Road Test of Ruger P95, A Recent US Army Choice
by R.K. Campbell
Contributing Editor
Recently I received an announcement courtesy of Margaret Sheldon of Sturm, Ruger & Company Inc. Sturm, Ruger, the nation’s largest firearms manufacturer, is proud to announce that it has been awarded a contract for 5,000 9mm pistols by the US Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Rock Island Arsenal, IL. The pistols to be supplied are Ruger K95PD models. The pistols incorporate a stainless steel slide and a custom polymer composite frame.

This is an interesting announcement and one that shows good sense by the Army high command. If we are to continue to use a double-action 9mm pistol for service use, it should be one manufactured in America and one with a reliable supply line up, and functioning. Of course, it should be a good pistol! I think that while the Army is unhappy with the Beretta for various reasons, the move to a .45 auto may be slow. For various purposes, the 9mm will probably be in use for some time. With this in mind, I elected to take a hard look at the P95 and just what we were getting for our hard-earned tax dollars.

Frankly, I don’t mind the tax dollars so much as they will be spent in America putting Americans to work. By the same token every welfare or aid check sent to US citizens returns to the economy while foreign aid is gone forever—but that’s politics. The nuts and bolts of the matter is the pistol. And the pistol is a fine one on all counts.

The P95 builds upon the success of the P85, first introduced in 1985 and followed by the improved P89. These pistols are well known as hardworking, hard-use handguns with a tendency to feed, chamber, fire and eject any type of ammunition fed by the individual user. Accuracy on early examples could bear improvement, but subsequent research and consultation with Bar Sto barrels soon had the P89 on a par with other handguns.

The P90 .45-caliber handgun, as an example, is among the most accurate double-action .45s on the market. I had scarce little experience with the Ruger 9mm, having reviewed the first examples nearly 20 years ago and progressed to the .40- and .45-caliber versions. I have carried the Ruger professionally and the P94 .40 has spoken in my favor during a serious “social engagement.” I have nothing but trust and respect for the pistols.

I elected to take a hard look at the P95. Having owned several P97s, I was prepared but did not realize how neat and trim a pistol the P95 really is. The first thing that is noticed when handling the pistol is that it is lighter, slimmer, and generally handier than any other Ruger centerfire semi-auto. The stainless slide and polymer frame make the most of a mating of space-age materials.

This is a first for the Army, in issuing a stainless steel pistol, as well as the general issue of a polymer frame pistol. (Heckler & Koch {HK} pistols have been issued for special use.) The P95 features a double-action first shot. After the first shot is fired, the slide cocks the hammer for subsequent single-action fire. The large, handy decocker is much easier to manipulate than earlier Ruger semi-autos. There is no manual safety; the lever decocks the pistol only.

The Ruger takedown is slightly more complicated than with some designs, but nothing we cannot quickly become acclimated to. The pistol is cleared of ammunition and the magazine removed, then the slide is locked to the rear with the slide lock. Carefully insert your finger in the ejection port and the ejector is pressed downward. This allows the slide to move forward on the frame when the slide lock is released. The slide runs forward off the frame. The slide lock is then pulled away from the frame.

The recoil spring guide and plunger are a special unit that allows the use of a polymer frame without ramming metal into this frame. The guide rod and spring pull away from the barrel. The barrel is then removed from the slide. When the pistol is reassembled the final step is moving the ejector back into place. The pistol uses the standard Browning locked breech operating design, and the barrel butts into the slide window for lockup in a system first popularized in the SIG pistols.

The double-action trigger is smooth, breaking at about 14 pounds. The single-action trigger has some play but is superior to most military designs. My RCBS trigger compression gauge shows 5 pounds, light enough for good shooting in the single-action mode. The sights are good high visibility versions that give a good sight picture. Overall, the pistol is a capable example of the “wondernine” breed, a type that lay stagnant for some years as the Crime Bill (It’s a crime, Bill!) limited magazine capacity to 10 rounds. Frankly, an 11-shot Ruger P95 should solve most problems.

I elected to test the pistol on two levels. First, I wished to see for myself just how accurate the P95 really is. After early complaints concerning the P85 and sterling experience with P97 .45-caliber pistols, I was interested in evaluating the pistol’s accuracy. I collected a number of loadings that have proven accurate in a wide spectrum of 9mm pistols.

The second concern was combat ability. This means the ability to quickly make hits at moderate range and also to control the pistol in rapid fire. Another consideration, perhaps the overriding consideration, is reliability.

I considered the equation. Using 9mm ball ammunition is fairly inexpensive, and I am a competent handloader. By juggling the requirements, and limiting the use of premium quality hollowpoint ammunition to accuracy testing, and with support from interested parties in the industry, the budget allowed the firing of 3,000 rounds during this test.

A shorter test than some military testing, true, but a tremendous amount of ammunition when fired in the space of six weeks. I was limited by the two 10-round magazines supplied with the pistol, but I was able to obtain a 25-round magazine from the pages of Shotgun News. While it appeared a bit tinny and not very well finished, it always worked.

