Ruger p89,95 shooting a foot low

Dc777 · January 4, 2014, 10:46 PM

Any advice? My ccw is a p89 and I bought my dad a p 95. Shooting at 12-22 yards today the 89 is shooting a foot low and the 95 is shooting about the same. Today I also had the chance to shoot the last gun that my grandfather purchased before passing away.... That is a p89 decocker only model and it shot the same. Various ammo tested, all in all 213 rounds fired. All of my other pistols were accurate as could be as I was hitting 2" steel targets at 35 yards. Are the sights adjustable? Any advice guys? Thanks

DC

**JohnKSa** · January 4, 2014, 10:52 PM

Probably not advice you'll be happy to hear...

Shooting that far low at the distances you mention is most likely a trigger control issue.

The rear sights are adjustable, but only drift adjustable for windage after loosening the screw in the rear sight. There's not any simple provision for elevation changes, nor have I ever found the need for such a provision with the 3 or 4 P89's or the half-dozen P95's I've owned over the years.

TunnelRat · January 4, 2014, 11:02 PM

Quote:

ll of my other pistols were accurate as could be as I was hitting 2" steel targets at 35 yards.

What are the other pistols? If it's a different trigger system you might need some time to adjust.

Dc777 · January 4, 2014, 11:07 PM

Ruger sr45, sig p250, glock 19, Springfield 1911, high standard sport king, m&p 22.. Those are the only pistols I brought today. My dad had the same results with the. It shoots a foot low even at 15 feet away. I even went to the extent of shooting it from a sand bag on my shooting table. The p89 is a sa/da so it has a nice light, smooth trigger pull.

Dc777 · January 4, 2014, 11:11 PM

I failed to mention that I also shot my hi point .45 and the best Saturday night special ever.... The Phoenix arms raven .25. No I didn't hit " 2" inch steel targets with it, but it wasn't shooting a foot low

MoGas1341 · January 5, 2014, 12:13 AM

For what its worth, and it may not be the case, my friend Phil had a Springfield XD .357 Sig that would be dead on at 7 yards, but as we went back to 10,15 and 25 yards the rounds would hit low as you described. We had 4 different shooters also try it out with the same results...

We contacted Springfield, and they in-fact installed the wrong rear sights. He sent it in and they installed the correct rear sight (that was a little taller) and that corrected the problem.

I dont know if this is the case with your Ruger, but it might be worth investigating...

(On a complete side note, not to veer the thread off course, I don't know how they put rear sights on an XD, but they seem to be machine pressed in the dovetail slot, and therefore we could not uninstall themwith a 5lbs hammer and drift pin

)

Dc777 · January 5, 2014, 12:22 AM

I might have to get rid of the gun. What I don't understand is why 3 of the same versions of the gun are doing the same thing. That kind of rules out my p89 being the bad egg. The glock and the Springfield do not belong to me. They were borrowed from a friend to take with me. I'd like to think tat I've been a good shot since I was 10 and received a red Ryder BB gun. I've always been a good shot. At the same time though I'm not claiming that I am a competitive shooter nor do I think I'm as good as those guys.

MoGas1341 · January 5, 2014, 12:29 AM

Dc777,

Have you tried sandbagging the guns on a bench,at a known distance range and went from 5 to 10 to 15 yds? That's how we figured out my friend's XD.

We tried to eliminate as much human error as possible and try different shooters utilizing the 'point of aim, point of impact method' and not holding low or high just to hit the bullseye.

TunnelRat · January 5, 2014, 12:36 AM

Quote:

It shoots a foot low even at 15 feet away.

That's almost impossible for it to be a sight issue, the front sight would have to be like a skyscraper or the rear sight non-existent. I'm sorry but if you did it with both the P89 and the P95 I have to suggest it is shooter error.

Dc777 · January 5, 2014, 12:38 AM

Yes sir I did, kinda anyway, I didn't measure the distance every time I moved my shooting table though. I think I am going to have to try again next weekend. I just can't get over my hi point being more accurate than my rugers. I'll either figure it out or get rid of it. The p 95 will stay with my father since I bought it for him.

MoGas1341 · January 5, 2014, 12:44 AM

May I suggest sir, possibly just changing sights entirely? My reasoning is that you could try a set of 5 or 7mm night sights and figure out what distance you want it zeroed for?

For example, my girlfriend's Smith E-Series 1911 will hit dead nuts at 10 yards, anything closer and I have to hold high, and at 20 yds I cover the bullseye with the front sight.

If you like your Ruger, I wouldn't get rid of it, I'd try something else... Kinda like not selling your 25K Horse because of the saddle... See what I mean?

**JohnKSa** · January 5, 2014, 12:50 AM

That's bizarre. If you had just one gun shooting that low, it could be a fluke. Having three that are shooting that low seems way more than coincidental.

