Ruger LCP experience/question

T

TexasIsHot

Inactive
Hey everyone,

This is my first post here, been lurking for years but ran into something recently I wanted to run by you guys.

So I picked up a ruger lcp for my wife and it is jamming about two times per mag(6 rounds).

I think it's a mag issue and wanted to see what you guys think. If I fill the mag with 6 shots, it jams the first few shots and is a mess. The jamming it's doing is basically the spent casing is getting stuck on the next round in the magazine before it has been completely ejected from the chamber and it halts/ freezes the slide mid-recoil. When the slide pulls the empty out to try to eject, it sticks to the front of the next round in the mag. If I eject the mag, it slams shut and is unstuck again.

If I only put two rounds in the magazines, it doesn't jam. I tested it with 25 sets of two rounds and none of them jammed. So is it safe to assume the mag is putting too much force into the rounds and causing too much friction when the slide moves back?

I don't want to have to send to ruger, so I'm wondering if a) anyone knows if ruger stock lcp mags have been known to exert too much resistance and b) if so, would clipping a few coils off the spring help solve this problem and get the gun operational. The follower looks like it would be fine with a spring modification so that's kinda what I'm thinking I'll try. If anyone has dealt with this I would love to hear your thoughts. Sorry for the long post!
 
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I have never had any problems with my LCP. Is your gun new, or used?
Are you sure it is getting "stuck" before it has completely ejected? Could it possibly be a bad ejector not rjecting the spent case which ghen gets caught trying to rechamber?
The only fly in that ointment is that it fun tions with o ly two rounds in the magazine. Will it eject a loaded round from the chamber by racking the slide rather than firing it?
 
Limp wristing could surely be the problem here, as it takes away the energy the gun needs to fuction. Mine has never failed to eject, although I had the recoil spring bind up once which locked the gun up. Try the obvious things, like a good cleaning, and different ammo.
 
I teach a women's firearm safety and SD class. I don't recommend any firearms and encourage women not to buy a gun until the class and they have tried several to see what fits them and their needs.

The LCP is by far the most popular (followed by the J frame Smiths).

I have found the LCPs to be extremely reliable and haven't seen the problems the OP indicated.

However I did see one lady with the same problems on a different brain. I took her magazine and through it in the trash forcing her to use another mag. The problem was solved.

I have seen some "limp wresting" problems show up, but not so much with the LCP, these seem to be with some heavier pistols.

Just my observations, admitting that there could be lemons with any brand or style of pistols.

If after trying other mags, and having someone with a strong firm grip try the pistol and it still malfunctions, I'd recommend sending it back to Ruger.
 
If it was limp wristing causing the jams, it would probably do that with two rounds, too.
So, it's maybe not that.
Generally speaking, most jams can be traced to magazines, extractors, ejectors and ammo.
Clean everything thoroughly, maybe even take the extractor out of the gun and clean the slide area under it.
And definitely try different, preferably more powerful ammo.
.380 is noted for being kind of on the weaker side due to all the types and ages of pistols that can chamber it.
 
It's definitely not limp wristing, I'm a pretty big guy who has been shooting for 30 years and I can't get this thing to cycle correctly with a full mag. I guess I'll pick up another magazine and give it a shot. If that gives me problems I'll send the gun to Ruger.
 
Try different ammo if you haven't switched yet. That might help.

I find my LCP hard to hold when I shoot it. Not that I limp wrist the gun, but I have large hands and struggle to get a solid grip on the gun and it actually torques in my hand a bit. That being said, I've never had a single issue with mine.

If yours does have an issue, I'd call Ruger before I buy a new mag. Their customer service is excellent and they will make the gun right.
 
I've had three LCPs here, two early & one new one I just finished working with.
All three very reliable with a variety of brands & bullet weights.

I'd suggest you try another mag & a couple other loads.
If persists, call Ruger.
Denis
 
I would call Ruger customer service and explain the issue. They will immediately email you a prepaid return label. You drop it off at a FedEx store and 10 days later you'll get your LCP back and running fine. More than likely they will throw in a spare magazine for you troubles.
 
