Ruger LCP

[phxtoad]

Novice shooter here. Spent some firearms class time this last summer, and since then I have been practicing at the range with the wife's old .45 and .40. I recently purchased the little Ruger LCP .380 auto to add to our collection. I was looking for something a bit cheaper to shoot and specifically wanted a good pocket gun.

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg304/phxtoad/Misc/IMG_4866.jpg

The little bugger is fun to shoot. So far 100 rounds in and out, and I've only had a couple of jams. These were within the first 25 rounds. I have big hands, but it still fits nicely. I definitely recommend the clip grip extensions.

I'm still getting used to the double action trigger though. Still too 'jerky' with my pull. Still, I'm getting some good groupings out to 30' or so.

I really like the fact that it's an ARIZONA gun, too. :sombrero:

Todd

[Lichen]

I own 3 Ruger pistols and one Ruger carbine. My 9mm is double-action only on the first shot, then becomes single action. Is that how your .380 is?

[barlowrs]

The LCP is a very nice peice, its nice to see someone finally get it right. Only downside is they are not for civilians in Cali (LEO only as they dont pass specific Ca drop test). But they are a blast to shoot, and the size is incredible!

[BigAl]

I carried a .380 Bryco (el Cheapo) for 10 years. I found that if I left the clips loaded for weeks on end, i would get jams. You might do well to empty and reload the clips often to exercise the spring. I love the size, good choice. I switched to a hammerless revolver, but still like the little autos. Odds that you'll actually carry it are higher

[gary in ohio]

if your going pocket gun, then make sure you have a good pocket holster.

[captblack]

The LCP is a very nice peice, its nice to see someone finally get it right. Only downside is they are not for civilians in Cali

Seems like another reason to not live in CA...

[phxtoad]

Lichen - this pistol is double action all the time. Shooting sends the trigger to a half-cocked position only. There is no safety on the gun.

gary in ohio - I do have a DeSantis pocket holster that I use. It's great! I only wish it had a pouch for a second clip.

[Wyowanderer]

Seems like another reason to not live in CA...

Or any other despotic state....

[robert]

The LCP is a great pocket gun. Several things I'd point out (in no order).
Being as small as it is it seems to be susceptible to limp wristing; if you don't hold it tight it doesn't always cycle reliably.
Being as small as it is and more specifically as flat as it is I've found a lot of people, myself included (which is how I figured it out), let the pistol rotate laterally in their hand and their second shot tends to pull more right. The finger extension on the magazine helps this with most folks.
Make sure you clean your pockets before dropping the gun in there. A pocket holster helps, but even still, lint will build up in the gun. You need to check and clean/oil it periodically. I've got a Desantis Nemesis that works well enough but might be better if the muzzle end was closed instead of open.
There are several holster makers out there who make versions that will hold a spare mag. The downside to this is that your spare magazine is now in a pocket on the same side as your gun hand. Opposite side is faster so you don't have to move the pistol to the other hand or take it off target if your covering one.
The sights, such as they are, benefit from a drop of white paint (or any color that makes them stand out a bit). They tend to blend into the slide being as small as they are.
Don't shoot +P rounds in it. Technically there's no such thing as +P in .380, but Buffalo Bore for example makes some hot .380 loads that Ruger advises against due to the thin barrel. There are several instances of them being destroyed posted on the web- most involve the Kel-Tec, but the specs are all but the same between the two guns.
Anything worth shooting is worth shooting at least twice- handguns are notoriously poor stoppers and the smaller you go the worse they get. Take that how you will.
Make sure you put a couple hundred rounds through it before you rely on it. The Kel-Tecs usually need what they call a "Fluff and Buff" whereas the Rugers are generally much better finished out the box but it still needs to wear together. Being small makes this more critical as it doesn't have mass on its side to compensate like say a 1911. Mine has been extremely reliable out the box except for a friend having a couple of FTF when shooting it- he doesn't shoot handguns much other than a Ruger MKI and once I told him to try holding the gun tightly it shot fine for him (limp wristed it).

Have fun, they are great anywhere anytime type guns- so light and inconspicuous in your pocket you'll forget it's there and you'll be more likely to have it with you in the unfortunate event you need it.

