First Carry Pistol Range Time & Questions

[WickedOwl]

I picked up a Ruger LCP on Plastic Day (a week ago) to serve as my first carry pistol and I finally had a chance to take it to the range today. I shot 25 rounds of Black Hills 90 gr. JHPs (which I will carry) and 75 rounds of Winchester White Box 95 gr. FMJ [.380 for those unfamiliar with the LCP]. I'm happy to say that The Noisy Cricket (my nickname for the LCP, Men In Black reference) performed rather flawlessly. Zero failures to eject or failures to feed.

I was a bit worried about feed/ejector issues due to the fact that the unfired JHPs frequently get lodged in the ejector port on the slide, but when comparing the rounds to the unfired FMJs side-by-side, it's clearly due to the longer length of the bullet. There weren't any problems cycling the unfired FMJs and obviously not a problem with spent brass for either. I'm not going to be emptying and reloading the gun frequently enough for this to be a problem, but it's an issue when I unload it to let someone I trust handle the pistol.

Another concern I had was from the initial feed of the first round off the magazine. If I just pull the slide back and let go, there isn't enough force to slide the round up the feed ramp. I have to either push the slide forward a bit after pulling it back or just pull it back again and let go. Does this improve with time? Do I need to work on the feed ramp? I gave the gun a good initial rub-down (according to directions in the manual and online) after I bought it but that didn't help feeding. As a note, this is ONLY the first-round feed when loading the pistol. There were absolutely zero FTFs when recoil did the work for me.

Anyways, other than those minor issues, I'm pretty confident in the reliability of the gun and I'm glad I have some rounds through it to get that peace of mind. I need to practice with it a lot more because in quick target acquisition (pistol at low ready, rise and fire as soon as sights were safely on target) at different ranges, it was apparent from the shot placement that I was anticipating the recoil. You're not done practicing until there's only one hole!

[sookandy]

I had those same problems with a TCP. After some rounds down range and broken in a little I haven't had a problem. I would make sure you get it either broken in and comfortable with the preformance of the weapon or figure out what the problem may be before carrying. Just my non expert opinion.

[Sputz]

Ive never had that problem in our LCP with any ammo even crappy monarch, can you measure it maybe and I can make a round with the same length and try it? Also have you gone to elsiepeaforum.com and seen what they are carrying, I know most of us down where I live just carry fmj and don't bother with jhp since supposedly their are penetration concerns with the .380.

Another thing I recommend getting the crimson trace laser for it, it makes getting on target so much easier since it has such crappy sights. I know my wife appreciates it.

Sputz

[WickedOwl]

The unfired JHP seem to be cycling out of the barrel pretty regularly now. It still gets stuck trying to feed the first round out of a full magazine, repeatable with both JHP and FMJ. This only happens when the magazine is full and I pull the slide back and release it with no forward force from my hand. If I push the slide forward, even just a little, it loads fine and never fails to feed when firing. A quick palm heel strike to the base of the loaded magazine also sends the slide forward. When the magazine only has one or two rounds loaded, it feeds just fine by releasing the slide.

I know most of us down where I live just carry fmj and don't bother with jhp since supposedly their are penetration concerns with the .380.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I had just assumed from reading a bunch of the posts here that JHP was a must for self-defense, but the calibers they were talking about were 9mm through .45 ACP and the goal was to limit the penetration of those more powerful rounds. I'll have to do some more research on this and give it some thought.

[Sputz]

The unfired JHP seem to be cycling out of the barrel pretty regularly now. It still gets stuck trying to feed the first round out of a full magazine, repeatable with both JHP and FMJ. This only happens when the magazine is full and I pull the slide back and release it with no forward force from my hand. If I push the slide forward, even just a little, it loads fine and never fails to feed when firing. A quick palm heel strike to the base of the loaded magazine also sends the slide forward. When the magazine only has one or two rounds loaded, it feeds just fine by releasing the slide.

A few things I did to mine before shooting it was I racked the slide a couple of hundred of times with the magazines in (unloaded) to kinda break it in and debur anything. Then I polished the barrel and throat of the barrel. What you are describing is not what I would call something normal or something I would feel the need to do. I have used reloads, fmj, jhp in my lcp without any issues whatsoever from the get go racking the slide or dropping the slide to feed the first round. I would call ruger and ask if it just needs some more breaking in or to be sent in.

A lot of people are against polishing the ramp and throat but I have never had issues with my guns and its the first thing I do, it kinda goes back to my old 1911 days when I was doing ipsc.

Sputz

[BrianSW99]

The unfired JHP seem to be cycling out of the barrel pretty regularly now. It still gets stuck trying to feed the first round out of a full magazine, repeatable with both JHP and FMJ. This only happens when the magazine is full and I pull the slide back and release it with no forward force from my hand. If I push the slide forward, even just a little, it loads fine and never fails to feed when firing. A quick palm heel strike to the base of the loaded magazine also sends the slide forward. When the magazine only has one or two rounds loaded, it feeds just fine by releasing the slide.

Are you sure that magazine is fully seated in the gun? Sometime new magazines can be difficult to seat when they're fully loaded. Alternatively, I wonder if the spring in the magazine is still so stiff that maybe it's holding onto that first round a little too tightly. If you download the magazine to less than full capacity, do you still have this problem?

