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New LCP back to Ruger after only one day

6K views 45 replies 22 participants last post by  Goldenpony 
#1 · (Edited)
Disclaimer: I have owned Rugers since the mid 1970's and am a huge fan of their firearms. I currently own a long list of Ruger pistols, revolvers and rifles and this is not an anti-Ruger post.

I ordered a new LCP along with a spare Ruger magazine to replace my Kel-Tec P3AT that I had owned and carried for over 10 years. I bought it from Bud's and picked it up at local FFL on Thursday. I must say that the fit and finish is superior to my P3AT in every way. The function was where if vastly differed because the P3AT has never failed to load, fire or eject cleanly.

I cleaned and lubed it and was off to the range the next day (Friday). The first magazine fired fine, no issues. The third round of the second magazine ejected fine but the unfired round failed to feed fully (slide was about 1/8" short of returning to fully battery) and the live round was not fully seated in the chamber. Also, the trigger had not reset. It was locked up tight and it took several good whacks at the slide to finally seat the round. I disassembled it and looked for issuses and found none so I put it back together and loaded two more magazines. Once again the first magazine fired fine but the second round of the second magazine locked up the exact same way and it took several good whacks to dislodge it.

The magazines were both factory Ruger but one was made in USA and the other in Italy. I had one failure in each so it wasn't the magazines. The rounds were factory fresh Winchester White Box 95 grain FMJ target.

I immediately call Ruger and as usual the customer service was excellent. They emailed me a FedEx label and I had it on the way to Prescott within two hours where I'm sure they will get it running smooth. Interestingly, this is the very first function problem I've ever had with any of Rugers so maybe I was due.

I attached a few photos of it in the jammed condition and I also shared them with Ruger.
 

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#14 · (Edited)
It's not the ammo.
When our 3 year old LCP was new, we had the same issues & right of the bat it was throwing empty brass into the next zip code, so I went home & ordered an 11# Wolff recoil spring(about $10) & after about 1,000 rounds we have not had 1 issue with feeding, ejection(now a reasonable distance) or fully returning to battery.

It's like a different pistol. Also added the Hogue dedicated LCP grip(about $10) & it is a great back-up pistol.

I highly recommend these 2 simple mods.
 
#6 ·
I think I'd try another brand of ammo before condemning the gun. Two failures with WWB, although concerning, isn't then end of the world. It's pretty cheap ammo and the gun isn't even broken in yet.
If the problem persists after a couple boxes of another brand, then I'd send it in.
 
#7 ·
Please read my original post, I wasn't bashing Ruger or condemning the gun in any way. I praised the fit and finish. The second jam was so tight that I had a heck of a time getting that live round out, the gun was really locked up. I called Ruger from the range for some advice on how to get the round out and THEY said to get it back to them ASAP and they would get it sorted out. That is why I buy and own Rugers, great customer service and excellent firearms.
 
#8 ·
Hmmm... OP, it's your gun, and as such it's your call. Still, I do have to say with all due respect that I think you were a bit hasty in sending the gun back. I think I'd have cleaned it and fired a coupla hundred more rounds, making sure to use different ammo. It likely just needed to break in.

Ruger will likely either replace most of the innards of your gun, or send you a new one, but that will not be an indication that they found anything wrong with it.
 
#10 ·
I appreciate your opinion but I had absolutely no desire to waste $100 + of .380 ammo and hope that would sort it out. I chose to take Rugers advice and send it back to get sorted out at zero cost to me. These weren't simple failure to ejects that take a moment to clear. The gun was LOCKED UP TIGHT and took a lot of effort to clear it both times.
 
#9 ·
I think, in this case,Cavediver is correct in following the manufacturers (Ruger) suggestion and send the firearm back. Not only is Ruger interested in keeping the customer happy, but may want to see if they have a flaw that they have not discovered yet, or something has changed without there knowledge in the manufacturing or assembly.
 
