In 2005 the Army awarded a contract for 5000 P95's for armor crews,
and also Ruger got a different contract for 3000 P95's for federal
prison guards.

I don't believe in carrying what everyone else is carrying simply
because that's what they do. A cop's needs are not the same as mine. I
been to many stores lately and all of them say that the P95's are
still flying out the doors in huge numbers, they can't keep them in
stock, that means after more than a decade there are huge numbers of
them on the streets and in homes in the hands of regular Joe's like me.

I fully understand about the double-to-single action on them, most of
the other arms you are describing are either single action or striker
fired, those are completely different categories. My previous P95 was
a double-action-only anyways.

What I was asking was how has the actually range/street performance of
the P95 been after more than ten years of production? (more than
enough time to collect data). I want stories of dead perps shot with
P95s, I want to know how well it pointed in a real situation. I also
want to know how long the gun holds up (20K rounds? 40K rounds?).

But Thank You for your insights anyways. I just happen to be a Ruger
fan, and I am also looking at the SR9 (which is closer to what you
recommend).

Dave H



---------------------------


--- In Combat-Handgun@yahoogroups.com, Karl Rehn <rehn@...> wrote:
>
>
> >What is the general consensus of the Ruger P95?
>
> Depends on what group you are asking.
>
> Law enforcement agencies? Overwhelmingly police depts have switched
> to Glocks or Glock clones (Springfield XD, S&W M&P. New Ruger SR9 and
> SIG 250 and Beretta PX4 are now competing in this market too.)
> Private sector training schools? Every instructor I know, have
> trained with, have heard about or read about either carries a 1911 or
> a Glock or a Glock clone.
> Military contractors? All the data I have on Blackwater, Triple
> Canopy, etc. is that they all carry Glocks.
> Gun industry? All the major manufacturers have introduced Glock
> clones (striker fired, polymer, hicap, light rail, etc.) because
> that's what law enforcement agencies and civilian customers are
asking for now.
> Competitors? Anybody winning or placing in the top tier at any major
> match in any pistol sport (IPSC, IDPA, Steel Challenge, etc.) is
> either using a 1911 or a Glock or a Glock clone.
>
> The military? Some special units have replaced their M9's with
> Glocks and 1911's and SIGs but I've never heard of any unit buying
> P-series guns. I've never heard of the military buying any P-series
> guns for uniformed personnel. I used to do a lot of business at a
> Navy base in Georgia back in the late 90's. Instead of Marines
> working the gates they had hired a low-end local security guard
> company to do it, and those folks were carrying Ruger P series guns.
>
> If you were a student in one of my shooting classes I'd tell you that
> picking a P95 will make shooting and operating the pistol more
> complex than it needs to be, because it has the DA/SA design that
> forces you to deal with two different trigger pulls and a decocking
lever.
> Choosing that model limits your ability to defend yourself in low
> light because it does not have a light rail and therefore you can't
> take advantage of the gun-mounted lights that make low light shooting
> so much easier and simpler.
> Since it's a model that isn't popular with "serious users" your
> options for aftermarket upgrades, holsters, spare mags and other
> support are limited.
>
> The modern designs that have one trigger pull, no decocker, better
> sights, better trigger pull, a light rail, and other features (some
> have replaceable grip panels to customize the grip, loaded chamber
> indicators, ambidextrous controls) are flat out better guns and if
> you look at police qualification scores and match results you'll find
> that people shoot them better because they are easier to shoot.
>
> Looks like the P95's are selling for around $350-400 on gunbroker,
> which is not far from the $450-500 that more modern, simpler to
> operate and shoot models like the Glock, XD, M&P and others are
selling for.
>
> If you want a 1990's style gun the S&W Sigma's are cheap (under $300
> some places) and are a better gun than the P95. One trigger pull, no
> decocking lever, better sights.
>
> Karl
>