Read the gunsamerica reveiw and follow along.
Old trigger pull, 6.5 pounds. New trigger pull, 5 pounds 11 oz. Not keeping the numbers in the same descriptive category is more than poor writing, it means something is being covered up - which is that the trigger hasn't really changed much, only 13 oz of pull. That might not seem much but it goes to reading other gun reviews and seeing that much range in production trigger pull weights from reviewer to reviewer. It's may have a "short, crisp trigger pull but it's not a truly single action trigger pull - under 5 pound and less than half an inch travel would have done that.
No, it's about the same as a Glock. And what happens after the sear releases? You get "snappier recoil" than the older model. Perception being individual, take that with a grain of salt, but the reason I sold my first gen LCP was the snappy recoil and lack of any comfort in trying to shoot a few magazines. Saying it's now even worse isn't a good thing.
As for size and weight it is no longer the leader of it's class, dropping in the ranks so that other guns can and will be considered more svelte and easier to carry. Along with that are the aesthetics. Rugers looked like a nice remake of the original P3at, and it wasn't hard to see. Now, it may have more family cues to the American series of larger guns, but that is a snapshot of excesses, not necessarily classic good looks. If anything at first sight I saw hints of the original Grendel - the gun Keltec cut their marketing teeth on. I won't say it's another copy, but that's what I see.
And not least but last, the SAFE action style trigger. There are notable issues with those related to training. Glock standard practice in the early years was to insist that a holster be made with hard sides to protect the trigger, and it's a known hazard to use fabrics or leather which are floppy and could snag it. That they ship it with their own fabric pocket holster isn't a bad thing - it's actually good marketing - it's the choice of what kind it is, tho, and it's not the better choice. A kydex trigger "bikini" would protect it better and actually reduce the bulk of the package.
Ruger has put some work into this model, and while it may be seen as a necessary upgrade in marketing terms it's not reason enough for me to trade in my Kahr CW380. Same size and weight, less attractive (one perspective) and certainly not a great shooter if the recoil is no better than before. That was a significant feature for me - the original LCP was a two mag range gun, the Kahr a joy shooting a box of 50.
I'm sure it will sell well - and at least it fixes one of the worse issues of the original, by adding the slide hold open. It's now duty grade as a BUG for operation, giving the shooter a red flag he's out of ammo and capable of assisting in the reload rather than hiding the fact and being hard to rack under the additional stress of discovering it.
Ruger did what they had to do, they are a first tier maker. Had the original had a working slide hold open maybe we'd be kinder to it. The LCP is gone, for the time being, long live the LCP II. For at least the duration of this marketing cycle.
Thankfully, for those who jump on this, you can hide it in a pocket. Can't imagine pulling that one out to show around with much pride though. Guess price does trump all
