Ruger LCP II FTE's

Jackson Hammersmith · February 11, 2017, 02:49 PM

Hey all, new to the forum. Just wanted to show you the problems I'm having with the new LCP II I picked up. It's on it's way back for Ruger for warranty but wanted to know if anybody else is having similar problems. It's always on the 5th round (second to last) the 5th empty casing will get caught halfway in the barrel between the last full round of the magazine. Pulling the slide all the way back to locked position, removing the magazine and letting the empty case fall through the mag well is the remedy. This is after a 300 round break in, 100 PMC, 100 Am. Eagle, 100 Blazer brass. Also using 3 different factory LCPII magazines. All have the same malfunction. Anybody else??

DaleA · February 11, 2017, 05:47 PM

I don't have any GOOD ideas for what might be causing the problem but I think you did the smart thing sending it back to Ruger. Their customer support is supposed to be very good. Please let us know how it turns out.

Your description of the problem was very good and so were the photos you included. It really showed what you were talking about.

Good luck.

Jackson Hammersmith · February 18, 2017, 02:23 AM

Got my LCP II back from Ruger. They replaced the extractor, the trigger pivot pin, and "repaired" all 3 mags and the barrel. No detailed description on what their "repairs" entailed but I had an FTE on the 4th round of the first mag I put through it, the spent casing was standing straight up between the barrel and the slide. I also had at least 1 FTE per mag while putting another 50 rounds through it. Originally, the malfunction was always on the 5th round but now it varies and can be any round. Very disappointed in this pistol. Guess we'll see what Ruger has to say come Tuesday when they re-open. Think I will be upgrading to a P238 or a G42 since I no longer have any faith in this pistol.

Targa · February 18, 2017, 08:40 AM

It is frustrating when manufacturer's "fix" issues like yours because it is most likely going back again just to ultimately have it replaced. It would be nice if they just replaced the firearm and took the hit on the faulty return and sold it as a blemish once they took the time to actually fix the issue. Ruger will make it right but what a pain in the rear.

Jackson Hammersmith · February 18, 2017, 04:30 PM

UPDATE: Decided to stop down to my local gun store to fondle a Glock 42 which I've decided is just too close in size to my Shield and too big for pocket carry and pick up a box of WWB 95gr FMJ ammo as this was the ammo Ruger said they used in their testing. Ruger fired 23 rounds of WWB and 4 rounds of Black Hills 95gr's before sending it back to me. I put 9 mags through with no malfunctions, so I decided to try my PMC 90gr's again and had an FTE on the 3rd round. I then fired the rest of the 100 round box of WWB with only 1 FTE around the 70th round or so and none after that and then followed up with another 3 mags of PMC 90gr with only 1 FTE. I hate to own a gun that is ammo picky but maybe that's just the way it is with this tiny gun. Going to get a few more boxes of WWB 95's and some Blazer Brass 95's and just keep breaking it in until I can fire 100 rounds problem free before I get some hollow points to try, maybe then I'll try running the PMC's through again but for now they're going to stay in the ammo can. My suggestions if you decide to buy this gun is to buy 95 or 100gr ammo to break it in with. Hope somebody found this info useful! Will post another update in the future. Time to do some cleaning!

Model12Win · February 18, 2017, 05:47 PM

Sorry to here this. I am planning on buying an LCP-II for warm weather carry, but not if it jams up all the time.

Jackson Hammersmith · February 18, 2017, 06:46 PM

Hopefully you have better luck than me. Just be sure to start out with some good heavier 95 or 100grn ammo and stay away from the lighter stuff. I really like the way it shoots, the trigger is excellent for a pocket pistol.

Mosin44az · February 18, 2017, 08:10 PM

Sorry to hear this also. My view is that Ruger QC has declined badly in recent years but both my LCPs have been exceptions and have been reliable. Would hesitate to add a Ruger at this point.

