1Marty. The P95 is not really a tough as you think. It was first made of A356T, an aircraft-quility aluminum alloy, and later models are of a polymer design. Both of these products are used to detere corrosion, and provide for a better carry, or service weapon, that does not require the daily cleaning a steel weapon requires. They will take a lot of daily abuse, but don't be fooled that it will take the abuse you described and continue to tick. You may get away with it a time or two, but soon you will be shipping it back for repair, or throwing it in the recycle bin.
The P-95 was something of a revolutionary design. The P-95 used the P-93's slide and barrel, but changed from the 1911 style rotating link design to a linkless design designed to transfer energy to the frame less abruptly, reducing the stress on the frame and in the process reducing the felt recoil. More obvious to the average shooter than that, however, was the change from an aluminum frame to a long strand fiberglass reinforced polyurethane resin frame based on Dow Chemical's "Isoplast". This reduced the weight of the pistol by 4 oz., and also reduced the price significantly, as the polymer frame was less expensive to produce than the aluminum one. Unlike any other polymer framed hangun on the market, the P-95 had no metal inserts in the frame. The combination of the rugged Ruger design and the high strength polymer allowed the slide to ride directly on the polymer frame rails, which simplified the casting of the frame and helped keep the P-95's price low.
As for the berylium copper firing pin, it is also tough, but will break. Berylium copper was used by Rockwell in numerous places on the B1B aircraft. It works, but it does fail very often. Failure of berylium copper parts in the landing gear/landing lights system has generated generated many hours of labor for us maintenance personnel.
And by the way, I have repaired a ruger or two over the years, damaged as a result of dry firing. While Rugar does not discourage dry firing, neither do they recommend it. Continue to do it on a regular basis, and you will be replacing parts. It is like I said previously, "pay me now, or pay me later." Folks that take the "cheap charlie" attitude and refuse to provide the additional insurance for the longivity of their weapon by purchasing a cheap set of snap caps, at some point will pay a much larger price in repairs.