I was able to obtain and use two cases of Russian-made Wolf 9mm ball ammunition. One thousand rounds was the standard steel case ammunition I have used often. The second 1,000 rounds was made of a new offering from Wolf, using a polymer-coated case for smoothness in feeding. I also loaded 1,000 rounds myself, using three types of handloads.

HP 38 Powder
I used the National Bullet Company 125-grain bullet over enough HP 38 powder to generate 1,050 feet-per-second (fps). This is a good light load that functions well and gives acceptable accuracy. Five hundred rounds used this bullet. Three hundred rounds were made up using the Sierra 115-grain FMJ bullet, a bullet noted for accuracy.

HP 38 drove these bullets to just over 1,100 fps. Finally, I used 200 rounds loaded with the Sierra 115-grain jacketed hollowpoint. This time, I went to HS 7 and a heavy load I have enjoyed good results from. This load breaks 1,325 fps. Not for the faint of heart, it is a heavy 9mm load that gives good results. In firing these rounds, we did not experience a single failure to feed, chamber, fire or eject.

The handful of premium loads will be discussed later. I elected not to clean the pistol, but liberally lubricated the P95 at the beginning of the test. Every 500 rounds I sprayed Shooter’s Choice lubricant into the action or loosed a flood of whatever was on hand. I ran a patch through the barrel after the first 1,000 rounds since the 500 cast lead bullets were among these. The firing was pleasant. Here is a pistol with light recoil and limited muzzle flip. The sights are large enough to come on the target quickly.

Using the double-action first shot capability, hits were easily made on man-sized targets to 10 yards. With concentration to technique and detail, I was able to make a double-action strike in the X ring to 25 yards. This is something of a stunt, as I could have cocked the weapon in shorter time. With single-action fire, from a careful rest, I could strike a man-sized target at 50 yards without difficulty. Firing from a solid barricade, I was able to empty a complete magazine of the Sierra bullet handloads into a 6x6 square at 50 yards. That is combat accuracy!

Smooth Test
In short, the test program went smoothly. The firing was enjoyable, and all who handled and fired the P95 gave the pistol good marks. As we neared 2,500 rounds we began to experience sluggish function from built-up lubricant and powder ash. I deployed the heavier full-power loads at this time and the increased slide velocity kept the P95 going until the 3,000-round mark. I find this exceptional. The National Institute of Justice recommends a handgun be cleaned every 300 rounds.

Many handguns easily meet these criteria for reliability, but others will not go 1,000 rounds without cleaning. Hopefully none of our soldiers will be in this position, but this test shows the Ruger has a propensity to give good service even when abused. During the test program, we suffered an unseasonable snow flurry and I took this opportunity to bury the Ruger in a snow drift for an hour or so. Needless to say, the pistol came up firing. (Inspect the bore during such testing!)

The pistol passed all tests with flying colors. Due to the rough nature of the test, the grip was marred, but the pistol is as reliable as when we began the test program. After we were finished, I broke the pistol down for cleaning prior to accuracy testing. The pistol showed little sign of powder ash or lubricant in the polymer frame, but the barrel hood was another story.

Cleaning Gun
The barrel hood was caked in a varnish composed of lubricant and unburned powder baked together at a high temperature. A pistol firing several hundred rounds at a session can become very hot. Sometimes the lubricant burns off like a Harley in need of a ring job. This hardened sludge would eventually have given trouble. I spent the better part of an hour with a new product and eventually cleaned the P95.

Shooter’s Choice has developed a Polymer Safe Degreaser that is rated for use with polymer/plastic component handguns. Some chemicals have clashed with polymer frames, and the new product is a welcome one. A bath in solvent, several runs with a copper brush and Shooter’s Choice Bore Cleaner, and the P95 was up and running.

The accuracy test was the final one. I conducted a test involving service type and self-defense ammunition. Two loadings were outstanding. The least accurate, largely by virtue of its construction, was the RBCD 60-grain Platinum Plus load. But this load propels a 60-grain slug to almost 2,000 fps. This bullet is designed to disrupt quickly, producing a complex wound. It is more accurate than most of the type. The P95 is so good, I secreted it in a discreet location as a house gun loaded with RBCD ammunition.

The Anderson Munitions Inc. (PO Box 2050, Cordova, TN 38088; phone: 800-229-9166; on-line: www.andersonmunitions.com) 147-grain truncated flat point is well known among competitors as a gilt-edged accurate load that burns clean and gives outstanding accuracy in a good pistol. This load proved the P95s accuracy, with a 2-inch 25-yard group. Any questions I have concerning the P95 have been put to rest. This is an outstanding handgun well worth its modest price. Our soldiers will be well armed!

Accuracy

Loading Velocity 25-yard group
RBCD 60-grain Platinum Plus 1,945 fps 4.25 inches
Fiocchi 115-grain JHP 1,222 fps 3.0 inches
Anderson Munitions 147-grain 932 fps 2.0 inches
Sierra 115-grain JHP/HS 7 1,331 fps 2.5 inches
Wolf ball ammunition, old type 1,134 fps 3.65 inches
Winchester 124-grain NATO 1,198 fps 2.25 inches
Winchester 115-grain Silvertip 1,189 fps 3.2 inches
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