Ruger LCP Range Report

[Peakbagger46]

A co-worker and friend of mine finally got his LCP the other day. He intends on using the pistol for a BUG on duty and his primary off-duty carry pistol.

My friend, myself, and my girlfriend all took turns shooting the little pistol. Starting off at 7yards, I found it easy to keep all shots within a grapefruit sized group off-hand.

Back to 15yards standing, all shots were center mass and had opened up a bit, but still much tighter than I expected from the tiny gun.

At this point, my girlfiend said she hated the trigger and sat in the truck watching us guys shoot. We backed off to 35yards and each shot 4 rounds prone. My buddy threw a couple of his shots but I was a able to keep the four rounds in a 2.75" group, measured center to center. The group was about 4" low and about 2" left of center, but I was amazed at the accuracy of this little gun!

Moving backward, my buddy challenged me to try again at 100 yards. Due to terrain, we could only squeeze 95 yards and we only had 3 rounds left to play with. Proning out, I aimed at the head of the target because I anticipated the sights would be extra low at this range. Proning out, I wasted 2 rounds into dirt because of the terrain. I took the last shot standing and hit the target center mass, about 4" below the bull.

My buddy had a couple of malfunctions (possibly due to pressing on the mag release). I did not have any problems with the gun.

I found the little ruger to be more accurate than my 340 S&W, and the trigger was definatly better. The recoil was not bad at all to any of us.

I'm thinking I might have to get one of these little guns. Although I consider the .380 less than desirable as a man stopper, I could carry this in addition to other pistols as it could be secreated virtually anywhere. And it is very fun to shoot!

 

[1KPerDay]

My buddy had a couple of malfunctions (possibly due to pressing on the mag release).

Did you happen to be using the finger extension mag baseplates?

 

[gglass]

Great shooting.

I was speaking with Todd G. from Pistol-training.com a few weeks ago. He also carries an LCP as his BUG, and he was telling me how he shows his students how an LCP can hit plate targets at 75-yards. Yikes! I could only dream of doing that with my LCP.

 

[Peakbagger46]

1KPerDay,
It did not have the finger extension. Does this make a difference?

gglass,
Yeah, I found it hard to believe the LCP is easier to hit with than my J-frame. I can't do past say 35 or 40 yards with my S&W 340PD.

 

[renaissance]

LCP finger extension mag base plate

I got an after market finger extension mag buttplate for my LCP
(Ruger hadn't come out wiith their's yet)
I found it DID make a diference.
Less reliable with the extension.
Putting your pinky on the extension seems to "pry" the mag down a bit and I had a few failure to feeds.
With the "flat" mag base plate > NO FTF's.

 

[1KPerDay]

Peakbagger I ask because I recently had my first malfs after a few hundred flawless rounds through my LCP; "hot" buffalo bore loads and a mag with a finger extension. The theory is that the extra pressure downward on the finger extension pulls the mag out.

Your evidence seems to contradict this theory... I'm awaiting another run to the boondocks to try mine again with only flat baseplates and see if I can get mine to do it again.

 

[PorkFat]

When I was on rugerlcp.com and rugerpistols.com I see the Ruger mags they sell say they are for P20/6 LCPs. Are there different versions that are incompatible? I don't see any reference to this number anywhere on the Ruger website.

I finally found the LCP after almost a year of looking and being told it was damn near impossible to get one. I wanted to start getting some mags and extensions but I really want to find out what this P20/6 means. I figure it's some sort of part number but again, I can't find any reference to it on the official site.

Will I be OK buying any Ruger-made magazine for this gun with the Pearson extensions?

Thanks for the help.

 

[1KPerDay]

All ruger LCP mags will be compatible. The differences I'm aware of are in the follower, but that's another story.

Whether the finger-extension baseplate makes the mag pull out in some cases seems to be a matter of debate.

However, I have reinstalled the flat baseplates on my carry mags for now.

 

[mr2guru]

2.75" group at 35yds? uh.... really? No, really?

I wouldn't expect that clamped up in a Ransom Rest, much less in a shooters hands with an LCP or similar .380

Maybe 35ft.

 

[okespe04]

I was very surprised with the lcp when I found I could shoot basketball sized groups at 19 yards. It goes everywhere I go.

 

[putteral]

I am with mr2guru I have a hard time beliving 2.75" groups at 35 yards. I was standing next to a fellow at the range tues with his brand new LCP. He was having all sorts of problems with ammo feeding, locking the side open, we were at the 10 yd section and he was having problems even hitting the target.

 

[1KPerDay]

Mine is quite accurate... at 21 feet. tennis ball sized groups, standing, relatively rapid fire. I figure for its intended purpose that's pretty dang good. Much more accurate than I would have imagined considering its size and minimalist sights.

 

[okespe04]

I love the "I saw a guy with" or "I know a guy who has" gun bashing stories. What a joke.

 

[mr2guru]

Mine is quite accurate... at 21 feet. tennis ball sized groups, standing, relatively rapid fire. I figure for its intended purpose that's pretty dang good. Much more accurate than I would have imagined considering its size and minimalist sights.

That's about my experience with the P3AT. Tennis ball sized groups at 7yds.

 

[RD16]

Any suggestions for decent target ammo for the LCP that won't break my wallet? I have some ammo for carry, but I'd like to get something cheap for a little range trip.

 

[mr2guru]

Any suggestions for decent target ammo for the LCP that won't break my wallet? I have some ammo for carry, but I'd like to get something cheap for a little range trip.

Good luck finding any. I've had a hell of a time finding .380 FMJ. 100rnd WWB works really well (dirty), as does sellier and bellot. I avoid magtech, it turns mine into a jam-o-matic.

 

[1KPerDay]

Any suggestions for decent target ammo for the LCP that won't break my wallet?

Anything you can find these days. Fiocchi, Magtech, American Eagle, WWB all work fine in mine.

 

[ambidextrous1]

I fired a friend's LCP today, and found it to be quite accurate, as others have reported.

I was not at all pleased with the trigger, however. It had a very long travel, and as the trigger rotated, my finger was forced down onto the trigger guard - a painful experience, and one that masked the 'feel' of the trigger so that hammer fall was unpredictable.

I would hope that a pistol chambered for an underpowered caliber suxh as .380 would permit emptying the firearm into a threat in five seconds or so; the trigger on the LCP I tried seems to be designed to make this impossible; we tried to firre the pistol rapidly, but neither of us was able to empty the six round magazine in less than 20 seconds.

How far can an agressor travel and inflict grievous bodily injury in half that time?

If that pistol had been offered to me as a gift, I would have declined to accept it.

Oh, another asset of the LCP: It's compact.

 

[Peakbagger46]

Yes, 35 yards, no BS. I was trained to shoot a very steady prone position when I was a Park Ranger as we did not have longuns at the time. Rest your hands on the ground and you pretty much have a benchrest.

Maybe I just got lucky...

 

[moooose102]

i have had no issues with mine with the finger extension. other than it increased the accuracy shooting one handed. i atribute this to better control (big hands, small gun). with the finger extention, i get 2 fingers on the pistol, instead of one. i have shot hundreds of rounds using the extention, and would reccomend them to everyone.

 

[benderx4]

Hmmm, very interesting thread. Like the Keltec, folks seem to either love or hate this little gun. But less than THREE inch group at 35 YARDS? Pretty impressive .........