I know most of us down where I live just carry fmj and don't bother with jhp since supposedly their are penetration concerns with the .380.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I had just assumed from reading a bunch of the posts here that JHP was a must for self-defense, but the calibers they were talking about were 9mm through .45 ACP and the goal was to limit the penetration of those more powerful rounds. I'll have to do some more research on this and give it some thought.

I also usually carry FMJ in the 380. Seems to be a fairly common practice among those on some of the .380 specific forums I've read.

Brian

[WickedOwl]

Are you sure that magazine is fully seated in the gun? Sometime new magazines can be difficult to seat when they're fully loaded. Alternatively, I wonder if the spring in the magazine is still so stiff that maybe it's holding onto that first round a little too tightly. If you download the magazine to less than full capacity, do you still have this problem?

I'm pretty sure the magazine is seated well. It definitely snaps in and doesn't feel loose. It does need to be loaded in with some force, so you are probably right about the spring being a bit stiff. It happens with 6 or 5 rounds, but less often with 4 and never with 2 or 1.

I also usually carry FMJ in the 380. Seems to be a fairly common practice among those on some of the .380 specific forums I've read.

I've been looking through other forums and seeing a lot of the same opinion. It's not unanimous, as some say that JHP is fine in warmer months when BGs are more likely to wear thinner clothing and thus have less to need the round to penetrate. But it looks like I'll make the switch.
What am I going to do with this expensive JHP ammo, though?

[CWOOD]

Hi, Wicked Owl

It is not uncommon for a new pistol to need some time (rounds fired) to smooth out the pistol's action and make it function as designed.

I will offer you a suggestion that can dramatically speed up that time and do so with much less expense and frustration.

Just a word of caution, it will require a modest amount of effort on your part.

Often the issue in the problem you describe, not feeding smoothly on all rounds, results from the feed ramp, on the bottom rear of the barrel, having fine machine marks that resist the upward and forward movement of the round into the chamber. The resistance is greatest when the pressure of a full magazine is at it's greatest.

The remedy is to polish the ramp so that it is smooth as glass and shiny. It is a very simple process which can be accomplished while watching your favorite TV show.

Simply field strip the pistol and remove the barrel. Get a small piece (3-5 inches long) of 3/8" wooden dowel rod. Any hardware store or home center will have it for a couple of bucks. (comes 36" long). Then get some 300-400 grit wet/dry abrasive cloth or sand paper. Tear off a a 1.5 inch wide strip of the abrasive paper and wrap it around the end of the piece of dowel. OK to double it up. For fastest results get an assortment of abrasive sheets and start with a more coarse 220 grit and work up to the finer 400 grit.

Using pressure on the abrasive covered dowel begin sanding/polishing the feed ramp. Your motions during this polishing should be in the same direction as the bullet travels as it tries to feed...front/back...not side to side. When you first start you will often see, as you wear through the black coating on the ramp, that the tiny machining marks become more apparent.

Just keep doing this until the feed ramp is shiny.

You are not trying to change the shape of the ramp, just make is so smooth that there will be no resistance to the travel of the bullet from the magazine to the chamber. I have done this for years on every semi-auto in the family and feeding issues are problems we do not have.

For .22 and .25 calibers use 1/4" dowel

For .380, 9mm and .40 calibers use 3/8" dowel

For .45 use 3/8" or 1/2" dowel that has been shaped with a pocket knife

I hope you find this useful.

It really isn't much work and it is A LOT cheaper than the 200-300 rounds that it would take to accomplish the same thing. Be sure to thoroughly clean the parts before reinstalling them.

Carl

[Sputz]

The above method works but when I polish my ramp I use jewelers polish and my dremel. One key thing is not to take off material just put a mirror shine on it. Here's a video about halfway through is where he talks about polishing the barrel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bHiYkYtGtw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sputz

[WickedOwl]

Wow - thanks for all the info, everyone! I'll give the polish a try.

[74novaman]

just be careful....taking a dremel to a gun when you don't know what you're doing is about the best way I know of to cost yourself money repairing/replacing a firearm.

[e-bil]

Junior (our nickname for our LCP) has the same problem with JHP but not FMJ rounds. The only JHP we've tried so far are Speer Gold Dots but tried several brands of FMJ without a problem. Racking the slide after putting in a mag starts to seat the round and it hangs up. Tapping or pushing the slide with my thumb seats it.

[Jumping Frog]

just be careful....taking a dremel to a gun when you don't know what you're doing is about the best way I know of to cost yourself money repairing/replacing a firearm.

Novice amateur gunsmiths + dremel = trouble.

[Sputz]

just be careful....taking a dremel to a gun when you don't know what you're doing is about the best way I know of to cost yourself money repairing/replacing a firearm.

Novice amateur gunsmiths + dremel = trouble.

It's just a polish job not like he is doing a trigger job on a s&w revolver or messing with the leaf spring on a 1911. You'll do fine just remember polishing not removing material. If you are still nervous their are plenty of vids on youtube, gotta start somewhere or you'll pay someone a lot of money for little things you can do yourself.

Sputz

[WickedOwl]

I don't have a dremel so anything I do like that would be by hand. Would a good gun oil or some other type of lubrication on the ramp achieve the same effect?