Ruger .380 LCP Range Report

[Boarhunter]

I picked one up last week (s/n 5XX) from Larry's Pistol and Pawn; Huntsville, Alabama; and I like it a good bit. I have always been a big fan of Kel-Tec firearms, currently owning one each of their tiny semiautos (.32 acp, .380, and 9mm), but I think Ruger is going to give Kel-Tec a run for its money. Although their respective firearms bear strong resemblance, the Ruger appears more refined and durable.

I have approximately 75 rounds through the gun so far. After purchasing the .380 Ruger LCP, I immediately went back to Larry's indoor range to give the gun a try. No cleaning or lube added to the gun; a test literally right out of the box.

I put 50 rounds of 95 grain FMJ BlazerBrass through the gun without any failure. I then put two mags through the gun of Hornady 90 grain JHP/XTP, without any failure. The rangemaster then gave me a handful of miscellaneous .380 (hollow point, round nose, and flat nose) he had picked up off the floor over time, and I ran that through the gun. Again, without any failure whatsoever. It don't get any better than that.

Insofar as accuracy goes, I was more than pleased with the gun's performance. I am old and my eyes are shot, but I had no trouble keeping all rounds easily on a 6-inch paper plate at 25 feet, shooting with some urgency and off-hand. If a pocket gun can do that, then I know it is adequate to keep the bad guys off my back. I have no doubt someone of greater shooting competence could do much better.

The trigger pull, like on the Kel-Tec, is long and light and smooth DAO. And the Ruger nicely fits a leather pocket holster I purchased for the Kel-Tec.

Mags for the Kel-Tec .380 appear to fit the Ruger, but not visa versa (intended marketing technique on the part of Ruger, I would guess).

Anyway, the Ruger is now in my pocket where it will likely stay, at least until something "better" comes along. The Kel-Tecs are not for sale, but I expect they will end up in the safe for the foreseeable future.

Boarhunter

 

[Tbag]

I've been waiting to hear about these, thanks. So fairly controllable, recoil of it doesn't bite the hand as some keltecs do?

 

[Boarhunter]

I had no problem with control, Tbag, and I found the LCP much easier to shoot than your typical J-frame revolver.

You would not likely enjoy an entire afternoon shooting the LCP, and that is not its purpose, but I did not suffer significantly shooting the rounds I reported and did not have the "palsy" when I finished.

Boarhunter

 

[Playboypenguin]

I picked one up last week (s/n 5XX) from Larry's Pistol and Pawn; Huntsville, Alabama

Thanks for the review. I am very anxious to see one of these in person.

I agree with you that these guns are really going to hurt Kel-Tec. I hope Ruger wins the battle and produces some more guns to compete with Kel-Tec.

I bought my first .357mag handgun at Larry's years ago. Loved that place. Wish I had expedable income back when I lived near them.

 

[Shadi Khalil]

I like anything with larry in the name....

I too am very anxoius to see one in person. No sight of one in VA so far...

 

[.38Catt]

Thanks...

Had to pre-pay for mine. It should arrive in a week or two. Glad yours is reliable. 6" at 25'? I'll take that. I was planning on practicing at < 10'.

Regards,


Catt

 

[oldgranpa]

And, please tell us, the price OTD was how much?

 

[Boarhunter]

oldgranpa,

You don't want to know.... I paid "family rates" and that tends to be much, much, much more than what everyone else pays! Of course, it was an early production gun, and it was the first LCP he received, so there are some benefits.

I think MSR is $330, and Larry's prices, as a general rule, tend to be significantly less than MSR.

Boarhunter

Ps: No, we are not actually related, but I have been taking all my disposable income to him for over 30 years, and I do claim to be his lawyer....

 

[Van55]

I asked about these at my local gun shop/range today. They received a shipment of two .380 LCP and sold them both that day. One of the customers reports that the Ruger is MUCH superior to the Kel-Tec product. Smooth as silk and quite accurate.

So early reports are favorable. Thanks for yours.

 

[Hallucinator]

What about durability? You can't shoot a Kel-Tec very much or it will fall apart. I'm hoping the Ruger is tougher.4

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Keltecs don't "fall apart." The Ruger is pretty much an exact copy of the Keltec.

 

[Boris Bush]

I do not think Kel-tecs fall apart after being shot alot. I know people that have more than 5000 rounds through P32s and P-3ATs. They have not fallen apart yet and still shoot as good as my new P-32. I do believe Ruger would not copy a design if it was not durable. I think that the fact they copied the Kel-tec design is a compliment to Kel-tec. The question I have is will the Ruger copy be as durable as the Kel-tec? Only time will tell that.

One question I have is if the Ruger frame will fit into a Kel-tec grip....

(edit) Bill DeShivs beat me to it!

 

[PunchPaper]

1st generation anything...

This latest offering from Ruger looks good.

On the other hand, I always worry about buying 1st generation anything,
cars, computers, or guns.

What do you think?

I seem to remember that KelTec had come out with a 2G of at least
one of their guns when improvements were found necessary.

 

[Sriracha]

"The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."

That being said, congrats Boarhunter. I'll have to exercise some serious wallet discipline to not buy one of these when they are available here.

- Sr.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

The "second generation" Keltec P3AT came about because of a material supply change, not because of defects.

 

[ElectricHellfire]

I really am intrigued by the LCP but I think at least for a while Im going to stick with my Bersa. Im sure I'll end up with a LCP in the end.

 

[Playboypenguin]

The "second generation" Keltec P3AT came about because of a material supply change, not because of defects.

What were the changes and what were the material supply issue that mandated them?

I have always heard that the smaller .380 and .32 Kel-Tecs are worthwhile. I know from personal experience that the same is not true of their more powerful guns.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

The early K/T small guns' slides were made from hexagonal stock. When this stock became unavailable (or prohibitively expensive), Keltec changed to square bar stock for manufacture.
All my P-11s have been great guns!

 

[PT111]

I have a P3AT that has been as reliable as can be, never a problem. The LCP is going to be the darling for a while just due to the public perception that it is supposed to be better and unless it really falls apart everyone that has one is going to say how much better it is. That is human nature. We tend to judge on what we think should be the standards. I read about people accepting that it is fine for one gun to be confined to only one type of ammo where another is criticized for failing to shoot one certain brand but does fine with all others.

I am going to wait to pass judgement on the LCP for a while and keep carrying my P3AT that has proven reliable.

 

[Whirlwind06]

I'm interested to see how Ruger deals with problems with this little gun.
KT pretty much has a life time warranty and will send you replacement parts for free. Will Ruger do that? From what I understand NAA and Seecamp also have lifetime warranties on their pocket guns. I wonder if Ruger really understands the market they are getting into.