Ruger LCP Ka-Booms?

[kokapelli]

Curator, thanks for that. It's nice to have the facts and just imply blame on a pistol without knowing the facts.

 

[jolly roger]

And this is one reason I simply smile and continue to carry a J frame 38 for a little gun...

 

[kokapelli]

And this is one reason I simply smile and continue to carry a J frame 38 for a little gun...

Good luck with that.

 

[jon_in_wv]

I would suspect the lightly crimped bullets were setback by impact with the feed ramp and one of the higher charged rounds was the problem. This is why I said it was a "design flaw" in the Rugers as most other 380 pistols don't exhibit that same behavior. Actually i thought Ruger or Keltec had reshaped the bottom of the feed ramp recently to address the problem? It seems to me if Ruger was going to copy the KT they would have at least addressed this flaw rather than doing the same thing.

 

[kokapelli]

I would suspect the lightly crimped bullets were setback by impact with the feed ramp and one of the higher charged rounds was the problem. This is why I said it was a "design flaw" in the Rugers as most other 380 pistols don't exhibit that same behavior. Actually i thought Ruger or Keltec had reshaped the bottom of the feed ramp recently to address the problem? It seems to me if Ruger was going to copy the KT they would have at least addressed this flaw rather than doing the same thing.

So what your saying is that if the pistol can't handle defective ammo it is a flawed design?

 

[glove]

A recent Ruger LCP Ka-boom at a local range has me concerned about the safety of these guns. I know the folks at Ruger have done their homework on designing and engineering their products to be safe, however three in a week and not with +p ammo has me scratching my head. None of these were with reloads but "factory" ammo. What do you know about the incident of Ruger LCP issues?

Wow 3 in a week. Did you or anyone get pictures?

 

[Comrade Mike]

My opinion of the LCP is its not a "shoot every day" gun. It's so lightly built it can't be. I've handled more than one and it doesn't seem like a design that can hold up to a lot of use and abuse, seems like something you'd shoot once or twice a year and then leave it loaded in your pocket. That combined with inconsistent reloads or shaky factory ammo is a recipe for kaboom. The gun just doesn't have the meat to it. Not that it's an unsafe gun, Id say its probably a great gun as long as you're within it's design specifications.

 

[greyeyezz]

Not "Factory" but "new manufactured" ammo.

That says it all right there.

 

[jon_in_wv]

I disagree with the idea the LCP can't be shot regularly. I don't think it would hold up as well as my M&P with over 10,000 rounds through it but I fired close to 1000 through my LCP and it didn't have any discernible wear on it. I just think a pistol that should be used within its limits. Using appropriate ammo I would think it would hold up well to a couple thousand rounds without any trouble. I think some of the other 380s are a little more suited to shooting more or using stouter ammo. If a weapon was only strong enough to be shot occasionally I don't know how you would consider it safe to shoot at all.

 

[kokapelli]

I agree completely. None of the micro pistols are expected to standup to the same amount of shooting as a larger pistol.

I shoot one of my pocket pistols every week, but rarely more than 24 rounds at a session and the only failure so far came after 3,000 rounds through one.

 

[Tcruse]

I would not be surprised that there are people putting re-loads into boxes that look like factory to take advantage of the ammo shortage/high prices. Does not pay to buy ammo from untrusted sources or to not inspect the ammo that you purchase.
With the small guns, it is probably very good advice to stay away from +P or +P+ ammo. If you really need a more power to feel good, get a bigger gun in a larger caliber.

 

[Comrade Mike]

I disagree with the idea the LCP can't be shot regularly. I don't think it would hold up as well as my M&P with over 10,000 rounds through it but I fired close to 1000 through my LCP and it didn't have any discernible wear on it. I just think a pistol that should be used within its limits. Using appropriate ammo I would think it would hold up well to a couple thousand rounds without any trouble. I think some of the other 380s are a little more suited to shooting more or using stouter ammo. If a weapon was only strong enough to be shot occasionally I don't know how you would consider it safe to shoot at all.

I wasn't saying the gun isn't meant to be shot regularly. I was saying its not meant to stand up to the same use as a larger framed gun.

 

[jon_in_wv]

seems like something you'd shoot once or twice a year and then leave it loaded in your pocket.

I was referring more to this statement. I don't see any reason it wouldn't stand up to enough practice ammo to be proficient with it. I agree it wouldn't be a good choice for a regular range gun where you fire thousands of rounds but a couple hundred rounds a year I wouldn't have a problem with ASSUMING you are using ammo that is within its limits. Personally I think its prudent to take any gun you carry to the range frequently to stay proficient with it. The LCP is primarily a carry piece and if I didn't think it was capable of being practiced with it would be useless to me.

I have a video I made a while back when I got my LCP. I think I fired about 180 rounds that day. Don't savage me for my big shorts or my shooting style too badly. I've changed up a lot of my bad shooting habits since this video was made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Ybql8mDbs

 

[ShelbyV8]

Not "Factory" but "new manufactured" ammo, the only difference between this and reloads is that new brass was used. A variance of 2.4 to 4.2 grns of WW231 makes me think shade tree operation with poor equipment. If they got a double charge of 4.2 that would be 8.4 and that would kaboom a PPKS.