It seemed that several gun manufacturers were launching pistols to compete with the Ruger LCP. But, it may be that the Ruger LCR was the LCP’s biggest competitor. I watched the Ruger exhibit for a while, and the LCR area was always busy. The LCP display, on the other hand, was all but a ghost town.
The LCR area:
The LCP area:
Click here for more information on the entire line of Ruger LCR revolvers.
Kahr Arms has announced they are shipping a new pistol chambered in .380 ACP: the Kahr P380.
Maintaining the distinctive styling of the larger Kahr pistols, the P380 is a DAO (double action only) pistol that features a black polymer frame with a matte stainless steel slide. The firearm holds six .380 ACP cartridges in the magazine and ships with two magazines. The Kahr P380 has a 2.5″ barrel and a choice of standard or night sights.
Kahr has clearly targeted the tiny .380 ACP pistol market by making direct comparisons to the diminutive Kel Tec P3AT (see the Kahr publicity 
photo at left). The Kel Tec pistol developed a large following after it was introduced, and many say is directly responsible for Ruger’s introduction of the LCP at the 2008 SHOT Show. With that in mind, let us compare the three guns.
The P380 is slightly shorter than both the P3AT and the LCP with a 4.9″ OAL compared to 5.2″ and 5.16″ of the other two pistols respectively. Kahr lists the slide width as a mere .75″ compared to the .77″ width of the Kel Tec and .82″ width of the Ruger. However, the Kahr is slightly heavier (9.97 oz unloaded) than the P3AT (8.3 oz unloaded) and the LCP (9.4 oz unloaded) and taller (3.9″ vs 3.5″ and 3.6″).
Since this pistol was just announced, I have not test fired the Kahr, but it appears the P380 has significantly better sights than both the P3AT and LCP, which is a welcome improvement in this category of firearm.
The P380 really suffers at the cash register when compared to the Kel Tec and Ruger. With standard sights, theP380 retails at $649, and with night sights, MSRP is $758. This is significantly more than the P3AT ($324-382) and LCP ($330).
Kahr Arms generally enjoys a favorable reputation for quality and the samples I have shot in the past have shot well and have had nice triggers. Assuming the P380 maintains the Kahr quality, I expect that the higher price tag will be tolerated by many buyers looking for a pocket or ankle gun.
The Kahr P380 is shipping and should be on your dealer’s shelf this month.
The Ruger LCP has been a very popular .380 ACP handgun for concealed carry and back-up. Finding holsters for any new firearm can be tricky, but many options are now available for the Ruger LCP pistol. Here are a few:
RKBA Holsters makes an excellent pocket holster for the Ruger LCP. I have puchased several of the RKBA holsters in the past and have found all of them to be of very high quality, yet very reasonably priced. These full leather, handcrafted holsters are only $30.00. Read More…
Some Ruger LCP .380 pistols are being recalled due to a possibility they will discharge if dropped according to a Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. announcement on October 29.
Ruger stated that they have received a few reports of the LCP pistols discharging when a round was in the chamber and when the pistol was dropped on a hard surface. As part of the recall program, Ruger will install an upgraded hammer system.
Ruger stated that there have not been any injuries reported related to this problem.
Ruger stated they will make good on all of the LCP guns that need to be upgraded, but their service department will only be able to handle a finite number of pistols at any one time. Therefore, Ruger states the recall program will be on a “first come, first served” basis. All work will be done for free and shipping there and back is paid for by Ruger.
In an effort to compensate LCP owners for their inconvience, Ruger will upgrade other unspecified components of the firearm and return the updated LCP with an additional magazine.
Earlier this year, Ruger recalled some of its SR9 pistols. From the people I have spoken to about that recall program, things went smoothly and the owners were happy with Ruger’s service.
The full information about the LCP pistol recall is available from the Ruger website.
Need some Ruger LCP ammo? According to Michael Bane’s blog, a major ammunition manufacturer will bring a new .380 loading to the market that is specifically designed for the Ruger LCP. This is exciting, as two current problems exist with the current crop of ammunition and the LCP.
The first problem is the .380 ACP cartridge is an underpowered chambering. Generally, the .380 loads are weaker than what is available for the .38 Special. For self defense, you need all the bang you can get.
The second problem is I have been getting some reports that the LCP is ammunition sensitive. Some popular cartridges are not feeding properly. This, of course, is a HUGE problem if it extends to the entire line of LCP’s and not just a few examples. One of the reports was posted as feedback here (scroll all the way down).
Time will tell who brings what to the market. However, Bane has a lot of good contacts and I expect this information is very reliable. I expect we will see a variety of Ruger LCP ammo loads in the near future.
*** Update 11/15/2008 ***
Hornady has introduced a new line of ammunition: Critical Defense. The Hornady Critical Defense ammunition is designed for self defense from small handguns like the Ruger LCP. I’m not sure this is the ammunition that Bane was hinting at, but it certainly fits. More information about the Critical Defense ammo can be found here.
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Sturm, Ruger and Company just released a new concealed carry handgun: the Ruger LCP . The new handgun is chambered for the moderately powered .380 ACP cartridge.
According to Ruger, the “LCP” initials stand for Lightweight Compact Pistol. It would appear it gets that name for good reason. Weighing only 9.4 oz unloaded, the polymer framed gun has an overall length of only 5.16″ and a width of a mere 0.82″. The barrel is 2.75″ long and the trigger pull is an even 8 pounds.
Although the new pistol looks like a Kel-Tec P3AT, Stephen L. Sanetti, president of Sturm, Ruger & Co., was quick to point out that the LCP is not cheaply made during an appearance on the Gun Talk radio program. Sanetti told Tom Gresham, the radio show host, that the LCP has a machined extractor, loaded chamber indicator, and a slide stop (hold open) which are features not found on other brands of pistols in this category.
Sanetti also said the pistol is a lock breech design, not a simple blow back, and the frame is a tough glass filled nylon, not cheap plastic. Glass filled nylon is essentially expensive plastic. It is extremely durable and should hold up as well as any metal framed pistol.
The Ruger LCP holds 6+1 rounds of the popular .380 ACP load. Aftermarket magazines allowing for many more rounds are also available, but they are not flush fitting.
The Ruger LCP shown is a recently updated version which has significantly larger, more visible sights. The older version sights were tiny.
The LCP has rounded corners and a lack of protruding external controls. It suffers, however, from the same problem many small pistols do: the sights are small and difficult to use. The front sight is not much more than a small bump, about the size of an insect bite really. The rear sight is barely a shallow notch. Seriously – these sights are small and could have been left off the gun for all the good they will do you.
Designed for concealed carry, the LCP could also make an excellent back-up gun for police officers and armed citizens. But, it better be reliable.
The Ruger LCP retails for only $330, and comes with one magazine, safety lock, and a soft-sided case. Sentti said the LCP is currently in production and thousands will be shipping to dealers by the end of February.
Holsters for the Ruger LCP are available from Galco, RKBA, DeSantis, and others.
********* UPDATE ************
In October 2008, Ruger announced a Ruger LCP recall. Ruger stated they received a few reports of the LCP discharging if dropped onto a hard surface. The recall includes updating the hammer system.
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********* UPDATE ************
In September 2008, Crimson Trace released the LG-431 Laserguard for the Ruger LCP. The new laser sighting system allows the shooter to make very accurate shots and is compact enough not to interfere with many of the hosters used for the LCP. A full post on the Crimson Trace LG 431 for the Ruger LCP is here.
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