Ruger P85 9mm

[bigD]

Hello Everyone,

My wife and I recently went to a gun show and as usual, a gun caught my eye. It is a Ruger P85 9MM with a serial prefix of 301, the safety also has mark 2 stamped on it. The guy who was manning the table said he thought it was worth around $400 and was asking $350 I offered him $300 and he took it. The gun came in its original hard case and came with two stainless clips. The gun is stainless on "matte" finish. I am not sure that matte is the correct term for the finish but the actual name is slipping my mind.

Overall it is in great shape, the trigger guard has some wear on it, it appears the holster it was kept in rubbed the paint off it also has a custom grip (rubber) and just a minute bit of wear on the stainless slide near the end of the barrel.

I am $300.00 in as of now and I think I could happily use this gun for many years without investing another dime, and I think for the price and condition I did really well.

The guy who sold it told me he was going to send it into Ruger to have it re blued and restored and that they charge around $80.00 for that. According to to the website that process can cost between 80 and 110 dollars.

SO...

For a total investment of $420.00 do you think I could re sell it and get my money back?

[alleydude]

First off, welcome to the forum! Glad to see a new face from time to time.

But I think the dealer saw you coming. Though you didn't pay way too much, you probably paid top dollar for what the gun is worth.

I found this one on GunBroker that sold for $325, and it's in pretty decent condition. Does this one looks similar to yours?

   

So personally, I would NOT dump any more money into it because you probably wouldn't get it back out of it. You MIGHT get close to what you paid for it as-is, but if it were me, I'd keep it and shoot the crap outta it.

Hope this helps, and again,

[bigD]

Thank you! I have not been able to afford ANY new toys in a few years thanks to the economy so I am a bit rusty on things, and yea it looks almost identical to the one in the picture, my grips are rubber that is the only diff by as it looks.

[alleydude]

(06-26-2010 07:13 PM)bigD Wrote:  Thank you! I have not been able to afford ANY new toys in a few years thanks to the economy so I am a bit rusty on things, and yea it looks almost identical to the one in the picture, my grips are rubber that is the only diff by as it looks.

I wouldn't be ashamed at all to shoot that Ruger. I'm not one of those "My gun is better than your gun" types, and whatever you're shooting is cool with me. Carry it proud.

[Delbert]

Welcome BigD. You'll find this forum very open minded and one thing we like to do is shoot and ogle over firearms, so join in all you want, even if it's about, well nothing. If that Ruger is like the pic that Alleydude posted, you got yourself a fine firearm. I think the words you're looking for is "Duo-tone" for the 2 different color combo that the factories are now doing which is a nice color contrast. The grey color is a matte parkarize finish which in my opinion is a soft finish that factory's now use that doesn't stand up over time like a true, hot blueing will with a fine firearm, but as you know by now, everybody is cutting back on expenses and going the cheaper route and gun finishes is one of them. As to the plastic grips which are probably a rubberized material, their probably Pacmyer grips.
Del

[gnepig]

Welcome BigD, nice gun you have there. I had the Ruger P95 and it was a fine sidearm. From what I remember it was very reliable and would shoot any brand ammo, even the real cheap stuff. I think you will enjoy your Ruger for target practice and it will be great for home defense.
I wouldn't worry about the worth of your gun as much as how fun it's goin to be to shoot. And if (God forbid) you had a problem that required a firearm, your new Ruger will be priceless...
Good get