Manual

17
OPERATION OF MAGAZINE DISCONNECT
Your RUGER
®
P345
TM
pistol is equipped with a magazine disconnect. This
device prevents firing if the magazine is removed from the pistol. You will not be
able to use your P345
TM
pistol as a single loader or to fire the pistol with the
magazine out of the pistol.
Do not load the pistol until you are ready to use it, and
unload it immediately when you have completed shooting.
(See “Warning - Unloading” on page 18.)
If dropped or struck, the pistol may fire. Keep chamber
empty unless actually firing! Use the safety lever to decock
pistol before moving with pistol or when not actually
firing.
For maximum safety when carrying the pistol with a
loaded magazine in place, the chamber should be empty,
the slide should be closed, and the pistol should be
decocked
. Never carry it cocked! If placed into a holster,
check it to be sure that the slide is not retracted far
enough to either chamber a cartridge from the magazine
or cock the pistol.
The user should never depend on any mechanical device
to justify careless handling or permitting the pistol to
point in an unsafe direction. The shooter should always be
alert to the possibility of accidental discharge. The
only absolutely safe pistol is one in which the slide is
open, the chamber is empty, and there is no magazine
in the gun.
WARNING - HANDLING
ANY GUN MAY FIRE IF DROPPED
!
REMEMBER THAT A ROUND MAY STILL BE IN THE CHAMBER AND
THAT THE PISTOL MAY STILL BE LOADED EVEN IF THE MAGAZINE IS
REMOVED. AS SOON AS AN EMPTY MAGAZINE IS INSERTED, A
ROUND IN THE CHAMBER CAN BE FIRED BY PULLING THE TRIGGER.
BE CAREFUL! AS ALWAYS, YOU SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THE MAGAZINE
DISCONNECT OR ANY OTHER MECHANICAL DEVICE OR SAFETY TO JUSTIFY
CARELESS OR UNSAFE HANDLING OF ANY FIREARM.
!
Don’t rely on your memory to know if a gun or magazine is loaded. Visually
inspect the magazine and the chamber.
DRY FIRING
Going through the actions of cocking, aiming and pulling the trigger on an
unloaded gun is known as “dry firing.” It can be useful to learn the “feel” of your
pistol. Be certain that the pistol is fully unloaded (both the chamber and magazine
are empty) and that the pistol is pointing in a safe direction even when you are
practicing dry firing. The RUGER
®
P345
TM
pistols can be dry-fired without
damage to the firing pin or other components as long as the magazine is inserted.
CAUTION: Dry firing your RUGER
®
P345
TM
with the magazine removed may
result in damage or unnecessary wear to the firing pin blocking mechanism.