Model12Win · February 18, 2017, 08:27 PM

+1

As Ruger has exploded in popularity since Newtown, their quality has plummeted. Not surprised to see the new LCP-IIs having problems.

jclayto · February 18, 2017, 08:34 PM

Sorry to hear that you are having trouble. I can only share my experience with my new LCP 2. I have run ~75 rounds of perfecta ammo with no failures what so ever. I plan to continue testing other ammo but so far the cheapest possible option seems to be running well.

TunnelRat · February 18, 2017, 08:49 PM

Quote:

I then fired the rest of the 100 round box of WWB with only 1 FTE around the 70th round or so and none after that and then followed up with another 3 mags of PMC 90gr with only 1 FTE. I hate to own a gun that is ammo picky but maybe that's just the way it is with this tiny gun. Going to get a few more boxes of WWB 95's and some Blazer Brass 95's and just keep breaking it in until I can fire 100 rounds problem free before I get some hollow points to try, maybe then I'll try running the PMC's through again but for now they're going to stay in the ammo can.

I'm sorry but I don't consider this a win. This pistol would seem to still have issues and I'd call Ruger again like you said. I have pistols that have literally gone through thousands of rounds between malfunctions. I don't think 100 without an issue is really a benchmark.

dakota.potts · February 18, 2017, 09:02 PM

Mine had a couple FTE's during the first couple hundred rounds. Got better as it broke in.

Jackson Hammersmith · February 18, 2017, 10:47 PM

I still plan on contacting Ruger and telling them what happened, guessing they'll want me to send it back again.

Jackson Hammersmith · June 27, 2017, 09:21 PM

UPDATE: So after a 3rd trip back for Ruger, they finally decided that my pistol needed to be replaced. They e-mailed me a form authorizing them to destroy my original pistol and send me a brand new one to the FFL of my choosing, they even contacted the FFL themselves for their info but did not pay for the transfer fee (My FFL was nice and didn't charge me though). So far I have about 400 rounds through my new one, I did have ONE malfunction with the PMC 90 grn which I'm just chalking up to the cheap ammo. Has been flawless with WWB, Blazer Brass, and 50 rounds of Federal HST 99's. It's proven itself to be reliable and I have been carrying it daily when I'm not carrying my shield. If I had gotten THIS gun first I would recommend it 100%, I love the look and feel, the trigger is excellent and I shoot it very well, but given my experience with the first one I'd be hesitant to buy another or to recommend it to anyone. I guess if you're feeling lucky, go ahead and pick one up. At least if it doesn't work and you are a VERY patient person, Ruger will take care of you. Hope someone found this helpful!

Wishoot · June 28, 2017, 07:45 AM

I'm a bit nervous as I'm having the exact same issues as you are. I've got around 250-300 rounds downrange and can't get through a mag without some kind of FTE. I've used several different brands of factory ammo too.

Ruger has always treated me well and I'm hoping they can restore my confidence in this gun.

Carl the Floor Walker · June 28, 2017, 08:35 AM

I bought a Ruger LCP when they first came out about 10 years ago.I am a avid pocket gun shooter and spent thousands of round and have gone through 3 of them, and now own the 4th. When the new LCP ll came out, for many reasons, I did not want it. Looked around and found the Pico. Love this gun, shoots like a dream and ended up buying a second one. 2000 rounds now without a hiccup. MILD shooter, modular design, stainless steal frame. and on and on. Last week I bought a Kahr CW 380. Again nice MILD shooter, and so well made. Now have 325 rounds of no hiccups and love shooting it.
The LCP's are ok, if you do not shoot often and can handle the ridiculous snappy recoil. They are not made to last long. Not the tanks like so many other Rugers. I own a lot of Rugers, but the LCP is so highly over rated. While the Gen2 has a very nice trigger, I hated the trigger of the LCP ll and felt it very unsafe for pocket carry.
Over the years, I had a number of frame cracks, a split rail, and a few broken take down pins. Also the take down spring can go as well. Ruger needs to bring this gun up to par of quality. Steel frame, or like the Kahr, steel inserts. A modular design would be great and get back to the Gen 2 trigger. The Gen 2 is now selling at my LGS for $179, a much better buy if Ruger is the way you want to go.
That said, Ruger has one of the best customer service's I have ever seen. They were always quick to repair my gun or guns and in one case sent me a New LCP.

FITASC · June 28, 2017, 09:03 AM

I own one the LCPs that went on sale just before they announced the LCPII. Several hundred rounds later, firing 8 different brands of FMJ ammo - ZERO issues, not one FTF or FTE.....Maybe I got lucky.....

Carl the Floor Walker · June 28, 2017, 09:39 AM

As far as ammo reliability they shoot almost anything and do so without fault. (Gen 2) I never had many failures, and I shot a lot of different ammo. My first one went down at around 2200 rounds. I know a guy now that says he is up to around 3000. Many go down way before that. If you do not shoot often, learn to handle the snap and recoil then you are good to go.
I honestly believe the majority of complaints that the gun failed with ammo is more a limp wristing issue than the ammo. They have a learning curve and do require diligent practice. Pocket guns take a unique skill set, more so with the Ruger LCP. JMHO.

Kreyzhorse · June 28, 2017, 11:03 AM

I own a first gen LCP. Bought when they first came out and we're da,n hard to find. Anyway, mine has been 100%. The only problem with the gun is that with the finger extension on the mag, I tend to put downward pressure on it. It never caused an issue but I stopped carrying that mag out of fear it would.

Anyway, Ruger has some excellent CS, they will get you guys straight.

Wishoot · June 28, 2017, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl the Floor Walker

I honestly believe the majority of complaints that the gun failed with ammo is more a limp wristing issue than the ammo. They have a learning curve and do require diligent practice. Pocket guns take a unique skill set, more so with the Ruger LCP. JMHO.

No limp wristing. I shot the first generation LCP pretty well and never had problems like this.

Carl the Floor Walker · June 30, 2017, 10:20 AM

I was not just referring to you, but many folks do this. I have seen it many times. I have had shooters at my club complain about the gun, then I have shot them without any problems. The LCP is probably in my opinion the first gun many have ever shot or owned. Ruger sells them by the millions. How many times have you been at the counter of a LGS and seen Newbies buy one? Many! How many complain about the recoil? Many. Hurt hand? Many. How many can shoot it well? Not many. How much will they train with this gun. IMO not much. Probably why a used LCP may be a very good deal. I have seen a number of them that looked brand new at very low cost.

February 18, 2017, 08:40 AM	#4
Targa Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2014 Posts: 2,084	It is frustrating when manufacturer's "fix" issues like yours because it is most likely going back again just to ultimately have it replaced. It would be nice if they just replaced the firearm and took the hit on the faulty return and sold it as a blemish once they took the time to actually fix the issue. Ruger will make it right but what a pain in the rear. Last edited by Targa; February 18, 2017 at 09:00 AM.

February 18, 2017, 09:02 PM	#12
dakota.potts Senior Member Join Date: February 25, 2013 Location: Keystone Heights, Florida Posts: 3,084	Mine had a couple FTE's during the first couple hundred rounds. Got better as it broke in. __________________ Certified Gunsmith (On Hiatus) Certified Armorer - H&K and Glock Among Others You can find my writings at my website, pottsprecision.com.

June 28, 2017, 09:03 AM	#17
FITASC Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2014 Posts: 6,441	I own one the LCPs that went on sale just before they announced the LCPII. Several hundred rounds later, firing 8 different brands of FMJ ammo - ZERO issues, not one FTF or FTE.....Maybe I got lucky..... __________________ "I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."- Frank Zappa

June 28, 2017, 09:39 AM	#18
Carl the Floor Walker member Join Date: June 3, 2017 Location: South Posts: 1,422	They are reliable with a * As far as ammo reliability they shoot almost anything and do so without fault. (Gen 2) I never had many failures, and I shot a lot of different ammo. My first one went down at around 2200 rounds. I know a guy now that says he is up to around 3000. Many go down way before that. If you do not shoot often, learn to handle the snap and recoil then you are good to go. I honestly believe the majority of complaints that the gun failed with ammo is more a limp wristing issue than the ammo. They have a learning curve and do require diligent practice. Pocket guns take a unique skill set, more so with the Ruger LCP. JMHO.

June 28, 2017, 11:03 AM	#19
Kreyzhorse Senior Member Join Date: April 12, 2006 Location: NKY Posts: 12,463	I own a first gen LCP. Bought when they first came out and we're da,n hard to find. Anyway, mine has been 100%. The only problem with the gun is that with the finger extension on the mag, I tend to put downward pressure on it. It never caused an issue but I stopped carrying that mag out of fear it would. Anyway, Ruger has some excellent CS, they will get you guys straight. __________________ "He who laughs last, laughs dead." Homer Simpson

February 11, 2017, 05:47 PM	#2
DaleA Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2002 Location: Twin Cities, MN Posts: 5,312	I don't have any GOOD ideas for what might be causing the problem but I think you did the smart thing sending it back to Ruger. Their customer support is supposed to be very good. Please let us know how it turns out. Your description of the problem was very good and so were the photos you included. It really showed what you were talking about. Good luck.

February 18, 2017, 04:30 PM	#5
Jackson Hammersmith Member Join Date: February 10, 2017 Location: North Central Iowa Posts: 31	UPDATE: Decided to stop down to my local gun store to fondle a Glock 42 which I've decided is just too close in size to my Shield and too big for pocket carry and pick up a box of WWB 95gr FMJ ammo as this was the ammo Ruger said they used in their testing. Ruger fired 23 rounds of WWB and 4 rounds of Black Hills 95gr's before sending it back to me. I put 9 mags through with no malfunctions, so I decided to try my PMC 90gr's again and had an FTE on the 3rd round. I then fired the rest of the 100 round box of WWB with only 1 FTE around the 70th round or so and none after that and then followed up with another 3 mags of PMC 90gr with only 1 FTE. I hate to own a gun that is ammo picky but maybe that's just the way it is with this tiny gun. Going to get a few more boxes of WWB 95's and some Blazer Brass 95's and just keep breaking it in until I can fire 100 rounds problem free before I get some hollow points to try, maybe then I'll try running the PMC's through again but for now they're going to stay in the ammo can. My suggestions if you decide to buy this gun is to buy 95 or 100gr ammo to break it in with. Hope somebody found this info useful! Will post another update in the future. Time to do some cleaning!

February 18, 2017, 05:47 PM	#6
Model12Win Junior member Join Date: October 20, 2012 Posts: 5,854	Sorry to here this. I am planning on buying an LCP-II for warm weather carry, but not if it jams up all the time.

February 18, 2017, 06:46 PM	#7
Jackson Hammersmith Member Join Date: February 10, 2017 Location: North Central Iowa Posts: 31	Hopefully you have better luck than me. Just be sure to start out with some good heavier 95 or 100grn ammo and stay away from the lighter stuff. I really like the way it shoots, the trigger is excellent for a pocket pistol.

February 18, 2017, 08:10 PM	#8
Mosin44az Senior Member Join Date: January 15, 2006 Posts: 2,585	Sorry to hear this also. My view is that Ruger QC has declined badly in recent years but both my LCPs have been exceptions and have been reliable. Would hesitate to add a Ruger at this point.

February 18, 2017, 08:27 PM	#9
Model12Win Junior member Join Date: October 20, 2012 Posts: 5,854	+1 As Ruger has exploded in popularity since Newtown, their quality has plummeted. Not surprised to see the new LCP-IIs having problems.

February 18, 2017, 08:34 PM	#10
jclayto Senior Member Join Date: February 14, 2005 Location: Anderson, SC Posts: 600	Sorry to hear that you are having trouble. I can only share my experience with my new LCP 2. I have run ~75 rounds of perfecta ammo with no failures what so ever. I plan to continue testing other ammo but so far the cheapest possible option seems to be running well.

