Jamming in Brand new Ruger LCP .380?

R

RockstarWizkidd

Inactive
Hey everyone,
So I have a new Ruger LCP. Good brand, popular gun, I have trouble believing this is any sort of "break in" period. But what do I know...

So new out of the box, I fired 50 rounds of cheap ammo (Steel Defense Hollowpoint, 75 grain... bargain buy at Theisen's) and about every third shot jammed. I oiled it, and tried again, only slightly better.

I decided that the ammo must be the culprit. The lip where the casing met the lead was, imho, very large, and had some shearing marks in the spent cartridges. Also had a scrape on one side on most of the spent casings.
I went out to purchase more ammo, but being a couple days after Christmas, the store only had one kind of .380 left. That one was Perfecta FMJ, 90 grain. Also a cheap ammo. Much better, only 3 jams in a box of 50.

I understand these are cheap target rounds, but they should still shoot reliably. This is marketed as a self-defense/everyday carry weapon, and while it would be loaded with top-notch ammunition in a real-life scenario, I'm not going to carry something that has any chance of failing me in a life-or-death situation.

Additionally, I noticed some marring on the guide rod. As a Mechanical Engineer, my professional opinion is that this rod shouldn't have flaws after 100 rounds. But what do I know... I'll post pictures tomorrow.

I can warranty it, but that's a hassle, so I figured I would ask the experts before doing anything.
Help?:confused:
 
Did you clean and lubricate the pistol first? Many pistols come with viscous packing grease that needs to be cleaned out and replaced with a proper lubricant before you shoot the gun.
 
Did you check your feed ramp for machining marks that would be a problem?

When I was at the C store last week I checked out a Sig that a guy was purchasing and pointed out machineing marks that he needed to polish out with some OOOO steel wool so the would not have feed problems.
 
That one was Perfecta FMJ, 90 grain. Also a cheap ammo. Much better, only 3 jams in a box of 50.
Click to expand...
Perfecta is made by Fiocchi. It's fairly inexpensive, but in my experience it is very good quality.

Recoil spring guides can take a beating in some designs. I wouldn't put too much stock in wear marks on the recoil spring guide.

If the Steel Defense ammo is the kind I think it is, it's a pretty light loading for a .380ACP. 75grains @ 1000fps is what the manufacturer claims and that provides about 16% less muzzle momentum than a typical .380ACP loading. That might be light enough to cause cycling issues, especially in a new gun.

However, Fiocchi tends to be on the hot side so if it is the light loading that's causing the Steel Defense ammo to be a problem, there must be something else entirely going on to cause the Fiocchi to jam.

If you're inclined to do so, you might try another brand of ammo to see if you can find something the gun likes, but at this point I'd say that contacting Ruger is probably warranted.

You should make sure that the gun is clean and properly lubricated if you're going to shoot it again. It is definitely possible for a gun to fail to operate if it isn't properly lubricated.
 
Very good advice given by everyone. My LCP has not skipped a beat since I've had it. I do not shoot hollow points in .380 as I prefer the FMJ rounds. If the FMJ rounds won't feed reliably, I'd send it back to Ruger. Good luck and please keep us posted.
 
Yeah, sending a gun back for warranty work is a pain.
As the others have said, give it a real good cleaning and lube.
New guns can be worse than used ones in that regard.
Then try some high class ammo.
Fiocchi brand name ammo has always worked as advertised.
Don't know about their discount stuff, though.
 
"my gun jams".........this tells us nothing.


take a picture of the pistol when it is "jammed" so we can know what exactly is going on.
 
I have never owned a new semi auto pistol that did not have a break in period and I have owned a few. Even if it seems good to go right out of the box everything in it is sharp and it takes a little bit of a break in to smooth things out. I don't start sweating it till I get at least 500 rounds through them. They usually get better and better the closer I get to 500. I had not purchased a new semi auto handgun in about 10 years and I fell for the "new modern pistols do not need a break in" dribble flying around the forums when I purchased my SR45 and I about drove Ruger crazy. If I would have stuck to my own tried and true break in period Ruger and I both would have been much happier. I have over 2500 rounds through it now, mostly my reloads. It is my go to defensive handgun and it purrs. Just an FYI.
 
I've owned two LCP's. The first wouldn't shoot more than two rounds without either failing to extract or failing to feed the round all the way into the chamber. This was with three different brands of ammo and two different mags. I never got around to getting it fixed. A friend kept wanting it, so I sold it to him and he sent it to Ruger and they had it back to him a week later working fine. Not sure what they did, but they made it good.

