Pocket Pistol (LCP) First Experience

M

MFitz

New member
4 months ago I picked up a new Ruger LCP with the idea of getting my carry permit and having that as my summer carry weapon. Never fired it until today because right after I bought it I broke my neck in a fall and have been in recovery since.

I am a moderately experienced, totally amateur shooter (plinker only - no hunting, no competition) and almost all of my handgun experience is with full-size, all-metal SA/DA 9 mm semi-auto's and a .22 LR Ruger Mk II.

I have to say the LCP is quite a different animal.

The LCP surprised me by being quite a handful at first and for the first couple of mags I had a hell of a time even getting it to shoot inside a 5" circle at only 5 yards! It also chewed up my hand something fierce until I mastered the proper hold. My improper hold also caused the first four follow-up shots to fail to feed. By the time I had forced myself through about a hundred rounds though I got the handle of the proper hold and the DAO trigger and things had settled down nicely with not only perfect reliability but pretty decent groups at 7 yards. Oddly I found that once I got comfortable I shot slightly better with one hand than with two - and this was my first time one handed shooting!

To anyone looking at a pocket pistol like the LCP for the first time I would say don't let first shooting impressions put you off. Once you get the hang of it everything works fine. Not sure I would call it fun to shoot but it is plenty shootable. I would NOT however recommend handing one of these to a first-time shooter unless you really don't want them to ever shoot again.

A few other notes about my first experience with ElsiePea.

I had two Ruger factory 6-round mags, one 6-rd Pro-Mag and one 10-rd Pro-Mag. All fed reliably (in spite of all the Pro-Mag horror stories I have heard) but at first the Pro-Mag's didn't want to seat properly. After having them in and out a few times I either mastered getting them to seat properly or they just sort of started working correctly.

I fired mostly cheap FMJ but also a box of Poly Case Interceptors which I had picked up as potential SD ammo after having been underwhelmed with the test results I had seen for most hollow-point ammo in .380. A couple of things about that.

Recoil seems slightly lower with the Interceptors than with FMJ

The Interceptors leave big, jagged, star-shaped holes in the paper rather than neat little round ones. Can't say how that translates into stopping baddies but it was re-assuring.

For those of you unfamiliar with these odd but interesting little rounds:

arx_380_25rd-003.jpg
 
Good approach to get to know your new LCP.Glad your better too!MyLCP is earlier issue with zero problems.Always with me!
 
Could you elaborate on your hold and what you were doing at first and how you corrected yourself ? I've never heard of the the ammo you mentioned but they look similar to something Underwood Ammo is loading, minus the poly case.
 
I love my LCP!

First time shooting it was love at first grip! Fits in any pocket too! I have had mine for almost a year.

From my first round at the range, first couple of mags, the day I bought it, 7 yards.

IMG_20150401_202105_937_1.jpg
 
I think I was limp-wristing it, anticipating the recoil too much. Once I firmed up my grip it functioned flawlessly and I started hitting more or less what I was aiming at.
 
Just put 50 rounds through mine yesterday.It is an early issue also.Very reliable and out to about 10 yards good enough.

Pocket carried mine is with me daily.
 
Handguns are meant to be comforting not comfortable. Build your routine around the firearm and get a full size pistol. Lack of mass = Your hand feeling like you grabbed a wasp nest.
 
There was a guy in one of my carry classes who shot the course with an LCP. He said the trick is to hold it like you're trying to squeeze it to death. I keep a firm grip on mine.
 
There was a guy in one of my carry classes who shot the course with an LCP. He said the trick is to hold it like you're trying to squeeze it to death. I keep a firm grip on mine.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Once I stopped trying to hold it like a big 9 I did alright.
 
I carried a LCP for years. I bought one 2-3 months after they came out. Carried it ever since..... ever since I bought my Ruger LC9S Pro.

My LCP was given to my Fiance as her conceal carry piece.

My switch from the LCP to LC9S Pro was motivated by the fact that it's a 9mm and its also a pistol you can go out and shoot accurately at 25 yards etc. I could shoot a course with my LC9. It's not only a CC it's a shooter.

I own some other CC pistols but nothing feels as good to me as the LCP and LC9

Point being, I have had my LCP for years. But I bet there isn't 100 rounds thru it. I shot it a few times, got comfortable as I could with it, but it wasn't much of a shooter at all. Trigger is awful, sights too. So I got as familiar as I needed with it for it to be my CC. But you're right, maybe I should get reacquainted with ElsiePea.
 
