Tiny CCW guns: reliability?

[ArmedBear]

If I pocket-carry, I'm carrying revolvers. I don't own any tiny semiautos.

I'd love to have a tiny, unobtrusive carry gun that weighed under 8 oz. I don't think that the adage "I'd rather have 6 for sure" applies to quality, larger semiautos in 2010. However, I'm afraid that it might still apply to these little things (5 for sure with a J-frame). The newest AR even calls most of them unreliable, and if AR says that, it scares me to think how bad they really must be!

Who here has put, say, 200+ rounds through a P32, P3AT, LCP, or similar gun?
Do you really trust it with your life (I don't want another toy or curio)?
Do you have any further comments about the things?

I'd love to see a free-for-all thread with experiences and comments, before I spend any money on a gun.

 

[tango2echo]

I've put closer to a THOUSAND rounds through an LCP without issue, and over that many through an LCR. (I shoot each 25rds once or twice a week) I've never had a malfunction with either, and would stake my life on their reliablity.

t2e

 

[ArmedBear]

t2e: did the LCP require a break-in of X rounds, or did it just work fine right away?

 

[wrs840]

I've put 350 rounds through my LCP, zero malfunction, no "break-in" seems to be required.

I bought specifically on the positive reports of the boys down at the FOP Range who had gotten ahold of a few LCPs last spring, and were "finally convinced a small-mechanism-auto could be utterly reliable", to paraphrase.

Les

 

[slabuda]

Im interested in this too mainly for summertime carry in lightweigt hiking shorts. I am looking at a LCP/P3AT or LCR/J-frame. Money is holding me back as well as the indecision on exactly what I want. I am a small guy so have smaller pockets obviously.

If there are reliablity/longevity issues with either it would help my choice.

 

[ArmedBear]

Well, my pocket-carry J-frame is light, but it's as solid, smooth and as reliable as any S&W revolver. It is also conducive to snake/bullet/snake/bullet/bullet loading for Summer hikes.

Personally, I'd get a little revolver first. I'm just curious about the little autos, like a lot of people, it seems.

 

[Yo Mama]

200 plus in my p3at and PF9. OP, I highly recommend the Keltec PF9, it's discussed alot here. FOr your question on reliability both have been flawless, and I only shoot carry ammo. They are not meant to be shot alot, and you have to judge if this is going to be a range gun or a ccw gun.

I recommend the 9mm dur to ammo availability and because I'd much rather a 9mm than a .380. I feel safe with both, in the roles I have them for, and I have others for different situations. The pocket guns only go to work and church.

 

[hirundo82]

I've been considering an LCP for a BUG for a while now, so the article in the new American Rifleman gave me pause too. I use a 642 as a BUG now, but the slimness of the small autos is attractive. I'm glad to hear that people are satisfied with the reliability of the LCP; I was considering it over the P3AT because the LCP seems more likely to work without a couple of trips to the manufacturer first.

 

[slabuda]

AB, Yes I am leaning that way as far as the gun purely goes. But in the summer I wear super light shorts, some of them with "mesh pockets". Think of wicking cargo shorts you would find from makers like North Face, Cloudveil, SIMS, REI etc. As its too cold out now to wear them its hard to try out the fit of a gun wearing them. And the .38spl are about 2x as heavy as the LCP/P3AT.

 

[TheProf]

The LCP is reliable. It goes bang every time you pull the trigger. And it is one of the most concealable SD gun out there. The downside is that it is sometimes hard to hang on to (not because of bad recoil) but because the handle is so small. (And this can affect accuracy for follow up shots.)

Yes, I think it would make a great BUG.

 

[BADUNAME37]

I have both the 642 and a fairly new LCP that I purchased new about nine months ago. I have the Crimson Trace Laser on my LCP and I love the setup.

If the magazine(s) don't have the extension on the front of the floor plate, buy them for the magazines, they come in sets of two. I have four magazines so I got two sets of floor plates with the extension.

My fingers are kind of fat, so without the floor plate extension I had one and a half fingers on the front of the grip. With the floor plate extensions, I have two fingers which does make a BIG difference at holding the muzzle down! Plus, the extended floorplates aren't so obtrusive that the gun prints any more (or, much more).

I have fired about five different bullets out of my LCP and it works flawlessly. I am now reloading using 92g hard lead Meister Round Nose Bullets with Red Dot powder.

Fortunately, I stocked up on Factory .380 ammo before the big run on it all, so between that and reloading I could shoot quite a bit, however with temperatures out like zero to twenty degrees I'd rather stay indoors. I do have some 8x8 blocks of wood I could shoot into if I get an itchy finger.

