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Alright, hundreds of reviews on these but here's my quick take. Picked mine up from the LGS. Broke it down, then shot 42 rounds (there's a reason so few) through it. First impressions, Outing 1:
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You have trade-offs when moving to a pistol this small. Caliber, capacity, and accuracy all come to mind. You're going down to 6+1 rounds of an arguably anemic .380. However, we all know the LCP is sized right for a true pocket carry. Let's face it and reiterate that the gun you have on you is better than the one you left at home. I can imagine myself having zero excuse for not having this LCP on my person at all times due to the convenience that comes from its size.
On to the shooting. You guys in forum land crying about how it shoots like garbage. Were you shooting the LCP or are you just new to handguns? The sights (and I have a standard, not a Custom) are adequate for this pistol's purpose. Does it take good eyes to place them accurately on target? Yes, absolutely, but again, we've traded a Competition-worthy sight picture for one that fits in the pocket. The trigger is decent. It is not equal quality to my LC9s, my APEX-equipped M&Ps, or my PPQ. I wasn't expecting that, though. For what it is it's absolutely controllable. I wish it would stage up before the break just a hair better than it does, but you can control the squeeze of the trigger and end up with repeated results. Just need a little more practice to learn where it's going to break. You can certainly grip this pistol as well despite the small frame. I have large, slim hands and had no issue with a 1.5 finger grip. I've ordered the Hogue grip to try out anyways, but I would feel comfortable in being able to carry the LCP without it and still getting a purchase on it during live fire. At 7 yards standing and an incredibly windy day, my second magazine (first was at 5 yards to get accustomed) looked like below. The spread of the 10 yard groups thereafter widened the spread roughly an inch. Less wind and a few more rounds behind the pistol and I'd likely do better but if I can hit that plate I can hit a bad guy.
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Reliability. This is where we fail, LCP. At least so far but it may not have been your fault. Out of the 40 or so rounds I shot, I had several (no less than 5) failure to feed and one out of battery. Now this is a new, small pistol. I'm going to cut it a break this time. I broke it down and was too lazy to fetch CLP and then I took it out shooting. I had Mil-Pro 7 sitting nearby and that's what I used. I've used this in finicky pistols before to ill effect. I also was using Remanufactured ammo from Freedom. I think this ammo is **** personally though it does go bang every time. It's just the box I grabbed today as in the end, it shouldn't matter what I feed my pistols and it should eat it all. I also did not have the opportunity to try a different mag as I only have one at the moment and this, too, could be the issue at hand causing feeding issues. Given those three variables, I'm going to say I need more data before outright calling the Ruger unreliable.
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And another...
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After this...I just stopped taking pictures as I had not taken pictures of the first 2 failures...these fell in between...and...see above...repeat.
At the end of the day, if the Ruger and I can work past the reliability issues and find ourselves sitting at 100% function in the near future then I'm really going to enjoy this little pistol. I liked shooting it, but admittedly I have a real fixation with small pistols. At $209 shipped, get this thing reliable and it will definitely warrant the price of admission as well as secure a spot in the pocket. Will update after another outing.
EDIT: Likely a feeding issue due to ammo. Went back and realized it's a box of RNFP .380. Guessing HP's may wind up fussy, too, if the case.
EDIT 2/26: Updated Sessions 2,3,4 on Page 2.
You have trade-offs when moving to a pistol this small. Caliber, capacity, and accuracy all come to mind. You're going down to 6+1 rounds of an arguably anemic .380. However, we all know the LCP is sized right for a true pocket carry. Let's face it and reiterate that the gun you have on you is better than the one you left at home. I can imagine myself having zero excuse for not having this LCP on my person at all times due to the convenience that comes from its size.
On to the shooting. You guys in forum land crying about how it shoots like garbage. Were you shooting the LCP or are you just new to handguns? The sights (and I have a standard, not a Custom) are adequate for this pistol's purpose. Does it take good eyes to place them accurately on target? Yes, absolutely, but again, we've traded a Competition-worthy sight picture for one that fits in the pocket. The trigger is decent. It is not equal quality to my LC9s, my APEX-equipped M&Ps, or my PPQ. I wasn't expecting that, though. For what it is it's absolutely controllable. I wish it would stage up before the break just a hair better than it does, but you can control the squeeze of the trigger and end up with repeated results. Just need a little more practice to learn where it's going to break. You can certainly grip this pistol as well despite the small frame. I have large, slim hands and had no issue with a 1.5 finger grip. I've ordered the Hogue grip to try out anyways, but I would feel comfortable in being able to carry the LCP without it and still getting a purchase on it during live fire. At 7 yards standing and an incredibly windy day, my second magazine (first was at 5 yards to get accustomed) looked like below. The spread of the 10 yard groups thereafter widened the spread roughly an inch. Less wind and a few more rounds behind the pistol and I'd likely do better but if I can hit that plate I can hit a bad guy.
Reliability. This is where we fail, LCP. At least so far but it may not have been your fault. Out of the 40 or so rounds I shot, I had several (no less than 5) failure to feed and one out of battery. Now this is a new, small pistol. I'm going to cut it a break this time. I broke it down and was too lazy to fetch CLP and then I took it out shooting. I had Mil-Pro 7 sitting nearby and that's what I used. I've used this in finicky pistols before to ill effect. I also was using Remanufactured ammo from Freedom. I think this ammo is **** personally though it does go bang every time. It's just the box I grabbed today as in the end, it shouldn't matter what I feed my pistols and it should eat it all. I also did not have the opportunity to try a different mag as I only have one at the moment and this, too, could be the issue at hand causing feeding issues. Given those three variables, I'm going to say I need more data before outright calling the Ruger unreliable.
And another...
After this...I just stopped taking pictures as I had not taken pictures of the first 2 failures...these fell in between...and...see above...repeat.
At the end of the day, if the Ruger and I can work past the reliability issues and find ourselves sitting at 100% function in the near future then I'm really going to enjoy this little pistol. I liked shooting it, but admittedly I have a real fixation with small pistols. At $209 shipped, get this thing reliable and it will definitely warrant the price of admission as well as secure a spot in the pocket. Will update after another outing.
EDIT: Likely a feeding issue due to ammo. Went back and realized it's a box of RNFP .380. Guessing HP's may wind up fussy, too, if the case.
EDIT 2/26: Updated Sessions 2,3,4 on Page 2.
Next outing I'll try the RNFP as well as standard RN and see if the issue persists after the second field strip with the lighter CLP.
