Disassembly and Reassembly Of the Ruger P345 Pistol

Some pistols, primarily those showing up on law-enforcement and military duty belts, wear Picatinny-type rails from which flashlights and laser devices are suspended. You seldom see a Picatinny rail on a handgun purchased for civilian personal defense or concealed carry…too bulky. I’m not about to start an argument with a SWAT team or a Special-Ops squad, but there’s a school of thought that warns against hanging a light source under a muzzle.

Reason being, that light reveals the position of the individual carrying the gun. Moreover, if the beam happens to be emanating from a laser, it will not reach its point of aim if it’s raining, snowing, foggy, smoky, or if a cloud of dust gets in its way. Then there’s the possibility that the batteries for the device have died, and the shot must literally be taken in the dark.

These, in any case, are the reasons why I’ve always stressed extensive practice with lowor no-light glow sights for my law-enforcement customers, and why I encourage civilians to rely solely on their use. Sturm-Ruger, of course, did not consult with me on my concerns about lights and lasers, but I’m sure we’re in agreement that a .45 will top a lesser caliber any day for duty or personal defense. They decided to produce a .45 that could find a home in either market, and the result was the P345 introduced in 2004.

Two models are made. The P345PR has the Picatinnystyle rail and the P345 does not. Other than this appendage, both pistols are mechanically identical. Neither, at this time, is available with a decocker feature. I understand low demand was the reason. Field Stripping The chamber is empty, the magazine has been taken out, the safety is "on," the muzzle is pointed in a harmless direction, and you’re wearing eye protection. Right? Good. Now we can get started.

Pull the slide fully to the rear and lock it there by pressing upward on the slide stop (#54). Keep pressing upward on the stop, and insert the eraser end of a pencil into the ejection port to push the ejector (#46) down and forward until it locks in its lowered position. (Fail to do this and you can go no further.) Take a firm hold on the slide and press down on the stop. Ride the slide slowly forward until the vertical index mark on its left side aligns with the disassembly nub on the same side of the frame.

This small projection is located above the leftside grip. Push inward on the right-

hand end of the stop and remove it to the left. Keep the slide under control as you move it forward and off the frame. Invert the slide, and lift up on the camblock/recoil spring assembly (#27 to 30) to dislodge it from the barrel lug (#31) and withdraw the assembly to the rear. The barrel, now disengaged from the assembly, is removed in a similar manner. This is as far as the owners’ manual advises a P345 owner to go. Hopefully, your customers will take that advice to heart.

But if they’re anything like my customers, they probably won’t. You’d be surprised how many plastic bags full of brand new parts arrive at the Ruger factory repair center every week. On the other hand, maybe you wouldn’t. Detailed Disassembly And Reassembly Tips You must have noticed it by now. The rear sight base has a set screw. Loosen but do not remove the set screw. There are several small things hiding under the sight base.

Among them are the firing-pin block plunger (#10) and the magazine-disconnect spring (#7). If you take the set screw out completely before moving the sight base from left to right, the plunger will enter the vacated hole and stop you in your tracks. Sure, you might be able to bulldoze the base and keep the sight moving. Don’t. You’ll lose the magazine-disconnect spring to a flight of fancy.

So go easy, move the sight only enough to reveal the plunger, place your finger over it, move the base a little more, and control the upward thrust of the plunger spring (#9). Repeat this action with the disconnect spring before pushing the base from the slide. It’s okay now to lift out the loaded-chamber indicator (#5) and its spring (#4). Both are also held in place by the rear-sight base. Now you can go after parts #7 through 10. You’re now ready to address the extractor-pivot pin (#3).

This is a roll pin so arm yourself with a roll-pin punch and don’t drift the pin out all the way downward. When the extractor (#13) has been pushed outward from the slide by its spring (#14), None of the springs in this pistol can be called a "pushover." How each one interfaces with its related parts must be carefully studied prior to removal. you’ve gone far enough.

In addition to making reinstallation of the pin easier, leaving it partially installed eliminates a problem with this type of retainer: Roll pins tend to shrink after going through repeated take outs and no longer fit as tightly as they should. At this point make sure the safety is still "on" and the slide inverted. Your objective is the safety-lever retainer (#16). On one end of the retainer there’s a slot. The straight end of the retainer spring (#15) rests in this slot.

Lift the spring from the slot and push the retainer out from right to left. Then lift the bent end of the spring from the left safety (#19) and remove the safety in the same direction. Note the two pins attached to the safety. The upper one goes through the hole in the safety strut (#17). Upon removing the safety, the strut will drop from the slide. Afterwards, you can pull out the right safety (#18). The firing pin (#26) and its spring (#25) are removed to the rear.

Inside the left safety area detent spring (#20) and plunger (#21). It takes a set of thin, long-nose pliers to extract them, but I suggest you don’t. The story is much the same with the locking safety assembly (#22, 23, and 24). These parts work together to defeat the firing system of the pistol when the internal locking key (#57) is inserted in the frame and turned. Yes, it’s possible to get the locking assembly out of the slide by driving out the locking pin, but a big-time problem occurs if you do.

