Unusual thing for me to do...

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

SaxonPig

Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2006
Messages
4,787
Went into a retail gun shop and bought a brand new gun. Mostly I am interested in older stuff so this was rare.

Gave away my old 380 to my wife's friend who expressed a desire to obtain a pistol. I wanted to replace it with one of the new super compact models. Looked at the Ruger LCP and really liked it but the salesman showed me the Taurus TCP (can you say rip off clone?) and it was $120 cheaper and had the slide lock after last shot feature lacking on the Ruger.

Well, I love the very compact size, but it only came with one magazine. Why do gun companies ship a new gun with one mag? That's crazy. Now I am trying to find another one and trying is the operative word.

They are online for $22-$25 but shipping is an additional $11-$12 and that irks me. No local shops have one. I guess I'll have to wait until January and try the gun show. Maybe some parts dealers will have them.

Anyway, I like the gun.


standard.jpg
 
Only fair to point out that the Ruger LCP is an even more blatant ripoff of the KelTec P3AT.

Sincerest form of flattery I guess.
 
^^Mike beat me to it.

A guy I work with just, not an hour ago, showed me his brand new TCP. I had seen them around, but am not in the market for a compact .380. But, I was impressed with how his felt, both in assembly, and in grip. Were I in this market, I'd look at them seriously as well. I have a Kel-Tec P32, which I really like, but it is indeed rougher a little around the edges, with a matte-finish slide (instead of blued) and the rough checkering KT puts on its grips.
 
Mike nailed it. Ruger has been making a lot of money by jacking design points. P3AT --> LCP, PF-9 --> LC9, P22 --> SR22, etc.

I haven't heard anything bad about the little Taurus. Let us know how it runs.
 
Mike nailed it. Ruger has been making a lot of money by jacking design points. P3AT --> LCP, PF-9 --> LC9, P22 --> SR22, etc.
Click to expand...

Don't forget Kimber KDP (never produced) --> SR9, and M1911 --> SR1911.

But I've go to give it to Ruger - almost all of their adaptations are better than the originals.
 
Having been recently considering adding a .380 to my diminutive pocket-carry collection (since some of my jeans have pockets that are simply too short ot accept and conceal one of my J's), I looked at some of the .380's that have been coming through our qual range.

It came down to the S&W Bodyguard .380 and the Ruger LCP.

I don't need (or want) the laser, and the Bodyguard seemed a bit larger in my hand than the LCP. The LCP has been doing pretty well, according to what I've seen and heard locally.

I borrowed a LCP and was very impressed with how easily it disappeared in my tight jeans pockets.

Like you, I was surprised it came with only 1 magazine (but 2 mag butt plates of different shape). I suppose when they're being advertised in cop shops for sale prices of $306 & $319 (retail @ $349), offering only 1 mag makes it possible to pare the price as low as possible. I did, however, pay for a second magazine when I bought mine.

FWIW, I was rather surprised by the accuracy of the little LCP. Granted, the rudimentary front sight was hard to pick up in low/dim light (night range), but when the lighting permitted and I could acquire the sights, it produced small cloverleaf groups out to 7 yards, and very respectable groups out at 11-15 yards.

I only tried 3 types of hollowpoints in my LCP. Remington 102gr BJHP (Golden Sabre), Speer 90gr GDHP & Winchester 95gr RA380T (T-Series). All fed, fired & extracted just fine ... and I found all 3 to exhibit similar practical accuracy ... but the Rem GS's functioning in my LCP, in my hands, produced an ejection pattern that bounced several empty cases off the crown of my hat. The other 2 brands didn't do that. Go figure. Not bad, considering the rudimentary "ejector" in the LCP's design, I suppose. I guess I'll use both the Speer & Winchester loads (since I have some boxes of each). ;)



All things considered, the little LCP has found a role in my retirement pocket-carry collection ... making it the first .380 I've owned and carried in a little over 25 years.
 
^ Sometimes you just want to puke! I think I'm going to start posting totally unrelated replies in the G-lock posts.

A friend of mine bought a TCP and has been very happy with it.

HE CHOSE IT OVER A G-LOCK! :neener:

Dang it, 481 got in ahead of me, my reply is meant for the totally unrelated fanboy post #8.
 
Last edited:
I have had a P3AT since 2005. I like the TCP, but don't need another pocket .380.
Anyway, let us know how yours works out. I've always liked Taurus guns. I found a stai
nless 85CH with the wood banana grips for $175.00 today.

Anyway, I carried my P3AT with its pocket clip today. I went to the jewelry store to get batteries replaced in 4 watches.
Since jewelry stores tend to get robbed, and jewelers may or may not be armed because of that, I didn't want to risk being an unarmed potential victim.
That size gun is a very handy size to carry. You forget that you even have it on you. That could be good or bad, depending on the situation.
 
Plan2Live said:
Dang it, 481 got in ahead of me, my reply is meant for the totally unrelated fanboy post #8.
Click to expand...

Sorry, P2L, my wife says I have the timing of an off-balance washer during a spin-cycle. Guess this proves it. :p
 
Fastbolt, Thank you for posting your "initial impression/range report" of the Ruger LCP in a thread on someone's new Taurus TCP.. :rolleyes:

Otasan56, You haven't been here much. You have less than 200 posts; the OP has more than 4,000. Do you really think he's never heard of Glock? :banghead:
 
"Why do gun companies ship a new gun with one mag?"

Because Mec-Gar can't keep up with the record gun production, much less double their production?
 
MedWheeler said:
Otasan56, You haven't been here much. You have less than 200 posts; the OP has more than 4,000. Do you really think he's never heard of Glock? :banghead:
Click to expand...
It does get pretty old. In nearly every thread that goes for more than a couple of posts there's always a guy who flys by and drops his wonderous knowledge that Glock makes the best handgun.
 
Fastbolt, Thank you for posting your "initial impression/range report" of the Ruger LCP in a thread on someone's new Taurus TCP..
Click to expand...

If I'd handled/fired a Taurus I'd have commented on it. :rolleyes:

As it is, since the Op seemed to imply at least an initial interest in the LCP during his visit to the store, but was then shown a Taurus, I felt it not inappropriate to include my recent experience with the LCP.
 
I have never owned one but I have one at work for sale, we need to send it back. The slide is sticky, I think it's out of spec? We've ordered 4 or 5 of them......this is the only bad one.
 
I have one of the early Gen 2 parkerized P3at's. It still has every original spring in it. It is by far my most abused pistol. Yet somehow this little pistol who some think is a POS seems to just keep working and working. It has proven itself to be every bit as reliable as my G26 but I treat it much worse.
It has been sweat on, rained on during motorcycle road trips, drenched in a swimming pool (forgot it was in my pocket) and bounced across the garage from comming out of the pocket of a MC jacket. . As you can imagine it's not as nice looking as it once was but I didn't buy it for it's looks. However it works better than it ever did. Good luck with your new TCP.
 
How about the G36 then?
Click to expand...

Is even bigger than the Glock 26/27, just slimmer by a couple hundredths of an inch...

The sub-compact, single stack .380s are in a market that Glock cannot compete with. Glock can't even compete with the market for single stack 9s and .40s...
 
I've got a TCP as well! The size is fantastic (mine came with 2 mags, though it was 2nd hand), and it shoots fine.

The only problem I've heard about is the trigger 'fake' reset, and that it isn't a true double-action.

The trigger 'fake' reset is that when releasing the trigger after a shot (and the gun has cycled), it'll 'click' about 1/2 way. If you pull it again, it'll drop the hammer from a half-cock type position which sometimes fires it, sometimes not (depending on the primer I surmise).

Because it is pretty much a single-action, you'd have to rack the slide to get it to fire again.

My fear in a self-defense situation would be it not going off for the 2nd shot, leaving you in a goofy situation.
 
Why do gun companies ship a new gun with one mag?
Click to expand...

In this case it is because you purchased the so-called value edition that Taurus has started offering. It's the same pistol as the regular package, but only 1 magazine is included and it comes in a plain cardboard box. The prices on these value editions are nearly 40% less than the regular ones. If you can make do with only 1 magazine the prices on these are pretty attractive. You can always get additional magazines once they become readily available.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top