Manual
10
Action: The action of the Ruger P345 manual safety model pistol is of the U.S.
M1911 type that utilizes a tilting barrel design in which the barrel and slide are
locked together at the moment of firing. After firing, the barrel and slide recoil
to the rear a short distance while still locked together. After this initial
movement, the barrel is cammed downward from its locked position, permitting
full recoil of the slide and the extraction and ejection of the spent cartridge case.
Upon return of the slide to its forward position by the recoil spring, the barrel is
cammed back upward into its locked position in the slide.
The user of this or any autoloading pistol must always remember that when
fired, it automatically reloads and recocks itself, so that simply pulling the
trigger will fire the pistol again. Therefore, an autoloading pistol user must be
particularly conscious to always keep the pistol pointed in a safe direction.
Slide Stop:
When the last shot has been fired and the magazine is empty, the
slide stop automatically holds the slide open. When there is an empty magazine
in the pistol and the slide is retracted manually, the slide stop will also
automatically hold the slide open. If a loaded magazine is inserted in the pistol
when the slide is closed and the slide is then retracted fully, the slide stop will
not automatically hold open the slide. The user can actuate the slide stop
mechanism to hold the slide open at any time by retracting the slide and
pushing the slide stop up.
The slide stop can be released by drawing back slightly on the slide and
depressing the slide stop thumbpiece. When the slide is released, it will move
forward under pressure from the recoil spring.
The slide stop is spring loaded downward. Therefore, when there is a loaded
magazine in place and the pistol is jarred, the slide can fly forward and chamber
a cartridge. For this reason and as an essential safety practice, the user should
always be careful to keep fingers away from the trigger, keep the safety on, and
always keep the pistol pointed in a safe direction.
Magazines:
The Ruger .45 Auto (.45 ACP) magazines are not interchangeable
with Ruger pistol magazines of any
other caliber even though they may appear
similar and may hold other cartridges. Use of incorrect magazines in any pistol
will result in malfunctions.