The Ruger P89 – Ruger’s Cast Classic By: Travis Pike

If I were in Ruger’s marketing department and in charge of marketing their semi-auto handguns, I know which strategy I’d use. The phrase would be, “Pretty good, pretty cheap.” That tells you everything you need to know about Ruger’s semi-autos. It perfectly encapsulates all of them, including the now seemingly ancient Ruger P89. 

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Firearms writer Tamara Keel once described the Ruger P89 as a 9mm Mullet, which also perfectly encapsulates this gun. The Ruger P series premiered in 1985 and lasted until 2013. The P85 series was subject to numerous small improvements over its lifespan. In 1989, the P85 became the P85 MKII, and in 1989, the P85 MKII became subject to even more improvements. In 1989, the P85 became the P89 series. 

Ruger’s P89 series became the most popular of the P series. The P Series continued beyond the 89, and there was a 90, 91, 93, 94, 994, 95, 97, and 345. Most of these guns were just the P89 in different calibers. The P89 was produced until 2009. It had a good run and arguably is part of the flood of early Wonder Nine Pistols. 

The P89 features a DA/SA design, but DAO models are also available. Shooters get a 15-round double-stack magazine and a slide-mounted safety/decocker. The gun has a short recoil operation, a P220-type locking system, and a Browning-style tilting barrel. 

The gun weighed 32 ounces and had a 4.5-inch barrel and an overall length of 7.75 inches. While the P89 is typically 9mm, Ruger produced a P89X with both a 9mm barrel and a .30 Luger barrel. 

Ruger specifically worked to produce an affordable modern pistol. The gun isn’t fancy. It shreds off any sense of pretentiousness. I half expect it to come with a case of Miller Lite and an American flag bandana. Ruger drove down the cost by using investment-cast parts. Casting is much cheaper than forging and machining and, when done correctly, can be just as tough. 

Cast parts tend to be overly bulky and butt ugly. You’re not finding a rich-blued finish with the Ruger P89. You’re getting a basic, bare-bones pistol that’s blocky and heavy. Cheap pistols tend to be crappy pistols. You get what you pay for. 

The Ruger P89 and the entire P series defy that stereotype. Ruger developed the original P85 for the U.S. Military’s JSSAP M9 contest, which the Beretta M9 eventually won. It met all the requirements, including a 20,000-round life expectancy. However, the engineers at Ruger couldn’t get away with a dog eating my homework excuse. They didn’t finish the firearm in time for the 1984 contest.

The P85 did enter the XM10 trials, which were conducted in 1988. The gun performed well, but the Beretta 92 still won. The P85 was adopted by the Turkish National Police. The Ruger KP95D was adopted by branches of the Iraqi Army in 2004. 

The hammer-fired Ruger found limited success with police forces. For the era, Ruger offered an affordable, durable, reliable, and modern pistol that was several hundred dollars cheaper than the competition. Police in San Diego, Chicago, Wisconsin, and beyond carried the affordable P-Series. 

That’s not a bad provenance for an unassuming and affordable handgun. 

The Ruger P89 has some ergonomic, how do we say it nicely, challenges. It’s not bad, but it’s different. The gun is dummy-thick. It makes modern Instagram girls look scrawny. The grip is around 1.35 inches wide, making it thicker than something like a Glock. It can feel like a 2×4 in your hand. That’s the main downside of the gun and a downside of the use of cast versus milled or forged. 

The P89 does have some highlights. While I’m not a fan of slide-mounted safeties, the Ruger’s isn’t bad. It’s aided by its mass because it’s huge. Unlike other slide-mounted safeties, the P89 is a massive, ambidextrous safety and decocker device. It’s easy to hit and easy to use. 

Speaking of ambidextrous, the P89 was ahead of its time. The gun featured an ambidextrous safety and a truly ambidextrous magazine release. It’s an odd magazine release. It’s pressed forward towards the trigger guard rather than inward. The magazine release is small but fairly easy to work. It’s different, and the closest I’ve seen to any replication is the CZ P series. 

The grip angle rakes back fairly rearward. It’s not uncomfortable, and I don’t think the grip angle matters all that much. The P89 feels comfortable in the hand in most ways, except it’s a bit wider than you’d imagine. 

It’s time to load mags and drop hammers. I only had a single mag, but that’s enough for now. The slide on the P89 is surprisingly easy to operate. It’s not very stiff or very difficult to operate. If you pop the hammer down manually the slide becomes even easier to rack and operate. With some basic brass-cased 115-grain ammo, I let the lead fly. 

The gun’s weight translates to fairly mild recoil. It’s a 9mm that weighs over 30 ounces. It’s not going to beat you up too badly. The recoil could be lighter, but the heavier reciprocating slide does add some sting to the recoil. Guns like the Glock, modern SIGs, and Walthers all have less recoil and snap to them, but the P89 is still controllable. 

You could put long strings of fire on target without a great deal of difficulty. You might not be as fast with the Ruger, but you can go fast enough to shoot defensively. If I’m shooting a Bill Drill, I might be a half-second slower with the Ruger than a Glock. 

The sights are somewhat small compared to modern sights, but still very useable. Acquiring the sights and get them on target isn’t tough. The rear sight is a thin notch, and the front sight is a serrated blade. The small size makes it easy to see targets are further than average distances, but the all-black design can be tougher to acquire when going quickly. 

A little white nail polish might go a long way. I found the P89 to be decently accurate. It’s a gun that makes short work of IPSC-sized A Zones but doesn’t produce those superbly tight groups. You might be disappointed if you want to make trick shots are long ranges. From a realistic defensive standpoint, the gun’s accurate enough to get the job done. 

If I wanted something to punch holes as tight as possible, this ain’t it. At distances of 25 yards, I could hit a 10-inch gong, but nothing smaller. Again, for realistic defensive applications, it’s fine, but for long-range engagements, you might find it lacking. 

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We get a surprisingly nice trigger. The double action rolls nicely, and the single action is fairly short, but it won’t give you 1911-like impressions. It punches above its weight class, for sure. 

The Ruger P89 is still remarkably affordable. If you want a budget-worthy gun, the Ruger P89 has occupied that slot for 35 years. It’s still a viable option, even if it’s not optics or light-ready. The Ruger P89 is not fancy and never was. It’s not the most accurate gun, and the trigger isn’t match grade, but it works and works well. It lives up to the imaginary Ruger slogan of “Pretty good, pretty cheap.” 

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