[bmcgc]

I have a 380 LCP that I bought 10 years ago for personal protection. Last year I got around to firing it for the first time, no problems, put 50 rounds through it at the range. I dont recall what ammo I was using, but I bought it when I bought the gun, all 50 rounds fired.

I clean and oil my hand guns about every 60 days.

I carry without a round in the chamber, since a LCP has no safety, Im not comfortable with a chambered round.

While in the Coast Guard I conducted hundreds of armed law enforcement boardings at sea, this was in the days of a .45 M1911, still my favorite handgun.

In those days it was practice not to carry with a chambered round, my training was to draw the weapon, chamber a round, and cover the target. Last time I qualified at the range was in 1998, so Its been over 20 years.

Friday night I was working in the garage on my 65, the garage door was up. I have a small table I set up at the front of the car for my tools, my 380 was on the table.

All of a sudden I heard a dog growling and running up my driveway. I grabbed my 380, pulled the slide back, let go, the slide started forward and stopped, the round didnt chamber. I slapped the back of the slide with the heal of my hand, the slide went forward and chambered the round.

The dog wisely stopped at my door, growled a couple seconds at me, turned and ran off.

After going out and chewing on the dog owners butt for about 10 min about leash laws and shooting aggressive dogs, I went back in the garage, called the cops and made a report.

After that excitment I tried chambering a round a few more times, every time the round jams.

I have a couple generic magazines, I thought that might be an issue, but the Ruger magazine didnt solve the issue.

Im wondering if it is the ammo, Monarch, steel case 94gr. I think my SIL gave that to me, we trade stuff all the time and I dont recall buying any after I blew through the box I had.

Any other ideas?

 

[IndyFive-O]

I have had an LCP for several years and it's on regular rotation for carry, especially in the summer. I have NEVER had one issue with it.

You could have done a couple things differently to prevent the situation you created for yourself.

Most importantly is run whatever ammo you decide to carry for self defense, run a couple hundred rounds through the gun and make sure there are no malfunctions. Same goes with the magazines.

Second thing is I would recommend you have one "in the pipe". There have been many studies on how quickly things can happen, as you found out, and how every second counts. Many times you don't have time to chamber a round and effectively stop the threat. Also, the LCP is double action only. Meaning the trigger pull is very long and heavy, minimizing the risk of an negligent discharge. I understand your point as I prefer the double action for carry self defense for exactly this reason. Your lucky it was just a dog, a junkie wacked out on whatever might not have stopped.

They say that if you don't trust yourself carrying one in the pipe that you need to train more - and always use a holster to protect the trigger. If you had one in the pipe you would have discovered an issue before there was a threat, might save yours, or someones life you love.

I don't claim to be an expert just relaying on what I have learned over the years attending training classes and reading. It's what I believe and practice, don't do something your not comfortable doing though.

Glad it ended well for you...and the puppy.

 

[myfirstcar66]

There was some type of a recall on the 1st generation LCP but I don't remember what it covered. I would contact Ruger and let them diagnose and solve the problem, likely at no cost to you. Carry something else you're comfortable with in the meantime. I recommend something with a safety or a mechanism like that incorporated into the trigger assembly of the Glock platform, and always carry with a round in the chamber. Those split-seconds can make the difference in life or death in my line of work, and apparently in the civilian world in this modern era.

 

[mikec35]

I've got an LCP II and lost a magazine one time, not sure if the LCP has the same mag release but mine was in-between the car seat and the console and it must have pushed the button enough to where the magazine was disengaged. Got out of the car and went to eat dinner and realized the mag fell out. I never found it. Could be you magazine wasn't fully engaged? I also noticed one of my spare mags the bullet sat in there a little crooked- maybe the spring after 10 years is weak? I carry mine with one in the chamber. I also carry my Sig P365 with one in the chamber - tons of debate about carrying with or without one in the chamber...

 

[bmcgc]

I have received a lot of training on weapons. My experience is that in a high stress environment, you will do as you have been trained.

I was in a situation in NOLA a long time ago, I was carrying a .45 Star PD with a round in the chamber. I pulled the weapon and as I had been trained to do, chambered a round. The result is that the round that was already in the chamber ended up on the ground. So I went back to procedure that I had been trained in.

In one movement I draw the weapon, chamber and cover. During the dog episode, when the round didnt chamber, I didnt even think about what to do, I just reacted. Not to shabby, considering its been 20 years since I received any formal range training.

