LCP Max - polish chamber and ramp?

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Notaguru

USMC '56-'78. Not retired - awaiting new orders!
Joined
Jun 28, 2022
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32506
This little mouse gun is a potentially perfect EDC for me, as I value shot placement over caliber and the sights are bang on (dollar-size groups at 7M, rapid fire). However, as-is this particular LCP Max is unacceptable for emergencies because of occasional failure-to-chamber or failure-to-extract - using various ammo (especially W White Box). Everything else - including slide lock on empty - works perfectly.
In semiauto guns of my long (started shooting about 75 years ago!) history, such issues were sometimes caused by small irregularities in the chamber to which expanding brass locked. FTC was sometimes caused by a less than smooth feed ramp. I've looked at the finish on those surfaces, and they're quite imperfect. Dremel has worked for me in the past, using a felt cylinder and white - then red - polishing bars.

I hate to send the gun to Ruger because I do not wish to be without it (it replaced a 1911, which I sold), and the polish job is just a few minutes.
QUESTIONS:
Will such a polish job void Ruger's generous warranty?
Is there any other fix I should consider?

THANKS!!
 

joecrab

Bearcat
Joined
Mar 25, 2022
Messages
47
Location
mi.
Whenever I have chambering problems with a semi auto pistol, I polish the feed ramp and also the breech face. Why the breech face? Because as the cartridge leaves the magazine the back end of the cartridge has to slide up the breech face to get aligned with the chamber for chambering. Are these 2 surfaces the culprit is all FTF scenarios? No, but the odds are that that's the problem. As to the extracting problems, polishing the chamber usually does the trick and Brownell's sells chamber hones just for that purpose.
 
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Yes.
If you don't trust the gun now, can/will you ever?

I'd opt for a different gun.
Problem is they all seem to need work these days. I was so enthusiastic about the Max 9 because my Gen1 LCP was absolutely reliable from day one. Ruger should have stayed away from the striker BS bandwagon. My Max 9 has been light striking from day one. Stronger spring helped but still not 100% . I'll either turn the striker back .005 to.010 for a deeper primer strike or ream the striker channel slightly deeper which is probably the safer option since the striker is heat treated.
 

hittman

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Problem is they all seem to need work these days …..
My G43 never has.
My guns are either reliable or not. There's no in-between.
If a gun isn't reliable I wont conceal carry it. Heck, I don't want the aggravation of it not working at the range either so ….. down the road they go. I just dont have the patience to work on, or spend money on cheap tools.
 
Joined
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My G43 never has.
My guns are either reliable or not. There's no in-between.
If a gun isn't reliable I wont conceal carry it. Heck, I don't want the aggravation of it not working at the range either so ….. down the road they go. I just dont have the patience to work on, or spend money on cheap tools.
Yeah. Glocks are the apitomy of mediocre reliability. Accurate enough. I think the reason we are having guns going off in holsters is because everyone else has decided to do away with the mushy Glock trigger and have the striker hanging by a thread. This has solidly confirmed my belief that real guns have hammers.
 

Bad Barlow

Blackhawk
Joined
Apr 3, 2022
Messages
622
Location
Norcal
This little mouse gun is a potentially perfect EDC for me, as I value shot placement over caliber and the sights are bang on (dollar-size groups at 7M, rapid fire). However, as-is this particular LCP Max is unacceptable for emergencies because of occasional failure-to-chamber or failure-to-extract - using various ammo (especially W White Box). Everything else - including slide lock on empty - works perfectly.
In semiauto guns of my long (started shooting about 75 years ago!) history, such issues were sometimes caused by small irregularities in the chamber to which expanding brass locked. FTC was sometimes caused by a less than smooth feed ramp. I've looked at the finish on those surfaces, and they're quite imperfect. Dremel has worked for me in the past, using a felt cylinder and white - then red - polishing bars.

I hate to send the gun to Ruger because I do not wish to be without it (it replaced a 1911, which I sold), and the polish job is just a few minutes.
QUESTIONS:
Will such a polish job void Ruger's generous warranty?
Is there any other fix I should consider?

THANKS!!
FTE "AND" FTC ? Even with different ammo?
Send it back,and if it doesn't work on it's return,sell it.
If you're worried about being gunless in the meantime, borrow one.
 
