Carrying one up with Ruger LCP for new owner

[PatientWolf]

If I was carrying in my pocket, I would not have one in the pipe no matter what-especially playing with kids though.

[Cheapshooter]

Oh and its the original LCP not the LCPII

There is no concern with pocket carry of a loaded LCP of the original design. Use a good pocket holster like a DeSantis Nemesis, and you will be completely safe.

[seanc]

TunnelRat:

There was a story recently where a father and son were rough housing while the father was carrying. Son ended up dead.

Do you have a link to that story? This is the internet and it's easy to post links, otherwise, it's just hearsay.

If someone is carrying a quality manufactured, modern firearm in a quality pocket holster, they should be good. There are defective/unsafe guns, but the LCP isn't an unsafe gun. If you contend it is, please provide link to litigation proving so.

[wild cat mccane]

The 10th ann version doesn't have a lighter trigger. The trigger design also doesn't do anything to the trigger pull.

I don't carry one chambered. I've carried te P3AT since 2007 until the LCP came out and carried every variant except the LCPII. I would never carry the LCPII (including gen 1, gen 2, stainless, Custom, and my current hard chrome'd gen 2). I say it is completely dangerous to carry given my history with tinkering with the P3AT

I appreciate people feeling timing is everything. I look back at all the times I've need timing with a gun (never) with how often I am with my kids (all the time).

So...guess that makes me a bad gun carrier. I think it makes me smart

The story is no "hearsay." Do we need to live in a world where the idea of a gun killing a kid isn't possible? Not even going to google it for you.

[603Country]

I pocket carry a S&W Bodyguard 380. Hammer fired, but no external hammer. Manual safety, unless you want the one with no manual safety. I carry it with a round chambered. Long trigger pull, so practice is recommended. I use a ‘sticky’ pocket holster. Only thing I’ve added are tritium night sights.

[PatientWolf]

Do you have a link to that story? This is the internet and it's easy to post links, otherwise, it's just hearsay.

Really? I think Wild Cat was dead on. Denial of highly possible but avoidable situations is as bad or worse than negligence.

BTW, It almost took me less time to google than to read your post. Here’s the first link that came up.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ed/4581092002/

[jmr40]

Carrying without a round in the chamber is, and always has been an acceptable method. Do what you feel comfortable with. It's going to take about 1/2 second longer to get off a shot the way you're carrying. If you've waited until that 1/2 second really matters then you're already in trouble.

[RetiredMajor]

Assuming that you have two hands available is a dangerous assumption. Surprise attacks happen. You may be fighting someone off or struggling to defend yourself. I hope you practice racking the slide with one hand under stress.

[seanc]

PatientWolf:

Really? I think Wild Cat was dead on. Denial of highly possible but avoidable situations is as bad or worse than negligence.

BTW, It almost took me less time to google than to read your post. Here’s the first link that came up.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ed/4581092002/

The story you linked to was about some guy who tucked a loaded gun in his waist, not in a pocket holster, BIG difference. If you don't understand the difference, ask a pro. Seriously, if you're going to criticize someone, have a clue and post a link that's relevant.



wild cat:

Do we need to live in a world where the idea of a gun killing a kid isn't possible?

I didn't question the possibility that a gun could kill a kid. Nice attempt at a straw-man argument. The OP was questioning the safety of pocket carrying an LCP, in a pocket holster, with a round in the chamber. That's a very specific scenario, if you need to construct your own straw-man argument, create your own thread.

[jimku]

If you don't have a round in the chamber just leave the gun home ... it won't do you any good anyway.

[Snuffy308]

“A gun” never killed anybody. I have loaded guns laying all around the house. Not one has tried to stand up and kill me. The key is they are laying, not lying. See the difference?

[PatientWolf]

Seanc:

The story you linked to was about some guy who tucked a loaded gun in his waist, not in a pocket holster, BIG difference. If you don't understand the difference, ask a pro. Seriously, if you're going to criticize someone, have a clue and post a link that's relevant.

Ok, I’ll take the criticism-not exactly the same situation. I will still maintain that I don’t think it’s a good idea to pocket carry - even in a pocket holster if you are wrestling with kids.

I carry a lot of items in my pocket. Admittedly, I do not have a pocket holster, but I would be concerned that something in a pocket-especially when wrestling could put pressure on the trigger.

In general, I do find your posts informative.

[seanc]

^You bring up an excellent point: When pocket carrying, you can't have anything else in your pocket! Even with a pocket holster, you can't have any other junk that can jimmy things up, and you don't want that junk in the way when/if you have to draw.

Other good point: Even though pocket carrying in a pocket holster is generally safe, maybe handing it off to mom while you roughhouse is also a good idea. In the US, we have that luxury, in S. Africa, maybe not so much. Maybe we can't find an article on the internet right now, but no one wants to be that 1st lightening strike.

I've pocket carried off/on the past year since I got my LCP II. Although I'm not roughhousing with my kids, I'm as often reminded I'm carrying after I've already picked up a way to heavy box, climbed up on the roof, slammed into this'n-that, etc. It's taken a beating and it hasn't gone off (in my pocket).

[hagar]

Carry it in your back jean pocket if you can. The LCP with a decent pocket holster is safe, personally I carry mine in a DesSantis.

You don't want to fend off a knife wielding criminal with one hand and have an unchambered firearm in your other hand.

En as jy moet skiet, skiet raak en skiet dood..

[wild cat mccane]

I guess I ask the esteemed group how many times they have fired a gun in a self defense situation.

If we are going to be experts on the subject, and put down others, let's back it up?


No. All modern production guns (excludes the LCPII, Kel Tec P11, CZs without the drop safety) are drop safe. If you are asking about drop safety, there you go. Answered.