My LCP has 250 rounds through it with zero malfunctions. Great little gun. Mine sits in the console of my truck and is a trusted friend.
 
I have a 2nd generation that I picked up this year. I had a few malfunctions in the first couple hundred rounds but they eventually cleared up. It could have been me putting to much pressure on the bottom lip of the magazine or it just needed to be broken in. Small guns are built to tight tolerances and sometimes they need time to loosen up a little bit.
 
I have owned 3 LCP's and shot all kinds of ammo thru them and never had any issues! I have since sold them off but I thought they were great little guns just not for me!
 
I haven't seen that.

I've run 3 different magazines (Ruger, not Pro-Mag), and all magazines have been flawless.

The LCP, itself, had some hiccups during the first 20 rounds, but has run great since then.

There was one particular shooter, whom is known far and wide as a limp-wrister, that had failures to feed or eject on every other round. But, as I said... she is notorious for limp-wristing, having atrocious technique, and generally just not being a good mix with firearms. She's the only person that I've ever seen triple-feed a Henry H001, and fire a rifle with a bore obstruction (that she created!) twice in the same day. :rolleyes:
 
Call ruger before you do anything and see what they have to say. I had a problem with my early lcp where the mag would drop out sometimes when being fired. I called ruger and the very nice woman I talked to said it was due to the plastic mag release. She said I could sent the pistol in or they could send me the release if I felt I coudl install it. I do some amature gunsmithing so I figured I could do it. The release arrived in the mail in 2 days and I put it in and the lcp has been runnign great ever since. Mine is not picky on ammo at all. It runs everything %100. I also bought my wife a new lcp custom a few months ago. It is alos %100. Call them they may say it is the mag and send you a new one.
 
I have Ruger and Pro Mag magazines, no problems with either. I agree with the majority, call Ruger. Their customer service is second to none.

David
 
A couple things about really little .380's ...

Ammunition can matter. Try a different brand.

If you've already tried more than one type of major American-maker .380 ACP and had the same results ... have you tried more than 1 magazine? magazines are assemblies, after all, and it's not impossible to get one that doesn't function as expected now and again (and Ruger would likely mail you a replacement if that's the case).

Also, the grip being used ...

One of our guys experienced repeated (virtually every mag load) feeding stoppages with his new LCP, and he was using decent ball ammo. Even though he was a firearms instructor of approx 10 years experience, I asked him to shoot it while I watched, and I watched his grip.

I saw one of his thumbs repeatedly rubbing the slide, and when it did, a stoppage occurred. He said he didn't feel it, but it was plain to see happen during recoil, as the little gun whipped up and his grip tightened momentarily.

When he adjusted his grip to keep his thumbs away from the slide, the stoppages ceased occurring. The really short and light LCP slide probably needs ALL of its slide run and velocity in order to work normally, and rubbing ("thumbing") a slide on even bigger pistols can cause stoppages and feeding timing issues.

Ruger will probably want you to pay for shipping the gun back to them, but I've also been told by them that if I sent them a copy of the shipping costs I paid, they'd either reimburse me (if it turned out to be a warranty problem), or they'd send a free magazine to compensate me for the shipping. You might call and ask, as these things might change, depending who you talk to when you call.

They do stand behind their products, though. I've had to have a number of Ruger firearms repaired from the 70's through the 90's, and they've done right by me each time.

FWIW, each of my LCP's (older blued and new style stainless) have normally fed, chambered, fired, extracted & ejected the JHP's I normally use (Golden Sabre, T-Series, Gold Dot & Silvertip), as well as 1 or 2 other misc JHP's I've come across in our range training inventory, and ball loads.

Just some thoughts.
 
Mine did the same thing the first couple of mags I fired through it. Then I switched to a much firmer grip and it was flawless from there out.

The little Elsiepea does not tolerate a limp grip. Hang on to it like you stole it.
 
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