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Old January 22, 2013, 07:51 PM   #1
haliwa04
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My Ruger KP345

I grew up in a gunless home, besides the odd red rider bb gun. As i got older, i shot .22lr in turkey shoots, and was deadly accurate with iron sights or no sights by 15/16. The first handgun i shot was a buddies Colt 1911, and then his sig 9mm. Both times were just kind of playing in my back yard, not paying attention to how they felt or really shot. Since then i've shot a lot of other peoples guns, and been to the range to try out a Glock and hated it. I just purchased myself and my girlfriend handguns. I got a Ruger KP345, used. I took it home for around $400 with the factory goodies, and a holster, even after reading the gripes about it, i figured, hell my 10/22 hasn't failed and i put a whooping on it as far as the ammo i shoot in it. Field stripped, cleaner er up, and put a healthy dose of lube in the moving parts. First time out shooting, and put up a beautiful 3" group from 20 yards. I carry it everywhere, and shoot the living crap out of it when i get a chance. It sits on the nightstand at night. I have heard the horror stories of dry firing without a mag, yet its been done twice, once on purpose, the second time my buddy was being a douche and the thing still goes bang. Barely anyone notices i have it, except for that occasional curious 3-4 foot person that is eye level with my waist. Now, if you've read all that, you've got to be intrigued enough to answer my question. I want more, more accuracy, more reliability, more years for this gun. I plan on picking up another gun to back this one up, or to carry on the other hip. But when i do, i want to get the kp345 worked over. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what kind of work to ask for? I don't think the feed ramp needs polishing, maybe a little. I have no idea what i'm looking for in trigger pull, recoil. Has anyone else owned this gun, and took it to the limits of reworking? I want to see some custom work.
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Old January 22, 2013, 08:11 PM   #2
bigghoss
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You can get lighter springs to reduce the trigger pull. When the mag spring wear out you can replace the spring and follower with high-end parts for 1911 mags like from wilson combat. The dry-fire issue was with the mag-disconnect and I think they redesigned it so it wasn't an issue, still a lot of people, myself included, decided to remove it. It's pretty easy to do. If I knew of a way to remove the internal key lock I would have ditched that too. I eventually sold mine because I couldn't get used to the lawyer features after mine broke.
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Old January 22, 2013, 08:25 PM   #3
Fishbed77
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Quote:
I want more, more accuracy, more reliability, more years for this gun.
Quote:
First time out shooting, and put up a beautiful 3" group from 20 yards.
Is the gun currently inaccurate and unreliable? It sounds pretty accurate from your description. The P345 isn't designed to be a target gun, it's a defensive carry piece. Still, the group you put up sounds excellent.

Quote:
I have no idea what i'm looking for in trigger pull, recoil.
Then neither do we. You said the gun was new. Is the trigger currently gritty? If so, it will likely smooth out and lighten up slightly as the gun breaks in. I wouldn't consider any trigger work until you have at least 1000+ rounds through the gun. In terms of recoil, it's a .45 ACP cartridge coming out of a polymer-framed pistol with a relatively thin grip. So yeah - you are going to feel some recoil. Perhaps something like a Hogue slip-on grip might reduce felt recoil a little bit.

Quote:
I don't think the feed ramp needs polishing, maybe a little.
If the gun is functioning reliably (assuming it has been properly cleaned and lubricated), then the feed ramp does not need polishing. If it isn't functioning properly, call Ruger. They have some of the best customer service in the business, and they will make it right for you.

Quote:
I want to see some custom work.
The P345 isn't a gun I've seen used as a base for much custom work. Hopefully some folks here will have some photos to share with you.

I hope this doesn't sound like I'm busting your balls, but some of the things you are saying don't add up. A little more info will allow us to help you out better.
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Old January 22, 2013, 10:15 PM   #4
haliwa04
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I got the gun used, I was told it was never fired, but upon disassembly, I discovered it was shot, a lot. It is fine in terms of recoil, I'm a big guy and nothing short of my dads .357 mag with hot loads gets to me. I meant muzzle flip, which isn't terrible. I know it wasn't intended as a target gun, but I'd like to see if someone has taken one to that level or completely worked one up. I'm a tinkerer and love to tinker. Seems like there would be some ruger nut or just a gun nut in general lurking around here that could give me an idea of what I could do to it. I'm planning on getting either a lower tier 1911 or Beretta 92fs for their toughness and accuracy. So when I do, the ruger may go to a gunsmith to polish the so called ****.