[barlowrs]

Also, my be obvious to most, but just to point it out, remember you need to get out of the habbit of pulling back the slide from the top using your whole hand and get in the habbit of reaching across and pulling the slide back from directly behind the slide. With the size of this gun, if you pull it back as you do larger handguns, it will put the fleshy part of your had right in front of the barrel...which would result in a bad day if the slide slips and it fires.

[sorryaboutthestd]

FYI...
If you are in Kalifornia you can obtain these through PPT. Check Calguns.net they appear there pretty often from LEO's getting rid of them. Just sayin'.

[phxtoad]

Here's an update: Aside from one or two jambs at first, the pistol shot well through 200 rounds. I gave it a thorough cleaning after 150 rounds and it worked fine afterwards. This week I went to a different shooting range and fed a different brand of ammo through it. 50 rounds. Unfortunately it started jambing every four or five rounds. Looks like it feeds fine, but something is amiss with the extraction cycle.

I've heard they can be finnicky with different ammo types. But the only thing through it has been two different manufacturer's FMJ training rounds.

I did some research and decided to gently polish the feed ramp, and to really clean around the extractor. I then reassembled it and hand-racked it through approximately 50 cycles/rounds. I still had a bunch of jambs. Again I think it's an extraction issue.

Looks like I'm going to send it in to Ruger to have them diagnose/repair it.

Kinda bumbed. :(

[C-Fish]

Kinda bumbed. :(

Sorry about your LCP woes. I had one and just couldn't warm up to it...lasted about 14 days...

A buddy just picked up one of the new S&W Bodyguard .380's. He likes, but hasn't proven it yet.

[02TahoeMD]

I like the concept of the LCP but think the .380 is just too small a round to truly rely on.

Now, the new soon to be released LC9, (in 9mm) is a concept I can get around.

http://photos.gunsamerica.com/d/3901-1/lcppastover.jpg

Read more here at GunsAmerica (http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/ruger-lc9/)

[Hill, Bill E.]

My mother in law has a LCP .380 and loves it. My wife is looking at the new S&W bodyguard.

I like both, as they have the finger extensions on the mags, makes it fit my big mitts better:coffeedrink:

[dwh]

I still had a bunch of jambs. Again I think it's an extraction issue.

What sort of jams? Stovepipes or what?

There are several places where semi-autos commonly have problems with extraction:

1. Not enough pressure to cycle the action fully back.
Could be from weak ammo, or a too heavy (or too long) slide spring or sometimes from a rough interface / friction between the slide and frame (sometimes caused by a poor fit but usually either FOD or lack of lube as the gun warms up and gets tighter).

2. The ejector finger doesn't grip the rim fully.
Pretty common. Sometimes fixed by relieving the inside of the finger so it can move further in. Looking at it like this- L -where the bottom bar is the finger that grips the rim. You would relieve the bottom of the upright bar where it meets the inside corner, allowing the bottom bar to move a bit more toward the right and getting a bit deeper grip on the case rim. On some, you have to relieve the outside of the top of the upright bar instead (or sometimes both), to allow the whole thing to move more around the pivot point. In this case, "relieving" means just a very light touch with a file. Sometimes the pivot is too stiff and just needs to wear in more.

3. The ejector pin doesn't hit the rim at the right place to kick the case out at the proper angle.
Usually have to dink around with Prussian Blue paste to diagnose that one.

4. The slide comes forward and stovepipes the case.
If it's not caused by 1, 2 or 3, then sometimes a bit lighter or bit shorter spring will fix it. If it doesn't, or you need all the spring power, then you mill the port open a little more to the rear to give the case a little more time to get clear.



There was apparently another ejection problem that the early model LCPs had, but from this description it wasn't a problem that resulted in jamming:

http://www.gunreports.com/special_reports/handguns/Ruger_LCP_problems_spent_cases_rim_tears_Kel-Tec_P-3AT_ejector423-1.html

Note the last two pics that show the area that needs to be relieved on the early model.


