Ruger LCP Range Report

Well I finally had two things at the same time, time to hit the range, and .380 auto ammunition for my new Ruger LCP. Although I’ve had the gun for a few weeks I’ve not been able to actually shoot it.

I loaded up some rounds using 4.1 grains of Universal Clays powder and 95 grain Montana Gold jacked hollow points (before anybody comments I know a .380 won’t reliably expand JHP rounds, but being their center of gravity is back more JHPs are slightly more accurate than full metal jacketed rounds).

First off I want to say the gun is a perfect little piece. It fits in almost any pocket (although I won’t be carrying it until my pocket holster arrives). It’s very light even when loaded with 6 + 1 rounds of ammunition and conceals better than any other gun I’ve seen.

The Ruger LCP, like most small and light guns, kicks hard. Firing the gun can be painful after a while. The webbing on my right hand hurt quite a bit after roughly 30 rounds so I switched to left handed shooting for the remaining 20 rounds I loaded up. For a mouse gun the LCP is pretty accurate. I was able to peg steel plates from approximately 20 feet without too much trouble. If I’m dealing with ranges beyond that I’ll hopefully be able to use my primary carry gun.

The only thing about the LCP I really didn’t like when firing it was how far and erratically is flung the brass. I was shooting under a covered pistol range section. The roof was approximately 15 to 20 feet and several of the brass casing landed up on there. Other cases went flying 10 feet to the right and angles ranging from 45 degrees to right behind me. Since I load my own ammunition I like to keep the cases and that’s hard with this gun.

Working the slide is pretty simple. Several small semi-automatic pistols I’ve uses had very stiff slides. The LCP’s isn’t very stiff and can be easily manipulated with two hands. Due to the fact the LCP has little in the way of sights there isn’t much to catch it on in order to rack the slide with one hand though. Speaking of sights I wish Ruger would have made them just a hair larger. As they sit right now the sights are all but useless and I didn’t get a crimson trace laser for it (being I had enough trouble just finding the bloody gun). At short ranges this isn’t that big of an issue though since the sights are more than adequate for hitting human sized targets.

The gun came with a small extension for the, one and only included, magazine. I ended up using it simple because I couldn’t get a good grip on the gun without it. With the extension I was able to comfortably hold the gun with all but my pinky finger. I do wish Ruger would have included a second magazine so I could practice reloading it (I order a couple others but they certainly do charge an arm and leg for such a small magazine). I will say the magazine does indeed drop free when you press the release button. And while I’m on the subject of reloading do note that the LCP does not automatically hold the slide open when your magazine is empty so you do need to count rounds with this gun.

Overall I was impressed with the gun. It’s exactly what I was looking for in that it’s a small pistol that is easily placed into a pocket. I don’t see any features that make me want to recommend the LCP over any other .380 auto mouse gun on the market but for the price you really can’t complain much. If you want a mouse gun certainly take a look at one.

Reloading Tip for Shiny Brass

Today I’m cleaning a whole pile of brass that I haven’t been able to get to as of late. Often people ask about how to properly clean their brass casings. There are many different ways of doing things.

First you have a choice in media. The media is what is used to physically clean up the brass. Most reloading equipment providers sell media made from ground corn cob and walnut. I’ve only used corn cob media so far and it’s been working well for me but I hear more people swear by walnut media. But if you want to save some money take a trip to the pet store and pick up some fine walnut based bedding. It’s pretty much the same stuff as tumbler walnut media and does the exact same job for less.

Now the media alone won’t leave you with polished brass. To give your brass a shiny look you need some way of polishing it. Once again most reloading companies sell stuff called polishing compound. The idea is you throw some of this stuff in with the media and it will polish the brass. There is one down side though, if you don’t clean the polishing media off of your brass it will wreak havoc on your reloading dies. Polishing media is abrasive and hence it will destroy your dies after a while.

What I do is throw to used dryer sheets into the tumbler each time I tumble some brass. The cases come out looking just as good as they would with polishing compound, the dryer sheets absorb a lot of the dust, and I don’t have to pay anything extra since I’m just recycling dryer sheets I’ve used for launder (see that’s how green of a person I am, I recycle dryer sheets). After a couple of hours in the tumbler the brass will look great although the sheets will be colored a lead grey.

Anyways it’s something to try if you reload ammunition and don’t like messing with polishing compounds.

Sig P238 Recall Notice

I just saw this on the Firearm Blog. Sig is recalling p238 pistols due to faulty safety mechanisms…

http://www.sigsauer.com/customerservice/p238upgrade.aspx

This sums up the recall…

We have determined that a small number of P238 pistols may have safety levers that are not manufactured to factory specifications. Under certain conditions, it may be possible for the lever not to be completely engaged in the safe position. In this condition, the gun will not fire when the trigger is pulled. However, when the safety lever is moved to the off position, the hammer may fall, with the remote possibility that the gun could fire unintentionally, thus creating a risk of injury or death.

And here are the details on which P238s are being recalled…

If you have a SIG SAUER P238 with a serial number between DA000501 and DA003216, please cease use of the firearm immediately. Not all P238s within the identified serial number range are affected; therefore, it is imperative that you contact us via the UPGRADE HOT LINE at 1 (866) 446-1914. An operator will take your information and confirm if your firearm is required to be returned for Upgrading.

So if you have one take a look at the serial number.

