ruger LCP not drop safe?

[radoson]

Hello all first post long time reader...

I just bought a Ruger LCP from local gun shop but can't pickup until Wednesday as good old state of FL has not mailed my CWP yet. Anyway I downloaded the user manual for the LCp and came across the following warning a few time:

WARNING
Do not load the pistol until you are ready to use it, and
unload it immediately when you have completed shooting.
(See “Unloading Warning” on page 15. )
If dropped or struck, the pistol may fire. Keep chamber
empty unless actually firing! Use decock lever to decock
pistol before moving with pistol or when not actually
firing.
For maximum safety when carrying the pistol with a
loaded magazine in place, the chamber should be empty,
the slide should be closed. If placed into a holster,
check it to be sure that the slide is not retracted far
enough to either chamber a cartridge from the magazine.
The user should never depend on any mechanical device
to justify careless handling or permitting the pistol to
point in an unsafe direction. The shooter should always be
alert to the possibility of accidental discharge. The
only absolutely safe pistol is one in which the slide is
open, the chamber is empty, and there is no magazine
in the gun.
WARNING - HANDLING
ANY GUN MAY FIRE IF DROPPED

Should I be concerned about this and ask to apply that money for the LCP towards a different carry gun?

Thanks for any input...

 

[jocko]

lawyers

sure sounds like a lawyers statment for the brochure. Most al;l brochurs state something in that order

From my kahr manual: Always carry a firearm empty and open while at a public or private range. Always keep the firearm unloaded until you are ready to shoot.

My bet every firearm manual will say something to what you just quoted.

 

[radoson]

JOCKO - That makes me feel a little better, but I would hate to drop this gun and hurt myself or god forbid a family member...

I have not yet dropped a gun but i also never carried either. If anyone else has more info i would like to hear from you, also.

 

[wally]

Its legal boilerplate -- note there is no decock lever on your LCP!

If the LCP is sold in CA or MA its passed "drop safe" tests.

Most ADs with dropped guns result when you try to catch them!

--wally.

 

[radoson]

wally so if a gun is allowed to sell in CA or MA they have to Drop Test it?

Just weird Ruger has this picture in two different spots i believe in the manual showing the LCP falling and being discharged...

 

[jocko]

not sold

not sold in ca, or ma, but not because of the drop test, to many other criterias for a little gun like this to pass. No magazine release failuere to fire mechanism, no external safety. loaded round indicator, yadda yadda. lots of loops for komifornia, that most company will just not mess with. course the SR9 was supposed to be drop safety "safe" to and it is being recalled due to a failure of the drop safety. so indeed, don't drop it for even though stated to be safe if dropped, why take that chance. error always on the side of caution and safety.. Your lcp is safe, shoot it like u stole it..

radosn: PM sent.

 

[RecoilRob]

The LCP should be as resistant to drop-firing as the KT P3AT which it, er, resembles.

They don't have a FP safety so they CAN fire if dropped from a sufficient height and land squarely on the muzzle. But, that height is WAY above what you would normally experience whilst carrying it. I'd not worry about it.

Oh, Welcome to THR!

 

[Euclidean]

I have a manual for several of Ruger's other handguns, a Ruger SP101, GP100, and 22/45.

I know the first two have that same or very similar text and a picture of a discharging weapon as a result of dropping the firearm and I seem to remember the third one does too. As the LCP, the revolvers, and the 22/45 are all widely different handguns, I bet you $1 in funny money that Ruger puts it in all their manuals or at least all printed past a certain point.

Manuals are full of horse hockey like never carry the firearm loaded with a round in the chamber because gun makers have justified liability concerns. Gotta learn to read through the legal boilerplates.

 

[wally]

wally so if a gun is allowed to sell in CA or MA they have to Drop Test it?

Yes I'm pretty sure CA and MA have drop testing requirements before a new gun design can be sold there. As Jocko pointed out, the tests are not to help gun owners, but to make it hard for manufacturers to sell product. I believe the MA requirement is more stringent (unrealistic).

I don't think anyone would debate that its a good idea that guns not discharge if loaded and dropped by accident in normal usage scenarios.

--wally.

 

[radoson]

later today i am going to download other pistols from Ruger to see if they all have this same language in them. So you all would not ever think twice about carrying a pistol with this kind of warning?

 

[Soybomb]

What recoil rob said is spot on. If you dig around you can find some pages where people have tested the keltecs to see just how high they have to be dropped from to fire.

 

[radoson]

yeah i already found this site:
http://www.1bad69.com/keltec/droptestresults.htm

but the p3at that the ruger is simular too seems to have some mods down and can't tell the stock pistol and drop hieght? i will look around to see if i can find other info.

I like THR! Good people here...