Joined
Nov 30, 2022
Messages
4,435
Location
Maryland
FTE "AND" FTC ? Even with different ammo?
Send it back,and if it doesn't work on it's return,sell it.
If you're worried about being gunless in the meantime, borrow one.
I look at issues and say Challenge Accepted. When I got my early Kel Tec the first thing that happened was the rear sight fell out. I staked it and when I got to shoot it it would mostly FTE. I took out the extractor and squared it up as well as fluffing and buffing. Once I got it to where it could get through a mag I discovered that it was good for 10yd Max. I wound up squeezing the slide.010-.012" in a press. With the rails ever so slightly snug I polished them to a mirror finish Glass smooth and air tight. Then the barrel and lugs wouldn't fit. So I hit the barrel opening with a reamer until the end of the barrel would pop through and then polished to a mirror finish. Then I had to lap the barrel lug until it barely fit as well. After drilling the firing pin channel I had a decently accurate carry gun.
The Max 9 only seems to need a spring and a few touches with a cutter to be perfect.
 

Bad Barlow

Blackhawk
Joined
Apr 3, 2022
Messages
622
Location
Norcal
I look at issues and say Challenge Accepted. When I got my early Kel Tec the first thing that happened was the rear sight fell out. I staked it and when I got to shoot it it would mostly FTE. I took out the extractor and squared it up as well as fluffing and buffing. Once I got it to where it could get through a mag I discovered that it was good for 10yd Max. I wound up squeezing the slide.010-.012" in a press. With the rails ever so slightly snug I polished them to a mirror finish Glass smooth and air tight. Then the barrel and lugs wouldn't fit. So I hit the barrel opening with a reamer until the end of the barrel would pop through and then polished to a mirror finish. Then I had to lap the barrel lug until it barely fit as well. After drilling the firing pin channel I had a decently accurate carry gun.
The Max 9 only seems to need a spring and a few touches with a cutter to be perfect.
I'm also "mechanically inclined", and fix stuff myself. Most of the people in the world, not so much..
I get how you fixed your gun,and have done similar myself, but I couldn't recommend it to the population at large,too much possibility of permanent, irreversible damage.
 
Joined
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Yeah most people don't know which end of the screwdriver to use. Males have been neutered. A man without tools isn't. I learned how to use a mill and lathe in High School and how to weld when I was 14. Here's a few things me and one of my friends have thrown together.
 

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Bad Barlow

Blackhawk
Joined
Apr 3, 2022
Messages
622
Location
Norcal
Yeah most people don't know which end of the screwdriver to use. Males have been neutered. A man without tools isn't.
The world has changed.. I have to call my son to get help with my computer and phone... but he calls me to get help with his furnace or plumbing..
Time marches on...
 
Joined
May 1, 2022
Messages
834
Location
New Jersey
FTE "AND" FTC ? Even with different ammo?
Send it back,and if it doesn't work on it's return,sell it.
If you're worried about being gunless in the meantime, borrow one.
"Even with different ammo?" So glad you said this. I am finding more and more often that gun problems ....aren't- they are ammo problems. Some of the oldest names in the business seem to have dropped quite a bit in quality over the years, and there are a slew of new brands out there as well. I'm not naming names because it would start a whole new debate. Suffice to say that it is a really good idea to try more than just a few brands before tossing the gun.
 

hittman

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Messages
16,915
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Illinois
Just invest in better quality firearms. Problem solved.
I went down this road too ….. buying a $300 gun and running $500 worth of ammo through it, sending it back for repairs, polishing ramps, buying more magazines, adjusting the lips on the mags …. And the list goes on and on.

Save yourselves the aggravation and expense.
 

Notaguru

USMC '56-'78. Not retired - awaiting new orders!
Joined
Jun 28, 2022
Messages
15
Location
32506
After ten minutes of Dremel work, the LCP Max loads and extracts properly. I won't call it flawless until after another few trips to the range, but it looks good.
As for buying another gun, there's nothing (late 2022) on the market that competes with this one's combination of size, capacity, sights, and (now) reliability. It's become my edc.
 

whittsailor

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jul 8, 2022
Messages
114
Location
NE Texas
Same here. I've got others but the LCP Max is generally the one I'm carrying in a pocket.

I had issues right out of the box with mine so Ruger sent me a replacement barrel and complete slide assembly. That fixed all my failure to feed issues.
 
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