Ruger's response to my question

[tawcat]

Thank you for using the Ruger On-Line Customer Support Request Form.

This e-mail is in response to your question or comment of 08/19/2008
Request No: 8662

Comment / question:

I purchased the Ruger LCP, love this gun. It shoots well, handles well and have
not had any MF's or FTF's issues.

My question: What ammunition does Ruger recommend for Self Defense carry?
Presently I am carrying Frontier JHP. I heard where a major ammunition
manufacturer is designing a .380 round specifically for the LCP.

Thank you for your input.

Stan

Response:
We do not recommend any particular ammunition for self defense. Your best bet is
to find a round that feeds well and you feel comfortable with.

If you need further information, please visit our website at www.ruger.com or
contact us at:

So there ya have it!

[Technosavant]

I'm not sure what you were expecting. I would think it would be pretty clear that Ruger's corporate lawyers are fairly paranoid, hence their lack of any stated warranty, heavy trigger pulls, and so on. Now imagine what liability they might be accepting by recommending any kind of defensive load- the family of the crook might sue, or if the rounds fail to stop the crook, you or your survivors might sue.

I am not surprised at all that Ruger doesn't recommend any specific ammo for defense and I would be quite surprised if any other gun manufacturer did not likewise refrain from doing so.

[possum]

the advise that they gave you is the exact that i would give you. I always tell folks to get a few different brands and bullet weights/designs and go to the range. i have 3 phases when choosing self defense ammo.
in order of importance for me personally.
1) reliability, must be 100% with at least 100rds if not more.
2) shootability, controalbility during controlled pairs, fts's, hammers etc.
3) accuracy, it dosen't have to win you a bullseye competetion it just has to win a fight for your life. and with the way that ammo is these days i have never disqualified a brand/type of ammo for accuracy issues. but if there are two loads that are perfect in reliability and shootability then i go with the one that is most accurate. and though i don't use the one that was the least accurate, i know i could if i needed to or wanted too.

[hotshotshoting]

not to mention it would be a liability for them to actually suggest a specific load!

[Water-Man]

It was an intelligent response.

[lee n. field]

"Use what you want."

So why the frowny face? Seems like a non-issue to me.

[Cougfan2]

What everybody else said!

[kingpin008]

+1. Seems like a perfectly reasonable response. What did you expect?

[DrLaw]

Yes, thankfully, there are lawyers there to guide you in your quest. Yes, without us lawyers, think of how hard your life would be! :evil:

Actually, the answer is what I would have expected even without lawyers. There are lots of ammo makers out there. There are lots of varieties of the same caliber ammo out there. Ruger is putting a gun out for world-wide use. To think of suggesting one or so particular loads or brands for any gun is not logical. The very nature of the world of guns pretty much precludes that.

The suggestions others here have given are right on. Try different brands and loads. You will not only find what your gun likes to digest, but it will give you something else - lots of practice. With a small gun, you really need that!

People think, small gun, short distance shooting. No problem hitting. You can miss greater than you think without practice. If that gun is for self-defense, you want EVERY shot to count. Practice, Practice, Practice.

The Doc is out now. :cool:

PS, take two aspirin and call us again after you found the right load for your gun and tell us how good you are shooting it.

[Colt46]

It ought to be up to you what you feed that little mousegun. You are the one that has to live with whatever comes out the pointy end.
Do a little research, narrow it down to several choices, buy boxes of 50 and then hit the range. See what works best for you.

[NG VI]

Same advice you would have gotten here

[actionflies]

If Ruger told you to use X brand ammo for personal defense and you use it to protect your family and it didn't do the job. I bet you would go sue Ruger because of their recommendation.

[tawcat]

Actually I guess with all the controversy about this little mousegun, Ruger could have at least provided some ballistic/weight/load info.

If one searches these boards you'll find HP's don't work, FMJ's penetrate and go through the attacker, this round or that round FTF; so I was just looking for a little definitive help.

And please do not put me in the category of the percent of folks that look for the easy way out, sue. I had to look up how spell that word cuz it is so far out of my vocabulary.

Sorry for being stupid, just thought I'd share a response, it'll never happen again.

[possum]

Sorry for being stupid, just thought I'd share a response, it'll never happen again.
you are not and was not being stupid, don't worry about it, sometimes people have a way of being a little harsher than they need to be, and put things a little rougher than they need too.
now you know and knowing is half the battle.

[kingpin008]

Tawcat - we're not flaming you. We just weren't sure why you seemed to be upset over what most of us see as a perfectly acceptable and reasonable response. I certainly don't think you're stupid, or did anything wrong. Chill out a little bit! :)

[DrLaw]

Yep, didn't see a thing wrong with your post or anything wrong or demeaning about the answers.

Stick around a while. These people will grow on you...





... like a fungus. :D :evil:

The Doc is out now. :cool:

[MCgunner]

Any suggestion of a specific load, outside of maybe Seecamp's building a .32 around a specific load, the Winchester 60 grain silver tip, would be just personal opinion. Why would Ruger, as a company, make such a suggestion?

[VegasOPM]

There is another point to consider- you. My grip and paws tends to make faster, higher pressure loads cycle better than larger, heavier loads. The down side for those loads is the recoil impulse tends to sting most folks.

[Bartkowski]

Ruger doesn't seem to have a problem suggesting federal ammo for their SP101 in .327...I see commecials for the two all the time.

[Rugerlvr]

Ruger doesn't seem to have a problem suggesting federal ammo for their SP101 in .327...I see commecials for the two all the time.

Uh, does anybody else even make a .327 Magnum cartridge?

