BowhunterSteelheader

I sold my last P97 but couldn't live without it. I found a good deal on one so I bought it right away!

I cleaned it up and it's like new. $300 was a killer deal for the condition it's in. Only had a hundred or so rounds through it. It came with some Black Talons too.




[CLICK IMAGE for full sized closeup of the inside].



Sorry about that giant picture of the inside! It is fixed now so you can click the thumbnail to see the closeup of the inside of the gun.

stalkingbear

I'll admit I'm confused-I'm under the rather strong impression that Ruger P90 and P345 are the only 2 .45acp autos Ruger makes.

RugerM77.270

The P97 is a 45 acp aswell. If I remember right the 345 took its place.

devil dog

DING DING DING!!!, you get the prize!, anyway, the P97 was put into production in 99, a slightly smaller and lighter P90, the 345 did take its place, but personaly, I think they should bring the P97 back into production. Ive tested out a few of the 345s, dont like them as much as the 97, sold a pile of the 97s also, a pretty good reliable handgun!.

country1

Ruger has made some very reliable and strong handguns. One of the things I do not care for on the older polymer Rugerguns is theslicksurfacetexture of the grip. I solved this on mine with a Hogue Handall universal grip. There is a bit of slack in the backstrap area, as Ruger does not have a large palm swell, but it really improved my accuracy.

BowhunterSteelheader

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.

BowhunterSteelheader

Just got a Hogue Handall soft rubber grip for it. It's a nice improvement over the composite plastic handle!

hometheaterman

I probably would have bought that for the black talons haha. I want to get my hands on some pretty bad. I just can't justify spending what they are going for on gunbroker though. If I ever run across some at a okay deal I'm going to buy them just to display in m room. They just have a cool factor to them. Not sure I'd ever really shoot them.

country1

Let me know how you like it for shooting. It made my RugerPolymer P Seriesinto a much better gun for accuracy and follow up shots - and the Hogue Handall is very inexpensive!

country1

A 480 Ruger is another good option, or at least a 44 Mag.