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Old January 22, 2013, 10:25 PM   #5
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I'm planning on getting either a lower tier 1911 or Beretta 92fs for their toughness and accuracy.
I've never owned a P345 but I personally would not try to turn it into a super accurate firearm. I also wouldn't excess on the trigger. From what you say in your original post it's already doing everything it was designed to do.

Save your energy and coin for a nice 1911.
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Old January 23, 2013, 09:28 PM   #6
haliwa04
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Any kp/p345 owners care to comment?

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Old January 24, 2013, 11:59 AM   #7
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I'm planning on getting either a lower tier 1911 or Beretta 92fs for their toughness and accuracy.
DO NOT waste money on a low end 1911. They are fickle beasts and you really do get what you pay for in the 1911 world. I don't even really recommend them to novices because they are very different from most other pistols on the market in terms of maintenance and tinkering.

Quote:
Any kp/p345 owners care to comment?
As I mentioned, I used to own one and while I did I looked into my options for improving it and there are not many. If the gun isn't accurate enough it's probably your shooting skill that needs improving. I've seen guy shoot impressive groups with them out of the box, most guns today are capable of delivering greater accuracy than the shooter's skills and the P345 is no exception. If you want you can head over to rugerforum.net and search there and ask around but they'll tell you the same. (I hope that didn't come off as me trying to be rude, I didn't mean it to be.)
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Old January 24, 2013, 12:52 PM   #8
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Previous posts ignored. The gun is fine, but anything can be improved. I'm not looking for people to tell me what not to do. I am working on my accuracy and shooting, but when I start outshooting the gun, then it will go in a drawer if it can't go any further. What makes it so bad is the gun is almost dead on even if I get lazy, and stop using the 100% grip and avoid the sights. I'm looking for people who own the gun, and have found ways to improve or personalize it to their liking. As far as a low level 1911, I've seen guys outshoot colts with rock island arms. I'm fairly good with a pistol, even though I just got my first, its not the first I've ever shot. I've held and shot high end 1911s and they feel no different besides a little flashier, and little smoother. Any machine can be made to perform better, ever seen a vw beetle with a big block ford? I have and people laughed until it ran 9 second quarter mile with little wheelspin. Point is I'm asking for advice to improve on what's already acceptable to make it better than what it is.

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Old January 24, 2013, 02:58 PM   #9
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Previous posts ignored.
Then why are you coming and asking for opinions? Everyone here has tried to be helpful given the limited and conflicting information you have given us.

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Point is I'm asking for advice to improve on what's already acceptable to make it better than what it is.
This question has also been answered. There is not much that can be done to improve a P345 that is already accurate and functioning reliably. The P345 is not a pistol that is commonly used as a base for customization, and few 3rd-party specialized parts exist for it. I would suspect that even fewer will be available in the future since Ruger has recently discontinued the P345.

That said, there are accessories like night sights and grip sleeves that are available for this pistol if you believe they would improve function for your particular needs.
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Old January 24, 2013, 03:30 PM   #10
haliwa04
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I was asking current owners of the gun to show off their guns if they have done ANY work to it. Not just making it more accurate or reliable. I'm sure someone has one, and someone has done work to one. So, to ask a general question, is there anyone that owns the p or kp345 that has done ANY work to their firearm. I would ask that no one else comment, or turn this into some flame war over a question I asked. Thank you

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Old January 24, 2013, 04:01 PM   #11
Fishbed77
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I would ask that no one else comment
OK. You are a new member. You come to an open forum, post questions, when ask that people not post comments unless they are going to tell you exactly what you want to hear or show you exactly what you want to see.

Good luck with that.

That said, I'd like to see some photos of these guns as well. They are rather nice pistols. I hope you can find what you are looking for.

On another note, despite what Bighoss said, there are some rather nice lower-end 1911s out there. The STI Spartan is a great pistol that can be found for around $650 or less. I've seen Rock Island Armory pistols out there for under $450, and everyone out there with one seems very pleased with the reliability and quality of them.

Last edited by Fishbed77; January 24, 2013 at 04:09 PM.
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Old January 24, 2013, 04:24 PM   #12
haliwa04
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I'm thinking on an Auto Ordnance 100th anniversary edition that looks brand new, the owner has had it in the safe after getting several other 1911s of higher quality. His asking price seems fair. And I've read mixed opinions on ao guns. But kahr makes pretty good guns from what I've seen. My lgs has a Remington r1 that I could put on layaway, but I'd be scared to get it dirty. Lol.

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