Does anybody else make .338 Federal cartridge?

Does anybody else make 5.7 cartridges besides FNH?

:facepalm:

[Bobo]

A suggestion...

Here is a link to a lot of .380 ammo tests:
http://www.ktog.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1199737660/5#5

and here are two additional recent ones:
Buffalo Hard cast Versus Golden Saber- The 380 HEAVYWEIGHTS!
http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=29742

Remington Golden Saber vs Winchester Ranger
http://www.defensivecarry.com/vbulletin/defensive-ammunition-ballistics/56054-winchester-ranger-ammo.html


Here is a discussion on tactics and ammo for the Kel-Tec P-3AT (the LCP is almost identical).
http://www.ktog.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1153543138;start=0


Study these tests, read the discussion, buy a box of each of the ammo types that interest you the most, run them through your LCP to determine which one(s) work best for you.

Bobo

[Bartkowski]

Uh, does anybody else even make a .327 Magnum?

The point was that they will recommend a certain brand. The commecials also recommended a specific bullet saying how great the gun was for CCW and how great the bullet was for defense.

[kingpin008]

Bart - your example falls short because they have to recommend a certain brand, and bullet type. Nobody else is making .327 yet, which was RugerLuvr's point to begin with.

[memphisjim]

sounds like a decent answer
only times ive seem different are when certain ammunitions dont function ideally as with the seecamp, s&w scandium revolvers in 357 have a minumum bullet weight, S&W 296 has a maximum bullet weight

[tawcat]

Bobo, thanks for those links, I think I am going to buy a box of Buffalo Bore 95gr FMJ-FN and see how they function. Of all the things I've read about their 90 gr. Speer Gold Dot J.H.C. and it seems many of the LCP owners have had issues with FTF. Thanks again.

[Piraticalbob]

In a practical sense, if Ruger were to recommend a particular brand/cartridge as best, you'd feel cheated or less than safe when the inevitable happened and the ammo was discontinued. :uhoh:

[Technosavant]

Uh, does anybody else even make a .327 Magnum?


Charter Arms has one. I've seen it with my own eyes.

[Rugerlvr]

Charter Arms has one. I've seen it with my own eyes.

I meant the cartridge.

[P90shooter]

Hey Taw just remember all gun are different. What you have been hearing about certain ammo through the LCP having FTF's or FTE's through some ones gun doesnt mean that it will be that way for you. The best way to find out is just to go out to the local gun store and pick up several boxes of ammo and rank them.

Now expect to spend some money to do this but you should be comfortable with what you plan to CCW or even Home protection. 3000+ rounds sounds like a fun break in period to me :D

[nwilliams]

Sorry I don't see anything wrong with Ruger's response to your question either. I think asking a gun manufacturer what brand of ammo to use for self defense is not going to get a straight answer response. I don't think a company is going to endorse a brand unless it benefits them to do so. There are I suppose legal implications as well to consider but in the end I think it just comes down to simple company policy and practice.

If you want suggestions on what type of ammo to use for SD then you are better posting a question on a gun forum such as this one;)

[Tirod]

Frankly, I don't think Ruger is wanting to spend the money on an empirical test of all available ammo fired through the dozens of guns necessary to pick just which one is "The One." Especially when an ammo maker will just come out in another year and make a better one.

The situation is made more difficult by what parameter rates higher, like velocity vs footpounds of force, at what effective range, penetration vs expansion, etc. Ruger makes them to fire the general envelope of .380 as an overall application. Even the magazine article testers use the caveat that "that's what we choose for this pistol today." It really is like nailing jelly to the wall. You can do it, but it may not be there tomorrow.

Add to that, there is really a very small percentage difference in whatever available factor between the closest competitors in a class. And .380 has no +P, it's out of the performance window for a short gripped pocket auto.

As for internet posts, we lose 85% of the message because you can't see our friendly face, watch our gestures, or hear the way we pronounce and say words ("which is reel gud fer sum of us," the writer said, rubbing his palm on a three day old, tobacco-stained stubble.)

Please don't read in too much in our short responses - very few have the time to compose a nice return letter sneaking a look at work and all . . .

[tblt]

I can bet they won't recomend Corbon or Magtec

[tblt]

Go with Hydra-shok or Rem. Golden sabers

[loosecannon]

I look forward to reading your comments.

I own and enjoy shooting .380's, but I definitely think that this round is a bit light for defense, mainly because its velocity level hinders hp performance. There may be no difference--performance wise--between bullet types in the 380, especially with a short barrel. My vote is for premium ammo that feeds best, and this may be a fmj rd.

loosecannon

[tawcat]

Loosecannon: I have decided to buy a box of Buffalo Bore 95 gr FMJ-FN. I'll shoot these through and if it's 100% problem free, I'll choose this as my SD ammo. HP's scare me a bit. Being that the .380 is not the most powerful round, I want something that is going to drop a BG. And sorry, I have never had the philosophy of "shoot to wound." So whatever I carry needs to pack the punch to drop the BG.

[JR47]

No manufacturer will test every type of ammunition available for their various guns. That's pretty silly to expect. You wouldn't want to absorb the cost of such testing into the price of each gun. It would have to be done annually, as new loads became available, or old loads were modified.

As you probably saw in the testing, not all JHP loads fail to expand, and not all FMJ loads penetrate through-and-through.

Look locally, and see what's available. Try them out first, before seeking out the "super-loads". As pointed out, you need reliability, then accuracy, and you'll need to use a load that you can shoot quickly, without too much muzzle flip and other distractions. :rolleyes: