Ruger 380 LCP Review by Jeff Quinn

From the article:

I was pleasantly surprised by the accuracy of Miss Elsie Pea. She performed better than I expected, and no attempt was made to shoot from a rested position, as this is not a target or hunting handgun.

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I FRIGGIN' HATE THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How the HELL am I suppose to know how accurate the GUN is? For all I know, the shooter ain't worth a toot! If you can't chuck this thing up in a ransom rest, at least do your best over sandbangs so I can QUANTIFY accuracy somewhat!!!!!!!! DAG NABIT is that such a hard concept to grasp? I mean, you won't find an analytical chemist trying to quantify something without a burret to titrate from, would ya? He ain't going to do it with a graduated pipet just because it's not necessary in real life to be accurate.... QUANTIFY, people, and 25 yards rested is sorta STANDARD!

So, I know this idiot can hit the kill zone off hand from 25 yards on a half size silhouette. I guess that's about as good as my Grendel P12, but how good CAN it shoot, really? Off bags, my Grendel gets about 5-6" groups and I'd like to shrink that to 4, but the gun just won't do any better. At defense ranges, it'll get the job done, I just prefer better. I know it's a tiny little gun and it's not designed as a target pistol, spare me the speech! I can shoot 3" groups all day long with J frame revolver. That's the competition, people! My Kel Tec 9 shoots 3.5" groups at 25 yards. I like knowing that even if it ain't necessary to be that accurate for a pocket gun. <sigh>

I am SO getting one of these.

Prediction - Ruger will sell as many of them as they can make, this gun is going to be a huge seller.

I want one !! now !

gunblast.com do positive reviews of ALL the guns they receive. I'm guessing it's how they get the guns in the first place.

Not saying there's anything wrong with the Ruger (wouldn't know), but I'd look for other reviews if you base the purchase on those.

"A Kel-Tec by any other name is still a Kel-Tec" - W. Shakspeare

Here is a video review from downrangeTV. Another awesome review. I am gonna pick one up ASAP


http://www.downrange.tv/player.htm?bcpid=452320104&bclid=459256134&bctid=1433966126

Man, I swear, everything about that design screams "Kel-Tec"...wonder if any lawsuits (Glock vs. Sigma anyone?) are gonna creep up in the near future? Be that as it may, I'm gonna get one to complement my P32.

No lawsuits. What I've read is that there is nothing patented in the Kel Tec.

The Glock was patented, hence the "Glock v. Sigma" lawsuits. If it's true that nothing is patented in the Kel Tec, then no lawsuits.

Mine's been ordered for a while and the dealer has confirmation he's getting 4. I'm thinking I should have mine in a week or so.

BlkHawk73

Please post a review when you have a chance.

Thanks

I'm in.
Anybody seen any actual prices at gunshops ?
Seems I saw somewhere that some on-liners were selling them for as little as $260.

From everything I have read about this little pistol, I really like it. Nothing against Kel-Tec, but I would rather own a similar pistol produced by Ruger for no other reason then Ruger's customer service.

I wish the slide locked open on the last round though. That is the one featuer that i wish Ruger would have incoorperated into their design.

gunblast.com do positive reviews of ALL the guns they receive. I'm guessing it's how they get the guns in the first place.

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I agree. I enjoy hearing first-hand experience with the guns, seeing close-up photos, and the ballistics reporting, but I seriously have never heard them be negative about any gun. When something is actually wrong there's always an excuse or a reason, or simply "well I like it like that."

A side by side comparison of the exploded views of the LCP and a Kel-Tec shows a virtually identical collection of parts. I have a P3AT, but if I were in the market I'd go for the Ruger, even at a higher price. KelTec customer service is as good as anyone's and their warranty is for life, but they have a reputation for delivering guns that do not always work properly out of the box. While they fix things for free as long as they need fixing, it costs you overnight shipping every time you send it back and you have to wait for its return. I just have more confidence in out-of-the-box reliability from Ruger.

In addition to the video that's linked above, Michael Bane has a much longer audio discussion of his visit to the Ruger factory to check out the LCP, here http://www.downrange.tv/radio/47.htm. (There are several topics discussed in this 45 minute segment, all of which I found interesting, but you will have to scan through it if you just want to hear about the LCP.) As I recall, they were invited to just pick some guns off the rack of finished guns, including taking one directly from the workman who had just finished assembling it, and take 'em out to shoot. No failures with any of the guns. I think he said they were shooting Black Hills ammo.

From everything I have read about this little pistol, I really like it. Nothing against Kel-Tec, but I would rather own a similar pistol produced by Ruger for no other reason then Ruger's customer service.

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Are you kidding? There is no one in this business with better customer service than KelTec!

If customer service is at the top of your list, you should have purchased a KelTec long ago.

Someone on the Ktog board has an LCP and will shoot later today.

So, I know this idiot can hit the kill zone off hand from 25 yards on a half size silhouette. I guess that's about as good as my Grendel P12, but how good CAN it shoot, really? Off bags, my Grendel gets about 5-6" groups and I'd like to shrink that to 4, but the gun just won't do any better. At defense ranges, it'll get the job done, I just prefer better. I know it's a tiny little gun and it's not designed as a target pistol, spare me the speech! I can shoot 3" groups all day long with J frame revolver. That's the competition, people! My Kel Tec 9 shoots 3.5" groups at 25 yards.

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and slow fire standing offhand at fifteen yards grouped five shots into two inches.

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sounds pretty good to me... *shrugs*

QUANTIFY, people, and 25 yards rested is sorta STANDARD!
Maybe on a full size pistol not a pocket gun. These are close up pocket guns not range pistols or 25 yds SD Guns. . Would you test a derringer at 25 yds A NAA mini 22 mag rev. at 25 yds. No Same thing just a 7 shot derringer.
I wouldn't expect my PPK/S or Bersa Colt Mustang to be 25 yd tested either.

No lawsuits. What I've read is that there is nothing patented in the Kel Tec.

The Glock was patented, hence the "Glock v. Sigma" lawsuits. If it's true that nothing is patented in the Kel Tec, then no lawsuits.

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That's more or less right. If there are no pertinent patents, then the only thing Ruger might have to worry about is a suit for infringing Kel-Tec's trade dress under state law and/or the federal Lanham Act. A manufacturer doesn't have to register its trade dress in order to receive legal protection of it.

Trade dress law basically deals with the ways that the appearance of a product can function as an indicator of who manufactured the product. To succeed, as I understand it, KT would have to show more than simply that the LCP looks similar to a Kel-Tec. They would have to show that the LCP's appearance is so similar to a P3AT that people will buy LCPs thinking they are buying a Kel-Tec.

Given the presence of a big fat "RUGER" logo cut into the grips of the LCP, that sounds like it would be an uphill battle.

(Caveats: This is not legal advice to Ruger, KT, THR members, or anyone else. I am not your lawyer, and I'm not an intellectual property lawyer.)

If you think about it, Ruger did something smart. Let someone else beta test the design and then make some changes and Voila! Instant hit.

I think it is kind of interesting that Ruger copies someone else's pistol design after they sued Arcadia Machine and Tool (AMT) for copying their Mark II pistol back in the 1980's. The AMT Lightning had superficial external changes too but that didn't stop the litigation.

R,
Bullseye

1) Were Ruger Mark II and AMT Lightning parts interchangable?

2) Are Ruger LCD and KelTec P3AT parts interchangable?

Outstanding weapon for CCW. I'm getting one as soon as the rush dies down. Once the market stabilizes they'll be available for ~$200.

suprised it hasnt been mentioned......
few days ago i was in gun shop and held and dry fired the lcp
every thing seemed ok with it but ive never bought a pocket auto b4
one thing i did notice if that it would require a completely different trigger stroke
with other pistols i tend to hold the trigger in my first finger joint
doing this with the lcp didnt pull the trigger far enough for it to fire
i had to put the pad of my finger tip on the trigger to get it to travel far enough
is this the case with all baby autos?

With tiny guns like the Kel-Tec .380 and even a J-frame .38, I tend to put the second portion of my trigger finger on the trigger. It works pretty well.