 

[Rexster]

I put 200+ rounds through my wife's Kel-tec .32; probably a bit more. It was necessary to down-load the mag by one for it to be reliable. That is too finicky for me, and my wife wasn't thrilled with that, either. It is a paperweight now.

My Seecamp LWS-32 is reliable with Gold Dots. It is a niche gun though, not a regular carry gun. I tend to carry SP101s and P229s.

 

[Big Bill]

The newest AR even calls most of them unreliable, and if AR says that, it scares me to think how bad they really must be!

Me Too! If AR says it, then it's gospel.

 

[earlthegoat2]

I have put 300+ rounds through a friends generation one P3AT.

Yes the older one that came out a ways back. It was inaccuate but cycled flawlessly without cleaning even through the 700-800 rounds we shot over the course of a week.

Those were the days of cheap ammo.

Heck those were the days you could actually aquire 800 rounds of 380 with relative ease.

 

[Just One Shot]

My LCP has been pretty much flawless since day 1. I purchased mine after the recall and out of all my handguns it's the one I carry 90% of the time because of the ease of concealment.

 

[Guns and more]

Maybe the "Rifleman" should stick to rifles.

 

[wrench]

I used to have a Keltec P32 that was picky about ammo, but once you found something it liked, it was reliable.
Now I have a Ruger LCP, and it has been 100% reliable, with any type of ammo I've tried, since day one.
The LCP is a great summertime carry gun.

 

[wrs840]

Now I have a Ruger LCP, and it has been 100% reliable, with any type of ammo I've tried, since day one.

ditto. Just thought since .380 ammo is scarce (sort of), I'll qualify my previous "100% reliable" LCP experience by saying I've fired PMC Bronze 90gr FMJ, Speer Lawman 95gr TMJ, Hornady 90gr FTX, and my still-current .380 carry-ammo: Speer Gold Dot Hollow Point 90gr. Not "everything", for sure, but a pretty good cross-section, and enough to convince me it means the LCP isn't finicky about ammo types.

FWIW,
Les

 

[bensdad]

Don't know how many rds. I've put through my LCP, but it's more than a few hundred (reloaded a box of 500 bullets from Zero that are long gone, plus several boxes of factory). No issues. Not much there to hang on to though.

ETA: There was no "break-in" period. It ran fine right away.

ETA2: After reading the post a couple past mine, I remember something about the Kahr PM9. During my instructor course for Personal Protection Outside the Home, there was another guy who had a PM9 for the shooting portion of the class. I've never seen a gun fail so many times in one afternoon. Others were practically begging him to borrow a different gun so we could get on with things. He blamed everything from ammo to grip to the Vikings pre-season record.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Oh yeah and I was only shooting FMJs.

Of course, I would only load FMJs into any 380 I was planning to carry.

 

[Ed Ames]

My P3AT has burned up well north of 200rds of JHP without issue.

I can't say I trust it, but then again I don't really trust any mechanical device. The first thing you learn when learning to fly a plane is how to deal with it failing in flight....guns are no different.

I like it and would buy another if it was lost/destroyed.

 

[rim]

I've run about 400 rounds through my PM-9 (Kahr), have had four FTF, two were using Wolf ammo, & two were using Blazer (not Blazer Brass) the aluminum case stuff. Otherwise no issues.

 

[w_houle]

My CA380
50 rounds RAM Re-manufactured
100 rounds of my neighbor's reloads
200 rounds Wolf
50 PMC
20(?) PMC JHP
Not a bad gun. Took me a while to figure out how to hold it, but must've lucked out on this one
People want to talk about guns that are "carried a lot and shot little"... carry what you have confidence in

 

[ArmedBear]

Me Too! If AR says it, then it's gospel.

Read what I wrote more carefully, Big Bill.

AR is famous for saying that every gun they test is the best thing since sliced bread. If they say a shotgun is "a little muzzle heavy", it feels like an 8 foot sewer pipe. If they say a pistol's grip can take a little getting used to, it means you can barely shoot the damned thing.

So if AR says a gun has an occasional FTF, many of us automatically assume that the thing couldn't feed three rounds in a row!

 

[sig228]

I have YET to own a .380 that hasn't jammed, and I have owned several. On the other hand, my Glock 27, my Colt Defender and every revolver that I have ever owned has NEVER jammed. My carry gun of choice is an M&P 340 snub. Perfect also. The people that claim "I got 10,000 rounds through my _______ .380" well lets just say my BS detector meter is in the red on those. Sorry, real life experience tells me otherwise.

AR is right.

So either you choose 5 shots of guarantee or one plus???

Just my 2 cents. Not looking to start a flame war.