Ruger LCP- something missing?

[mjwcaster]

So a student had a new LCP that he said wasn’t firing.
Since I can never get decent error descriptions out of people I had him get it out, took it apart, quick inspection and oiling.
Put it back together, loaded a few rounds and test fired it.
Fired fine, but failed to extract.
I dropped the mag and went to inspect the extractor.
I was so shocked, not only that it was missing but that I didn’t notice on my inspection.
I had to call my other instructor back over to see this.

I have heard of Rugers coming without extractors before but never seen it myself.

I would have rather had this issue myself instead of my new LCP II slide falling off while firing, after about 1200 rds.

My LCP custom is still running strong.


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[Outpost75]

I have heard from several others that Ruger QC is now lacking.

They've apparently nobody left watching the store who was there when Ed Harris was QA manager back in the 1980s.

[35remington]

One wonders if the student managed to lose or fail to replace the extractor correctly. “Brand new” does not mean it is unfired or they did not mess with it.

One would expect the function firing these undergo before being shipped from the maker to catch this.

I always suspect the user as complicit in these stories and incidents because they often are. Took it apart, misassembled it, extractor flies into orbit when he shoots misassembled gun. Equally to more plausible than any other explanation.

[mjwcaster]

I understand your skepticism, but this one is on Ruger.
Supposedly brand new, he had just bought it recently.
I could check with the shop for exactly when but I believe him.

I do not think he ever took it apart.

Gun looked brand new, magazine follower was pristine.

One quick check I use is to inspect magazines.
People can clean up guns, but never clean magazines and the followers will show marks if used.




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[onelight]

I don’t doubt it came that way sad to say , it’s rare I buy a Ruger that has not got a problem usually minor and Ruger never has failed to make them right if I involve them . I keep buying them cause they are great guns once you get the bugs out.
That extractor could have been caught at the gun store when it was picked up it’s kinda obvious.

[kir_kenix]

Ruger has been very hit-or-miss for me as well. They do a good job of correcting things if you send it back though. But it seems like every other thing I buy ends up going back.

I'm messing with a nm Blackhawk I traded into from a friend. He bought it and the barrel was clocked at about 2 o clock. Sent it back and was returned with the sight clocked to about 11 o clock with some serious thread choke. He decided just to give up on it so I traded some reloading stuff for it. Haven't decided what I'm going to do with it yet.

I will say that just about every rim fire I've had has been bullet proof.

[onelight]

Ruger has been very hit-or-miss for me as well. They do a good job of correcting things if you send it back though. But it seems like every other thing I buy ends up going back.

I'm messing with a nm Blackhawk I traded into from a friend. He bought it and the barrel was clocked at about 2 o clock. Sent it back and was returned with the sight clocked to about 11 o clock with some serious thread choke. He decided just to give up on it so I traded some reloading stuff for it. Haven't decided what I'm going to do with it yet.

I will say that just about every rim fire I've had has been bullet proof.

My only rimfire problem was with one of the adjustable sighted bearcats , had to be cocked hard to get the cylinder to lock up and when locked was slightly out of alignment with the barrel with just a few cylinders of ammo front of cylinder and frame around barrel so fouled with lead was difficult to cock , returned it and they fixed now a sweet shooter with good timing.
Bought 2 , 10/22s last year both worked great.

[35remington]

I’ll still state that being shot and being disassembled are two entirely different activities. With evidence given there is no certainty or even strong likelihood just exactly who is at fault.

And if it is indeed true that fallible human nature lets flawed guns out the factory door, it is also equally true that fallible human nature causes people to mess firearms assembly and disassembly up as well.

There is no certainty here, certainly, just speculation about events that are difficult to track down as being what actually happpened. We can think this is on Ruger or the user with equal likelihood given what we do and don’t know.

It is indeed weird that nobody noticed it at the gun store either, which makes me wonder whether it was in place then.....but not later.

So do pardon my speculation, but things appear not to be cut and dried as to responsibility.

[contender1]

Having seen first hand & in person the assembly line of the LCP,,, I can say that it's be hard for it to be shipped w/o an extractor. I'm not saying it's impossible,, but very improbable.
Why?
Because of the test firing they do after assembly. Each handgun is test fired at least twice for correct function before shipping.

That said,, a POLITE call to them will usually get you a pre-paid shipper to ship the gun back to them for inspection & correction.

[mjwcaster]

I don’t know when the extractor disappeared.

I will say the shop it came from most likely would not notice the missing extractor.
I used to work there.

It is mostly a very high volume transfer station, concerned with making sure the paperwork is correct.

I do not know that this was a transferred gun, but most likely was, 80-90% or better chance, unless the ratio has greatly changed since I worked there.

We were happy if the serial number matched the box and paperwork.

While not common it was not unheard of to get the wrong gun in, even from a major distributor or store.

Procedure in store-

Open a box, make sure serial number matches the paperwork and log it in.
Along with 20-100 other guns, all while dealing with customers.

Grab box again when the customer is doing the 4473, make sure serial number is verified and paper work is correct.

The gun might never leave the box if the serial number side is up until it is in the customers hands.

A display gun might get handled a bit more, but the customer might get another gun of the same model from inventory.

There is the chance of a better inspection of the firearm with a direct purchase, but still not guaranteed.

Most customers at this shop never inspect the gun themselves.

Most would not even know what to look for.

If it isn’t too busy and the customer asks they would be shown how to field strip the gun.

Very few ever asked.

High volume shop, many first time or novice customers, mostly purchased other stores, either internet or large chain.

This particular customer was more of a novice, his other gun was a llama 38 super that was I don’t know how old.

Also interesting to know they are fired twice.
I am assuming two different occasions?
Or just 2 rounds?

About all I can add to the mystery.


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[mjwcaster]

While I would have my doubts too, I dealt with this individual.
And many others, I am used to playing 20 questions to find out what exactly went wrong.
My favorite was a 1911 that was brought in because it misfired.

Ten minutes later I finally get the whole story, owner was trying to lower the hammer on a live round and gun went off, shooting his table.
I still wonder if there was more damage and more to the story.

I have gotten pretty good at reading people.
I will bet this guy never disassembled this gun.
The takedown pin was terribly tight.
I normally use a brass casing to remove the pin, a 9mm didn’t work so I had to grab a 38 special for more leverage.
He offered me his screw driver.
The pin and surrounding area were pristine.
If a screw driver or any hard tool had been used to remove a pin this tight it most likely would have left a mark or scratch.

I know that noticing this level of detail from someone who field stripped and oiled a gun but didn’t notice a missing extractor sounds odd.

But we were on a live firing range and my main concern was keeping another set of eyes on the firing line while getting a quick look and a bit of oil on the gun before test firing.

After test firing the line went cold and I had time to actually inspect the gun, where before I stripped it and oiled it on auto pilot while my concentration was more on the other students.

Highly improbable to leave the factory without an extractor, but not the first time I have heard of it, from FFL’s selling the gun.

One thing for sure, we will never know for certain.




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[onelight]

I wonder if there could have been a problem with the extractor plunger or spring that might have let it come apart while cycling and he did not notice the parts falling off. I have not looked at mine to see if the extractor could be removed with the slide on the frame.
35remington is right that we don’t know the details.

[contender1]

As I mentioned,, a polite call to Ruger & it'll get taken care of,, I'm sure.

As for why 2 rounds,, I wasn't told why,, just watched it done.