The Gun thread

How do you feel about the Ruger P-Series Spectre?
 
Ruger's P-series, as mentioned upthread are solid reliable guns.

Pros:
Inexpensive.
Utterly reliable.
Can take stupid amounts of abuse.
Can be used as a hammer (please don't do this while it is loaded) without any significant ill effects.
Sufficiently accurate for most self-defense and combat purposes.
Magazines widely available.
Easily stripped and cleaned without tools.


Cons:
Tend to be a little on the larger and bulkier side for their calibers and ammo capacity.
Ammo capacity often a couple rounds fewer than the competition (starts to be rectified with later models)
Trigger action not as slick as higher priced competition, but works just fine and gets the job done.
Not "match accurate" or intended for formal match shooting.
No parts to make competitive in IPSC/IPDA shooting.
Due to less 'sex appeal', aftermarket enhancement parts are not as plentiful as most other makes.
And if it matters to you, they're all double action. Most people don't care.

Bottom line: If you want a reasonably priced reliable work-a-day gun that will always get the job done as advertised, you could do a lot worse for a lot more money. (Beretta, I am looking at you.)
If you want a super-high-precision match gun, look elsewhere. If you just want a gun for self protection or plinking at a reasonable price and the Ruger product fits your hand, buy it with confidence. It will work just fine; Ruger's philosophy is reliability uber alles.

Only one caveat - the early P85s made from 85-90 are subject to a safety recall due to undersized controls and a fragile firing pin, remedied by replacement parts (Ruger will do this and any other parts failure repairs for free) as well as at the factory in the P85 Mark II and the P89. Most of them have long since been sent back to the factory and been repaired, but should you pick one up at a good price, you should call the factory (800-424-1886) and run the serial number by them to find out if it has been serviced. Also, the early P85s sometimes had inconsistent accuracy due to a two-piece barrel. If you can shoot it prior to purchase to check accuracy, the early P85 can be a stunning bargain (I picked up a good used one a few years ago for $200 from a private seller), but if you can't shoot your potential purchase then stick with P85 Mark IIs (stamped on the slides) or go with the P89 and later and you won't go wrong.

In case you're wondering, I gave the P85 away to a friend who really, really, really liked it but didn't have money for a defensive firearm of her own.
 
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Thanks for the info. I've been eying the P345.
 
I don't think I've seen any bad reviews of the P345. Ruger recently started putting rails on their guns so they can start taking advantage of industry standard accessories, and correspondingly the poly frame of the 345 has a rail.

Here is a review of it by a well known internet gunwriter: http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger-P345.htm

About the only complaint that I would have about the P345 is that for about the same suggested retail price as the Ruger (MSRP $544, but you can get it for much lower in many places, so $400-450), you can get an XD45 or XD45 Compact (MSRP $588, actual OTC cost between $475 and $525) that holds 13 or 10 rounds (respectively) to the P345's 8, with the XD having more accessory availability. The XD45 Service (aka the 4" barrel) is about the same size and the XD45 Compact has a shorter butt or handgrip for better concealability. The XD is also a single action firearm rather than double action.

However, one of the things that makes the world of firearms so interesting and fascinating is that not all guns will fit all people. If you like the P345 and it fits you well, buy it! It will be a reliable firearm for decades and decades to come.
 
In case you're wondering, I gave the P85 away to a friend who really, really, really liked it but didn't have money for a defensive firearm of her own.

Deep down you realy are just a gentle romantic soul arent you? :p
 
Spectre, thanks for the info.
 
Guys, have you seen "Elite Squad"?
To me, the gun handling looked alright, but what do you think? Any errors/mistakes/etc?
 
Never seen it, can't comment.

You should. It?s a nice movie. Pretty accurate on how things work on Brazilian police and politics.
 
I think it was a direct-to-video release in the US. It's in my NetFlix queue now.
 
I think it was a direct-to-video release in the US. It's in my NetFlix queue now.

Hope you like it!
If there?s any cultural aspect you want clarification, I will be happy to help.:mrgreen:
 
I'm just hoping that the subtitles don't blow goats like the last Portuguese-language film I watched.

Edit: Some clarification - the last one I watched, when the male lead was expressing his feelings toward the female love interest, the subtitles implied that sexually he preferred female sheep. ("I love ewe.") That was the 'best' of the mistakes, the rest were either worse or much worse.
 
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I'm just hoping that the subtitles don't blow goats like the last Portuguese-language film I watched.

Edit: Some clarification - the last one I watched, when the male lead was expressing his feelings toward the female love interest, the subtitles implied that sexually he preferred female sheep. ("I love ewe.") That was the 'best' of the mistakes, the rest were either worse or much worse.

:lol:
What movie was that?
 
I don't remember, I gave up in disgust after 45 minutes of terrible subtitles. It was a recent movie about or set around WW2, though.
 
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