LCP and +P???

[adjohns3]

Just got a new LCP, with laserMax and very happy with the FEW rounds I have fired.

In reading the owners manual, noted in BIG RED print, "DO NOT USE +P".

Options I was considering to use...

Speer Gold Dot
Federal HST
Winchester PDX-1 95 gr
Federal 90gr Hydra Shok
Cor Bon 90gr JHP
Hornady critical defense 90gr

Other than reading on box...is any of this +P and accordingly NOT recommend for LCP usage?

Gun will be my primary cc so would like it to have as much bite as it can stand, but don't want to exceed the factory recommendations.

Thanks,

 

[Cholo]

The Cor-Bons might be a bit hotter than the others, but I doubt they're +P. It's what I carry in my LCP. Buffalo Bore makes a true +P .380 I shot out of my all metal NAA .380 and they were the most brutal loads I've ever shot out of a handgun bar none! :shock: No way I'd put them thru an LCP.

You're good to go with all your listed loads.

 

[sourdough44]

The Speer GD & Hornady CD get good reviews as far as 380 ammo goes. They are noticeably hotter than my mid - upper reloads.

 

[bennettfam]

In reading the owners manual, noted in BIG RED print, "DO NOT USE +P".


Gun will be my primary cc so would like it to have as much bite as it can stand, but don't want to exceed the factory recommendations.

Thanks,

JMO...380 is a compromise defence round anyway, then to be denied +P ammo in the thing? My recommendation is to swap it for the LCR.

 

[nvbirdman]

When the S&W m19 came out it was intended to be used with 38spl for practice and carried with 357 for use when the need arose. They would have lasted forever had people done that, but people started using 357 for practice and the guns shot loose.
Your LCP is the same way, it will last forever practicing with standard loads and carrying with +p loads.

 

[Cholo]

Your LCP is the same way, it will last forever practicing with standard loads and carrying with +p loads.

Let's see...a 9.4oz polymer frame LCP vs an all steel S&W M19 @ 34oz. How many rounds of Buffalo Bore .380 +P's would you consider adequate before it's considered reliable? Have you actually shot 100-200 or so BB +P's thru an LCP?

Heed Ruger's advice!

 

[Heywatchthis]

The last I heard there was no such thing as 380 +P as far as SAAMI was concerned.

With that being said, I carry Buffalo Bore +P LFP's in my LCP with a 15# recoil spring. Works great and I'm not worried about "over penetration" with that lead bullet in a 380. If you are not comfortable with getting the max from a 380, there are plenty of other ammo choices out there to choose from.

I also use a 32NAA barrel in my LCP and that's a stout little bugger.

Release the hounds!

 

[DGW1949]

Three things come to mind here:

#1). I'd follow Ruger's recomendations. I'm sure they'd be glad to answer an inquiry about this or that brand of ammo.
#2). "Blowback" pistols aint designed to tolerate much pressure. If I was wanting a .380 pistol to shoot "hot" loads in, I'd look for one that fired from a locked breech rather than try to re-enginer an LCP.
#3). At best, even a "hopped-up" .380 aint quite a "regular" 38Spl.....which itself is but a 50% stopper. If ya ask me, there's some perty-serious implications there which aint going to be overcome by overstressing a small pocket-pistol. So why risk the potential damage.

DGW

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Three things come to mind here:

#1). I'd follow Ruger's recomendations. I'm sure they'd be glad to answer an inquiry about this or that brand of ammo.
#2). "Blowback" pistols aint designed to tolerate much pressure. If I was wanting a .380 pistol to shoot "hot" loads in, I'd look for one that fired from a locked breech rather than try to re-enginer an LCP.
#3). At best, even a "hopped-up" .380 aint quite a "regular" 38Spl.....which itself is but a 50% stopper. If ya ask me, there's some perty-serious implications there which aint going to be overcome by overstressing a small pocket-pistol. So why risk the potential damage.

DGW

Isn't that why Ruger made the LC9?

 

[Cholo]

"Blowback" pistols aint designed to tolerate much pressure. If I was wanting a .380 pistol to shoot "hot" loads in, I'd look for one that fired from a locked breech rather than try to re-enginer an LCP.

"The Elsie Pea operates on a locked-breech system like larger pistols instead on the blowback principle..." Jeff Quinn Gunblast 2-29-08

Blowbacks, like my NAA .380, eat my trigger finger like a junk yard dog on a T-bone steak, especially with what Buffalo Bore makes and rates +P :shock:

"The last I heard there was no such thing as 380 +P as far as SAAMI was concerned." Heywatchthis

Buffalo Bore doesn't listen to SAAMI :wink: They now offer a tamed down version of what they rate as +P. The velocity ratings are quite a bit different. Jeff Quinn, in the quote above, seemed to have shot the BB +P's in his LCP review. I recall Taffin also using them in an article when the LCP 1st came out. For me? I'll stick with my Cor-Bons. Link from Gunblast:

www.gunblast.com/Ruger-LCP.htm

"With that being said, I carry Buffalo Bore +P LFP's in my LCP with a 15# recoil spring." Heywatchthis

What # spring comes standard in an LCP?

 

[sourdough44]

Stock is 9 lbs I think. I have a 12# Wolf in my LCP.