LCP press check (visual check of chamber).

[snookomatic]

Hello and thanks in advance for any thoughts or input. I bought a LCP last week and I am quite impressed with the gun. I bought it as a BUG, and works very nicely for that role. I carry it either IWB or in the front pocket. It has been totally reliable, I have fed it with the obligatory 200 rounds (minimum) of break-in ammo, would like to give it more before carry, but with .380 price gouging and availability, 200 was all I could do for now. It ran flawlessly with no failures of any kind whatsoever; and I was quite surprised that it was damn accurate!!! I know that Ruger makes great firearms that are accurate, but I was not expecting this level of accuracy; for a less than 3 inch barrel gun with marginal to non-existent sights, it was surprising. I carry it with Hornady Critical Defense.

Anyway, here is the question, if you are still reading this: I like to do a press check to verify the status of my firearms, it is just habit. I know that it has a visual loaded chamber indicator, but I like to do a press check.

When I preform one, about one out of three times, the extractor fails to hook the rim and pull the cartridge out of the chamber. Like I said the gun has no extraction problems when firing, the only time it has extraction problems is when I do a press check. I know that a press check does not require the cartridge to be fully extracted, I just like to see a few centimeters of the case and go about my business.

Has anyone else noticed this or experienced this with their LCPs?

Again, it is not that I don't trust my eyes or the loaded chamber indicator, it is just habit. Thanks again.

 

[LawMan]

Snookomatic: Thats good to know. I don't own the LCP just yet, but am planning on getting one very soon. I do the same thing every time I take a firearm with me. I have had this happen to my Glock, but that was because I pulled back to far, so it was human error. This is the first I heard of this problem with the LCP.... Since these are fairly new firearms to the Ruger family, you may want to give Ruger a call and ask about this. They have had a couple of recalls (I don't remember which recalls they were speaking of) on the LCP/LCR so they may have a suggestion for you. If you speak with them, if you could please reply back with the answer, as I don't feel like ejecting a round every couple/few times either.

Hope you get the answer soon so you don't have to deal with that much longer. Please let us know if you find the answer you are looking for.

Take Care

 

[snookomatic]

I would not let this stop you from purchasing the LCP. I am not sure if this is a flaw or a problem. It may have something to do with the magazine pressure or a simple design trait. It may also be the reason that there is such a large port in which to view the ststus of the chamber. The gun runs perfectly with very positive and forceful ejection. Also, there are no extractor defects that are noticable, cracks, chips, etc. I was just curious if others have dealt with this. It is a little annoying however, as doing a press check is so habitual for me. If it starts having ejection problems
then it will be a problem. Thanks for the reply, happy shooting and stay safe.

 

[slippingaway]

I do the same thing to check my LCP, especially if I'm not in good light and can't quite see through the indicator window.

I've never had a problem with the ejector not grabbing the rim. I haven't tried the Hornady ammo though. I'm not sure why the ejector wouldn't grab, so you may want to call Ruger. Does it behave differently with different ammo?

 

[snookomatic]

The extractor grabs the rim just fine, it is just really strange, I have not tried to press check with other ammo, only my carry ammo. I practice with PMC and Fiocchi (I may have spelled that wrong) ammo, and I also practice with my carry ammo, Hornady Critical Defense. It is just really strange, I can press check once, but if I do it again without racking the slide and chambering a new round, in other words, if I press check two to three times in a row within a few seconds, it will fail to grab on the 3rd or 4th time, in which case I must drop the mag, lock the slide, and drop the round out of the chamber, reload the mag, and reload the gun. I typically only press check once, but I happened to do it a couple of times just because I trying to figure out the best way to press check on the new gun and then it happened. I know this may sound a little anal, or silly, but it concerned me, it is my carry gun(one of them!). Anyway, it runs just fine, it has no problems, in fact, I love it, it is a hell of a gun. I was just curious to know if anyone else hase experience this. Thanks again for the replies, I really like the site, there is a lot of good info here. Take care and stay safe!!!

 

[snookomatic]

The extractor grabs the rim just fine, it is just really strange, I have not tried to press check with other ammo, only my carry ammo. I practice with PMC and Fiocchi (I may have spelled that wrong) ammo, and I also practice with my carry ammo, Hornady Critical Defense. It is just really strange, I can press check once, but if I do it again without racking the slide and chambering a new round, in other words, if I press check two to three times in a row within a few seconds, it will fail to grab on the 3rd or 4th time, in which case I must drop the mag, lock the slide, and drop the round out of the chamber, reload the mag, and reload the gun. I typically only press check once, but I happened to do it a couple of times just because I trying to figure out the best way to press check on the new gun and then it happened. I know this may sound a little anal, or silly, but it concerned me, it is my carry gun(one of them!). Anyway, it runs just fine, it has no problems, in fact, I love it, it is a hell of a gun. I was just curious to know if anyone else hase experience this. Thanks again for the replies, I really like the site, there is a lot of good info here. Take care and stay safe!!!

 

[slippingaway]

I grabbed my LCP and checked it, even performing the press check ~30 times in a row, it never failed to grab the rim. Occasionally I pulled back too far and ejected the round (that spring is tough for the first cm or so, then the slide goes back real easy) but no matter what I did, I couldn't get it to fail to grab the rim.

Not sure what's going on with yours, but I hope that helps.

 

[MountainGator]

I don't do a press chack with my LCP, I use the very convenient window. However, when I was breaking it in, I had a mag loaded with snap caps, and would cycle the slide just far enough to re-cock (unless I went too far and it ejected) I didn't check every time but when I did, the extractor never failed to grab the round.

 

[snookomatic]

For whatever reason, it seems to be working fine now??? It was very strange, maybe it had something to do with the break in period? Not sure, doesn't seem right to me, I have a lot of experience with firearms and this has been a first, but it seems to work fine now...go figure. Probably an operator error. Thanks for all the responses.

 

[mekender]

I never have understood the concept... every time i pick up my gun, i drop the mag and rack the slide... then i put the round back in the mag, insert the mag and rack the slide... no reason to touch my gun after that except to put it away or in the extremely rare chance ill actually use it to defend myself...

if i am at a range, i know it is loaded every time i draw...

the whole time it is on my hip or in my pocket, i know that it is loaded and chambered... why play with it?

 

[snookomatic]

I know, right, like geez.