February 18, 2017, 10:47 PM	#13
Jackson Hammersmith Member Join Date: February 10, 2017 Location: North Central Iowa Posts: 31	I still plan on contacting Ruger and telling them what happened, guessing they'll want me to send it back again.

June 27, 2017, 09:21 PM	#14
Jackson Hammersmith Member Join Date: February 10, 2017 Location: North Central Iowa Posts: 31	UPDATE: So after a 3rd trip back for Ruger, they finally decided that my pistol needed to be replaced. They e-mailed me a form authorizing them to destroy my original pistol and send me a brand new one to the FFL of my choosing, they even contacted the FFL themselves for their info but did not pay for the transfer fee (My FFL was nice and didn't charge me though). So far I have about 400 rounds through my new one, I did have ONE malfunction with the PMC 90 grn which I'm just chalking up to the cheap ammo. Has been flawless with WWB, Blazer Brass, and 50 rounds of Federal HST 99's. It's proven itself to be reliable and I have been carrying it daily when I'm not carrying my shield. If I had gotten THIS gun first I would recommend it 100%, I love the look and feel, the trigger is excellent and I shoot it very well, but given my experience with the first one I'd be hesitant to buy another or to recommend it to anyone. I guess if you're feeling lucky, go ahead and pick one up. At least if it doesn't work and you are a VERY patient person, Ruger will take care of you. Hope someone found this helpful!

June 28, 2017, 07:45 AM	#15
Wishoot Senior Member Join Date: June 5, 2009 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 1,093	I'm a bit nervous as I'm having the exact same issues as you are. I've got around 250-300 rounds downrange and can't get through a mag without some kind of FTE. I've used several different brands of factory ammo too. Ruger has always treated me well and I'm hoping they can restore my confidence in this gun.

June 28, 2017, 08:35 AM	#16
Carl the Floor Walker member Join Date: June 3, 2017 Location: South Posts: 1,422	I bought a Ruger LCP when they first came out about 10 years ago.I am a avid pocket gun shooter and spent thousands of round and have gone through 3 of them, and now own the 4th. When the new LCP ll came out, for many reasons, I did not want it. Looked around and found the Pico. Love this gun, shoots like a dream and ended up buying a second one. 2000 rounds now without a hiccup. MILD shooter, modular design, stainless steal frame. and on and on. Last week I bought a Kahr CW 380. Again nice MILD shooter, and so well made. Now have 325 rounds of no hiccups and love shooting it. The LCP's are ok, if you do not shoot often and can handle the ridiculous snappy recoil. They are not made to last long. Not the tanks like so many other Rugers. I own a lot of Rugers, but the LCP is so highly over rated. While the Gen2 has a very nice trigger, I hated the trigger of the LCP ll and felt it very unsafe for pocket carry. Over the years, I had a number of frame cracks, a split rail, and a few broken take down pins. Also the take down spring can go as well. Ruger needs to bring this gun up to par of quality. Steel frame, or like the Kahr, steel inserts. A modular design would be great and get back to the Gen 2 trigger. The Gen 2 is now selling at my LGS for $179, a much better buy if Ruger is the way you want to go. That said, Ruger has one of the best customer service's I have ever seen. They were always quick to repair my gun or guns and in one case sent me a New LCP.

June 30, 2017, 10:20 AM	#21
Carl the Floor Walker member Join Date: June 3, 2017 Location: South Posts: 1,422	I was not just referring to you, but many folks do this. I have seen it many times. I have had shooters at my club complain about the gun, then I have shot them without any problems. The LCP is probably in my opinion the first gun many have ever shot or owned. Ruger sells them by the millions. How many times have you been at the counter of a LGS and seen Newbies buy one? Many! How many complain about the recoil? Many. Hurt hand? Many. How many can shoot it well? Not many. How much will they train with this gun. IMO not much. Probably why a used LCP may be a very good deal. I have seen a number of them that looked brand new at very low cost.