Ruger LCP Vs. Taurus TCP

Anybody have any other insight on one or both of these guns?

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One is made and serviced here in the USA and one isn't. That's enough for me. So, I bought an LCP.

I carry my LCP more than any other firearm. It serves its purpose well, but like any $300 handgun it is not exactly the finest piece of craftsmanship on the planet. Having said that my next pocket auto will be a Sig P238. Why.... I like the LCP; however, little things like the noticeable wear on the frame, the holster rubs on the polymer, and the bluing that is gone off the slide. The LCP is not made to sustain the ages IMO.

I believe the Sig will be more durable. I bought my girlfriend a Berreta 3032 Tomcat for the same reason... durability... (this was before I found out about them having a slew of problems).

The whole point to this is that if it something you are going to carry a lot an LCP WILL serve its intended purpose, but the abuse will be evident.

I bought an LCP back in April and have been using it as my EDC since then. I enjoy the fact I can wear business dress and still hide it without anyone noticing. However, I'm with rhoggman in that it will show wear and tear. It has yet to have any kind of mishap. Not one FTE, FTF...nothing. So far it's been 100% reliable and that's my main concern. Toss in a spare mag and you're good to go.

I will mention that the sights are very hard to see in low light conditions. When I shoot at the local indoor range it's almost impossible to see the sights on anything but a light colored target. You can forget lining up on Shoot-N-Cs. You'll know where you were aiming after it hits! It takes some practice and 'getting used to' before you can hit things reliably without using the dinky sights (that is, when you can't see them).

I've seen the TCP advertised in magazines but have yet to actually get my hands on one.

Door Number 3

I got two LCP's a few months ago, for the wife and I. They're okay, for what they can offer in such a tiny package. They're not fun to shoot and hard to maintain accuracy with.

Then I picked up a Sig P238... and we both loved it. Great shooter with all the features that the LCP lacks.

I bought another 238 the next week, and we've sent the LCP's packing.

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238 is much smaller than the emp

The Taurus has an actual slide stop that holds open the slide after the last shot, IINM.

The Taurus, like the Ruger, is made in the USA.

http://www.taurustcp.com/

I have the P238 and it is only slightly larger then a LCP or Keltec. By slightly I mean maybe two or three ounces loaded and 1/4"-1/2". I pocket carry mine, in a holster.
The only other 380 on the market that can compete with the P238 is either the Kahr P380 which is awesome or the Rohrbaugh but both are significantly more expensive.
The LCP, Taurus and P3AT are like HiPoints compared to the Sig. IMO.

Tad & S-bob are echoing what I was going to say.

The Sig P238 is superior in almost every facet. With the slight increase in size and weight, you gain the following:

1. Single action trigger -- much improved speed & accuracy
2. Smaller recoil signature -- the LCP is kind of sharp
3. Full size sight posts -- makes aiming way more possible
4. Accessible slide lock lever
5. Same basic configuration as the 1911
6. Superior grip & trigger ergonomics

The only major differences between the 238 and a 1911 are:
1. The manual safety can remain activated during slide reciprication
2. With the hammer down, and the safety on, the slide will not reciprocate

The Sig P238 can be fired at distances and speeds that would be foolish to attempt with the LCP. I think the minor additions of size and weight are far outweighed by the increased capabilities. Considering that .380 is a relatively diminutive caliber, I am far more interested in carrying the gun that I can use substantially faster and more accurately, and at greater ranges.

Let me put it this way:

LCP: bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, r e - l o a d, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.
SIG: babababababang-reload-babababababang.



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I have the P238 and it is only slightly larger then a LCP or Keltec. By slightly I mean maybe two or three ounces loaded and 1/4"-1/2". I pocket carry mine, in a holster.

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More like 5 ounces. I have a Mustang and it is my favorite .380 pocket pistol. The sig is closer in size and price to the PM9 than the LCP, MUCH smaller than the EMP.

The Mustang (and thus I imagine the Sig) is a better shooter but the LCP is a good pocket pistol. I personally do not find the LCP at all objectionable to shoot. It is not a target pistol but is more than accurate enough for its intended purpose.

scoutsabout said:

Tad & S-bob are echoing what I was going to say.

The Sig P238 is superior in almost every facet. With the slight increase in size and weight, you gain the following:

1. Single action trigger -- much improved speed & accuracy
2. Smaller recoil signature -- the LCP is kind of sharp
3. Full size sight posts -- makes aiming way more possible
4. Accessible slide lock lever
5. Same basic configuration as the 1911
6. Superior grip & trigger ergonomics

The only major differences between the 238 and a 1911 are:
1. The manual safety can remain activated during slide reciprication
2. With the hammer down, and the safety on, the slide will not reciprocate

The Sig P238 can be fired at distances and speeds that would be foolish to attempt with the LCP. I think the minor additions of size and weight are far outweighed by the increased capabilities. Considering that .380 is a relatively diminutive caliber, I am far more interested in carrying the gun that I can use substantially faster and more accurately, and at greater ranges.

Let me put it this way:

LCP: bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, r e - l o a d, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.
SIG: babababababang-reload-babababababang.



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I think you are ignoring the actual question. Maybe he doesn't want a safety or something else the 238 offers, such as being $200 more. I think you are confusing what you prefer with what he wants.