You’ll break off the "ears" on the pin. What you break you will have to replace, or you’ll have to hand the pistol back to its owner without its internal locking system’ a definite no-no. As for removing the front sight, it drifts from left to right. However, at the factory the sight is installed with a press, and you know how tight press-fits can be.

1 Slide 2 Front Sight 3 Extractor Pivot Pin 4 Loaded Chamber Indicator Spring 5 Loaded Chamber Indicator 6 Magazine Disconnect 7 Magazine Disconnect Spring 8 Firing Pin Block* 9 Firing Pin Block Spring* 10 Firing Pin Block Plunger* 11 Rear Sight Assembly 12 Rear Sight Lock Screw 13 Extractor* 14 Extractor Spring 15 Safety Lever Spring 16 Safety Lever Retainer 17 Safety Strut 18 Safety, Right 19 Safety Assembly, Left 20 Safety Detent Plunger Spring 21 Safety Detent Plunger 22 Lock Pin 23 Lock Plunger Detent Spring 24 Lock Detent Plunger 25 Firing Pin Spring 26 Firing Pin 27 Recoil Spring 28 Buffer Spring 29 Camblock 30 Slide Stop Detent 31 Barrel* 32 Trigger Bar Spring 33 Trigger Bar* 34 Trigger 35 Trigger Plunger Spring 36 Trigger Plunger 37 Hammer Assembly* 38 Hammer Pivot Pin 39 Magazine Latch 40 Trigger Pivot Pin 41 Blocker Lever* 42 Sear Spring 43 Sear* 44 Ejector Spring 45 Ejector Pivot Assembly 46 Ejector 47 Magazine Latch Spring 48 Hammer Spring Seat 49 Hammer Spring Detent Ruger P345 Semi-Automatic Pistol (Specifications subject to change without notice) 50 Hammer Spring 51 Hammer Strut 52 Hammer Spring Seat Pin 53 Sear Pivot Pin (2) 54 Slide Stop Assembly 55 Frame w/Accessory Rail Frame w/o Accessory Rail (not shown) 56 Magazine, Complete (8 Shot) 57 Internal Lock Key *Factory fitting required.

Note: Factory numbers appear in the owner’s manual, a co e obtained from Sturm-Ruger

This is normally the time in a pistol article when I’d move on to the frame disassembly. I’m going to depart from my usual format, however, and discuss reassembly tips for the slide first. When placed back in the slide, the lug on the right side of the firing pin must face to the right because it interlocks with the right safety and the right safety holds the firing pin in place. But not so fast; the flange on that safety mates/aligns with its groove on the slide.

The upper pin of the left safety goes through the safety strut and enters the upper hole in the right safety. Of course, this means the lower-left safety pin engages the bottom hole in the right safety, so take care when lining up the safeties. Invert the slide again and place the safety "on." Reinstall the bent end of the safety-lever spring in the left safety and start in the safety retainer. Depress the short leg of the spring so you can push the retainer over it and through the spring coils.

The short leg of the spring has to engage its cut in the retainer when you let up on the pressure on it. Once that’s happened, push the retainer all the way in the slide. When re-securing the extractor and its spring with their pin, make certain the pin is either perfectly flush with The two must be aligned prior to field stripping in order to remove the slide stop. or slightly inside the level of its hole in the slide. This will avoid any dragging against the frame. Reposition the slide right-side up.

The firing-pin block, block spring, and plunger are next in that order. They’re followed by the loaded-chamber indicator, magazine disconnect, and disconnect spring. To get them all in the slide, turn in the rear sightbase set screw until it’s absolutely flush with the bottom of the base. Push down on the block plunger and move the sight from right to left to capture it. Depress the disconnect spring with the blade of a small screwdriver and move the base to capture it.

Now that you have all the bits and pieces trapped beneath it, carefully drift the base into alignment with both sides of its dovetail. Turn in the set screw, but not too tightly. Still not reinstalled are the barrel and camblock assembly. The recoil spring is smaller at one end than the other. The small end has to be fed onto the bushing first or the pistol will stop working. The fit will be snug between bushing and spring. The bushing and camblock itself are pressfit.

The slide-stop detent has atop and bottom side. Its hooked ends are to be positioned downward and find a home in the slide stop to retain it. Okay, now I’m finally getting around to the frame. After you drift out the sear-pivot pins (#53), the ejector will pop up. Good news here; these are not roll pins and can be moved from either side. Once they’re out of the frame, you could forge ahead to take out the sear block (#43) and its spring (#42). Not forging ahead is the right thing to do, however.

First memorize how the spring engages the sear block and the blocker lever (#41) before disturbing them. As a matter of fact, before removing any spring in any gun, it’s a good idea to commit to memory or make a rough sketch of how it relates to the parts it acts upon or engages. Drift out the trigger pivot (#40) left to right, but when you do, take care not to lose the trigger plunger (#36) or its spring (#35). They’re going to be taken out in a few minutes.