My early LCP has been a nice reliable little pocket gun with never a failure. However after carrying it for 7 years, I recently retired it for a Kahr CT380 ( 7+1) that hasn't had any issues. The Kahr is a LOT more comfortable to shoot than the Ruger. Will keep them both, but my granddaughter might want the LCP if she gets her CHL.

e4115b41d512b90990b41f96d055dbede3622d6.jpg
 
I have owned the following pocket pistols:

Glock 42
SIG P238 (2)
Ruger LCP
SW Bodyguard 380
Kahr CM9
Kahr PM9
Kahr P380
Kel-tec PF9
Kel-tec P11
Kel-tec P3AT
Kel-tec P32 (4) (!)

Of the above, the only one I still have: the LCP. Why? It's the only one that would function reliably as a defensive firearm. The others ranged from finicky to godawful.

The LCP originally had 3 major flaws: a long, lousy trigger; NO sights; and excessive felt recoil. Ruger has since fixed the first two issues, and the trigger smooths over time anyway. Recoil can be softened a bit with a Pachmayr Tactical Grip Glove and also by the newer Hogue slip-on that you can attach to the frame. Also, over time, I've gotten used to the "bite" anyway. You won't want to do super-long range sessions, but you can practice enough to be good with it out to 7 yards, and I am confident that the felt recoil would not be noticeable in a fight.

Liked the LCP enough that I recently added an LCP Custom. The bigger sights and the SweetPea trigger double the effective range over my original.

I shot my original LCP enough (2000 rounds) that I eventually cracked the frame at the rear. Ruger replaced the frame and most of the top end, unbidden. A great product from a company that stands behind its products.
 
I have owned a lcp for several years. I think around 7. Mine is a early one. IT did never shoot it much but I carry it more than any other pistol due to its ease of carry. I highly recommend the Houge slip on grip for the LCP. They are only $10. I got it earlier this year. The lcp was always painful to shoot. More than 50rds and I was done. And I own a 44 mag and a 10mm. After the Houge grip it is a pleasure to shoot. I even went out a bought reloading dies for it. Now 150 rnd range sessions are no problem and feel more comfortable caring it as I now am more accurate with it. The only downside is it makes the pistol slightly more bulky but I think it is worth it. I bought my dad one for fathers day for his LCP
 
Had the LCP out to the range again today, practicing at 5, then 7 yards and using the laser. Much better experience than the first time.

I put about 80 rounds through it after having already fired about 200 through various 9 mm's. Groups were decent and I didn't feel so beaten and abused at the end.

I do wish the slide locked open after the last round, otherwise no complaints. It is what it is and it does what it is supposed to do the way it is supposed to do it.
 
I'm the happy owner of a new LCP custom. I traded in my first gen LCP (plus $100) to Cabelas once I felt the new trigger and saw the new sights on the Custom. In my opinion, it was a no brainer deal.

So far I have put ~250 rounds through it with only one hiccup on a Fiocchi XTP somewhere around round 50-60. I have found that the Hornady American Gunner XTP's and Winchester white box 100 round value pack fmj's both shoot tight POA groups at 7 yards. Remington and Herters fmj groups were acceptable, but noticeably larger than the WWB. As stated previously the Fiocchi Extrema XTP's had a single failure to feed whereas the Hornady ammo is 100% reliable after 50+ rounds.

The new sights and trigger take a good ccw and make it a great ccw.
 
I've tried just about all of the pocket .380's and the only one I have kept is the LCP. While not the most comfortable to shoot, it has been the most reliable one for me.
 
I've always wanted to get my hands on an LCP maybe some time down the road I will. I've heard good things about them but I've had serious issues with all my .380's (guess it is just bad luck) in the past.
Love my LC9S and I've found for me personally (with big meat claw hands and short fingers) that adding an aftermarket grip helped immensely with my accuracy. I bought the pachmayr slip on grip glove for it and it really gave the lc9s some meat to grab. I think similar slip on grips are available for the LCP. I had a slight issue with the rubber grip slipping up over the slide release button when I first got it but I solved that by running a butane torch over the grip rapidly to shrink it to fit perfectly. It doesn't come loose and I managed not to melt my pistol in the process :cool:
 
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