As to the OP, I would get the LCP as it stands or wait until enough TCP's hit the market to see how people's experience is with them. Also, shop around because the LCP is 269 around where I am. This is at multiple shops. My father has an LCP and it has run flawless. It is plenty accurate when I have shot it. Any small gun takes a little adjusting to due to the sight radius though.

I think you are ignoring the actual question. Maybe he doesn't want a safety or something else the 238 offers, such as being $200 more. I think you are confusing what you prefer with what he wants.

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Good point.

However, I don't put a price on survivability. I gladly took a loss to get rid of the sloppy LCP's my wife and I bought and replaced them with pocket pistols that could perform way, way better.

If the OP is on a budget... fine.

It the OP wants a venerable defensive firearm in .380... then it's the Sig P238, or the old Colt Mustang it was copied from.

You get what you pay for.

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You get what you pay for.

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yup- though the lcr is a fine pistol for what it is, the mustang or the p238 are still a notch above in serviceability.

I'm not bashing the LCP, and the TCP has not been out long enough for real evaluation to take place; I have held one in a gunshop ($279 in Va Beach), and it felt good. I was impressed more by the stainless slide, and slide stop.

Other than that, I'm not sure their are any significant differences.

I wish I could post pictures of my LCP, and what the inside looks like. There is quite a bit of wear on the frame. Most significant and noticeable wear can be seen just below the feed ramp, and in the ejection port. The ejection port after 500 rounds or so looks like someone took rough grit sandpaper to it.

I'm sure everyone knows about the smiley's that LCPs are known for leaving on the tip of new rounds that are fed into the chamber when the weapon cycles. If not check it out. This is what causes the wear below the feed ramp. To check it out load a few rounds in the mag, and one in the barrel, fire, drop mag, take the live round from the barrel, and view bullet tip

Is my LCP reliabe,YES. Is it a good carry weapon, YES. Will I be able to carry and shoot it for 10 years, Ummmmm Maybe, or maybe not. Many people may not have put 500+ rounds through their LCPs, but I hate to see what it will look like at 1500+. I actually quit round counting around 420, so I'm sure I'm over 500 now. If any of my larger pistols wore like this they would be sold ASAP. The only thing I can compare the LCP to with respect to visable wear is a Walther P22.

I have a Walther P22 as well and over time it is basically eating itself alive... I'm not really complaining just stating the facts.

The Sig P238 is just not going to do this. I am also hearing results about the accuracy being better than a PPK, which on top of the benfit of it being a "forever gun" make it worth the price to me. Can you say Night Sites? Oh yeah and if you put from the rough they also make one with a rainbow slide. Sig hit a home run on this one. HEHEHE

I too looked at the sig but it seems like its too big for pocket carry. Am I right to believe its about the same size at the Springfield EMP?

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Not even close.
I also have a Kahr PM-9 which I thought was perfect until I got the Sig. Although the Sig dimensions are a little smaller, it feels MUCH smaller in your hand. I think the Kahr is a perfect carry gun, but not pocket carry. I think the Sig may be the perfect pocket carry gun.
I may get an LCP just for fun someday, but I'll never get rid of the Sig.

I like the LCP. It can go places where other guns can't. You can literally forget that its in your pocket. The LCP is very reliable...but it's limited to being a gun at "kissing distances".

The Sig P238 is just what others have said, very reliable, easy to shoot and make follow up shots, very accurate.... just make sure you buy Sig mags...not Colt mags with it.

I would get both and perhaps carry both?

http://www.ktog.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1252028874/7

Real good writeup on the difference between P3AT and P238.

then of coarse there is the gold standard the seecamp lws380 but the 800 dollar tag and year wait kept me off it

TCP over LCP

I had the same dilemma because I am retiring my old 469 as a daily carry piece. I really wanted the LCP and was in fact ready to buy one, but the guy at the store I usually go to broke out the TCP and when I compared them side by side I leaned toward the Taurus because of the general fit and finish, the fact that they were priced identically ,(even though the TCP was Stainless) and American made and the TCP came with a cool little Bulldog PDA belt case as part of the deal. Plus the TCP locks open after the last round. I am definitely now leaning toward the TCP. Hope this helps. If only Smith made something like this!

The Ruger, for customer service. Although the TCP and its big brother the 709 are quite attractive.

LCP over the TCP just based on all the negative Taurus posts I see.

What is the P238 going for?

The only pistol i've really grown to hate, even though it's been perfect, is my LCP. One of the pistols which had a problem but was fixed to "perfect" status is my Taurus 709. It's an incredible little pistol. Smooth and reliable. If the Taurus 380 is anything like the 709, I'd get it. So far i've not looked into it as I have plenty of 380s.

But I enjoy shooting my guns and the LCP is a bastard from the trigger pull to the recoil and the horrid grip I have on mine since I put the laser sight on it. The LCP is really difficult to keep on target for me. The 709 is easy to keep on target.

This thread turned into a sig p238 thread quickly, but that is a really nice 380. Now that i have the SLIM 9mm, I have decided not to get one, but i'm really attracted to that titanium rainbow version. It's purty!. I'd pay just to stare at it.

A p238 can be had for about 416 for the plain Jane to 650 or more for the dolled-up versions.

Here you go M2steven,
For every quarter you put in the machine the curtain comes back a little further.
I paid a little over $450 for mine. It is the top of the line. I got it for cost.