I fixed that giant closeup picture of the inside. It's a clickable thumbnail now.
About 6 years ago I had a 1911 .45 Colt, a P89 9mm, and a P97 .45 ACP, but I sold the two Rugers and had the 1911 Colt stolen. I am still pissed off because that 1911 was usually selling for about $900 when I bought it, but I only paid $500 for it. Now I see them selling for $1200 in fair condition and mine was like new. [:@]
I really wanted to get another pistol, and although I loved all three guns for different reasons, my overall favorite was always the P97. I saw the new version, the P345 and almost bought it. I changed my mind after I saw two cougars and two bears in a one month period late last year, and since I take my 2 year old son bowhunting and fishing with me, I wanted REAL protection. I was really wanting to get a .500 S&W Magnum which would have much better stopping power for bears than a 9mm, .45 ACP, or .45 Colt. The $1300 price tag, and the immense size of the gun was a little offputting to say the least. However, over a ton of energy (2600lb) was very appealing to me since the P97 delivers only about 500lb depending on the round.
One shot to a black bear and it would shatter every bone that got in the way and leave a nice exit hole!
The same week I started thinking about getting new gun, a guy on a Steelhead & Salmon fishing forum put a P97 up for sale for $300. It only had a hundred or so rounds through it. I ended up taking advantage of the good deal, and I am not regretting it one bit! .45ACP is not an ideal anti-bear round, but 8 of them fired in under 2 seconds is better than no gun at all!
I still want a .500 S&W Magnum though.
My new .45 semi-auto P97
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