LCP on the way

[FergusonTO35]

I put a Ruger LCP on layaway, an all black standard version for $209.95. I've been planning to get one for awhile now. The LCP is most certainly a Kel-Tec copy, but I will say that Ruger made some definite improvements. The sights are larger and easier to use but still low profile. The trigger is a more comfortable shape and size and the pull is not as long. The extractor is a robust big gun design that is not secured by a screw that has a habit of backing out. Overall, it feels more well thought out than the Kel-Tec original and the fact that it actually costs $30.00 less certainly doesn't hurt.


I'm planning to feed this pistol the Lee 356-102-2R at 800-850 fps, which should be accurate and easy to shoot. Stay tuned!

[dubber123]

Let us know how it works out for you. I have been thinking of picking one up to throw in a back pocket when it's appropriate. I keep looking at other pocket pistols, but it is really hard to find someone who doesn't like the LCP after they bought it.

[birch]

I certainly love my lcp. It is my primary carry gun. I have shot about 500 rounds with zero malfunctions. I got the crimson trace laser which cost about as much as the pistol, but it is worth the money.

[Shuz]

I have an early LCP and I carried it all the time, putting up with it's long hard trigger pull. On a whim I tried a Taurus TCP and fell in love with it, and now carry it instead of the Ruger. The trigger pull is much better than my LCP, and I like the fact that the slide stays open after the last round has been fired. So..............I bought another TCP, this time for my wife(yeah, right). Well, it has a trigger that is worse than the LCP!! Moral of this story....If trigger pull is important, dry fire the exact gun you are about to buy!

[Boaz]

I have carried an LCP daily for about 5 years . Trigger pull is a problem starting out . It's a mean little gun to put back on target with the heavy recoil because of it's super light weight . In conclusion I wouldn't take for it , Range time will fix the trigger pull and recoil problem . I have ran a lot of rounds through mine with no problems at all . I like it , fits in a pocket and no excuse to leave it home .

[Schrag4]

For a gun like this, I wouldn't get too hung up on trigger pull. It's supposed to be long and heavy. It's also supposed to be used within a few yards, more than likely without even using the sights. The regular LCP my wife got has a little over 100 rounds through it so far, about half shot by me, and I like it. Despite the long heavy trigger, and the minimal sights (low and completely black, no markings to help find them), I find that I can easily make head shots at 5 yards, and fairly quickly. It probably helps that the one my wife got has a smooth trigger that breaks cleanly. I dry fired the Custom model in the store a few weeks after she got hers, and that "improved" trigger did not break cleanly at all. Maybe that one was a lemon.

[mjwcaster]

Ruger redid the lcp triggers in 2013.

First gen had extremely long and heavy trigger pull.
Dash in detail number and almost no sights.

Second gen much shorter trigger pull and slightly taller sights.
Feels like a completely different gun.
No dash in serial number.

I just ordered a custom this morning.
SS guide rod, wide red trigger and almost real sights are the only difference from a standard lcp.
Could care less about the guide rod, but a wider trigger and better sights sounded good to me, for only a few dollars more.


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[FergusonTO35]

I dry fired mine a couple of times before it went into layaway jail. The pull felt good; heavy but short and smooth. I love the sights, they are even better than most fixed sight revolvers. A great example of small sights that work well that other makes should take notice of.

[Shuz]

I dry fired mine a couple of times before it went into layaway jail. The pull felt good; heavy but short and smooth. I love the sights, they are even better than most fixed sight revolvers. A great example of small sights that work well that other makes should take notice of.

Is yours the newer model with the red trigger?

[FergusonTO35]

No, it's the standard model with the black trigger.

[beezapilot]

Mine's been in my back pocket for years now, feel lopsided without it- RCBS 38-090RN for practice- never had a misfeed nor problem. My wife liked it as it was very small and carries one most of the time in a "Flash-Bang" holster.

[Lefty Red]

I never liked the LCP.........until I shoot one, and then it took me a few hundred rounds and a Hogue Wrap to like it. The trigger smoothed up and it's deadly within 1-3 yards, like any pocket pistol should be. Waiting to get a LC380......just because.

The Pro model is worth the extra $, IMHO.

Jerry

[mjwcaster]

Picked up my lcp custom Saturday at work.
Saturday night I cleaned it, did some dry fire work and plunk tested some dummy rounds.

Loaded up 100 test rounds with commercial hitek coated 95gr round nose/win231 and headed to the range Sunday.

The wider trigger of the custom is nice, no sign of trigger bite at all, which the standard lcp and TCP do to me.

The taller sights are nice also, but I didn't try it out any further than 5yds. Next outing I will try breaking some clays at 23 yds (club didn't quite get 25yds on new pistol range).
Rear sights do have some sharp edges, front inside I think. Caught them when racking the slide quickly.
I will smooth them out a little.

