Ruger LCP range report

[orionengnr]

Finally got mine yesterday. Took it to the range today and put 50 rounds through it. Yeah, 50 rounds was it: it's not a range gun and is not comfortable to shoot for long periods.

Initial impression--it is smoother and obviously better made than the P3AT.
It comes from the factory very well-lubed, not quite dripping. Hand-cycling the action shows it to be very smooth in comparison to the P3AT.

Using factory PMC 95 gr ammo, it shot slightly low and to the left. All shots were below the centerline of the target. Distance was 25', probably artificially long for this pistol but it is my customary practice distance. Sights are tiny, sight radius is short, so I am willing to accept a lot of the blame for this performance. That said, my target looked a lot like the targets I used to shoot with my P3ATs.

Trigger pull was every bit as long and stiff as the P3AT. The pieces in contact with your hand during recoil are smoother, so a bit less trigger slap/frame schmack was evident. I am hoping it will smooth up some, but not expecting it.

Overall fit and finish of the LCP is vastly superior to the P3AT.

Disassembly for cleaning purposes was smooth--no fighting with the pin, pressing on the plastic adjacent to the pin to keep from "springing" the grip frame. No separate extractor to lose as soon as the slide comes off.

Reassembly is smoother as well--no fighting with the takedown pin either coming out or going back in. After my P-32 and P3AT experiences, when I stuck the pin in, it almost fell into place. I said, "Really? Just like that?"

Most noteworthy, from brand new, I had zero malfunctions, something I've been unable to say about any of my four Kel-Tecs. No Fluff & Buff required, either.

Bottom line--I never trusted any K-T enough to carry it, although I liked the concept enough to keep trying.

I think that Ruger has built a pistol that fulfills the promise of the concept. I'm still not sure I trust the cartridge, but I am almost ready to trust the concept/pistol.

 

[Smaug]

Good post. It's almost as if Ruger saw the popularity of the Kel-Tecs, bought some to try out, and said: "Psh. We can do it better than that." and did.

There are a ton of loyal Kel-Tec fans, but I was never tempted. The posts seem to be about 50/50 in favor and against.

 

[jhgreasemonkey]

Cool. Thanks for the report. Where did you get it? I hear they are hard to come by right now.

 

[Mokanracer]

You can find them at Gunbroker

Gun Broker has them listed ..Diff prices, but seem to hang around $300.00

 

[Kreyzhorse]

Good review. The LCP is a great pocket gun.

 

[Sturmgewehre]

Yup, I agree. My P3AT was a horrible handgun by comparison to my LCP. The differences in quality and assembly are night and day different. The LCP, for the money, is twice the gun in my view.

 

[Gatorhugger]

I disagree with a lot of this. The Trigger pull is in no way better on the lcp. also the exterior finish may be better, but there is an obvious bias against kt in this post. I also own both, and would rather carry the kt.
The kt is a more natural pointer and has zero problems. The interior slide and hammer interface on my kt was finished much better than my Lcp which has a small hole in and the lcp interior was not polished as well as the kt.
So really it depends on the gun itself, and I have had nothing but good luck with kt.
both are good guns normally.

 

[PT-92]

I have two kel-tec sub-2000's and one of my carry guns is the P11. I have never had an fte with any of my kt's. Now that being said, I have a Ruger P95 and a 10/22 and I can say the same.

In essence, I think there is a lot of unfounded/unsubstantiated KT criticism because they are 'considered' lower end weapons when my experience as well as others is that they are a great buy for the money.

-Cheers

 

[Sturmgewehre]

In essence, I think there is a lot of unfounded/unsubstantiated KT criticism because they are 'considered' lower end weapons when my experience as well as others is that they are a great buy for the money.

Cheap in terms of price have nothing to do with it. I have EAA handguns I cherish for their quality and reliability. The LCP isn't exactly expensive by the way.

My P3AT was obviously poorly made. Mine couldn't go two magazines without a failure to feed using many different brands of factory ball ammo. I really wanted to like my P3AT as I really-really wanted a tiny pocket auto, but it wasn't meant to be. About 1/2 of the people at my local funshop felt the same way about the P3AT's they bought.

My Ruger is noticeably better built. I've seen and fired a lot of Kel-Tec's in my day and I've never seen one that rivals the quality of my LCP. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I think if you asked non-bias gun buyers (who owned neither) which one they thought looked better made in a side-by-side comparison, you would find most people would point to the LCP.

 

[PT-92]

I don't much concern myself with looks. I have a Saiga 12 that looks raw compared to my Remington 1187, but the Saiga is a weapon that meets or exceeds the 1187 in terms of reliability and performance.

I feel the same when comparing the LCP with the KT 380.

-Cheers

 

[Sturmgewehre]

As I said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But with my P3AT the problems were deeper than cosmetic. If all it were guilty of was being ugly, I would still have it. Unfortunately it was poorly made and unreliable, at least the lemon I got stuck with was anyway. If it weren't for several other people who also tried them that I shoot with who had similar experiences, I might have given them a second chance. As it is, they now have competition that, in my view and experience, offers a superior product.

 

[Mokanracer]

Well I just got one..

Since I havent fired my P3AT yet,cant say too much. I have found that the little burger is really hard for me to pull the slide back. I have to grasp the entire slide to actuate it. I have talked to a lot of owners/dealers,and basicly have found that you can expect many failures during firing,unless you keep a STIFF wrist and use ball end ammo. No flat nose or hollow points,untill youve gone thru 500 rds.. Any way,looking to get a LCP, as it appears to be a higher quality Mouse for about the same price. I also like the slide locking feature of the LCP,and that you can load a round directly into the chamber. I have a fetish for tiny guns, so not an expert for sure.

 

[farnorthdan]

Carry mine every day

Mines in my pocket as we speak, has been for about three months now. I've got at least 500rds thru mine to date, with no malfunctions to speak of, its a great deep concealment piece. I have no experience with the KT but love my LCP. By the way, the slide does not lock on the last round..........

DS

 

[Gatorhugger]

Sturm sounds like you had a lemon KT for sure.
I have had 3 P3at's and not a single problem.
I also have 2 -LCP's.

If you strip away the external cosmetics of the LCP, the Keltec finish on feed ramp and rails is just as good if not better on my Keltecs.
At least the ones I have had which were made in Late 2007 and 2008.
People have had bad KT's, people are having bad LCP's that have throating issues now.( then again, you have people that don't clean em or lube either and blame the gun)
It's really the individual gun more than the whole product line.

 

[orionengnr]

I disagree with a lot of this. The Trigger pull is in no way better on the lcp. also the exterior finish may be better, but there is an obvious bias against kt in this post.

You are entitled to your opinion, but please read my post. I did not say that the LCP trigger was better; I said that it was every bit as long and stiff as the KT.

As far as "bias" goes, I have owned four K-Ts; one P-11, one P-32 and two P3ATs. I liked the concept enough to give them four chances.

Each and every one required parts from KT and work on my part to get them working with a reasonable degree of reliability.

I sold three with the disclosure that I did not trust it enough to carry it. The last one I sold, a first-gen P3AT, was the best of the lot, but the LCP is far superior in every ways.

Any "bias" is purely the result of my experience.