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Anybody own one? I am going to a gun show with my girlfriend’s father next weekend and I want to look at .45acp chambered guns that my better half might be able to hold. I have nothing but great things to say about Ruger revolvers but I know the semi-autos have had some problems. How does it compare to other single stacks, say a 908 S&W.? I know that a 908 is a 9mm but I have started to only look at guns that both of us can hold or fire. The 908 was a great success for here tiny hands and I was wondering if anybody knows how these two compare. I would just take her into any gun store to hold one but I can't find a local gun store that carries them in stock. Anybody know of one in the Houston area? She is coming with us and gun shows are great places to hold all kinds of guns so you can get an idea of what you like. Is there any other polymer framed guns I should look out for besides the P345 in a single stack that have some weight to them?

One of my first handguns was a Ruger P95. It was a workhorse. Never any problem in probably 5-6000 rounds. If the P345 is anything like it, it should be a solid gun.

I have read on other boards from posters who seem very knowledgeable that the P345 is one of the few 45s to work straight out of the box. Since I have never had one, I can't vouch for that. My P 95 certainly was that way though.

I also have no experience with the P345, but we had two P95s in the family that were both extremely solid and reliable.

I'll echo the sentiment...if it's built like the 9mm version, I'd trust my life and the lives of my loved ones to it.

Same here.
If it says Ruger it will be reliable.

Thanks guys, if anybody has any other suggestions over the next week for a single stack polymer .45acp to look out for I would be grateful.

IIRC, Mr. Massad Ayoob, all-around gun guy, used a
Ruger P345 and was quite high on the gun.

He shoots all brands of weapons, and if he says it's a good
one, you'd probably like it too.

Ruger seems to have an uncanny knack for making a nice slim
grip even though holding many rounds, even .45's.

Go for it - Let's hear what you and the bride think if you
can scare one up to hold. :-)

Ciao for now.

SIA

If it is 45 you want try a M&P 45. I don't have any problems shooting this gun with the small grip on it.

If you will consider 9mm, check out STI's GP6. It is good for small hands as well.

The P345 was the first pistol I bought when we moved down here to Texas. It is a single stack magazine so it will fit a variaty of hand sizes. It is slimmer than my daily carry, G30sf. The trigger stroke is a little different (long), may take a little getting used to. It is an well functioning pistol a very accurate, easy to break down. It actually conceals as good as my G30, for a larger auto.

Overall if you are looking for a good .45 acp (my favorite caliber) that is easy to maintain I don't think you will find a better pistol for the money.
Jim

I had the P345 for five years. It was a great gun and I never had a single problem with it. I just traded it off a few months ago for hunting revolver, but would have no problems owning one again. It was extremely accurate, reliable and you got a lot of gun for your dollar. If you are looking for a single stack .45, I don't see where you can go wrong.

If you do some online research, you'll see that some people had problems with this model. The majority of the problems were experienced from dry firing the gun without a magazine installed. Make sure that you always have that mag installed if you dry fire the gun!