Ruger LCP

[joseph whitney]

Pardon the question but I would like to know if any of our members have the Ruger LCP .380 and what they think of it. I have been offered either this pistol or a S&W 637 with the Crimson Grip for my Model 659. I haven't been too anxious to trade because of my dislike for the lock in the 637 and not being too anxious for another .380. I already have an Interarms PPK and a S&W PPK/s that I received because it had a loaded round jammed in the slide. I got it out and found it to be a 9mm makarov.
Not to get off the subject but what do you think of the two mentioned handguns? Thanks as always...

 

[JamesArthur60]

I don't know what's a fair trade or not, but I own and carry the little LCP. She's been reliable and surprisingly accurate up close. She's also a little snappy to shoot. It conceals well in my front pocket and it's very light. I suppose someone will condemn it for being a .380 caliber, but it beats having nothing or carrying a baseball bat tucked in your pant leg. Make sure the serial number on the LCP starts at 371-*****. Those (and higher numbers) are not the ones being recalled and repaired.

 

[USAF385]

I love my LCP. It's small, thin, light and fits comfortably in my hand. I made an outside the waistband / underneath belt holster for it which makes it extremely comfortable and safe to carry with 1 in the chamber. Despite the lack of real sights, it's very accurate within intended distances.

The cons: no real sights, a bit snappy (but not too bad), and long trigger pull (I didn't have any problem with the trigger though)

I can't say one way or the other about the trade, but as far as the LCP is concerned.. I'm VERY pleased with it.

 

[mlk18]

I would take the 637, especially if it has the Crimson Trace grips. That combo is worth considerably more $ than the LCP. Heck just the 637 alone is worth more $ than the LCP.

I thought about getting an LCP, so I borrowed my Father-in-laws. The LCP was amazingly light and small, but I found the recoil and muzzle flip to be ridiculous (for what you are getting in terms of power). I stuck with my S&W 642.

 

[hberttmank]

I have an LCP and have been very pleased with it. It is small and light to carry, shoots well for such a small gun, and mine has worked perfectly.

 

[35Rem]

Get the 637. Sell the laser grips for $150, sell the gun for $400 and buy an LCP for, what, $350?

 

[diamonback68]

I'm not sure what the fuss is about the snappy recoil on the LCP, it seems just fine to me.

 

[bgdv1]

i have an LCP an luv it. easy to tuck away and not know its there.

 

[aquagear]

I like mine, it is snappy but for what it is intended to do works fine for me. It is not my primary carry gun, I use it when dress prohibits me from carrying my larger frame stuff.

 

[mlk18]

Get the 637. Sell the laser grips for $150, sell the gun for $400 and buy an LCP for, what, $350?

More like $275. That would give the OP a Ruger LCP and about $200-250 (conservatively) in the pocket. Yep, that seems like a better deal than trading a $350 gun for a $275 gun.

 

[1992mustang]

a. Never seen an LCP for less than 300.00, usually 325.00
2. Do you want the gun for the monetary value or for self defense?
I carry an LCP 12 hours a day and don't even know it is there. You can't say that for many guns!

 

[mlk18]

Never seen an LCP for less than 300.00

$269.99 at the LGS, Father-in-law bought his in Wisconsin for $275, several for under $275 on GunBroker.

 

[JcMack]

Last year at this time new LCP's were close to $400 when you could find one. Now they're available and around $275. If you've got a PPK you've got all the .380 you'll ever need. The 637 is the way to go. Sounds like you've got the "trade bug". I've been there. Maybe the best approach would be hang on to the 659 for a while.

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

The best thing going for the LCP is it's size, you can carry it with ease. The downside is the high cost of ammo...if you can find it...and again, it's size. For guys with medium or large hands it takes some getting used to in order to hold the gun. I kept bumping the mag release and dropping the mag far enough stop the gun. It has an extremely long trigger pull that also takes time getting used to. Also, the Crimson Trace laser works, but it is not as good as the grip mounted laser as it uses very small batteries that don't last very long. My wife bought a LCP when they first came out and added the CT laser, had it for a year and traded it for a Ruger LCR...which she loves, but that's another topic.

I would say find a friend or a range that has one you can try. Shoot one before you buy one.

 

[raveneap]

The 637 w/laser grips is undoubtedly the better $$ value. BUT, I owned a 637. It's the only Smith that I ever had to return for service, right out of the box. After three trips back, Smith destroyed it and gave me full credit. I then got a Model 60 3" and love it. The 637 felt like it was full of sand and the cylinder release was rough, even refusing to open the cylinder at times. All of my other Smiths are, and have been, excellent guns. As far as the LCP goes, I've done a lot of research into this little gun and will probably pick one up next week. Cost around here is around $300.00 + -. Looks to be just the ticket for when mode of dress precludes the larger guns.

 

[Orygun]

I like my LCP too. It had a few feeding issues in the first 50 rounds but has been fine since. I plan to sell it when the Bodyguard 380 is available.

 

[GKC]

it beats having nothing or carrying a baseball bat tucked in your pant leg.

Of course, if you do carry a baseball bat tucked into your pants, you might get lots of attention from the ladies!

Seriously, I held an LCP...and I don't think I have large hands, but I couldn't get a comfortable grip on it. I think it's just too small for me. My S&W model 40 is as small as I want to go!

 

[Hofstet]

+1 on the LCP. Have had one since introduced by Ruger. Light to carry and accurate at close range, which is what it's designed for. Would also recommend you consider S&W 642, my favorite carry piece.

 

[MFPD 10MM]

I have an LCP and it has been a great little Pistol. I have put approx. 300 rounds of any .380 I could find in it and have had no problems at all.

 

[Wayne02]

I got an LCP w/CT two months ago and I expected to not like it much as I have long fingers and figured it would be a bear to shoot. But after trying a bunch of pocket pistols I found the LCP was the only 'true' pocket pistol for me. It is the largest gun I would carry in the pocket.

Much to my surprise I like it a lot. I ran another 150 rounds through it at a range session this week. It has about 500 rounds through it at this point I believe. It had two failure to fully chamber in the first 70 rounds but has been fine since then with two different kinds of FMJ and one kind of hollow point ammo.

I found there were two things critical for me to shoot the gun well.

1) Ruger finger extension dramatically improved the stability of the grip and helps prevent the gun from rotating up and back on recoil. I tried the pierce extension but found it was too large.

2) Use only the very tip of the finger pad on the trigger finger to press the trigger back. This is usually good practice on most guns, but I found it especially critical on this little guy. I found using the finger tip helped reduced the torquing of the gun down and to the left when pulling the trigger.

That's the good news. The bad news is the ammo situation in many parts of the country is beyond ridiculous. I waited a couple years before getting a .380 thinking the ammo situation would clear up by then but the improvement has been weak. I manage to get by with mail order but the amount of effort and $$ it takes to secure .380 ammo is just stupefying.

The only thing saving my LCP's bacon at this time is it's true pocket pistol size, because if not for that I'd be leave the .380 guns to those who have the time, money, or reloading ability to secure said ammo.