New to Me Ruger LCPII

[Tallball]

I lost my dad a few years back. My FiL rarely gets to see his son, who lives far away. We've kind of adopted each other. We go shooting together every 2-3 weeks, and he reloads ammo for both of us. (I pay half the cost of the components.)

He got his concealed carry license a few months back, but found he didn't own a handgun that he felt comfortable carrying. (He mostly owns full-sized service pistols.) When we went to the range earlier this summer, I brought a bunch of CC-type pistols and he shot all of them. He decided that he liked my Kel-Tec P3AT quite a bit, and thought that it was about the size of gun he was actually willing to carry. Since then he dithered, and my guess was that it would be about a year before he finally got around to purchasing something along those lines.

I was at my LGS the other day to pick up a Sig P229 I'd ordered online. They had a used Ruger LCPII in the case. I examined it, and it had virtually no internal wear. Externally there was just a small amount of wear, as if it had been holstered some. My friend there offered it to me for $225, including the box and a spare magazine. I know that I could probably get a new one for about that much online, but then I'd have to pay shipping and (probably) an FFL fee. I figured what the heck, and purchased it.

I owed my FiL $100 for reloading supplies. My wife was going to bring him a check on Saturday. Instead I sent him my P3AT, two regular mags, an extended mag, and a DeSantis holster. My wife told him that he could have either have that, or a check for $100. Since it was unexpected, and it takes him time to adjust to new ideas, he went on a bit of a rant. She just shrugged and went shopping with her mom. When they got back she saw the gun sitting on the coffee table next to him and pretended to reach for it, telling him he'd apparently prefer to have the check. She said that it was hilarious how quickly he put it in his lap and told her that he'd decided he would "settle for it".

So now my FiL will be armed when he and my MiL go off to do errands. I bought the P3AT brand-new a few years back and it was always reliable for me. I didn't put more than a few hundred rounds through it, maybe 500 max. I figure it will serve him well enough.

On the other hand, I don't know squat about the LCPII. When I compared it to the P3AT, they seemed to be virtually the same size. They fit in the same holsters just fine. The Ruger has much better sights. The triggers felt a bit different, but seemed to take about the same amount of effort to pull. (Keep in mind that the P3AT was well broken in, and the LCPII seems to have barely been shot.)

Can anyone fill me in on the differences between the P3AT, the original LCP, the couple of other models of LCP (was it gen 2 and custom?), and the LCPII? As far as my casual examination went, the LCPII seems very similar to the Kel-Tec, other than the grip being a little thicker and it has a trigger dingus like a Glock. Any information, or advice on maintenance, ammo, and/or known issues would be much appreciated.

Ruger LCPII 380acp

• Tallball
• Aug 3, 2018

 

[Fiv3r]

Great story

The lcp II uses a kind of a pre-cocked single action type mechanism. It's why it has the glock dingus with around a 6ish pound trigger instead of the 10ish the original lcp has.

I really like mine. I find it infinitely more shootable. I also like that the slide locks back on the last round. You can use original lcp mags in it, but they won't lock back like the lcp ii mags will.

Enjoy it

 

[huntsman]

I look at it this way, the LCP is a refinement over the kel-tec and the LCPII is a different critter altogether.

 

[paulsj]

I had original LCP. The only thing that su ked about is carbon steel slide rusted easily. The original was hammer fired this looks to be striker fired.

 

[bannockburn]

Tallball

Have been thinking about one of these LCP IIs for awhile now. I like that it has better sights than my P3AT as well as having a slightly better trigger and a slide lock back feature. Might have to get me one sometime in the near future.

 

[Fiv3r]

I had original LCP. The only thing that su ked about is carbon steel slide rusted easily. The original was hammer fired this looks to be striker fired.

The lcp ii is hammer fired, not striker. It's got a sort of pre-cocked hammer set up that lightens the trigger, thus the added dingus. Sweet trigger for a pocket .380 in the 200 dollar range.

 

[kptaylor]

Curious as to your feelings on felt recoil between the two. Have heard the LCP II is much more pleasant to shoot. Sold off my P3AT due to amount of pain it delivered! Hard to run more than a box through at a time to get real practice with it.