What's a little confusing is that if the gun was actually sighted (by accident or design) to shoot a foot low at 12 yards, it would shoot at least 2 feet low at 25 yards because the line from the muzzle would have to continue in a downward direction.

Have the sights, by any chance, been modified or replaced? If you put a P89 rear sight on a P95 (which might be possible), then the P95 would shoot about 7.5" low at 12 yards. That might account for the P95 shooting low. But I can't figure out how to get the P89 shooting low. Putting a P95 sight on it would make it shoot way high. You can do some quick checks with the following numbers.

The front sight on a P89 OR P95 should be about 0.14" (3.6 millimeters) tall. That's the amount it should stick up at the sight's tallest point above the little "platform" on the slide where the front sight is located.

The rear sight on a P89 should be about 0.19" (4.8mm) tall. That's the amount that the two top edges/corners of the rear notch should be above the center of the slide since the slide is rounded on top.

The rear sight on a P95 should be about 0.275" (7.0mm) tall. It should be measured the same way as the rear P89 sight was measured in the paragraph above.

If those measurements check out on your guns, and you can't see anything obviously wrong anywhere else, I'd try shooting them from a rest. Shoot one 5 shot group with each gun at about 12 yards, and one with each gun at about 25 yards.

If the groups are reasonably sized (no more than 2-3" at 12 yards and 5"-7" at 25 yards) and they're still way low on the target, it's time to call Ruger to see what's going on.

I'd sure like to find how this one works out. It's a real puzzler.

Dc777 · January 5, 2014, 11:59 AM

I've never made any adjustments to the sights.

January 4, 2014, 10:46 PM	#1
Dc777 Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2013 Location: South West, Alabama Posts: 609	Ruger p89,95 shooting a foot low Any advice? My ccw is a p89 and I bought my dad a p 95. Shooting at 12-22 yards today the 89 is shooting a foot low and the 95 is shooting about the same. Today I also had the chance to shoot the last gun that my grandfather purchased before passing away.... That is a p89 decocker only model and it shot the same. Various ammo tested, all in all 213 rounds fired. All of my other pistols were accurate as could be as I was hitting 2" steel targets at 35 yards. Are the sights adjustable? Any advice guys? Thanks DC __________________ NRA member Paintings were made to look at, and guns were made to be shot. If you aren't going to use them as they are intended for, get rid of them and buy a Picasso.

January 4, 2014, 10:52 PM	#2
JohnKSa Staff Join Date: February 12, 2001 Location: DFW Area Posts: 24,967	Probably not advice you'll be happy to hear... Shooting that far low at the distances you mention is most likely a trigger control issue. The rear sights are adjustable, but only drift adjustable for windage after loosening the screw in the rear sight. There's not any simple provision for elevation changes, nor have I ever found the need for such a provision with the 3 or 4 P89's or the half-dozen P95's I've owned over the years. __________________ Do you know about the TEXAS State Rifle Association?

January 4, 2014, 11:07 PM	#4
Dc777 Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2013 Location: South West, Alabama Posts: 609	Ruger sr45, sig p250, glock 19, Springfield 1911, high standard sport king, m&p 22.. Those are the only pistols I brought today. My dad had the same results with the. It shoots a foot low even at 15 feet away. I even went to the extent of shooting it from a sand bag on my shooting table. The p89 is a sa/da so it has a nice light, smooth trigger pull. __________________ NRA member Paintings were made to look at, and guns were made to be shot. If you aren't going to use them as they are intended for, get rid of them and buy a Picasso.

January 4, 2014, 11:11 PM	#5
Dc777 Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2013 Location: South West, Alabama Posts: 609	I failed to mention that I also shot my hi point .45 and the best Saturday night special ever.... The Phoenix arms raven .25. No I didn't hit " 2" inch steel targets with it, but it wasn't shooting a foot low __________________ NRA member Paintings were made to look at, and guns were made to be shot. If you aren't going to use them as they are intended for, get rid of them and buy a Picasso.

January 5, 2014, 12:13 AM	#6
MoGas1341 Senior Member Join Date: December 16, 2013 Location: Missouri Posts: 201	For what its worth, and it may not be the case, my friend Phil had a Springfield XD .357 Sig that would be dead on at 7 yards, but as we went back to 10,15 and 25 yards the rounds would hit low as you described. We had 4 different shooters also try it out with the same results... We contacted Springfield, and they in-fact installed the wrong rear sights. He sent it in and they installed the correct rear sight (that was a little taller) and that corrected the problem. I dont know if this is the case with your Ruger, but it might be worth investigating... (On a complete side note, not to veer the thread off course, I don't know how they put rear sights on an XD, but they seem to be machine pressed in the dovetail slot, and therefore we could not uninstall themwith a 5lbs hammer and drift pin) __________________ Former USMC Engineer, Iraq War Vet, Afghanistan War Vet, NRA Life Member

