A couple weeks ago I came into possession of a Ruger LCP. Most of you have seen these by now it’s a tiny .380 automatic that holds 6+1 rounds. I finally found the casings and bullets to reload for it and will have a pocket holster here in a bit. But coming from a man who normally carries a Springfield XD Compact in .45 automatic I’ve been asked what I want with a mouse gun.
There are a couple reasons. The first and foremost is to have a back up gun. Most people have mentioned to me that a back up gun should be a snubby since they have a very low rate of failures. In general I agree with this idea. Snub nose revolvers are very light, small, and reliable. But they are also fatter than a semi-automatic pistol due to the cylinder. And this is where my problem with carrying a snubby resides, I can’t conceal it very well. I wanted my back up to fit into my pants pocket and not print. The LCP does this well. Furthermore the LCP is shaped in such a way that I can easily extract it from my pocket without it snagging on anything.
There is another advantage to having a gun that fits flawlessly in a pocket. If somebody wants my wallet and I happen to have my shirt tucked in over my in waste band holster I first have to pull my shirt up to gain access to my gun. This of course takes time, time which can cost me my life. Meanwhile reaching into my pocket seems like a natural motion since I could be getting my wallet. By the time it turns out I was getting my LCP the guy hopefully already had a couple rounds in him. This is a great advantage in my opinion since the chance of being mugged in a large city is pretty good.
Another advantage to semi-automatic pistols in my opinion is the profile of their reloading apparatus known as a magazine. While revolver speed loaders are cylindrical magazines are rectangular. Rectangular objects are easier to hide on your person since they present a flat side which doesn’t really print to anything noticeable. If somebody sees something cylindrical in your pocket they may think revolver while seeing something rectangular could be anything from a cellular phone to a wallet.
Finally I wanted a mouse gun so I had something to conceal at times when concealing a full sized pistol isn’t doable. For instance on a hot summer day it’s likely I’ll be in shorts and a t-shirt. Although I can conceal my full sized pistol in my normal shorts it certainly prints against my swim trunks. Meanwhile the little LCP drops right into the side pockets without any issue. Furthermore I don’t have as larger of a holster pressing against my skin making me sweat bullets.
Either way I love how the LCP fits my pocket and hand. Now that I have some ammunition components I can test it out this weekend and see how it shoots.
It’s also great if you wind up in a state that doesn’t allow carry in restaurants that serve alcohol. And all the restaurants downtown serve alcohol.