Hello, took recently purchased LCP to the range for 1st time, experience 3 stove pipes in 50 rds of remington umc fmj and 0 with 10 rds of Hornady Tap and Remington UHD. The gun was thoroughly cleaned and lubricated prior to going range. I've read alot about how these small guns need a breaking in time, or each of them prefer different brands of ammo. I've never owned anything but glock before this and have never even experienced a stove pipe until now. I plan on running some pmc bronze through it soon to see if that functions better. Does anyone have any other recommendations for me on how to get this gun functioning properly? Thanks!!!
Stove Pipes
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Generally smaller pistols are more ammo sensitive. Many here report there LCP being picky, although mine has never had an issue. I will also say that you can get stove pipes from limp wristing without really limp wristing. If you watch somebody shoot an LCP you will see that there is a pretty strong torque at the wrist, more so than my 1911. What works well for me is to make sure i have a really good thumbs forward grip and also make sure my nontrigger hand is really gripping, not just helping steady the gun. This also helps you avoid getting a death grip with your trigger hand. If you do this it may completely fix the problem, if there is one. My suggestion would be to try this for another 100 rounds. If you still get the pipes, have somebody else shoot it. If they get pipes, get Ruger on the phone. BTW, I have used hundreds or rounds of PMC Bronze and it has worked very well.
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In addition, I have found that cheap "range" ammo sometimes comes through with a round here and there that is under-loaded. The stove-pipe thing happened with me one time when shooting Winchester "White Box" ammo in my LCP. It has NEVER happened with either Cor-Bon (my carry ammo) or my reloads (which I am very careful to inspect during every step of the reloading operation).
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Ah, I bought a small box of Cor-Bon 90 Gr. JHP. Later, I looked at the spec. on the box, and worried they might be too hot: 1050fps, 220ft/lbs. I have not shot any, yet. Is this what you're using?
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For .380 ACP carry, I use the Cor-Bon .380 DPX load. It uses an 80gr all-copper bullet.
Mine had a few failures when new. The lcp wouldn't eject some hollowpoints. I polished the feed ramp with some fine emery cloth on a small dowel, then with some metal polish. Now it feeds everything I put through it. I settled on critical defense for carry.
I've not fired any yet, but have PMC Starfire 380auto 95 Grs. SFHP in the new LCP. I noticed when cycling them through the slide seems to not seat all the way forward after chambering a round. It will with a slight push but not smoothly. Anyone have any experience with this? Is it a combination of new stock pistol and hollow points, or something more specific?
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Killowatt, you have one of the all time best avatars.
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No that sounds like a failure to extract if I understand you correctly. After you shoot, the empty case (not bullet) is left stuck in the chamber. Then the next round plows into it like a car being hit from behind. A stovepipe looks just like it sounds. You will have an empty case sticking out or up just like a stove pipe. If you google .380 stovepipe and then click on images, you will see plenty of examples.
Thanks for all the info and replies. To follow up, I shot the remaining 50 rds of Remington UMC ammo and had 2 FTE's. I ran about 150+ rds of PMC bronze after the Remington was used and only had 1 FTE. So no more stove pipes but experienced a total of 3 FTE's in about 200 rds. I believe that the Remington UMC ammo combined with finding a proper grip on the little gun were the contributing factors for the stove pipes. As for the FTE's, I think my LCP just doesnt like the Remington UMC ammo.
I am learning my LCP only likes short bullets. It fails to extract with JHP and blazer FMJ, the blazer is almost 1/16 than the federal and ppk that I mostly have no problem with. I am going to be calling ruger, I think the lcp can suffer from a timing problem.
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Give them a call. Your LCP should eat anything and not be finicky what so ever. I have yet to find a brand that won't cycle.. Blazer Alum, UMC, PMC, WWB, American Eagle, Speer, Corbon......
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The overall length of the cartridge (which is NOT a "bullet", by the way) should have absolutely no effect on extraction. The reason for this is that the cartridge case dimensions should be the same for a given caliber regardless of the bullet that is seated in the cartridge when loaded.
I agree with the post above in that a properly operating LCP should function equally well with any standard pressure .380 ACP load that's on the market.
Just to help get your terminology correct, a "bullet" is the projectile that leaves a firearm when the cartridge is fired.
Curiosity has made me ask what you mean by "ppk". I presume it is supposed to be an ammunition brand but the only PPK I know of is a model of Walther brand pistol.
Look, nobody that likes something wants to think its flawed. The bottom line is the intranets are riddled with lcp suffering from FTE. The only logic to a spent bullet(casing) still in the chamber with deep chew marks from the extractor is something stopping it from following the slide out. More than likely the next bullet in the clip(mag). Im not sure, hope I can help ruger figure this one out.
PPk...some off brand ammo. Prolly not ppk, didnt pay enough attention. I just shoot.
You would think, right! shame on ruger. These are good sized little gun. curious, how many shells has yours been through?
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It's impossible that the next cartridge in line would be the cause of a failure to extract. Having the next live cartridge in line jammed behind an empty case which is still in the chamber is a result of the failure to extract, not the cause.
The reason for a failure to extract definitely needs to be repaired by the manufacturer. There's no argument about that.
Possible causes of a failure to extract include things like a rough chamber, a poorly shaped extractor, a poorly shaped slide (in the are of the breech and/or extractor), etc.
UPDATE: Thanks for all the great info!!! I took the LCP to the range 2 more times since initial posting. I've ran approximately 350 total rounds through this gun so far and still experiencing failure to eject. The problem has gone from the casing being stuck inside the barrel to being jammed in ejection port and feeding bullet from magazine. This LCP absolutely hated the remington umc ammo, in 100 rds it had 7 or 8 fte, in 200 rds of pmc bronze it had 3 fte and 40-50 rds of hornady tap and remington uhd it had 0 fte's. I used the most recent trip to the range to tinker with my grip and successfully shot over 100 rds without a problem. I'm not a newbie or an expert when it comes to firearms so it's possible I was limp wristing this gun even though I thought I had a nice firm grip. Either way, the gun shoots very accurately and seems to feed defense ammo perfectly. Thanks for all the suggestions and help, much appreciated!!!
At this point I think my fte are because of a weak spring. My casings fly 10' away, and does not want to return to battery. I think the spring is so weak that recoil rips the extractor from the casing. After 350 rounds the spring rod is very chewed up. I have ordered a new rod, Wolff spring.
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