145 lines
7.1 KiB
Plaintext
145 lines
7.1 KiB
Plaintext
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Combat Arms
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2869 Grove Way
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Castro Valley, California 94546-6709
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Telephone (415) 538-6544
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Update on Ruger P-85 9mm Pistol
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December 8, 1988
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The December, 1988 issue of the American Rifleman (the National Rifle
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Association's publication) has an article on pages 38 - 40 + 80 relating to
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Ruger's P-85 9mm pistol. The following is a summary of that article. This
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material is of interest to potential buyers of this $300.00 pistol and to
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others interested in Ruger's progress in producing the weapon. For a copy
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of the original article, please contact:
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The National Rifle Association
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1600 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W.
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Washington, DC 20036
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Telephone (202) 828-6000
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<EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20> <20>
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Ruger established a plant in Prescott, Arizona to build the P-85 and
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moved into this 10,000 square foot facility in 1986. There they began
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producing and testing the gun. In January, 1989 the company expects to move
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to a 200,000 square foot facility near Prescott Airport. This is an
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increase of 20 times the original size.
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There are presently 60 employees at the Prescott plant and when Ruger
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moves to its larger location near the airport there will obviously be more
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employees added to its staff.
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The Ruger P-85 was not built in time for the original U.S. military
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tests that Beretta USA won for the M-9 9mm pistol. Beretta was awarded a
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contract to build approximately 320,000 M-9 pistols. The M-9 is the
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military version of the Beretta 92-F. Beretta USA has delivered about
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175,000 pistol so far and has about two years to go on the original
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contract.
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The military has decided to offer an additional contract for 142,292
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pistols to be designated the M-10. Beretta has stated that since they
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already won the M-9 contract they will not go through the expense of
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re-testing but will let their previous record stand. Beretta, Ruger and
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Smith & Wesson (and possibly others) will compete for the M-10. Weapons
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were to be delivered for evaluation to the U.S. Army's testing facility at
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Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland by August 17, 1988. Once again, it is my
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understanding from Beretta that Beretta will not submit a gun but will
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compete on the basis of their previous test results.
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I have test fired the Ruger P-85 and find that the accuracy of the
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pistol is adequate for military operations but inadequate for the typical
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civilian demands and law enforcement requirements. The article in the
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American Rifleman states about the same thing.
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However, Ruger is trying to improve the accuracy and reliability of
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their P-85. The plant manager of the Arizona operation is William Atkinson
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and he has extensive experience as a barrel maker.
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The article mentions that changes made include making the barrel and
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its locking block one piece. Previously the locking block had been welded
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to the barrel. The firing pin block has been moved and the slide stop arm
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of the P-85 has been re-designed.
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A newer design has been incorporated into the muzzle area of the slide
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which permits a more adequate lock up of the pistol in battery. This makes
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the barrel return to the same position when the round is fired. Naturally,
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accuracy will be improved by this.
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The article speaks of some tests that were performed on the gun. These
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are generally destructive tests involving plugging the barrel, firing the
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gun and seeing where the stress results appear in the frame. Another test
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involved cutting away parts of the slide below and forward of the ejection
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port and then firing the pistol.
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During Ruger's tests, the article says they used PMC 9mm ammunition. I
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personally do not like PMC ammo because it is inconsistent. The reader is
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better advised to shoot Winchester USA brand of 9mm 115 grain full metal
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jacket ammunition.
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The article states that the NRA conducted firing tests on three
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randomly selected pistols. The NRA used the PMC 9A 115 grain full metal
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jacket, Winchester 115 grain Silvertips and Remington R9MM1 115 grain
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jacketed hollow point ammunition. Both of these latter rounds produced
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better accuracy out of the gun than did the PMC 9A 115 grain full metal
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jacket ammunition. Naturally, the best results were with the Silvertips
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(super ammunition for all 9mm pistols in my opinion).
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Here are the results that the NRA got during their firing test. The
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results speak for themselves.
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Test 1
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Fire five 5 shot groups from 25 yards with a Ransom Rest using PMC 9A 115
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grain full metal jacket ammunition.
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Smallest Largest Average 25 shot
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Group Group Group Group
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(Inches) (Inches) (Inches) (Inches)
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Gun #1 2.78 4.69 3.89 5.78
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Gun #2 3.80 5.01 4.37 6.50
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Gun #3 2.67 5.11 4.05 5.93
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Average group size for all three guns was 4.10 inches.
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Test 2
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Fire five 5 shot groups from 25 yards from a sandbag (without a Ransom
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Rest) using a variety of 9mm ammunition.
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Smallest Largest Average 25 shot
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Group Group Group Group
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(Inches) (Inches) (Inches) (Inches)
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PMC 9A 2.90 4.75 3.80 5.91
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115 gr. FMJ
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Vel.: 1143 fps
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SD: 18
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Remington R9MM1 2.51 3.38 2.95 4.21
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115 gr. JHP
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Vel.: 1165 fps
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SD: 10
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Win. Silvertips 0.93 4.28 2.40 4.28
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115 gr. JHP
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Vel.: 1179 fps
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SD: 18
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Average group size for all three types of ammo was 3.05 inches using Gun
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#1.
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The "standard deviation" (SD) for the latter test needs explanation.
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Standard deviation, when applied to the velocities given, means that two
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thirds of the shots fired were within the specified variance. For example,
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using the Winchester Silvertips data, the velocity (measured at 15 yards)
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was 1179 fps <20>18 fps SD. Two thirds of the Silvertips rounds fired were
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between 1161 fps (1179 - 18) and 1197 fps (1179 + 18). Thus, a third of the
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Silvertips rounds had velocities outside this boundary (meaning below 1161
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fps or above 1197 fps). I offer this explanation because I see the
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increased use of standard deviation in ballistic reports.
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If you had additional questions on this material, please do not
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hesitate to contact me. The P-85 has a retail price of $325.00 for the
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pistol in a deluxe box with an extra magazine and $295.00 for the pistol
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with one magazine in a cardboard box. It is difficult at this time to get
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P-85's. Hopefully that will change in 1989.
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Richard Bash
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c/o Combat Arms
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Castro Valley, California
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