#16 ·
GONRA believes cavediver should be happy as a dog with 4 peckers
to have cleared the "partially chambered live round" jam "without incident".
This kinda stuff drives ya nuts.
Unfortunately, happens more than it should if yer shootin'
semiauto collector's items with yer Prize Winning Handloads.

cave diver should disassemble the pistol.
Check all remaining rounds for "free chambering".
Bitch to Ruger if the chamber seems messed up..
 
#18 · (Edited)
I would of not sent it back until I at least tried 1 other brand of ammo but thats just me. I believe all guns need to be broken in before expecting 100% reliability. Also when you cleaned the gun prior to shooting it did you leave any oil in the chamber or was it dry? Either way I'm sure Ruger will take care of you.
 
#21 ·
To the OP. I would have sent it in as well. When I buy a new gun it had better work as advertised. If it does not work as advertised I expect those that advertised that it would work properly to make it right. Also, I lose confidence in a gun that does not go bang and I have a right to do so.
 
#26 ·
Well, most modern semi-auto firearms are very reliable right out of the box. Many, including two or three that I own, have been completely reliable from jump street. Others, however, take a couple of hundred rounds to become 100% reliable. Guns that have a handful of random stoppages when they're new are far from "duds." They just need to break in a bit.

As I said earlier, it is your gun, and your call. In my opinion, though, you were very hasty in calling Ruger. Nothing broke on your gun. There was no pattern to the stoppages. You apparently fired less than a box of one kind of ammo. You didn't try cleaning an re-lubing the gun at the range.

Ruger will either replace most of the innards or say your gun was not repairable and will send you another one. They will not say whether they found anything wrong with your gun. Either way, when it comes back, you will essentially have a brand new gun that is not broken in.

Statistically, as a new Ruger, it will likely be reliable. But what if you take the new/repaired gun out to the range and get a couple of more jams during the first box of ammo?
 
#27 ·
This place is starting to sound like GlockTalk. A guy voices concerns about a particular malfunction and the fanboys come out of the woodwork attacking him. Yes, Ruger Service is top notch, but if Bill Ruger were alive today, I think a lot of people in assembly wouldn't have jobs.
 
#36 ·
Update

Ruger customer service was fantastic as always. They turned around my LCP in two days and I received it on Monday. The ticket stated that they replaced the barrel and the new one has a nicely polished feed ramp. They even included two extra magazines for my troubles and that was a really nice surprise. I took it out today and fired a combined 120 rounds of WWB FMJ, Remington FMJ and Remington JHP. I had zero issues of any kind and the LCP was flawless.
I'm glad I sent it back as quickly as I did and as expected Ruger took care of the problem.
That's how it's supposed to work out isn't it :)
 
#46 ·
Ruger customer service was fantastic as always. They turned around my LCP in two days and I received it on Monday. The ticket stated that they replaced the barrel and the new one has a nicely polished feed ramp. They even included two extra magazines for my troubles and that was a really nice surprise. I took it out today and fired a combined 120 rounds of WWB FMJ, Remington FMJ and Remington JHP. I had zero issues of any kind and the LCP was flawless.
I'm glad I sent it back as quickly as I did and as expected Ruger took care of the problem.
That's how it's supposed to work out isn't it :)
Congrats. Enjoy your Elsie Pea, their sweet little guns. I like mine.
Both you and Ruger handled the situation correctly.
 
#40 ·
In my opinion, any semi auto that won't reliably feed Win white box FMJ ball ammo has a serious problem somewhere. HP's or semi wad cutters maybe but not ball. Whether it's with magazine lips or barrel ramp or chamber, etc. the pistol has issues. I have never seen a pistol that was in proper working order "not" reliably feed ball ammo. That's why even though it isn't the best for killing, the military uses ball. It's because it's the least likely to misfeed and most likely to reliably function in any weapon. So, that right there in my book would rule out ammo as the problem. Especially if the two rounds involved with the malfunction turned out to be good. I would have either sent it back or at least had a pro look it over.
I think you did the right thing by sending it back, vs tinkering with it and possibly running into trouble later with warranty issues.
 
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