Mine was completely reliable, easy to shoot and carry. A little snappy but I didn’t think it was that bad, I did add a Hogue grip on it. The only other mod I did was paint a white dot on the front. Compared to my previous Kel-Tec the LCP was a dream. Only reason I sold it was a friend wanted / needed it more than me. I can’t say I’m not tempted by the looks of the newest versions though. One of the few Ruger autos that actually look good.
Originally bouhgt one for the wife. While it was reliable, it had a dreadful trigger and not really any suitable sights. Ended up selling it after 2 years of purse or pocket carry. It’s replacement is a shield in 9mm. Couldnt be happier. I hated that the LCP was a 380. I like standardized ammunition.
I recently purchased a Ruger LCP Custom which has upgraded sights and trigger. I am amazed at the accuracy of this pistol out to 25 yards. I had 8 or 9 failures to return to battery in the first 100 rounds using Remington UMC ammo. A tap of the magazine returned the slide to battery and I was able to continue firing it. I have put 200 rounds of WWB and 25 rounds of Hornady Critical Defense ammo through it with no malfunctions. I’m hoping it was a break in issue or that the pistol doesn’t run well on the Remington UMC ammo. Has anyone found that their LCP was sensitive to different brands of ammo?
Another 100-200 rounds of trouble free shooting and I will start to carry it as a backup on duty.
If you have an LCP, do yourself a favor and get a heavier recoil spring. It’s cheap and easy to install.
It will improve the felt recoil and will also increase the reliability of it especially when chambering hollow points.
Thanks for the tip. I may just do that. Mine works perfectly right out of the box with Federal 95 grain FMJ, but a little extra recoil spring might not hurt.
I use FMJ only, because I think that with marginal rounds, certain penetration is better than iffy expansion.
Mine’s been a jewel. I’ve pocket carried it for several years. Had a few FTFs when first new - since then, it’s been running fine. Great little BUG for my G19.
I’ve had an LCP for about 5 years. Can’t say for certain because I’ve paid little attention to it. No complaints though, when I have shot it it has been flawless. Hard for me to shoot very accurately at range with its six hundred yard trigger pull, but I’ve always figured that it’s a gun I won’t plan on using until I’m practically sticking into someone’s eyeball or ear.
In my opinion, its usefulness has been supplanted by the G43. If I’m going to handle a snappy single-stack, I’d prefer to be up to full power 9mm para. The G43 is obviously bigger, and doesn’t quit fit into a pocket as the LCP does, but since I’ve had the G43 the LCP has sat in the safe. I’m not sure I would spend much time or money on one now, but I would have taken the deal that OP had as well.
I sort of negate complaints about the sights. It’s a belly gun. It’s the gun you draw when avoiding the fight is not an option–like if the perp is already in your face.
I plan to stick to hollow points with rounder nose profiles, but I may study up some more on FMJ vs. expanding bullets. I know in the past I’ve read articles that some people are of the opinion that .380 is fine with ball ammo because of penetration and lack of reliability with hollow points.
I never thought of it that way. I don’t envision bad guys NOT taking cover or running when shot at.
My LCP has been flawless. Dispenses Underwood XTPs and EPs just fine.
Kind of a necro-post, but didn’t want to start a new thread…
I have been tempted by the LCP for quite some time but could never justify paying the asking price for a gun that almost certainly would never be used for its primary purpose (defending myself and my family) and that I know will not be enjoyable to shoot or help me become a better marksman.
Yesterday I saw the LCPs were priced at $170 in a local gunshop. That is the price point I always felt they should sell for, so I picked one up.
My son and I are going to the range with it tomorrow for a shakedown run and plan to fire 100-150 rounds.
If it proves reliable, the gun will definitely fill a hole in my concealed carry selection. It seems shockingly tiny and so much easier to conceal than my G19 or SP-101.
Andy
P.S. It was nice of Ruger to include a pocket holster, not so nice to sell the gun with a single magazine.
Single mag is a cost-saving measure. Otherwise, it would cost $200 new. Mags are $20-25 depending where you get them.
I bought a LCP new for $199 a couple of years ago to try it since my single stack 9mm’s were still too large for summer carry (Shield9, G43). The LCP is perfect in the pocket and is so tiny that it looks like a celphone. Mine was reliable.
If you’re expecting to become a better marksman (on a pocket pistol?) you clearly may have misunderstood the point of this gun. Its a point-n-shoot pistol for SD ranges of 7-10yards. If you can make COM hits at that range, thats good enough.
