Hi guys, I reported last weekend that I had bought a new Ruger P345 automatic. I explained then that I was new to handguns and this was to be my first semi-auto pistol. Several posters requested my initial impressions, so after shooting approx 100 rounds through it this morning, I would like to give everyone my opinion.





Keep in mind that this is the first semi-auto pistol I have owned and all total I have fired <20 rounds through one in my life. I am a complete novice.

A friend of mine at work invited me to shoot with him this morning (saturday) at the pistol range that he's a member of. Apparently they were having an IPSC qualifier and they invited me to shoot along with them. Obviously I was apprehensive about this, but they were great in answering any questions about grip technique, range rules and any other stupid questions I had!
One of the concessions they made for me was to allow me to start the session with my pistol hanging at my side as i didn't have a holster in which to start. The first time I shot, there were 3 targets with 3 silouettes each, 2 bad guy and 1 hostage. The two BGs were sticking out behind the full silouette of the hostage at approx 45 degree angle, exposing from the mid chest up. The course was to shoot each BG once (6 rounds) then drop your mag, reload and shoot each BG again.

I waited nervously while watching all the other guys get their scores, quickly I came to be my turn. To call me nervous would be an understatement! I was afraid I wouldn't even hit paper!
The buzzer went off and I was determined to proceed slowly. I fired off my first 6 shots.
The Ruger performed well. There was less recoil than I expected. After each shot I had just a minor sight correction to do. Honestly, much of this could probably be explained by my lack of experience. I noticed that the muzzle seemed to go up 1-2 inches upon firing, Then, when resetting the sights my corrections would induce a slight side to side wobble, during the course of the day I got better at controlling the recoil without shaking the muzzle from side to side.

After the smoke cleared I cleared my weapon and we went forward to check my score.

I did pretty good! My fears of not hitting paper were unfounded. I hit with all  12 shots. mostly a's and b's! I was stoked! The only downer was my time was approx double the time of the fastest shooter. No problemo, the range owner told me to concentrate on accuracy, that speed will come on it's own.

We shot that round again, and I scored much the same. The distance was 10 yards if I remember correctly.

The next stage was much closer and I enjoyed it immensely! Each target had 5 silouttes, 3 BG and 2 Hostage.  The distance was only around 10-15 feet.
The Ruger performed well again, many times I could keep my two shot groups within a couple on inches. Once again I got many a's and b's, however just as before my times were roughly double the fastest shooter there.
I shot that station in a quickest time of ~5.5seconds, the fastest there shot it in around 2  or 2.5 seconds. The average was probably right above 3 seconds.

All in all, the ruger seemed great. I was worried about the trigger 'slack' in sa mode. There seems to be a slight pull before the hammer is released. THis turned out to be no problem. I think the hardest thing to overcome was the DA first pull. I found myself pulling the sights up with the harder trigger pull, howver this was easily compensated for.
The sights were extremely easy to see, the range had illumination behind us. which caused the white sights to light up very brightly. It was a piece of cake to line the three dots up and pull the trigger.
Out of the 100 rounds I fired, there were no misfires, jams or other malfunctions.

I am attending the concealed carry class next saturday.

I am extremely happy with my new pistol.

Excellent report!

I think you will like pistol shooting.

What ammo did you use to shoot the course?

Thanks

CRC

Great report......... Thanks......... Mike

Quoted: Excellent report! I think you will like pistol shooting. What ammo did you use to shoot the course? Thanks CRC

The guy I bought the pistol from said that for the first 100-200 rounds I should use FMJ ammo for the break in.
I used Winchester 45ACP 230 grain FMJ. It's the white box you can buy from Wally world.

After the initial break in, I plan on trying some of the other ammo that is recommended around here.

If pistol shooting experiences are anywhere near as enjoyable as today, I'm sure I'm going to love it. The only disapointment today was that I had to leave early, I promised I would get some home improvement projects done for my wife! Gotta keep her happy!

Thanks

Great report and pics, Thanks!

Quoted: Great report and pics, Thanks!

Sound like you got a keeper.

Thanks for the report!

Very good report indeed.  I owned a few Ruger pistols with 0 problems.  All fed and fired like they should.  If I can make a few suggestions:
1. Get a good quality holster that is comfortable, good access, and some type of retention.
2. Experiment with all types of reputable defensive loads to find out which is the most reliable and accurate.
3.  Make sure you use factory mags and always carry at least one spare mag.  In a autoloading firearm the mag usually is the "weakest link."
4. Get some first rate training in the use of the defensive pistol.  I don't care how long you have been shooting, there is always room for improvement and to pick up a new trick or two.
Be safe and enjoy your new firearm.
Pete