My second worked fine right out if the box. Another in a long list of guns I shouldn't have gotten rid of.

Send it back to Ruger. I've had to send two different guns back to them with problems, and neither one was gone more than eight days
 
Should not need a break in period with your LCP. That said, I am not sure it is all ammo related but I suspect that is likely most, if not all of your problem. I'd find some better ammo (if possible) and run a box through it. I'd guess that will cure your issues.

If that doesn't, call Ruger and they will take care of it. As far as warranty work, Ruger makes it painless and should turn it pretty quickly. My LCP was an early model that had a recall on it. Long story, but the gun had to go to Ruger twice and it was quick turn around and Ruger really stepped up. Great customer service.
 
30wcf said:
Another in a long list of guns I shouldn't have gotten rid of
Click to expand...
Been there and done that! But you can't have them all, right? Well, I guess you could if you had the means and big enough safe. :)

Kreyzhorse said:
Great customer service.
Click to expand...
Yep, never had one bad dealing with Ruger's CS Dept. Great folks to deal with.
 
Give it a good cleaning, then try some good ammo. While WWB gets a lot of bad reviews, it has never failed in my Elsie Pea. Of course never has Remington UMP. Both fmj bullets. But JHP defensive ammo from Hornady, Remington, Speer, and Winchester have all been 100% reliable. I don't actually have a record, but my best guess is over 500 trouble free rounds since the day I unboxed my LCP, cleaned, and inspected it, and fired the first round.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 30wcf
Another in a long list of guns I shouldn't have gotten rid of
Been there and done that! But you can't have them all, right? Well, I guess you could if you had the means and big enough safe.
Click to expand...

See, I told you!:D
V
 
Jamming is caused by the mags or the ammo. And, in the case of gas operation, insufficient gas. That doesn't apply here, of course. However, if you didn't clean it out of the box, that might be an issue.
The mag lips may be bent in a tick. Mags are the weakest part of any firearm. Easy to bend the lips in transit. Fixed with needle nosed pliers.
The shape of the bullet might be causing it to feed incorrectly. Or that brand may not provide enough blow back to cycle properly. So change ammo and try another mag or fix the one you have.
Since you're not reloading, you need to try a box of as many brands of ammo as you can to find the ammo that will both shoot well and cycle the action.
There's no such thing as a "break in" period with any firearm. All of 'em require a trigger job due to frivolous U.S. law suits, but there's no break in period.
 
Also had a scrape on one side on most of the spent casings.

That hints at where the problem lies. Here's hoping it's the magazine lips and that it can be straightened out easily.

I'd see if I could bum a known-good magazine from someone to try out.
 
If it continues to be a problem or concern - contact Ruger. They offer excellent service and quick turnaround.

You mention . . . "The lip where the casing met the lead was, imho, very large"

You say it "jammed" but how? Failure to feed . . . failure to eject? If it fails to feed . . . then you need to look at certain things . . . magazine, ammo specs, etc. If it fails to eject . . . perhaps the ammo doesn't have enough "umph" to fully cycle . . . or, you are limp writing without knowing it.

In some 380s, an out of spec crimp could cause feeding issues. If you are a mechanical engineer . . . you must have access to micrometers or digital calipers - measure the crimp OD and COAL of the ammo that doesn't work and compare it to the ammo that does. It could be that the cartridges that were causing problems didn't have enough taper crimp or that the COAL was off enough to cause problems feeding . . if that is the "jamming" that you describe?

Not being critical in anyway . . . you just need to narrow it down as to what is happening and when . . then go from there.

As already stated, it could be a number of things from magazine lips to something being out of spec. The LCP has an excellent reputation - I've never shot one but know others that do and theirs eat anything fed to it. If this is a carry piece, you want it to work. If you can't get it to work . . . send it back and let Ruger figure it out.
 
I think that most failures(new gun) can be traced to poor cleaning and lube, with the magazine taking second place. I run a new auto very wet seems to work for me or I'm lucky.:)
 
Clean the gun.

Put some sticky grip tape on the grip enough so you are sure the gun is'nt moving when you fire it

Try some pmc full metal jacketed rounds-just a standard fmj round not self defense.

Because you are testing for function,get a shooting bag to put your shooting hand on as a brace when you fire the gun.

It's all about reducing the non stock variables.

Use the gun in the stock configuration it was designed for and reduce your own possible negative actions for a function failure.

Once the gun runs clean- you can try a regular firing position.

Also note- most polymer frame guns this size require at least two hundred standard fmj -brand new not reloads -rounds fired through them before you should expect no hangups
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top