Seeking Reviews of the Ruger P345

[tommy tornado]

I was just at the local Academy and got to fondle a Ruger P345.  Not sure if I would buy one because I don't know that much about them and with all the bad press lately on the SR9, I would not know what to expect.  So for those that own one, what are your thoughts on the Ruger P345?  Is it reliable?  Reasonably accurate?  Any major problems/breakage?  Would you buy it again? 

[twyacht]

I don't own one but did also "fondle" one at the gun shop. After several reviews, not just the fluff marketing ones trying to hype sales some of the SR9's, they all mentioned the mag disconnect safety, and complex multi-part internals.  Multi-parts can have a higher likelihood of problems, that the owner will never be able to repair unless a pro gunsmith. Here's one quote:

"Some are critical of another safety feature called a magazine disconnect safety. Unless a magazine is fully inserted into the pistol, the gun will not fire, regardless of whether or not the chamber is loaded. While the trigger will function and the gun can be dry-fired with the magazine out, the firing pin will not strike the primer without the magazine in place. This is not the first pistol to incorporate this safety design, and the only real drawback is that a chambered cartridge may not be fired without the magazine present. It is a safety feature engineered more towards novice shooters. Many modern firearms incorporate complex safety mechanisms, which, in my opinion, merely make the internals of the firearm more complex, leading to a greater chance of mechanical problems and more difficulty in service and repair."

http://www.firearmsfirst.com/?p=14

I went ahead and bought an M+P, Ruger semi's have a love/hate relationship with owners, I kept my Ruger family with revolvers and 10/22's. Sometimes the design engineers forget what used to be the rule: "Keep it simple,,,stupid". If you can shoot one, test drive the hell out of it. Good shooting.
Just my .02cents.

[CJS3]

I used to have a Ruger P345. With factory ammo it was very reliable. With reloads it was very picky. Nice looking pistol, but I used it in a trade.

[Jkwas]

When I buy a .45,  I have pretty much settled in on the P345.  I like the looks and size of it, and I know Ruger will stand behind it.  If it's as reliable and accurate as my P89,  I'm sure I'll be happy with it.
By the way, that P89 is one heck of a duty weapon and I will never part with it.

[tommy tornado]

I just know in the last Handgunner Mag. Taffin wrote that he likes the P345, however, he also wrote that the SR9 was a winner.  A lot of people on this and other boards don't agree with his review of the SR9.

[Sponsor]

[Mr.45]

I found one at www.budsgunshop.com for 405 delivered and I am seriously considering it myself for a CCH weapon. One of our friends has a P345 he has had forever. It does not have the light rail on the front. I like it almost as much as I did my Ruger P-90. The grip is much slimmer. I wonder if they use the same magazine? Anyway, to my knowledge he has never had a problem with it. My only concern is the safety/decock lever is flat and my p-90 had a nervous tendancy to go on safety when in my duty holster. For some this is not a problem but I got in the habit ever since of checking the safety upon presentation and I believe I can retrain myself to do so. Hope my rambling helps.

[Vinny-101]

I own a Ruger KP345PR .45ACP. I have owned it for about a year now and I haven’t had a single problem with it! “Knock Wood”

I have read that with some of the earlier models there were ammo eating issues… I haven't had any with mine. 

I hope this helps.

[Timothy]

A quote from the Rugerforum.net, the author is a very experienced Ruger gunsmith.  I personally know nothing of the gun nor do I have an opinion of them.

"Ruger's P-345 is the worst design of any of the P-series guns. It started out with major quality control issues and a bad design on the magazine disconnect. After working most of the bugs out, the newer P-345s seem to feed and function quite reliably with decent accuracy but Ruger never did fix the "click-no bang" issue with the mag disconnect ... except a one liner in the instruction manual saying not to dry fire without a magazine in place. Dry firing without a magazine demos the interrupt plunger and totally disables the gun."

[MAUSERMAN]

I have a KP345 and its a good gun but nothing out of the ordinary. Its a Ruger so its built for abuse but had i known about XD's i would have gotten the XD45 instead.

[tommy tornado]

In case you were wondering, I ended up passing on the P345 and bought a used PT1911 instead.  Love the 1911 and for the price I couldn't have found a better 1911.