I have had a Colt Pony Pocketlite (basically a 1911 DAO scaled down to .380) since the 1990s. It has been 100% good. However, due to size and weight, it is relegated to briefcase duty.
A few years back, Kahr sponsored side matches at some competitions I shot. I liked them enough to get some to test. I ordered the micro and medium sized .380. As I was checking out at the gun store, I saw the LCP and told the clerk to throw that in too.
Now, the LCP was just a cheap after thought. I really wanted the Kahrs. However, after several range trips, reality set in. The LCP has flawlessly run a half dozen or more different SD loads of differing bullet weights, e.g., gold dots, hydrashocks, etc., even when mixed loaded in the magazine, and a couple different cheap FMJs to include some rough European stuff.
I have not had the chance to shoot the 200, 500, 6000, or whatever the break in is for Kahr. They still don’t reliably go into battery on every shot. One Kahr preferred one ammo, the other a different brand.
I carry the LCP in a DeSantis pocket holster. It is my counter gun. It sits on the counter by my car keys and gets dropped in a pocket if there is nothing else anytime I go out the door.
It is not “the best” at a lot of things, but for what it is best suited for, it is a jewel.
Get a high pound recoil spring. And hogue crimson trace grip.
Gets rid of snappy and tames recoil.
Change recoil guide rod to steel also.
I carry mines with 2 reloads and it does well with Hornady defense.
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
I was not clear - I mean that the LCP’s sole purpose is self defense, without a secondary use as a target or training gun.
Andy
UDPDATE - My wife and I headed to the range today and shot 162 rounds through my new LCP. The trigger and sights are decent, given the purpose of the pistol and I am actually looking forward to shooting it again. Neither my wife or I thought it was painful to shoot.
My wife shot 2 fmj rounds, the pistol failed to eject for her both times and she quit it for my Glock 19. I shot around 80 trouble free rounds, including 12 rounds of Hornady 90 grain XTP.
As the session went on, my hands started getting fatigued. I had 2 malfunctions toward the end of the second 50 round box, and a few malfunctions in the third. I am confident all the malfunctions were shooter induced. My hands were just worn out from grasping the tiny grip.
Jewel
A relative carried one of these for awhile. Gen 1.
We were shooting it one day and I noticed he had JHP’s in it. (Cor-bond maybe?) He said he hadn’t fired any but had been carrying them. Yea, it failed to feed once or twice during that 6 round magazine. It ate the FMJ fine. Very uncomfortable to shoot and tries to walk out of your hand during rapid fire. About 30 rnds and its tedious. Best to wear a glove with this one.
Next time out he had it loaded with Winchester FMJ Flat-Nose. Nope. Failed to feed those well, too. So he was stuck with FMJ.
He got rid of it for a P3AT. It was more reliable, but also not fun to shoot. It also had a “false reset” that resulting in him firing a shot when he didn’t intend to. At least it was pointed at the ground. He thought he had a dead trigger.
He then wanted my Kel-tec P32. I should have kept it because it ran fine and was kind of fun to shoot. 7 and 9 rnd mags, lower recoil, last round hold-open. He’s had and carried that for years now. Despite serious neglect at times. (packed with lint, sweat on, rusty, dry) it’s never missed a beat after about 500 rnds. Pretty amazing.
Anyway, the best pocket pistols I’ve found and fired a bit are the Kel-tec P32, (10 oz, 8 or 10 shots) the S&W Bodyguard .380 (15 oz IIRC, 7 shots) and the Beretta .25 acp Jetfire. (10 oz, 9 shots) The Beretta is by far the most accurate and fastest to fire with it’s single-action trigger.
Never fired the gen 2 LCP but with that light trigger I wouldn’t feel comfortable with it riding in a pocket holster ready to go.
So, no interest in the gen 1 LCP from me.
They are a very niche gun for a very limited purpose IMO. I don’t have an LCP but i have a P3AT for deep concealment. It works for what it is.
To add to the chorus, Ive had 2. One was stolen about 6 years ago when it was in my truck while at work (and I recently got a call from a detective that said it had shown up several states away about a month ago, so I may get it back) and then bought another. Stupidly reliable in my experience, which is mostly ball and a box or two of hollowpoints to verify reliability with those.
As mentioned, if you dont need the thin profile, a slip on rubber sleeve or the Hogue grip for it make it much nicer to hold.
I have two of them as well. My first one with the hard chrome finish, and a second standard black version. Both have been 100% reliable with all type of ammo. They are my OSGOM pistols. I carry a 19X or 19 off duty all the time supplemented by one of the LCPs. For what they are, they are great little pistols.
TXPO