As many above observe,, Ruger auto pistols are tough, reliable and accurate. I have a stainless P-90 that is one of my favorite .45's. Yes, it doesn't have the cache of my HK Tactical, but it didn't cost as much. No it doesn't look or feel as nice as my Colt Government model. But in terms of pure function these guns have few peers. I have yet to have my P-90 fail to feed (and I mean anything!) The double action pull isn't great, but it is no worse than the HK's DA pull. The P-90 single action full is actually quite good. At combat ranges this gun routinely produces slow-fire one hole groups. I don't know where this business about Ruger slides rusting comes from; I live in the Pacific Northwest where it's wet all the time, and there's no truth to the rust complaint if my experience is typical. Even the size issue is moot; as Marcus quite rightly points out Rugers only look big. Aside from the aesthetic shortcomings of the pistol (and beauty is in the eye of the beholder) it's hard to fault Rugers by any objective measure. I'll finish with this observation. I prefer revolvers for nightstand duty as I consider them to be more reliable than pistols, but on those occasions when I'm too lazy to get a revolver out of the safe for nightstand duty, I never lose any sleep with the P-90 by my side.
P.S. My son's next purchase will be the excellent Ruger P-97, his first .45.
P.S. My son's next purchase will be the excellent Ruger P-97, his first .45.