[No Blue States]

My Christmas list:

Ruger P89 / P85:

A service gun from Ruger, this gun is of good quality, is reliable, and not very expensive. It is available in several Action modes, Double Action, and Double Action Only. There is also a choise in the safety arrangements of the gun, and different finishes are also available. The Ruger P85 is a slightly older model with a slightly different internal safety but is identical in other respects. While the P85 is slightly older, there are many still in service. The P89 uses fifteen round magazines and the P85 uses identical magazines. Weight: 2 lbs (.9 kg) Caliber: 9 mm Barrel: 4.5 inch (11.27 cm) Action: Double Action / Double Action Only Range: 165 ft (50 m) Payload: 15 + 1 Cost: $ 430 Made in: USA Special: Good quality, reliable.

[Americanwolfsbrother]

Thats the baby. I don't like the DAO model, got to use to double tapping with the DA. Decocker feature is great. I changed to the hogue combat grips and it made all the difference in how the gun sits in my hands (my brother has owned his P89 for 10 years with standard grips and I never liked how it felt). 9mm is not greatest stopping power but hollow points or other defensive rounds will give you more of a chance. My Sig or Kimber are normal carry weapons but once in a while the Ruger goes out instead.

Once your comfortable with the Ruger start looking for one of these:

[TheOracleAtLilac]

IIRC, the 1st model in this series P85?, P87? was quite troublesome.

FWIW, I have P94 (a sleeker version of the 89 w/ decocker) & would suggest you test fire anything you plan to buy at a range that rent's 'em. I regret not doing this w/ my 94 as I much prefer my Browning HP over it.