Manual
6
SPECIAL FEATURE - DECOCKING LEVER
The model you have selected is equipped with a special manual decocking lever
that also allows you to decock (uncock) a cocked pistol without manipulating the
trigger. Conventional thumb decocking procedures are therefore not necessary
and should not be employed with this pistol.
To decock the pistol, point the pistol in a safe dir
ection. Depress the decocking
lever until the hammer drops. The decocking lever first moves the firing pin into
the slide far enough so that the rear end of the firing pin cannot be struck by the
hammer. Only then will continued depression of the decocking lever safely drop
the hammer to an uncocked position (see Figure 1, p. 7). To return the pistol to
firing condition, simply release the decocking lever (see Figure 2, p. 7). It will
spring upward to its original position. The pistol is then ready to fire by a “dou-
ble-action” pull of the trigger. The hammer can also be manually cocked imme-
diately before shooting a “single-action” firing. The trigger pull is both shorter
and relatively lighter in the “single-action” mode, which is preferred for more
accurate shooting.
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 maga-
zine 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 held in place by a spring detent. 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 and always
keep the pistol pointed in a safe direction.
Magazines:
Ruger .45ACP magazines are not interchangeable with Ruger pistol
magazines of any
other caliber. Use of incorrect magazines in any pistol will
result in malfunctions. The RUGER
®
P97DC comes equipped with 8 round
capacity magazines. The 8 round magazine is identified by its’ stainless steel fol-
lower, which is visible at the top of the magazine when it is empty. The
RUGER
®
P97DC will also function correctly with Ruger 7 round .45 ACP
magazines. These 7 round magazines use a black plastic follower, also visible at
the top of the magazine when it is empty. Ruger .45ACP magazines are
unmarked as to caliber. All other Ruger centerfire magazines, which are similar
in appearance, are marked as to caliber (“.40 Auto Cal.,” etc.)
DAMAGED, NON-STANDARD, OR IMPROPERLY
ASSEMBLED MAGAZINES SHOULD NOT BE USED.
THEY CAN CAUSE THE PISTOL TO MALFUNCTION.