As some folks may have noticed, I didn’t post about any new purchases for BAG Day, April 15th.
That is mostly because I spent my BAG Day monies back during Easter.
That spending, in turn, allowed Ken (aka The Step-Dad) to buy himself this, which he picked up the day after BAG Day, April 16th.
The new Ruger LCP in .380.
For another sense of scale, for anyone who has handled one of the 1908 Colt Pocket Auto (aka: Baby Browning).
Ken mostly carried the 1908 during his walks in the park with The Parent’s Pomeranian, Ricco, mostly for protection against other dogs. Ken has noticed that the other dogs have been getting larger, so an increase in caliber was in order and the LCP fit the bill nicely.
First positive point: .25 ACP vs. .380ACP.
Second positive point: The Ruger is about half the weight of the 1908.
I’ll have a range report for you all not too long after getting back from Boomershoot (hopefully, end of next week/beginning of the week after) though the number of rounds I’m going to be allowed to put through it may be limited as I’ll have to pry it out of Ken’s hands first.
Preliminary reactions from him are “excellent”. Much better than than any Kel-Tec he’s ever handled in all areas: Fit, finish, feel, function.
If you think that you can’t wait, then imagine my predicament.
Peh. I’ll never buy a Ruger automatic, especially not one blatantly ripped off from a good company like Kel-Tec. I own three Kel-Tecs, and they all have functioned flawlessly for years now. Kel-Tec backs their products, and they pride themselves in their customer service. I have not experienced the same with Ruger.
of course, that’s to be expected from that company.
You Rock! HKPistole.
I have a Kel-Tec P3AT and a P-11. I can hit about half the targets (out to 50 yards) on a metal silhouette range with the P11, and the P3AT just keeps shooting and it is the only pistol I have ever had which I can slip into a pants pocket and REALLY forget it’s there (thanks to the DeSantis pocket holster).
Aside from one annoying thing (and it’s a cost measure, I’m sure), that of shipping pistols with machining shavings and test-firing residue in them as new firearms, I’ve never had a problem with one I couldn’t fix myself.
The price can’t be argued with either. I can buy 2 P3ATs for what Ruger wants for one LCP.
I also have a NAA Guardian in .32NAA, a hot wildcat cartridge (bottlenecked down from a .380 into .32). It cost me $450. It had a rep as the best concealable backup made, but it is twice as heavy as the P3AT, thicker and a little longer. It’s hot round kicks so badly that even the semi-aiming you do with these mouse guns is impossible, and the ammo is about a dollar a round, very scarce, and made only by Cor-Bon.
I don’t carry it much anymore, but I carry my P3AT everywhere.
BTW, the .25ACP should be confined to the dustbin of history, and all weapons chambered for it put in museums. The round actually is not as strong as a hi-speed .22 Short!
I would not even carry it as a defense against vicious dogs, unless I was going to a dog park restricted to Chihuahuas. It would merely piss off a larger dog (I’ve personally seen a Rottweiler soak up 3 rounds of .40S&W JHP and keep biting!).
The .25ACP makes an OK signaling device. It makes enough noise to have a searcher find you if you are down no more than 100 feet from the search path.
Has he had any problems with his LCP chewing up the brass? When I got mine it would tear chunks out of the rim. I had to clean up the extractor with a file and it’s better but still marks ’em pretty badly.
“I can buy 2 P3ATs for what Ruger wants for one LCP.”
Where? I paid $250 for my LCP NiB. I’d love to know where I could pick up a new P3AT for $125
I’d call KelTec a “good” compnay only because they have come up from a very small operation on their ideas. Father & Son operation, if I am remembering correctly.
However, their QC leaves a lot to be desired. Great idea. So-so execution. It’s been what, 10 years now? And they can’t hire someone to check parts tolerances and point out the rough edges and that it sounds like sandpaper? The AK is a great functioning and reliable firearm too, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near my first choice.
It seems to me that Ruger is just filling a niche in the market.
As for the chewing up of brass, not as of yet. Though I’ll make specific investigation when I’m at the range.
I know this is an old thread, but Bruce from No Looking Backwards had this link – Ruger forgot a milling operation on some of their LCP’s.
This thread has some before and after pics.
Pingback: Random Nuclear Strikes » Bersa vs. Ruger LCP