Ruger .380 lcp.

gt40 said:
Anyone have a Ruger LCP? How do you like it and how accurate does it shoot? I am thinking of getting one.

Here is some reading about it: http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger-LCP.htm

gt40
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I shot .380's with handloads and my only question would be how the recoil would be with that light a gun. I loaded very light bullets at high velocities to be a real stopper. I'd want to shoot one first. Compare it to a single stack traditional .380 to see how they handle recoil. Small size isn't everything. I got 88 grain hollow point bullet with Unique powder loads over 1100 FPS chronographed. With a hollow point they were frightening in gel tests! I wouldn't want one in the chest. :eek: :eek: The .380 is a much under rated protection gun! I like the standard size single stack gun because you might need to shoot it at some distance and it is still quite concealable.
 
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gt40

Take a look on cable for the latest Guns & Ammo show episode #119. It has a review of the LCP 380. It looked pretty good.
 
Ruger 380

The Ruger 380 is probably the best one out there. If you carry it DON'T carry reloads. If you shoot someone who is trying to kill you and you use reloads you can get suited. I have shot reloads over 50 years and they are better then factory ammo. But any gun that I use to protect my self will have factory ammo in as per the law. Good Luck craig
 
After the BS Ruger tried to pull on their motorcycle riding employees I wouldn't buy a Ruger no matter what. I will stick with my P11 with 12 rounds of 9mmP in my pocket.

Elsie Pea ???!??!?! Jeez. More cheerleading disguised as journalism.
 
craig said:
The Ruger 380 is probably the best one out there. If you carry it DON'T carry reloads. If you shoot someone who is trying to kill you and you use reloads you can get suited. I have shot reloads over 50 years and they are better then factory ammo. But any gun that I use to protect my self will have factory ammo in as per the law. Good Luck craig
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Wow! Never thought of that! Thanks!

I think I'd look for a factory loaded hollow point/soft point that feeds well to avoid penetration problems. Hardball 380 and 9mm have too much penetration for a self defense round unless you need to shoot two bad guys with one round. I loaded a wide open hollow point that looked like it would have feeding problems, but it didn't! Very reliable.
 
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Here are the posted comparison table from that site:

Ammunition.............Bullet Weight......Velocity

Buffalo Bore HC...............100............1110.4 :)
Buffalo Bore JFN...............95............1012.5
Buffalo Bore JHP...............90............1077.6
Glaser Safety Slug.............70............1190.7 :)
Cor-Bon PowRBall..............70............1210.3 :) :)
Cor-Bon DPX....................80.............1021.1
Cor-Bon JHP.....................90..............948.8
Remington JHP..................88..............877.5
Remington FMJ..................90.............827.2
Federal FMJ......................90.............849.6
Handload JHP....................88.............879.9

I am a light bullet high velocity guy with rifles, but not so sure for the .380. The test on the Cor-Bon PowRBall looked very interesting. I need to research some more on the 3 smiles?

I have also wondered about these specialty bullets in the courts even though they are factory made. Will the defense argue that since you shot someone with these kind of bullets that you were just waiting for the chance to shoot some one and if you used hard ball it would not look that way? What have you heard about this?

As for the recoil of the LCP there is a short video there that shows what it looks like.

"Aim small miss small", :D

gt40
 
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Grand Jurys that look at our police shootings ask. Was the use of deadly force justifiable. If the answer is yes it does not matter what you shot him with, what kind of ammo you used or if you ran over him with a truck. A wrongful death suit brought by a family member might try to paint a different picture but they usely only are looking for deep pockets like cities or coorpations not individuals. I shoot a lot of handloads over the years but my work firearms use factory ammo.
 
craig said:
The Ruger 380 is probably the best one out there. If you carry it DON'T carry reloads. If you shoot someone who is trying to kill you and you use reloads you can get sued. Craig
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NOT in Texas! We have the castle law.

We cannot be arrested or sued defending ourselves or our families in our homes, busineses or vehicles. Does not matter what kind of ammo we use either. ;)

If your state does not allow you to have the castle law or CCW, then you are a b*^@# of your state dictators, lawyers, and holier-then-thou prosecutors. :eek:
 
Based on my reloading and testing of 380 ACP I think light bullets at high velocities are the way to go. As I said before I found wide open jacketed 88 grain hollow points that would feed perfectly at 9mm velocities and really blossomed in gel. :eek: :eek: :eek: They even shot flat enough to shoot at jack rabbits for practice.
 
Yesterday I slapped my money down for a Ruger .380 LCP $279+tax. Had to go on a waiting list for them to come in. Almost all of them here are special order because they sell so fast.

I think I'm going to use the Speer 90gr. Gold Dots instead of the 70gr. HPs because from what I read the 70gr. only has about 125 lbs. of energy and a 100gr. soft point has over 400 lbs. I'll still have to test the Gold Dots to see how they penetrate and of course how the cycle when shooting.

gt40
 
Well here is my review:

The first thing I did to my new LCP was to completely clean the clip & pistol with Gun Scrubber to get all the grease off. After it was completely dry I sprayed everything inside and out with Remington Dry-Lube. I do not care for oily stuff in my pants pocket.

That was yesterday.

Today I went out to my hunting camp where I could do some shooting.

The first shot on the target was aimed about where your nose would be and hit top left. This was shot at 20 feet.

I then looked the LCP over and it looked OK.

The next thing I did was to move back to 30 feet. I put the LCP in my blue jeans right front pocket. I reached in my pocket. Pulled it out and pointed at the neck area and pulled the trigger as fast as I could while returning to pointing at the neck. :D

The recoil was less than I had expected and made it very easy to return to point of aim. :):):):)

I like the performance of Speer 90gr. Gold Dots which are not cheep $18 for a box of 20, but my life may depend on what I use.

Here is the target I used. I think if I was able to get the first shot off I would be victorious. Zero malfunctions. :):):):)

"Aim small miss small", :D

gt40
 

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380 acp

Sorry, dont own a Ruger LCP but own lots of other Ruger handguns and they are well built and dependable. The 90 Hornady XTP loaded to around 1000 FPS works real well in my Walther PPKS, accuracy is excellent, no jams, fail to feeds or stove pipes, its a great little cartridge.
 
I have had my LCP for over a month. Put 160 rounds through it in one nite, three kinds of ammo. Not one problem. Accuracy is tremendous but its very difficult to maintain the same point of aim. Sights are of the belly gun type. Kick is there but manageable. After 50 rounds you want to give your hand a rest.

I did my research also on ammo. I don't believe in reloads for concealed carry. Yes, if its a justified shooting then it doesn't matter what ammo you have, but are all shootings that cleanly defined? I've learned long ago not to temp the devil. I also do not believe in the light and fast bullet theory. Hardball comes in around 13" in the gel tests. Yes that might over penetrate but what if its going through a leather coat. My choice was the Rem Saber 102gr HP moving around 850fps. Gel tests were about 10" with good expansion. I may stagger these with hardball but right now its all sabers. My experience comes from years of hunting and I want effective penetration, and do not want a rapidly expanding bullet the breaks up close to the surface. There are lots of opinions, hope I never prove mine right, but there it is.
 
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