January 5, 2014, 12:22 AM	#7
Dc777 Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2013 Location: South West, Alabama Posts: 609	I might have to get rid of the gun. What I don't understand is why 3 of the same versions of the gun are doing the same thing. That kind of rules out my p89 being the bad egg. The glock and the Springfield do not belong to me. They were borrowed from a friend to take with me. I'd like to think tat I've been a good shot since I was 10 and received a red Ryder BB gun. I've always been a good shot. At the same time though I'm not claiming that I am a competitive shooter nor do I think I'm as good as those guys. __________________ NRA member Paintings were made to look at, and guns were made to be shot. If you aren't going to use them as they are intended for, get rid of them and buy a Picasso.

January 5, 2014, 12:29 AM	#8
MoGas1341 Senior Member Join Date: December 16, 2013 Location: Missouri Posts: 201	Dc777, Have you tried sandbagging the guns on a bench,at a known distance range and went from 5 to 10 to 15 yds? That's how we figured out my friend's XD. We tried to eliminate as much human error as possible and try different shooters utilizing the 'point of aim, point of impact method' and not holding low or high just to hit the bullseye. __________________ Former USMC Engineer, Iraq War Vet, Afghanistan War Vet, NRA Life Member

January 5, 2014, 12:38 AM	#10
Dc777 Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2013 Location: South West, Alabama Posts: 609	Yes sir I did, kinda anyway, I didn't measure the distance every time I moved my shooting table though. I think I am going to have to try again next weekend. I just can't get over my hi point being more accurate than my rugers. I'll either figure it out or get rid of it. The p 95 will stay with my father since I bought it for him. __________________ NRA member Paintings were made to look at, and guns were made to be shot. If you aren't going to use them as they are intended for, get rid of them and buy a Picasso.

January 5, 2014, 12:44 AM	#11
MoGas1341 Senior Member Join Date: December 16, 2013 Location: Missouri Posts: 201	May I suggest sir, possibly just changing sights entirely? My reasoning is that you could try a set of 5 or 7mm night sights and figure out what distance you want it zeroed for? For example, my girlfriend's Smith E-Series 1911 will hit dead nuts at 10 yards, anything closer and I have to hold high, and at 20 yds I cover the bullseye with the front sight. If you like your Ruger, I wouldn't get rid of it, I'd try something else... Kinda like not selling your 25K Horse because of the saddle... See what I mean? __________________ Former USMC Engineer, Iraq War Vet, Afghanistan War Vet, NRA Life Member

January 5, 2014, 12:50 AM	#12
JohnKSa Staff Join Date: February 12, 2001 Location: DFW Area Posts: 24,967	That's bizarre. If you had just one gun shooting that low, it could be a fluke. Having three that are shooting that low seems way more than coincidental. What's a little confusing is that if the gun was actually sighted (by accident or design) to shoot a foot low at 12 yards, it would shoot at least 2 feet low at 25 yards because the line from the muzzle would have to continue in a downward direction. Have the sights, by any chance, been modified or replaced? If you put a P89 rear sight on a P95 (which might be possible), then the P95 would shoot about 7.5" low at 12 yards. That might account for the P95 shooting low. But I can't figure out how to get the P89 shooting low. Putting a P95 sight on it would make it shoot way high. You can do some quick checks with the following numbers. The front sight on a P89 OR P95 should be about 0.14" (3.6 millimeters) tall. That's the amount it should stick up at the sight's tallest point above the little "platform" on the slide where the front sight is located. The rear sight on a P89 should be about 0.19" (4.8mm) tall. That's the amount that the two top edges/corners of the rear notch should be above the center of the slide since the slide is rounded on top. The rear sight on a P95 should be about 0.275" (7.0mm) tall. It should be measured the same way as the rear P89 sight was measured in the paragraph above. If those measurements check out on your guns, and you can't see anything obviously wrong anywhere else, I'd try shooting them from a rest. Shoot one 5 shot group with each gun at about 12 yards, and one with each gun at about 25 yards. If the groups are reasonably sized (no more than 2-3" at 12 yards and 5"-7" at 25 yards) and they're still way low on the target, it's time to call Ruger to see what's going on. I'd sure like to find how this one works out. It's a real puzzler. __________________ Do you know about the TEXAS State Rifle Association?

January 5, 2014, 11:59 AM	#13
Dc777 Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2013 Location: South West, Alabama Posts: 609	I've never made any adjustments to the sights. __________________ NRA member Paintings were made to look at, and guns were made to be shot. If you aren't going to use them as they are intended for, get rid of them and buy a Picasso.

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