For the past nineteen years, Ruger
has been building some very good centerfire auto pistols.
They have earned a well-deserved reputation for reliability,
durability, and value. With the Ruger auto, the shooter has
always received a good weapon at a fair price. The only
drawback to the Ruger P-series pistols has always been
their bulk. Ruger designed these guns to be rugged and very
stout, but I have always considered them to be duty-sized
pistols; excellent for holster carry by an outdoorsman,
hunter, or police officer, but not very good for
concealment.
The latest centerfire auto pistol from Ruger
differs in several ways from the earlier designs. While it
is still a rugged double-action design, the P345 is much
more compact, but is still chambered for the legendary .45
ACP cartridge.
With the new P345, Ruger has rectified the
bulk problem of the earlier design, making the gun much more
concealable for discreet carry of the weapon. The grip area
of the P345 is also redesigned, providing for a much better
feel, at least in my hand, than the earlier P-series guns.
The magazine release on the P345 is in the familiar position
preferred by American shooters, just behind the trigger
guard on the left side, and is easily reached with the thumb
of a right-handed shooter, or with the trigger finger of a
southpaw. In fact, it is a bit easier to reach than on
several 1911 autos that I had available for comparison.
The P345 has a very comfortable grip that is
integral with the polyurethane frame. The grip area has a
large amount of molded-in checkering, and is sculpted and
shaped to actually fit the human hand. I like it. The
double-action trigger reach on the P345 is just 2.835
inches, which is almost identical to the trigger reach on a
1911 style auto. In the single-action (cocked) mode, the
trigger reach on the Ruger is about three-eighths of an inch
less. The barrel length on the .345 measures just a hair
over four inches, 4.056" to be exact, and the overall
length of the weapon is seven and five-eighths inches. The
overall height is five and one-half inches. Where Ruger
really made significant reductions in the bulk of the pistol
is in the overall width of the pistol. The widest point on
the weapon is across the ambidextrous safeties, where the
gun measures a trim 1.154 inches, which is pretty slim for a
double-action pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge.
The grip is thinner and the trigger reach shorter than on
the Glock model 37 that is chambered for the shorter .45 GAP
cartridge, but the Ruger carries a magazine containing eight
of the full-sized .45 ACP cartridges. The slide thickness on
the P345 measures barely over an inch, at 1.024 inches. The
underside of the frame in front of the trigger has an
integral Picatinny rail on which the shooter can hang
accessories such as lights and lasers, if he so desires.
The sights on the P345 are adjustable for
windage, and are of the three-dot configuration, but have no
low-light illumination. The hammer is grooved and dished for
easier cocking, and the slide release is easy to reach with
either the thumb of a right-handed shooter or the trigger
finger of a lefty. The trigger is smooth on the surface, and
is about three-eighths of an inch wide. The decocking safety
is ambidextrous, and is easily reached with the thumb of the
shooting hand.
Ruger has incorporated an integral lock into
the P345 that is unobtrusive and almost invisible. Some
shooters detest these integral locks, but other shooters
like them, depending upon the situation and local laws
regarding the security of firearms. With the thumb safety in
the "safe" position, a key is inserted into the
lever on the right side of the pistol and turned clockwise
to lock the safety in this position. The safety lever will
not move into the "fire" position until the key in
rotated counter-clockwise to unlock the safety. It is very
effective, well hidden, and can be either utilized or
ignored as the shooter desires.
Atop the slide just to the rear of the
chamber, the P345 had a loaded chamber indicator, which can
be easily seen or felt to check to see if the chamber
contains a cartridge or not.
Another safety feature of the P345, and the
most controversial, is the incorporation of 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. The only legitimate complaint against magazine
disconnect safeties is that the gun cannot be fired in the
middle of a magazine change, but it is really not that big
of a deal. A good shooter can drop a magazine and insert a
new one in a couple of seconds, and the gun is usually not
pointed at the target during the operation. Anyway, it is
another safety feature to prevent the weapon from being
fired by an untrained shooter, and some do desire this
feature. I have seen the magazine disconnect feature
applauded by some police trainers as a way to render the gun
inoperable if the officer is about to lose control of his
weapon. By dropping the magazine, the gun cannot be turned
against the officer. As I am not a police trainer, I cannot
side either way on this advantage, but it is a
consideration.
When I received the new P345, I was
surprised at the compact size and light weight of the
weapon. It is about the same size and bulk of a
Commander-sized 1911, and at 29.4 ounces with an empty
magazine, the Ruger weighs a bit less than a new Smith
& Wesson Scandium lightweight 1911 that I had handy
for comparison.
Shooting the P345 with a variety of factory
and handloaded ammunition, the new Ruger proved to be
absolutely reliable with everything tried. The double-action
pull measured a smooth eight pounds and five ounces, and the
single-action pull measured five pounds and six ounces. I
shot the weapon from every possible angle, holding the gun
upside down, vertical, and on either side to encourage a
malfunction. The gun never stuttered. The cartridge is held
by the large extractor while being fed from the magazine,
offering a type of controlled-round feeding system, and it
works very well. Recoil was brisk but easily manageable from
the lightweight pistol, and rapid-fire drills were very easy
to perform. The P345 was plenty accurate for social work,
grouping a magazine load of ammo into less than three inches
at twenty-five yards, with some loads grouping right at two
and one-half inches.
Stripping the P345 down for cleaning is very
easy, and Ruger provides detailed instructions with the gun.
The locking system employs a cam block which is integral
with the stainless guide rod, and it locks the gun into
battery very securely, with no lateral or vertical play in
the lockup. It appears to be, like most Ruger designs, very
durable and rugged. There is absolutely no discernible play
between the slide and frame when the pistol is in battery.
The Ruger P345 comes with two eight-round
magazines, a hard plastic case, a cable lock, magazine
loader, and instruction manual. Like all Ruger firearms, the
P345 is an excellent value, and is built to last.
Check out the full line of Ruger products
here.