 

[radoson]

You all are right, I am feeling better more and more... I just checked another Ruger advanced pistol the KP345PR and it has, “Other Features: Manual Safety / Firing Pin Block.”

But in the manual there is the same page/warning... They sure make you worm and fuzzy inside about buying one of there guns, geeze!


I also downloaded the following manuals from Ruger all have the same warnings:

RUGER® P89, P90TM, P94TM and P944
RUGER® SR9
RUGER® P95

It must be a CYA!

 

[RecoilRob]

radoson:

The website you linked shows the stock pistol dropping from 9feet without firing. Even with the FP spring removed it didn't fire from 9 feet. Relax and carry it with no fear.

 

[radoson]

So you are saying i should wait to throw or hit my attacker with my Ruger untill i fire off all the rounds! God I hope one doesn't jam then go off after! hehehe

 

[VPLthrneck]

WARNING - HANDLING
ANY GUN MAY FIRE IF DROPPED

The first clue about it being the typical CYA legal-eeze. My Taurus 24/7 and Ruger MKIII have similar warnings. But I do like the begining "safety first" note that Taurus includes: "The safety is only a mechanincal device, not a substitute for common sense."

So unless you plan on dropping it several times a day or carelessly throwing it around, I sure wouldn't worry about it.

 

[jocko]

yup

the lcp and the kt's all have drop safetys . carry one in the pipe and don't worry about it, keep finger off the trigger and u even have less to worry about. drop safety;'s, hammer blocks, all the same thing... Komi fornia just doesn't want any pocket rockets in their state. I just read and forwarded on to a friend of mine that as of July 1 of this year the komifornia department of justice is requiring FFL's from anywhere in state or out of state before they can legally transfer a gun, t hat they must write the komfornia dept of justice and file out a transaction form between ffll owners and then submit it to CADOJ for approval BEFORE any rtransfer can be done.

Now ask yourself here, just how long is that paperwork going to lie aorund at the Dept of justice for them a approve. Just another nail in the komifornia casket for ALL gun owners. They say it will kill the gun shows also..

 

[radoson]

I am glad that I moved out of CA back in '96 to FL

 

[seed]

The drop test has absolutely nothing to do with safety. It has everything to do with whittling away rights of Californians (non-LEO's) to be able to buy anything they actually want. If it was about safety, why then are LEO's exempt from the restrictions against "unsafe" firearms when they are the only ones allowed, encouraged and sometimes required to carry firearms at all times. Blatant hypocrisy.

 

[jocko]

seed, ur dead right. as of July 1, this year komi fornia is now requiring ALL FFL dealers country wide, before they can even ship to a FFL person or dealer in komifornia to contact the komifornia dept of law enforcement and provide them with certain information and then must wait until komifornia gets back with them with an approval numbert BEFORE they can even ship a gun to a FFL dealer in komifornia. great state isn't it, just makes me want to sell everything I own here in Indiana at a loss even so I can get their quicker..

 

[SALEMCAPTAIN]

LCD in the Republik der Massachusetts

not sold in ca, or ma, but not because of the drop test, to many other criterias for a little gun like this to pass. No magazine release failuere to fire mechanism, no external safety. loaded round indicator, yadda yadda.
==================

Sigs don't have external safeties and are legal in MA. I also have pistols that fire without the mag inserted. I would have to look it up to see all of the criteria for MA but if anyone is interested in looking, fsguns.com has links to the state firearms laws and the testing of handguns for sale in MA.

 

[jeepmor]

As an early LCP owner, my gun was recalled for this issue. It came back with an extra magazine, a new hat, and a reworked trigger group. Slide lock now retracts on it's own, beyond that, there's no functional difference I can find, but they did do something inside the workings of the firearm.

 

[SALEMCAPTAIN]

Ruger LCP in Ma Testing

Here's a summary of the testing criteria for handguns in MA. taken from the fsguns.com site. Some manufacturers don't even bother testing their guns or even certain models because of the cost and the hassle.

I have been told the LCP IS NOT MA. legal but have also seen a few on gunbroker listed as "MA OK".
----------------------------------------------------
Summary of the Attorney General 940 CMR 16.00 et seq. regulations

The regulation is a manufacturing specification that requires at least the following:

Performance Test Limits of Accuracy Test Metallurgical Test

Drop Test 10 lb Trigger Pull Hidden Serial Number

Loaded Round Indicator or Magazine Disconnect Detailed Safety Briefing and Disclosures

Approved Lock (from Dealer)

 

[huntsman]

I've dropped mine twice (bathroom floor) and nothing happened.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Early LCPs were recalled for not being "drop safe," but this was more a case of Ruger's thinking it was but wasn't. Newer guns will not have this problem.