Ruger P85 DA/SA 9mm Pistol: Bug-Out-Bag Option

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To many shooters, the Ruger P85 is an orphan handgun. The young don’t recognize the big 9mm, and older shooters chase after other more desirable handguns. However, the P85 is an important handgun for anyone interested in Ruger history.

While awkwardly heavy, out of fashion and perhaps even out of date, the P85 is a reliable piece fit to ride in a bug-out bag. It is affordable enough that most anyone can afford the P85. The later P89 and the polymer frame P95 are similarly affordable.

The Ruger P85 was designed when the “wonder nine” was in early stages of development. The SIG P226 and Beretta 92 were front runners, and the CZ 75 was difficult to come by. Compared to the Beretta 92, a fairly thick and bulky handgun, the P85 wasn’t all that big. And it cost much less.

Some police agencies adopted the Ruger, as quite a few had had poor experiences with competing domestic double-action/single-action pistols and found the Ruger P85 a reliable alternative.

The P85’s double-action pull is usually heavy at about 16 pounds with a long arc. The single-action pull breaks at five to six pounds.

The safety is slide mounted, large and easily manipulated. When moved downward, the safety becomes a decock lever, and later there was a decock-only version.

Interestingly, the Ruger P85 uses a 1911-type swinging link for unlocking. This is among the last non-1911 designs to utilize the swinging link. The 9mm version features a 15-round magazine. The gun had a 4.25-inch barrel, the slide is steel, and the frame is a typical Ruger casting. The grips are black plastic.

I tested-fired the Ruger P85 at the time of its introduction. I liked it as much as the Smith & Wesson 59 issued by a local agency and found the P85 to be reliable. It wasn’t nearly as smooth as the SIG P226, but then it was half the price.

The P85 did well in sales due to several factors. Ruger loyalty was a strong factor, and like all Ruger handguns the P85 proved reliable. Affordability was its huge selling point, though. It was a bit pudgy but reliable, with competitive capacity and accuracy.

I had a chance to revisit the Ruger when I found a good-condition P85 in a pawn shop for $250. The pistol’s grip is blocky but doesn’t overly stretch most hands. The P85 is slide heavy, and the slide has steps in the flats, but it isn’t as graceful as the Browning Hi Power. The sights are well designed for the period and offer a good sight picture. They are regulated for 124-grain loads.

I took my new acquisition to the firing range with an assortment of Black Hills ammunition. At five yards I could get the first, double-action shot in the X-ring easily, but at seven yards I had to slow down a bit. The first shot isn’t as smooth as other DA/SA pistols, and the slide-heavy feel isn’t helpful.

The pistol is easy to shoot well in single-action mode. It wasn’t difficult to keep all shots into the K zone of a B27 target at 25 yards shooting offhand. From the bench, Black Hills 124-grain jacketed hollowpoints put five shots into 3.2 inches.

While there are new striker-fired pistols that don’t cost much more, the P85 is a reliable handgun with quite a history behind it. I’d recommend a P85 in good condition for emergency use. I mentioned what I paid for mine, which was a year ago. You can expect to pay about that much for a P85, a bit more for the later P89. As an example of Ruger history the P85 is a period piece that may be fired often if you desire.

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