Ruger’s new Lightweight, Compact Pistol in .380 ACP may be a Lilliputian in the pocket, but it appears well on its way to assuming gigantic proportions in the concealed-carry marketplace.

By Wiley Clapp, Field Editor

The new Ruger LCP, chambered in .380 ACP, is only marginally larger than an early 20th century Colt Vest Pocket, chambered in the much-less-potent .25 ACP.

   One of the several fitters in the big Ruger plant in Prescott, Ariz., finished a gun, checked it and handed it to me. Grinning with the pride that seems endemic in the Ruger plant, he told me: “Here, go shoot it and tell me what you think.” The indoor range was only steps away, so within a few minutes I was doing exactly what he asked. I ran about 10 magazines of ammunition through the pistol and encountered nary a problem.
   This happened in late February, just a couple of weeks after the gun was introduced at the 2008 SHOT Show. I had joined Ruger’s Ken Jorgenson, as well as several other gunwriters for a 250 course at the nearby Gunsite training center with the Ruger SR9 semi-automatic 9 mm pistol. On this afternoon, we were playing hooky from learning the SR9 in order to get a look at the Ruger I had just fired—a much smaller semi-auto in .380 ACP. I was impressed and headed back over to the guy that had built it. On the way, I dropped the gun into a pocket of the baggy britches I was wearing—the watch pocket. Reluctantly, I fished it out and gave it back with the same comment that so many other shooters have made: “... I want one.”

The LCP incorporates the proven Browning-style tilting-barrel lockup system within its blowback operated design. Note the bushingless barrel and simplicity of design.

   This little gun was kept almost totally secret until its introduction and is already having a major impact. It is the Ruger LCP, which stands for Lightweight Compact Pistol. A miniature polymer-and-steel pistol chambered for the .380 ACP cartridge John Browning developed for pocket pistols 100 years ago. The LCP is small, light and flat enough to be carried without being noticed at any time and in any kind of attire. Clearly, the LCP is intended for that increasingly important concealed-carry market. Since it came from a company with a proven track record of rugged guns that are modestly priced and utterly reliable, the LCP is likely going to prosper.
   As a matter of fact, the gun’s debut came even before the LCP production line was fully up and running in Prescott. In the first hour that the SHOT Show was open, Ruger sales staff took orders for some 45,000 pistols. That is what it had projected for the entire first year’s production. Before the show was over, there were orders for about three years’ worth. Needless to say, there was a great deal of activity going on in the plant when we visited there in late February. All of it surrounded a .380 not much bigger than one of the old Vest Pocket Colt .25s of pre-World War II days. We may actually be on the verge of the great Mini-.380 wars, because the new Ruger joins a similar .380 from Kel-Tec. Furthermore, I saw prototypes of miniature .380s from two other makers at the same event.

The LCP’s hammer is without a spur, as the pistol’s fire control system is double-action-only. At 0.82", the LCP is an extremely thin semi-automatic carry gun.

   Pistols chambered for the .380 ACP have a long history in this country. Also known as the 9 mm Kurz, 9 mm Corto, 9x17 mm or 9 mm Browning Short, the .380 ACP cartridge was introduced by Colt in its Browning-designed Pocket Model of 1908. It is a true 9 mm, shooting bullets of .355" diameter at velocities of around 900 f.p.s. A short, little cartridge, the .380 is right at home in many different American and European pistols. It operates at low pressure levels and is compatible with a simple blowback operating system. However, some .380s do use a Browning-style, tilting-barrel system of recoil operation, and the LCP is the latest model to do so. In view of the exceptionally light slide of the LCP, it needs a means of secure breech locking to work reliably and have a respectable service life. In a way, the LCP takes advantage of a modern trend to miniaturize the much-used recoil locking system developed by John Browning.
   The LCP’s receiver is constructed from an advanced molded composite. In this case, it is glass-filled nylon. These ultra-light materials enable the maker to achieve the required contours, curves and depressions that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive to machine from conventional materials. The lockwork of the hammer-fired LCP is of the double-action-only (DAO) type, which may be carried safely without any manual safety. This system requires that the pistol’s trigger-hammer linkage be set by racking the slide. When the slide closes and the barrel is cammed upward into battery, the action is set and ready for firing. Trigger pressure will draw the hammer all the way back against the pressure of its own spring until it is fully compressed or loaded. Increased rearword movement of the trigger releases the hammer and causes the gun to fire. Allowing the trigger to go forward a short distance resets the action and the cycle repeats. From the shooter’s standpoint, this all means he has a light pistol that can be brought into action without manipulating a safety.
   The essence of this pistol, however, is its weight and size, which will sell it quicker than its operational ergonomics. The pistol weighs 9.4 ozs. with an empty magazine and only 12 ozs. fully loaded with seven rounds of typical .380 ACP ammunition. How heavy is 9.4 ozs.? It is about the same as the combined weight of the March and April issues of American Rifleman or a full 1911 magazine or an empty ceramic coffee cup. The LCP is also quite small, measuring 5.16"x3.60"x0.82" (length, height, thickness, respectively). That is just a little larger than a pack of cigarettes and somewhat smaller than a paperback book. It is undoubtedly one of the smallest handguns currently available in .380 ACP.

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RUGER LCP

Manufacturer: Sturm, Ruger & Co. (Dept. AR), One Lacey Place, Southport, CT 06890; (203) 259-7843;
ruger-firearms.com

Caliber: .380 ACP

Action Type: recoil-operated,
center-fire semi-automatic

Frame: glass-filled Nylon

Slide: Steel

Barrel: 2.75"

Rifling: 1:16 RH twist

Magazine: single-column, six rounds

Sights: fixed, square notch rear,
post front

Trigger Pull: 8 lbs.

Overall Length: 5.16"

Width: 0.82"

Height: 3.60"

Weight: 9.4 ozs.

Accessories: manual, soft case, lock

Suggested Retail Price: $330