GunBroker Staff Picks: Running My Dad’s Ruger P89 Pistol

When a friend of my father told me that dad had bought a pistol, I told him he was full of crap. My dad had owned firearms for a long as I can remember, a number of hunting guns. He had a deer rifle, a couple of shotguns and a .22 rifle. Most of them came from Remington. 

He had, however, always been ardently against handguns, and didn’t understand my fascination with them. My dad was not going to buy a pistol and I flat said so. I had to apologize to the guy when dad had me clean and check out the Ruger P89 he had recently purchased. When my dad passed, the pistol became mine. Since I had never shot it, I decided to test out its capabilities at the range. I wanted to see if dad had picked a good pistol. 

Accuracy & Drills

I started at 10 yards just slow firing with a variety of 9mm ammunition. The grip filled my hand. Its big. Some have claimed that the P89 was almost too big for double action; I didn’t have this problem. The trigger in DA was fine without being amazing. It was acceptable, as was firing in SA after getting through the take up, which was significant.

Accuracy was acceptable. At 10 yards standing, I kept hits within a 6-inch circle. Most of the hits were low and a little left using the three-dot sights. It was less from a rest, as were groups in general, but it still shot just a little low and left. 

After determining the basic accuracy, which was completely acceptable if not amazing, I swapped over to some drills. I started with a timed failure drill, one of my favorites. I put two shots center mass and one in the head in 3.34 seconds on the first run, averaging around 3 seconds in multiple runs. This is a slower than my average. I figure this was the case because of the long DA trigger first shot and trigger take-up on subsequent shots. 

I followed this up with the 5×5 drill. In this one, I easily put five round into the 5-inch circle in under five seconds. I followed these with a Bill drill and a William drill. It performed excellent in both, with the first shot in double action being the slowest. 

Good & Bad on the Ruger P89

On the good side, the Ruger P89 was fairly accurate, easy to control and completely reliable. I hit what I aimed at, fired fast strings and it shot everything I put through it. That is the basics of what every pistol should do. It has to fire when the trigger is pulled and hit what it is aimed at. Pretty much everything else is personal opinion. 

To that end, the P89 grip is large in my hand, but I didn’t have any issues reaching the DA trigger, like I’ve heard from some. The 3-dot sights were nice for the 90s but are only mediocre now. Manufacturers know so much more about sights and have much better materials today. These sights, however, still do the job. 

This pistol is a little heavy for a 9mm, but that is to its advantage. The heavier weight reduces recoil and makes it more shootable. The 16-round capacity provides plenty of firepower despite the fact that some of today’s smaller pistols, such as the Hellcat Pro, have more. The only real complaint is the trigger. 

The DA trigger is long and heavy. On the other end, the SA trigger is light but comes with a lot of play. A little too much in my opinion. Both pulls, however, were smooth. We have to remember that the P89 is a full-size duty gun from the 80s and 90s. It is an excellent pistol for its time and technology. It was, in fact, Ruger’s answer to the military pistol trials that resulted in the Beretta 92 becoming the official military sidearm. 

Coming About

Ruger was well-known for casting firearms rather than forging. The company used the same process with the P-Series. Because of this, these pistols could be produced for less, making them more affordable. This is one of the reasons the Ruger P-Series was sometimes called “the everyman’s pistol.” It wasn’t the prettiest pistol available, but it was affordable and reliable. It even came with ambidextrous controls, which was rare in the 90s, making it work just as well for lefties. 

Bill Ruger, and his company, started working on developing a cast pistol about the time the military announced it was looking for a new sidearm. He wanted to build a high-quality service pistol for a more affordable price. The result was the P85 in 1985.

Unfortunately, this pistol wasn’t ready for the 1984 military trials. The company didn’t enter the pistol for competition. However, many people were mad that Beretta won, plus there were issues with early models. So, in 1988, the military held additional trials. 

The P85 excelled in the trials, meeting every requirement of the military. But, so did the Beretta. The military kept the 92. These trials, however, helped Ruger improve its cast pistol, resulting in the P85 MKII, which Ruger eventually renamed the P89. Ruger continued to produce the P-Series until 2013.

Originally, this pistol retailed for a little under $500, but it could be purchased for less in most cases. Today, the P89 can be picked up for around $200 or a bit more, depending on condition and model. It might not be the pistol that one shows off to friends, but it is in no way a comprise. It is a reliable full-size pistol that does the job. 

Ruger P89 Specs

• Action: DA/SA Semi Auto
• Caliber: 9mm
• Slide: Chrome-molybdenum steel
• Frame: Hard-coat A356T aircraft-grade aluminum
• Length: 7.75”
• Barrel Length: 4.75”?????
• Weight: 32.8 ozs. 
• Capacity: 15+1

By Paul Rackley, GunBroker Editor