I finally got my LCP to the range. Shooting Corbon JHP and Magtech FMJ, accuracy was better than what I'd expected. Once I got used to the long trigger pull, I started getting five- six-inch groups at 21 feet, and 2- 3-inch groups at 15 feet. I practiced drawing from my Uncle Mike's pocket holster and shooting fast. When I took my time and focused I could do better, but that's not the point of this gun. Overall, it is an excellent self defense gun.
And it's reliable, too. The only problems I had were operator induced. Early on I'd had a couple of failures to feed on the second round with the Magtech ammo, but that was just because I wasn't slamming the magazine home with enough force at first. After I made sure I gave it a good tap, the gun had functioned 100 percent. After that I had no problems for the next 160 or so rounds. Then I noticed my finger was starting to burn. I looked, and I had a huge blister on the bottom of my trigger finger, where it was rubbing on the back of the trigger guard at the end of the trigger stroke. It seriously hurt and was ready to burst, but I'd just taped up my target and still had a couple of virgin targets to punch holes through. I decided to take it easy and be careful with my finger and... the gun jammed every other shot. After the magazine that had all the jams, I thought about what I was doing and realized that I was limp wristing it to favor my blistered finger. I gritted my teeth and fired another couple of rounds with my blistered finger using my normal (and at the time painful) grip and sure enough, it worked flawlessly.
It sounds like some early LCPs had FTF problems, but surely a lot of people who have problems with jamming are limp-wristing their guns. I once spent an evening with a couple who worked at Kel-Tec. The wife was a gunsmith, and she told me that the majority of guns that came back were fine; their owners were just limp-wristing the gun. The real problem, she said, is that it is almost impossible to get big, strong men to admit they are limp wristing their guns. She said cops were the worst, for some reason.
If you are reading this and saying to yourself, "There's no way it's me; it has to be the gun," just try adjusting your grip some time. You may find your problem is solved.
