in.

 

[Mobuck]

I bought a KP95DC when they first came out because the grip fit my small(ish) hands. I carried that pistol for years until my work demanded a less visible/provocative carry gun. The 95 is my house carry pistol since and has never failed me.
I agree with the others, push the release forward rather than straight inward. On the other hand, if you haven't finished the job with 14 shots, there may be other issues.

 

[Topfueler1]

You can also put on a Hogue slip on finger grip which I have on mine. All of the P series are built like tanks. One of the best full sized hammer fired semi auto pistols ever made in my opinion.

 

[blume357]

I had to go look at one of my p95s to see wha the issue is.... first at least on my 6 the mag release is not what I consider small and also as python said you push it forward not in,

 

[Stantheman1986]

The P series guns are hidden gems

Apparently the recoil springs are good for the "life" of the gun

The P95 is more or less a polymer, or Zytel or whatever it is frame P94

 

[blume357]

I actually used to say the reason Ruger stopped making them is they had come to the point in manufacturing where they could not improve the design anymore... had pretty much built the perfect handgun and so the only logical conclusion from a business standpoint was to discontinue it and start with something else. This is pretty much the evolution of manufacturing... Kenmore in the 70's did the same thing with washers and dryers.... those things would pretty much last forever... 20-30 years. This is actually a bad thing in manufacturing... 10 years is a goal... and not any more.

 

[Stantheman1986]

I actually used to say the reason Ruger stopped making them is they had come to the point in manufacturing where they could not improve the design anymore... had pretty much built the perfect handgun and so the only logical conclusion from a business standpoint was to discontinue it and start with something else. This is pretty much the evolution of manufacturing... Kenmore in the 70's did the same thing with washers and dryers.... those things would pretty much last forever... 20-30 years. This is actually a bad thing in manufacturing... 10 years is a goal... and not any more.

The Federal DOC placed a big order for P95s along with the DoD for their civilian security contractors, and then Ruger dropped them

I assume they still make parts and provide repair support for the contract guns. Or they still make the DAO P95 off-catalog for large orders like how S&W never stopped making the 5946, they just don't offer them to the public. Occasionally you can snag one at Cabelas as an over run

S&W, like Ruger, made their peak of pistol design with their metal guns like the 5906, 645, etc. so they went to the poly frame Glock knock offs like everyone else because metal guns have less profit margin, and Glock made the gun world comfortable with plastic

If we had a time machine and tried selling guys like Bill Jordan and Elmer Keith on plastic pistols they'd probably throw them in a dumpster. But people are Glock-erized now. I own a few Glocks but I still love my metal P guns and S&Ws

 

[GasGuzzler]

S&W, like Ruger, made their peak of pistol design with their metal guns like the 5906, 645, etc. so they went to the poly frame Glock knock offs like everyone else because metal guns have less profit margin, and Glock made the gun world comfortable with plastic

I had a 4516 I owned for a couple three years I fired one round out of ... very well made piece. It left to a friend when he wanted to pay what it was worth and I obviously did not need it. I was afraid of it getting lifted like my last truck unit.

My P95 is not all metal like the Smith though. 1000% difference between an S&W 4516 and any Ruger pistol. There's a near perfect 457 for sale locally for less than I paid for my 4516 before the panic and no one wants it...

 

[Stantheman1986]

I had a 4516 I owned for a couple three years I fired one round out of ... very well made piece. It left to a friend when he wanted to pay what it was worth and I obviously did not need it. I was afraid of it getting lifted like my last truck unit.

My P95 is not all metal like the Smith though. 1000% difference between an S&W 4516 and any Ruger pistol. There's a near perfect 457 for sale locally for less than I paid for my 4516 before the panic and no one wants it...

I'd be grabbing any S&W metal pistols at a good price, because they will 100% hold their value if not go up

Same with pre-MIM pre-IL S&W revolvers , there will be no more made ever again.

My dealer doesn't want .40s or anything plastic, he has tons of that crap he can't move but he tells me, bring me some of those old Smiths if you ever want to trade......like the 29 I bought from him 15 years ago that's probably worth double now

 

[GasGuzzler]

It was the only Smith I ever owned.

 

[Stantheman1986]

I've been shooting both of these a lot recently, and both are 100% reliable. I'd go with the P89 if I had to pick one to attend a gun fight, honestly. It's just more of a "combat" pistol which is what it was designed for. The S&W is a S&W, it's very well fitted, the trigger is better but it's not the tank the P89 is.

 

[blume357]

I was a ruger semi-auto fan for my first 10 years here on the infernal net ..... I still have something like 6 or 7 P95's and two P89's.... I've sold or given away a couple P95's ..... but then probably 10 years back I was head back out west to take a 4 day defensive hand gun course for the second time and work was going pretty well and I dropped into a local gun store and there was a nice new Sig P226 just sitting there..... I thought I was keeping my new found 'love' for Sigs from my wife until about two years ago I looked up over my cabinets in our storage area and saw my Sig factory box collection.

 

[GasGuzzler]

My P95 is not all metal like the Smith though.

And it's still not metal ... but the 4516 is. That's what makes the Smith a whole different animal than the P95 (the subject of the topic). Plus the Smith is stainless, not aluminum or polymer. It was a big deal. No longer is.

 

[HoosierBilly1]

The P series guns are hidden gems

Apparently the recoil springs are good for the "life" of the gun

The P95 is more or less a polymer, or Zytel or whatever it is frame P94

P95 frames are polymer. No Zytel or any other cheap low quality material about P95. The reason I bought the Security 9 was because of the grip (I have short fat fingers), but I wish it was built like the P95. The finish in my P95 is still great, and that is my softest shooter.

 

[Stantheman1986]

Apparently the P95 is a proprietory fiberglass reinforced polyurethane from my Googling just now

S&W was the one of the last holdouts of the forged stainless steel frame pistol producers, they even had those higher end models with the rail, where the frame and slide are machined from one piece of bar stock and hand fitted. I forget what they are, my Dad has a few of them. They're basically a Premium 5906 with a nicer action.

The P95 was popular with security companies and my local County jail uses both P89s and P95s . And the Feds use a few different pistols but in the super secure Super Max unit where there are armed COs on the unit they carry DAO P95s according to my old Army buddy who's a Federal CO . They're tough guns that don't cost a lot, and they're perfect for prisons

I have a DAO P97 and although it's not the prettiest gun , Wolff still makes springs for it and it's a reliable gun. I occasionally carry it OWB. The trigger pull is pretty rough and it's definitely not a match pistol, but I can see it's value as a Police or Corrections sidearm that needs to work with not a lot of maintenance

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

I reckon if I were going to go to war I'd be mighty tempted to use the 4500 series Smiths. Hard to beat. I prefer the longer grip of 4506 and 4566. I've had others but those were very good. I started shooting IPSC with the 645, but the square trigger guard made it tough to find holsters back then.