Source: http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2009/07/31/p238-mandatory-safety-upgrade/

Even Permanently Disabled Guns are Scary in the United Kingdom

Ah yes the United Kingdom. This find conglomeration of government intrusion and control is so afraid of guns that even completely disabled ones are feared…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/8178254.stm

A person was selling two guns which were disabled, via being welded shut, and properly certified at a local market. Some moron calls the police because apparently even permanently disabled guns are scary in Wales. The police arrive and tell the owner to sell the guns “more appropriate channels.”

Now there was nothing illegal about these guns, all the accompanying paper work was with them and the guns were unable to be restored to their original working configuration. That’s right lawful commerce was being practiced which we know Oceania is completely against hence the police had to put a stop to it. And I love this quote by the officer…

We would like to reassure the public that the use of guns in south Wales remains extremely rare and immediate action is taken if information is received about the use, threat or sale of items.

Yes they sure do crack down on guns be it a use, threat, or sale. Heck apparently even non-functioning guns which can’t be used to shoot somebody are cracked down upon. Of course they also crack down on those who defend themselves with a firearm since self defense is also all but illegal in that region.

Brooklyn Police Afraid of Flintlock Rifles

I found this story over on the Gun Rights Radio Network forum…

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2009/07/29/2009-07-29_replica_rifle_has_brooklyn_man_at_odds_with_cops.html

Michael Littlejohn, a citizens of Brooklyn, had a replica flintlock rifles produced for him. Under New York state law you are not required to register such guns. Now why would he want a flintlock rifles in Brooklyn you ask? Not that it matters why he wants it but the answer is he’s a Revolutionary War aficionado.

Anyways the police are saying he needs a firearms license to own the flintlock. Although this isn’t true I think the police feel they can beat Mr. Littlejohn into submission. After all anybody who is willing to own a flintlock rifle is only doing so to bypass the state’s gun registration laws and perform crimes with it. I think I will dub this the flintlock loophole. Just think if he has an unregistered gun he could perform a mass shooting at any of the state colleges. Back when such evil military style assault weapons were in regular use by the military a good rifleman could get off up to three shots in a minute! Just image the terror this man could produce with this unregistered military style assault weapon!

A Pretty Picture Showing More Guns Doesn’t Equal More Deaths

I saw this on Sharp as a Marble…

http://www.wallsofthecity.net/2009/07/graphics_matter.html

Walls of the City put together a post where he collected data from non-partial sources involving the number of deaths compared to the number of firearms. Of course this post was done by using text, which the anti-gunners have a hard time with (I think they have problems reading and comprehending anything past Go Dog Go). To help them understand it there is now a pretty line graph that illustrates the fact.

Of course being that you need some basic math skills to understand a graph I don’t think the anti-gunners will be able to figure this one out. The bottom line is if numbers of involved the anti-gunners probably won’t be able to understand it.

Source: http://blog.robballen.com/2009/07/31/p3646-doing-all-the-hard-work.post

Australia’s Restrictive Gun Control Doesn’t Stop Straw Purchases Either

And interesting story I saw on Snowflakes in Hell…

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/criminal-are-telling-lies-to-buy-guns/story-e6freuy9-1225755343569

Australia has some very draconian gun laws put in place in the hopes of making it’s citizens wholly dependent on the government for protection controlling violent crime. One of these laws is the requirement of obtaining a firearm license to purchase a gun. The theory goes that running massive checks and making people jump through many hoops will prevent criminals from buying guns. Unfortunately Australia is finding out what some American states already know, criminals will ignore the law and obtain their guns illegally.

Members of an organized crime gang were able to build up a small cache by performing straw purchases in Australia. Of course instead of admitting they were wrong members of the Australia government are calling for even more strict gun control laws. Now some magistrates are calling for finger printing and DNA checks on the country’s gun owners.

These magistrates apparently are missing the lesson, which is criminals will get guns because they are willing to break the law to obtain the tools they need to break laws. No amount of gun control can prevent this. Britain is a perfect example of a country having stringent gun control laws and a high rate of gun related violence.

Source: http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/2009/07/29/straw-purchasing-in-australia/

But I Thought Gun Control Made Us Safer

That’s what the Brady Bunch tell use at least. Well tell that to Chicago, a city with some of the strictest gun control laws on the books. In one night over 15 people were wounded in shootings…

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/07/shootings-wound-at-least-15-overnight.html

Once again we have proof that gun control doesn’t work. In fact I’d say this is pretty good evidence that gun control is harmful. If any of these 15 people would have been allowed to legally carry a gun they would have had a better chance of defending themselves and preventing any of the hoodlums from committing future crimes. Not to mention the hoodlums would be less likely to commit crimes if they realized there was a good chance of being shot and killed in the process.

Let Chicago be an example of what is wrong with gun control and taking away peoples’ right to self defense.

Brief History of the Swiss Army Knife

The BBC has a nice article covering the history of the Swiss army knife…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8172917.stm

I’m one of those people who carries a Swiss army knife on his person every day. Mine has several gadgets that I use almost every day including a small LED pen light. For every slot, screw, and hole there is a tool on my knife to work with it. I honestly would have a hard time getting through the day without it.

Multiple Armed Men Spotted at Fogo De Chao

This just in a group of armed me were spotted at the restaurant Fogo De Chao in downtown Minneapolis. The group of approximately ten, all carrying guns, were reported to have gone into the restaurant together to eat. While being seated the wait staff incorrectly seated an innocent individual with the group. The group welcomed this unarmed individual and began chatting with him. The scary part is this innocent individual appeared to be corrupted by this group of frightening gun owners and began inquiring about also getting a carry permit.

After the group finished eating they left without incident. No people were apparently shot or in any other way harmed during this armed mob’s visit.