Another P95DC

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Picked up a thoroughly neglected P95DC Ruger off Gunbroker for $200, delivered.

There was , literally, not a drop of oil or lube anywhere on it. Just driving out the slide release to facilitate takedown took the use of a punch and hammer because everything was so tightly seized. But, got it all apart, smoothed everything with some steel wool, lubed it up like a nervous virgin on prom night, and now it seems to be doing well. I’ll take it to the range this weekend to function test it and then tuck it away for the Deep Sleep.

I’ve found these old P-series pistols to be quite the value. They can be had pretty cheaply and they are extremely durable. Although the P85/89 series are way, way, way overbuilt for a 9mm I have no doubt they’d survive just about any punishment that could be dished out at them. I have a bunch of the P89’s floating around, I prefer the P95DC out of the entire line of P-series guns.

20170909_113936The P95DC is decock (hence the DC designation) only…no manual safety. Just point and shoot. Single or double action. And it’s far less bulky than the P85/89. At only $50 more than what a HiPoint dealers at, it’s a far better choice. Cheap enough to be, basically, disposable but ‘real gun’ enough to trust in Katrinaville.

On the flip side, Ruger made some delightful 9mm carbines that shared mags with the P-series. The carbines never sold well and now when you can find them they command insane money. Still, I’d really like to have one.

Although I’m pretty vested in Glocks, I love the P95 for it’s suitability as a secondary or tertiary level of redundancy. It is the perfect gun for leaving under the floorboards at the cabin, tucked into the springs under the drivers seat, or stashing at an undisclosed location.

18 thoughts on “Another P95DC”

  1. One choice bit of info that some may already know, Ruger will warrantee their products for life. I’ve heard of folks sending old crusty Blackhawks back for the hammer safety upgrade and the gun came back re-blued and with new grips. Every company has issues but Ruger seems to be doing OK by it’s customers.

  2. Just curious: are you similarly a fan of rugged, inexpensive shotties like NEF/H&R Pardner 12 gauges? Beautiful little weapons for quickly arming people unfamiliar with firearms.

    • Not really. I have no need to arm people unfamiliar with firearms. I have a need to equip people who are familiar with firearms.

      • I could potentially see a need to arm a friendly ally, who may or may not be familiar with firearms. I have a double-barrel 12 ga. coach gun for exactly this reason.

        My neighbor is not a gun guy, but I do trust him not to shoot me. In a prolonged emergency where looters or other unfriendlies may lurk around after dark, an armed neighbor is a potential strength, whereas an unarmed neighbor is a liability.

        Coach guns aren’t rocket science, but they’ll definitely get the job done in a pinch. I can easily hand him the coach gun, explain the mechanics of loading/unloading and safe operation in 30 seconds, and supply a box of shells. Neighbor won’t be able to take on any raiding parties single-handedly, but at least he’s a few steps improved above victim status. On the other side of a locked bedroom door, he and his family are in a fairly good defensive position.

  3. I’ve found you can pick up Rossi .38s for under $150 shipped on gun broker if you’re patient. They reliable enough and for the price make great snake and trap guns plus I’m not too upset if they get lost in a marsh or river.

  5. For your Deep Sleep firearms like this Ruger, what’s your target ratio of magazines to guns? I know it’s not your preferred platform, so you’re probably not laying the mags as deep as you would be for Glocks, say, but is your goal 6:1 or do you feel OK with 3:1? Or less?

    • 3:1 minimum. For example, I’ve a Beretta M9A1 sitting around and I have, probably, nine mags for it…but 6 of those mags are 30-rd Beretta-made mags. Broadly, I want at least 3 mags .. one in the gun and two on the belt. Thats the minimum. Target ratio? Closer to 5:1. Interestingly, I’ve gun completely insane on some guns magazine ratio. At the moment my PTR91 ratio is over 100:1, 10/22 are 25:1, ARs about 60:1, and Glocks are probably only at 10:1.

      • The best advice I have ever read about mags from April 2010:
        http://www.commanderzero.com/?p=3957
        “Imagine, if you would, that your favorite pistol manufacturer (Glock, Ruger, Sig, Kimber) was offering a new model that was exactly like their regular models except that it fires only one round. Same price as the other models though, but only fires one round. Would you buy it? Would you plunk down $550 for a single shot Glock or Sig? I’m guessing the answer is ‘no’. Why wouldn’t you buy such a gun? The answer, I’m pretty sure, is because a single shot semi-auto pistol is fairly useless. If they had a similar model, the same in every way except that it fires fifteen rounds before reloading, and it cost an extra $25 would you get it over the $550 single-shot version? Yet, if you buy a cheapo magazine that doesn’t work you have, essentially, turned your $550 gun into a single shot pistol.
        Yup, he’s talking about magazines.
        With a few exceptions, I try to stick with OEM (original equipment manufacturer) magazines whenever possible. That means that for my Glock I use magazines made by Glock. For the Ruger MkII I use magazines made by Ruger. Notable exceptions are military weapons…magazines made by contractors have to meet specs to ensure reliability and interchangeability. Usually, they’re okay although sometimes a contractor can be pretty off-spec. For my ARs I have no problem buying non-Colt magazines as long as those magazines are made by one of those outfits that make mags under contract for Uncle Sam or have proven to be an excellent product.”

  6. I may have commented this before, but a while back there was a survey of gunsmiths regarding the pistol model that required the least service. The P series come out on top of that survey beating out Glock and all the rest. I love shooting mine. There’s something very satisfying about that heavy slide cycling.

  7. What spear mags do you get for the Rugers (Ruger 15 rd., Mec-gar 15/17/20 rd. etc.)? Only every time you post a pic of a new one it has a 10 PC mag?

      • Thank you. I did expect you to have the odd one or two Mec-gar 20 round mags. I don’t think I would trust the 17 rd mags, if they worked 100% why make the 15rd ones which are the same size.

    • Meh…the P85/89 was okay..its the P95 that I think is the best of Rugers P-series.

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