If you are asking if your chance of a gun going off when chambered vs not, yes. The chance that is goes of not chambered is zero and when chambered is greater than zero.

[TunnelRat]

I don’t believe I personally have put anyone down, but I will say I also don’t carry without a round chambered, nor do I know of any firearms instructor that would advocate doing so with a modern firearm. As for the, “Well have you ever had to use a firearm in self defense”, no I haven’t, though I do take instruction from those that have. By the train of thought presented I would be just as well off not owning a firearm at all. I’ve never needed one until now after all, and I’m even less likely to have a firearms related accident if I don’t own a firearm.


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[Carl the Floor Walker]

Lol, the debate over the dangers of the LCPll trigger have been going on since the Pistol first came out. Must be about a million of them. Each to his own. I won't carry one. Holster or no holster.
I shoot Pocket guns weekly and have been for over 10 years. Recently bought the LCPll 22.cal as a trainer. And it is a weird trigger. In fact I think it sucks. I shoot the 380 DAO much better and they are so much safer. JMHO

[doctor j]

I have an original LCP that I have carried in a pocket holster for years, and I do carry it with a round chambered. I have never had a problem with it.

One respondent mentioned that he would never carry a striker-fire pistol. The original LCP is a hammer-fire pistol. I'm not familiar with the LCP II.

As I understand it, there is no "half cock" position on an LCP. When the trigger is pressed, the light-weight hammer moves back then smacks the firing pin sharply to fire the round. As the slide returns to battery, the hammer follows the slide back "home" and rests on the firing pin. This mechanism concerned me initially, but I've not had any issues with it.

Remove the magazine, clear the chamber, and field strip your LCP. Hold the slide in your hand and with a small screw driver, depress the end of the firing pin. You'll see that there is a rather stiff spring that resists forward motion of the pin. As I recall, this stiff spring is a safety feature and allows the light-weight hammer to rest on the pin without igniting a round.

[Tygus.Shooting]

Ruger LCP.JPG

Like many others who replied to your post, I have owned and carried my first-generation Ruger LCP .380ACP for some years now, and have had no untoward incidents involving the little pistol in all that time, while carrying the pistol with a round in the chamber. I mainly carry the LCP as a backup gun, together with two extra magazines, and I truly appreciate its diminutive size and low weight. Once I put it on, I hardly notice it’s there.

Your comment about keeping the gun on you while roughhousing with your kids gave me some pause, however; the only thing I can recommend is that you shift the gun from your front pocket to one of your back pockets when you carry it, and make sure that the holster you choose covers the gun’s trigger guard and always maintains the pistol in a muzzle-down, grip-up position.

I am still inclined to believe that there is no substitute for carrying a gun with a cartridge chambered, especially in an environment as potentially dangerous as your own. Like you, I usually wind up carrying concealed at home (albeit involuntarily) because I often neglect to remove the LCP and its two extra magazines from my back pockets, after putting aside whatever primary handgun I’ve carried for the day.

Security experts insist that carrying at home is an excellent idea --- it precludes any mad scramble to get to a gun when a breach of your home’s security occurs. Although I have to admit that my first impulse would still be to reach for the closest long gun if such an emergency occurred.

Personally, the only instance in which I would consider carrying a gun without a chambered round is if I had a reliable early-warning system (like a pair of dogs that warn against intruders, for example). Such an alert could prompt me to draw the pistol and rack the slide at the first sign of danger.

You may eventually wish to add a laser unit to your LCP in the future, to make the pistol easier to aim and hit with. The LCP’s sights can sometimes be difficult to see, especially in low light. Crimson Trace makes a laser unit specifically for the LCP, and my gun has worn one for as long as I‘ve been carrying it.

The only other important thing I would like to add has to do with the Crimson Trace laser unit. If and when you do attach a Crimson Trace unit to the gun, and you carry it in the back pocket of your jeans the way that I normally do, make sure to check the laser’s alignment every couple of weeks or so.

I have noticed that when the gun and its laser attachment are have been exclusively carried in the back right pocket for a while, the laser’s point of aim tends to shift an inch or two to the left, likely because of the constant pressure exerted upon the attachment when I sit on the gun. The change in alignment is easily corrected using the unit’s adjustment screws, however, and poses no significant disadvantage at close quarters.

I have written a somewhat more detailed account of my experience with the Ruger LCP over the years, which you may find helpful. You can find it here:
https://tygus.net/2018/09/16/a-defen...have-with-you/
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I love gun control. It lets me hit what I'm shooting at!

[wild cat mccane]

Read your page.

The Kel Tec design DID have an innovation. First user removable firing control unit.

That was a requirement for the current US handgun today. I would say that's pretty significant innovation

[perpster]

Most people are attacked when at home and when they least expect it so its always better to be ready.

"Excuse me, rapist/robber/kidnapper/burglar/murderer, I need to rack my slide before I can protect myself and family from you. Thank you ever so much."

Whatever you decide about playtime with your kids, you are essentially NOT "ready" to deal with a sudden threat with an empty chamber. You are also shorting yourself one round by doing so.

Except for the playtime with kids situation, a proper pocket holster and a loaded chamber are the way to go (IMHO), especially when "Most people are attacked when at home and when they least expect it so its always better to be ready."

[allenomics]

Will sweat, bumps, etc., damage the gun? How about an accident harming your kids? As a new gun user you should be extra careful and extremely cautious. Limiting your risk of a negligent discharge is reduced with no cartridge in the pipe.

[Cirdan]

Always, always, always carry with a holster. The point of the holster is to protect the trigger. It prevents anything from getting in there and accidentally depressing the trigger.

I would not recommend an LCP for a new owner. It's a terrible gun to shoot with LOTS of felt recoil. I had one for a while. It seems nice because it's so incredibly concealable, but difficult to shoot without both experience and practice.