Ruger or S&W?

Question

Hey everybody. I'm looking to get a decent handgun for myself and there are two handguns in the price range I'm looking for. The place I'm going to (J&G in Prescot, AZ) has both S&W Sigma 40F's and Ruger P85 MII's in the same price range on police trade-in in VG condition.

Now I had the S&W Sigma 40F before and it was not a bad gun, in 600 rounds it only jammed once and that's because the ammo was poor quality. I liked the .40 round but I can handle 9mm's better; this gun also seemed to feel too light for my taste as the clip was emptied...

Is the Ruger P85 a superior handgun in all respects? It has the same capacity but in 9mm, and Ruger has more experience with autoloaders (or so it seems to me)...I also like the look of these as opposed to the Sigma.

Should I go with what I know or is the Ruger going to be a better choice?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Of the the two I'd say the the ruger is the better weapon, of all the people I've known to own the sigma not a single one liked the weapon and a few had significant problems (all feed problems). Its the gun everyone's had and traded for something else.
To be honest If I were in your postion I'd wait, save a little more money and purchase a better quality fire arm than the two mentioned, i.e. sig sauer, h&k, glock. I own a smith & wesson m&p40 (and a model 52 but thats a different ball game), I like the way it shoots, I carry it at times, its not a bad weapon (well its been good since smith fixed my mag release, it is a new design for them) but its certianly not up to par with my sigs. I cant even count the rounds but through my p220 and I've tracked over 10,000 rounds through my sp2340 with absoluty no problems.
when it comes to firearms you get what you pay for.
not to mention the sigma is a bad copy of a glock and the patent infringement suit cost smith a lot of money, which by the way the newer "enhanced" trigger was a redesign to avoid paying royalties to glock in the future.

Answer 2

I had nothing but bad with a first generation S & W Sigma in .9mm but my buddy had no problems w/his Sigma in .40 S & W purchased the same time. Go figure.

On the other hand, I took my SAP course with a Ruger P-85 and it NEVER malfunctioned, PERIOD. Of the two I can only recommend the Ruger.

With good, quality defensive ammo (115 to 127 grain jacketed hollow point ammo or pre-frag ammo for home defense) the .9mm is a good stopper. Also, Rugers are rated for +P ammo. Final Note: A lot of officers in my department carry Ruger P-89s w/department issued 127 grain +P+ .9mm ammo. It is a good gun.

Best.

H

Answer 3

depends on what you need it for. as a "manstopper" the .40 s&w cartridge is better than the 9mm. With the new ammo available, the 9mm is "adequate" at best. BUT, if you shoot the 9mm better than the .40, that's what you should use. An accurate hit with a 9mm is far better than a miss with a .40. Ruger makes the strongest pistol on the market. My only complaint is that the controls, IE: safety and slide relaease, are too small for someone with large hands like mine. And they don't offer after market replacements. Also, Ruger does make a .40 as well. I'm a died in the wool .45acp fan for personal defense, but if outdoors, I wouldn't carry it to hunt or defend against critters. I'd go with a minimun of .357 mag, but prefer a .44 mag. I have used the .454 casull and the new 500s&w as well. The benefit to the .357 mag, is that for target practice you can shoot light .38 special ammo thru it. You cna load it up with 158 grain soft points in .357 and take game with it as well. I've taken deer and wild pig with one. Anyway, that's off the subject. Both the S&W and the Ruger are good pistols, I wouldn't turn either one down. Go with what fits your hand, your budget, and you that you can hit what you aim at with.

Answer 4

Consider the Colt Combat Commander in 45 acp before purchasing the Ruger or Sigma*...

Answer 5

Get the Sigma. Get the Enhanced version. I have 1 Sigma SW40 and 1 SW40VE. I like the stainless slides.

The enhanced version has decent crisp trigger pull (for a Sigma) but I like it better than a Glock trigger, but that's sheer preference. Don't get an older Sigma they have a sloppy trigger.

I shot my buddie's P-85 and it was a hoot. I would own one just to dink around with but if you are serious I would go S&W!

Answer 6

Get the Ruger.

S&W makes the second best revolvers in the world but have issues with Semi-autos year after year. I'm not spending my gun money on a Smith auto, there's too many good, proven guns out there.

Answer 7

Ruger Nuff said

Answer 8

Ruger. No question.

Back in 2000, S&W caved in and sided with the Brady freaks on gun control. Every dollar spent on one of their products puts money into the pockets of the anti-gunners that goes to programs meant to end our sport.

Answer 9

if i were you... id try other brands... check out the cz75 po-1. its available in 9mm and .40. compact pistol about 7inches. carries 14 rounds in 9mm and 10 in .40... less than $600 brand new... with a 3.9inch barrel.. u cant go wromg with that... cz-usa.com. also gundirectory.com... its the gun of my drmz...

Answer 10

Go with the S & W , Have you looked @ Taurus ? They have some decent weapons for the $$ also