The front end of the trigger-bar spring (#32) is seated in the frame. Raise it out of there. The spring’s opposite end, the small circular one, will probably remain attached to the bar. It’s more or less secured in a small groove located within the inverted Ushaped cut toward the back end. Once the trigger (#34) has been slid off the trigger-bar stud, the aforementioned plunger and spring can be plucked from the trigger with your fingertips or a pair of tweezers.

A delicate touch is suggested when separating the spring from the trigger bar. You may want to temporarily secure the frame between protected vise jaws, since what follows could require two free hands. The ejectorpivot assembly (#45) has a plunger at

B A both ends. These fit into small holes on each side of the frame. Press down on the pivot and in on both plungers to free the ejector for a lift out. Pause and take a magnified look at how the ejector spring (#44) is positioned. If you fail to reinstall it exactly as described later on, the ejector will not work. For the moment, concentrate on the hammer-strut seat pin (#52). It’s under considerable pressure from the hammer spring (#50).

Take a firm hold on the upper frame, place its lower rear section on your bench top, and press down on it to force the hammer-spring seat (#48) upward. This will reduce pressure on the pin and you can push it out with a 3/32inch punch in either direction. Ease off the spring seat to prevent loss of the hammer-spring detent (#49) and the hammer spring. When they’re out of the way in the grip frame, the hammer strut (#51) will fall out.

Moving right along, tap the left side of the frame with a nylon or rawhide mallet to jar the hammerpivot pin (#38) to the right. Pull the pin to the right side with your fingertips, remove the hammer (#37), and locate the magazine-latch spring (#47). Its top end is slipped into a very small hole on the right side of the frame above the trigger guard. A 1/16-inch punch is used to maneuver the spring out of the hole, and then lift it upward and out of the frame.

As soon as you do this, the magazine latch (#39) will fall out. Take note of another very The trigger pin extends through the frame; the hammer pivot does not, and should be fully seated in its recess as described in the text. This is how the assembly should appear after reinstallation in the pistol. small hole in the body of the latch itself. Into that hole will be inserted the straight leg of the spring on reassembly. I’ll address that operation and some other frame-reassembly tips next.

The magazine latch is installed from the right. Starting at the top of the frame, thread the long leg of the latch spring into the latch hole. Press the spring into its groove in the right side of the frame with your index finger to keep it in place. Reemploy the 1/16-inch punch to get the upper end of the spring back into the hole it came from. If your finger is too thick to make this happen, no problem; forget the finger and partially install the magazine to retain the spring while you see to that bent end.

When putting the hammer back in, grasp its top end, insert the bottom end into the magazine well, lift it up and to the rear, then align and install its pivot. One part of the hammer assembly isn’t shown on the schematic. It’s a small roll pin near the hammer base. Don’t remove it. The upper end of the hammer strut has to engage this pin, so start with the frame upside down. Place the hammer spring on the strut, and pick up the hammer spring detent.

You’ve probably noticed the detent has one flat and one domed end, but in case you haven’t, this is important: The domed end is the end that goes into the hammerspring seat. Unless it does, reinstalling the seat pin is impossible. What I say to do next might sound like it’s coming your way a little late in frame reassembly. Not so. When you installed the hammer pivot, did you seat it fully on the right side of the frame? Are you sure? It may look as though you did, but assurance is required.

Tap the head of the pivot with a rawhide mallet. Now you’re positive. From here on, things become a little trickier and more complex. Preassemble the ejector with its pivot pin through both coils of the spring. The long leg of the spring has to be positioned as shown on the schematic. Cutouts in the frame accommodate both pin plungers. Grasp the ejector at its top, and pull it toward the rear of the frame.

When the plungers snap into their cutouts, the ejector is back in’as long as the longer leg of the (continued on page 21)

spring doesn’t enter the magazine well from its intended location in the frame. Pivot the ejector forward before hooking up the back loop of the trigger-bar spring into its bar cutout and sliding the bar into its frame slot. Reattach the front end of the spring to the frame. Spear the trigger with the stud on the bar. You may want to rest the frame on its left side while you replace the spring and plunger in the trigger.

Hold or tape them temporarily in place, align the trigger and trigger-pivot holes, move the frame to upright, and start in the pivot pin. It has a notch in it put there to engage the plunger. Depress the plunger with the 1/16-inch punch, move the pin in further until the notch and plunger align, and then pull the punch. The ejector remains forward. Hold the upper end of the blocker lever between your fingertips. The little stud on the top rear of the trigger bar and the lower notch on the lever have to mate.

Align the related holes and install one sear pin flush with both sides of the frame. Pick up the sear between the same fingertips by its top, align all holes, and start the second sear pin in until it’s flush with the inside of the sear. There’s a slot for the straight end of the spring at the back of the sear and a small notch for the bent end of the spring on top of the blocker lever. More tricky stuff is just ahead. You can’t muscle the spring into submission.

You have to maneuver it at an angle so you can drift the second sear pin through the spring coil and onward to a flush meeting with the right frame. All this sounds like it’ll result in a pounding headache, but the P345s frame reassembly is actually easier than that of the older P85. I