Left-handed comments on the Ruger P95D

Someone came to this blog by Googling "Ruger P95D report." I don't know if they were looking for info on the gun in general, or if by "report" they were wondering about how it sounds when it goes bang. I do own one, and have mentioned it previously. I guess more comments on it would make as good an entry as any.

Southpaw shooters might be interested in this information. I bought the P95D primarily because of two things: its ambidextrousness and its price. Ambidextrousness is an important consideration for lefties which many gun companies have overlooked/ignored until the past few years (or so it seems to me). Ruger semi-autos have long had ambi tendencies because Bill Ruger himself was left-handed (or so I've read). The P95D is about as ambidextrous as they come, with an ambi magazine release and ambi decocker. It does not have an ambidextrous slide release, and of course, as with just about all semi-autos, ejects the empties to the right. If standing in an isosceles position, my pistol ejects at an obtuse enough angle that all the empties miss (miss hitting me, that is). If shooting one-handed (with the left hand), and presenting a narrow side profile to the target, the empties come nowhere near me. However, shooting in the Weaver stance gets me tapped in the right shoulder/right side of head with almost every empty. This is only a mild annoyance and since I'm usually wearing a hat anyway it doesn't bother me. The slide release is not a problem during normal operation, since a pull back on the slide itself releases it, just like any semi-auto. It is only a problem during disassembly for cleaning. It might be easier to disassemble for a righty, but I don't know. It has always seemed to be a little bit of a trick to me to line up the marks so the release can be pulled out. I would also add that although I am primarily left-handed, I am also somewhat ambidextrous, and when practicing, I alternate hands every time I put in a fresh magazine. (My left eye is my strong eye).

As the name implies, this version is decocker only, it does not have a "safety" that locks the trigger or any such thing. You draw it, you pull the trigger, it goes bang. No unnecessary extra steps. This is another reason I chose it. The first, double-action shot does have a long, heavy trigger pull, and it pays to do lots of practice decocking after every shot so you can get used to that first pull. After that, single-action follow-ups are a piece of cake.

I have shot a full-size M1911 as well as a more compact version, both of which were all metal. Compared to the P95D, which has a polymer body, the P95D (vs. the 1911 in .45) seems to have a much sharper recoil. I have attributed this to the very light lower body against the very heavy slide assembly. The 1911 is more of a push, while the P95D is more of a twist, if that makes any sense. It is a very sharp twist that, to me, is harder to recover from than when shooting the good ol' 1911 in .45.

This is Ruger's idea of a "compact" gun but I think if they put their minds to it they could come up with something that really is compact. This is still a fairly large gun, strictly speaking about how much space it takes up. I have carried it concealed, but not comfortably.

One problem with mine is that I have yet to have it function 100% reliably with 115-grain ammo. It works perfectly and has never failed with 147-grain, but the lighter ammo sometimes fails to feed. I have not yet tried any of the 124-grain version. My carry ammo (when I carried it) was 147 grain Hornady XTP.

This pistol was the first semi-auto I ever purchased, back when I was planning on first getting a CHL (Concealed Handgun License, for you non-Texans). I have since kind of started leaning toward the "anti-9mm" crowd, but I don't ever plan on getting rid of this gun, mostly because I want to have at least one of each of the most popular calibers in my collection, and this one makes a fine representative of the 9mm. In fact, I would someday like to add one of Ruger's 9mm carbines to the collection, so I'll have ammo and mags that will fit both a pistol and a long gun.

I used this gun for a carry piece for a while, but for the past few years have switched to a Ruger SP-101 loaded with .357 magnum (I like revolvers, and wanted something that generally inflicts more damage than a 9mm). I have also recently purchased a Springfield XD40 and am still working it through a break-in period. When I feel confident enough with it, I intend for it to replace the SP-101.

I mentioned price at the beginning. This P95D (blued slide) cost me $350 at a gun show about 5 years ago. Ruger has a nice way of coming out on top of the cost/quality scale.

Disclaimer: This is not meant to be a professional gun review. It is just a few of my own impressions based on my own experience. Your mileage may vary.