You could send it back to Ruger (and if it's an early model, you'll probably have to anyway), but they let it out of the factory the way it is, so I wouldn't put too much hope in getting the problem solved. I would recommend finding a local gunsmith and taking it to him (or her) and having hiim do a full polish job on it. That will usually make a noticeable difference in how a factory gun performs.

[Mike_rupp]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4069/4385614822_c9d867e1c5_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/marupp/4385614822/)
Seecamp + iPhone (http://www.flickr.com/photos/marupp/4385614822/) by rupp62 (http://www.flickr.com/people/marupp/), on Flickr

Let me suggest an alternative: the Seecamp. This little pistol is a work of art. The tiny size of the Seecamp is amazing, which, other than reliability, is the most important aspect of a pocket pistol.

I've blasted through a few boxes of ammo with zero issues. None.

For those of you that don't think that think a .380 is enough to rely on, would you refuse to pull the trigger of this pistol if it were a life and death situation? The best concealed carry pistol is one that you carry, not the one that has better ballistics.

That being said, what you you recommend as a concealed carry pistol? The only pistol that really packs a punch that I'd consider to be a worthy pocket pistol is a Rohrbaugh and those don't come by cheaply. Anything else is too big to really consider to be a pocket pistol. The baby Glock is an absolute monster compared to a Seecamp. Even pocket revolvers are monsters compared to a Seecamp.

[phxtoad]

dwh - I reckon it's been a mix. Some stovepipes and some where the spent casing was still in the chamber, jambed by the next round coming up. Your insight may be spot on, but I'm going to let them have a look in Prescott. I'd F it up if I get the file out. On the LCP forums it looks like the factory has been really great about handling things.

I do like the little gun though, so I'm hoping it's repairable. I carried it for a week in a pocket holster and liked it's small size, narrow width, and relatively light weight.

This week I've had the wife's SA .45 Ultra Compact in tow. I'm tired just thinking about lifting it. It's huge by comparison. I do like it's bang factor though. That's why I picked up a Colt Gov't Model recently. :)

Mike_rupp - that thing is cool looking. I might look into them.

02TahoeMD - I just saw the LC9 on their website. Nice!

[02TahoeMD]

For those of you that don't think that think a .380 is enough to rely on, would you refuse to pull the trigger of this pistol if it were a life and death situation? The best concealed carry pistol is one that you carry, not the one that has better ballistics.


To answer your first question, if a Seecamp was the only thing I had that went 'bang' then by all means I would use it. But, I put my money where my mouth is and do practice what I preach-

I carry a Kimber Pro CDP2 in .45 ACP. Year round. Every day off. I am a firm believer in the Clint Smith adage of " A gun is supposed to be a comfort to wear, not comfortable to wear ", though I do find the Commander sized .45 with aluminum frame to be very comfortable to me. And I also figure that if I need to use a gun to defend myself, it had better stop the problem promptly. Over the years I have carried 9mm, .40 and .45 and never anything smaller than the 9.

All that said, different strokes for different folks and if someone wishes to carry a .32 or .380 then so be it.

[phxtoad]

Well I took the little gun out to the range to see if the polishing/cleaning I did had any effect. I put some HP Federal and some PowerBall rounds through the little gun. Both of these are 'new' to the gun. Not a hiccup with any of them!

It looks like the previous ammo I had trouble with (HPR) may have been the issue. I also believe that the thorough cleaning may have helped, and surely some poor shooting/racking technique by me may have also come into play.

Lessons learned: Always clean your gun, and find ammo that makes it happy.

[phxtoad]

The little bugger got an upgrade. Crimson Trace now points the way...

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg304/phxtoad/Misc/IMG_4994.jpg

[captblack]

I had an LCP but it always felt too small to me. I finely gave it to my girlfriend to carry and she loves it. We shoot weekly and she has had no problems with it at all.

My normal carry is a Kimber Ultra Carry II and it is by far my favorite. There are still times that the .45 is hard to conceal so I went back to a .380 for pocket use - this time I spent the extra bucks and picked up a Sig P238. It is slightly bigger than the LCP and a bit heavier. It's 1911 style is very comfortable and it shoots like a dream.