The gun does seem to bite my hand more than my Taurus TCP does.
I have a set of talon grips for it, but wanted to try it naked first.
Plus didn't want to waste time before heading out to the range.
They will go on before the next outing.

Shot 50 rounds at girst, this is not a gun for long range sessions.
Then tried out my new to me 9mm lone wolf conversion barrel in my glock 22.
So much easier and fun to shoot a full size gun.
But much easier to carry the lcp, especially in shorts than my xd45 that's been riding on my hip over the winter and at work.

Ran a little over 100 rounds through the lcp in total, including some factory rounds.
No failures at all.

This was just a quick range trip, had several things to play with and work to do.
Hoping for another trip Wednesday if I can get some reloading done.

Now I just need a few more mags, more 380 brass, a 380 mold, and a lot more trigger time with this pocket rocket.
A lot more trigger time to become as proficient as I want to.

Slow fire with these little guns isn't bad, but rapid fire they move in my hand too much.




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[FergusonTO35]

I'm going to find the strongest load I can shoot in the LCP with good accuracy and without the gun repositioning itself after each shot. I believe there is a point of diminishing returns with strong ammo in these small guns. In my S&W 637 I carry a 150 grain SWC at 675 fps, basically .38 S&W/standard .380 Auto power level. Reason being, I can shoot it quickly with very good accuracy. Yes, I could roll some +P's which the 637 is certainly capable of handling but this would come at the expense of much slower follow up shots due to muzzle jump and my grip shifting, not to mention a greater possibility of developing a flinch. Nope, I'll stick with the ammo that gives me the best chance of placing the boolits where they need to go, more than once if needed. I think a 95 or 100 grain boolit at 800-850 fps out of the LCP would accomplish the same thing.

[contender1]

Before Ruger built the LCP, I had a discussion with the CEO, about just such a pistol. I used the issues with a Kel-tec as a starting point to have Ruger build a better one. They did,, with building the LCP. And later on,,, they have addressed a few of their own issues.
My first one, (we have more than one) is one of the early ones & yes, the trigger was long & harder to pull. By design for safety,,, against accidental shootings. But out of the box, at 15 yds, my first one shot 5 out of 6 steel plates in the very first magazine of ammo. Accuracy is good beyond the 1-5 yds many "accept" ad SD ranges.
The Ruger was designed to be more robust & out last many other similar guns. But when you design something like that,, there can be other issues hard to "fix." I think Ruger has done a good job of trying to appease the folks who felt "it could be better."
Get the LCP, shoot it, learn it, and carry with confidence.

[Outpost75]

Hogue Grip Sleeve on LCP cures the repositioning problem with heavy loads.

Attachment 167036Attachment 167037

[Bonz]

I have had a Ruger LCP for about 2 years now but was never happy about the hammer being pre-cocked. Because of that, I would never carry it with a round in the chamber. After it locked up on me and could not fire it, I upgraded it to an aftermarket stainless steel guide rod and a new spring kit.

Recently, I bought the new generation of S&W Bodyguard 380 without laser. It's a tad bigger than the LCP, trigger pull is not as good as the LCP but it doesn't pre-cock the hammer so thats what I carry when I need to deep conceal. And yes, I carry it with a round in the chamber.

[fecmech]

I have had a Ruger LCP for about 2 years now but was never happy about the hammer being pre-cocked.

I'm not aware of the Ruger LCP being pre-cocked. It is slightly preloaded with spring tension but you cock the hammer as you pull the trigger same as a DA revolver.

[Bonz]

I'm not aware of the Ruger LCP being pre-cocked. It is slightly preloaded with spring tension but you cock the hammer as you pull the trigger same as a DA revolver.

Yep, when you chamber a round, it pre-cocks the hammer. Probably not enough to fire the round if the hammer fell... The other feature that makes me prefer the newer version of the S&W Bodyguard 380 is the re-strike capability. 380's are the only rounds that I have ever had an issue with on "light primer strikes". With the LCP, you would need to rack the slide to clear the unfired round whereas on the Bodyguard, you would just need to pull the trigger a second time.

[Shuz]

Bonz--A few years back I had a .380 Smith Bodyguard when they first came out. It had the factory laser sight. I sent mine back to the factory 3 times for FTF or FTE, and each time it came back with the problem not fixed. I'm sure glad it was shipped "on their dime". On the 4th trip, I told them to keep the gun and refund my money, including sales tax, and they did. I liked the gun when it did go bang, for many of the features you have mentioned, but I have found my Ruger LCP and Taurus TCP's are much more reliable. My whole point is this: Fire any gun that you plan to use for self-protection enuf times to make sure it is trustworthy. People would be surprised at the number of folks who come to my range, only to find out that their favorite self-protection gun had "issues".