 

[Fiv3r]

I'm not too recoil sensitive when it comes to handguns. Rifles and shotgun? I'm a bit of a wimp. However, I suppose much medium/large size hands are big enough to get a full purchase on larger guns but small enough to not get slide bite.

I find the II to be a pleasant little gun to shoot. I mean as pleasant a pocket. 380 can be.

 

[SteadyD]

I bought two LCP II pistols. Both had to go back to Ruger and they actually replaced one of them and eventually it had to go back as well... they took good care of me but what a hassle... The tech that I dealt with was incredibly nice and helpful. If you have any issues you can rest assured that they will get it fixed, even if it means replacing the pistol.

Mine like Federal Hydra Shoks. They have good triggers but they are short and light enough that I feel better with a kydex holster covering them. I prefer the Alabama pocket holster(7 week wait) but I also like the PJ pocket holster (1 week wait). I painted the front sight green on one of them and it makes a big difference.

 

[Tallball]

Thanks for all of the good advice. Mine might have a stiffer than average trigger. It sure feels like more than six pounds to me. It felt about the same as the P3AT that I shot well enough, though, so NBD.

I have XXL hands. With the P3AT it was very important for me to shove my middle finger and ring finger up as tight against the trigger guard as possible. As long as I did that, it shot fine. If I let them drift down and/or didn't hold it tightly, it could have a "limp wrist" type of failure. As long as I paid attention I was fine. It wasn't fun to shoot, but as long as I didn't let the slide bite my thumb, it wasn't actually painful. I'm assuming that the LCPII will be pretty similar as far as all that goes. I definitely like the bigger sights.

I've owned more Rugers than any other brand of firearm, so I was more than willing to give the LCPII a chance. It seems fine so far. I'll include a range report after I get a chance to shoot it.

 

[SteadyD]

I tried mightily to get mine to fail while limp wristing but they wouldn’t. That’s a definite plus in a tiny pistol.

 

[Riomouse911]

Great gun, much better trigger and sights than the LCP (I have them both).

 

[Shimitup]

When I got mine early this year I handloaded a box with every imaginable cheap brass I could scrounge up with Sierra, Hornady, and Speer, all hollow points. I limp wristed to the extreme just wrapping only my middle finger lightly around the grip. I followed that with several mag dumps to get it stinking hot, followed that with a couple more boxes of cheap ammo. Not a single hickkup. I'm pretty convinced it's reliable at this point, My current ammo is the Federal HST witch is pretty darn hot. When the weather cools I'm going to check that stuff over the chrono. The trigger on mine breaks at 8lbs I wish it was 6.

 

[Jeb Stuart]

Not much difference in all the guns you mentioned. The Gen 2 has a nice smooth longer trigger. The LCPll has a takeup and then a very quick break. Be very careful with the LCPll trigger and only use in a good quality Pocket holster. Other than last round lock back, not much difference. Sights are small on all of them. No ability to add night sights. Do not shoot plus P or hot ammo in these guns, they are not built for it.
Change out recoil springs often. The are Cheap in cost. Change out take down pins as well. Cost is only about $2.00 each. I have a couple of them break. Cheap insurance. If you shoot them often get a stainless steel guide rod. Regardless of what people say they get beat up pretty bad.
They are very reliable guns, eat just about any ammo. However they do not hold up to a lot of ammo down range. Start checking for cracks, in frame and grips around the 1500 round mark. Also make sure the rails are not starting to split.
Snappy little suckers but you can get use to it. I saw that the Gen 2 can be bought for around$179.00. Not a bad price for a starter pocket gun.
Bu the way, the Gen 2 is made in NC, while the LCP ll is made in Arizona.
Have fun and shoot them often. Center mass and fast to the draw. Learn good point and shoot skills. (ps, I have owned 4 of them. Shot them often, had them sent back a number of times and two of them replaced, still own one, but now retired it. Use it for a truck gun)
Ruger has great customer service.

 

[340PD]

An LCP with sweet pea trigger and green Viridan laser in the car.
A LCP II in a Talon wallet holster every time I go for my daily one hour walk.

 

[beeenbag]

I have owned the kel-tec P3AT as well as a couple first generation lcp's, and I stand firm on my previous statement that the lcp II is a great improvement over the rest of the market of "mouse guns".

I tend to shoot this little pocket gun as well as many service size pistols. I'm a fan for sure.