My normal everyday walkabout carry is a North American, single action, 5 shot 22 magnum. It fits in my pants pocket and is not noticeable.

Within arms reach in the car and around the house/garage I keep the LCP and I have a SCCY 9mm for when I travel.

Its my policy to stay away from bad people and places where bad people go. IMO, thats the first step in self defense.

 

[myfirstcar66]

It would take a lot of training to overcome what has already been burned into your brain. If it works for you that's fine. I agree staying away from bad places and bad people is part of the equation, it's just that bad people are infiltrating the good places where good people are doing good things, and the lines are certainly blurred on who is who anymore.

 

[1ofAMillion+]

I think its a message from God.

 

[2nd 66]

There was some type of a recall on the 1st generation LCP but I don't remember what it covered. I would contact Ruger and let them diagnose and solve the problem, likely at no cost to you. Carry something else you're comfortable with in the meantime. I recommend something with a safety or a mechanism like that incorporated into the trigger assembly of the Glock platform, and always carry with a round in the chamber. Those split-seconds can make the difference in life or death in my line of work, and apparently in the civilian world in this modern era.

Don't misunderstand I'm pro 2nd amendment and not anti gun,I also like (most) dogs,But curious From a law enforcement stand point? The OP stated it was night there for dark. Also stated the dog was in the driveway so for sake of argument Had the OP fired it would have been towards a road with potential bystanders, driverbys, people walking,biking ect how would this have played out legally ? I don't know the law in the OP's state ( or yours)but in NY we don't (sigh) have a stand your ground law you may only use deadly force if you can not get away and you would have to prove a threat to your life with out a doubt

 

[j persons]

Getting back to your original issue with the round not chambering, it was probably the steel case ammo that caused it. Brass cased ammo has an inherit lubricity that steel case ammo can't duplicate. I have a Combat Commander .45 ACP and a Beretta 9MM, and have tried steel cased ammo in both and if they don't stove pipe, they will fail to chamber at least 1 out of 7 times. OTOH, I've never had a problem using brass cased ammo.

Last time I went to the range, I took my .45 and my buddy who at the time was an active duty Marine, brought his new, out of the box Kimber. The Colt was much more accurate on target than the Kimber, and we even swapped weapons with the same result. To be honest, the marine was using Russian steel ammo and I was using US brass ammo.

 

[myfirstcar66]

Don't misunderstand I'm pro 2nd amendment and not anti gun,I also like (most) dogs,But curious From a law enforcement stand point? The OP stated it was night there for dark. Also stated the dog was in the driveway so for sake of argument Had the OP fired it would have been towards a road with potential bystanders, driverbys, people walking,biking ect how would this have played out legally ? I don't know the law in the OP's state ( or yours)but in NY we don't (sigh) have a stand your ground law you may only use deadly force if you can not get away and you would have to prove a threat to your life with out a doubt

Not sure about the laws in your state, and sometimes a local ordinance impacts the use of a firearm, but where I live and work a person has the right to defend themselves against serious physical injury or a fear of eminent death and as long as the firearm is not discharged in a reckless manner, and I believe the o p was well-trained, disciplined, and in fear of his safety that he would have been justified in the use of the firearm and most likely would have hit exactly what he was aiming for. Part of that good training is knowing what is beyond your target and being accountable . The so-called stand-your-ground laws don't apply so much when there is nowhere to retreat. And backed in a corner of his own garage, in my opinion, there is no need. He was where he was supposed to be and the dog was not; if it had been as another poster described, a drug-crazed or goal oriented murderous burglar or the like, he would have still been absolutely justified.

 

[LeeFred]

One of the guys I worked with went through something similar. The neighbor's dog got out and was chasing people around the area. He came out of his house to see what was going on, and the dog turned towards him, jumped the fence and went for him. Luckily, Jim came out armed with a .40 Glock, and put one right in the dog's mouth when it leaped. Cops came to investigate and called it a justified shoot. The neighbor wasn't happy, but I bet he keeps his other dogs under control now.

Back to the OP's issue - that's why I prefer a revolver for carry - a Ruger GP100. If I miss with the six rounds, I can always use it for a club!

 

[macstang]

You can try a spray on lube on the steel case rounds and see if they will feed consistently that way. I use Hornaday one shot which doesn't build up in the action of the weapon.



Sometimes and on some particular hand guns hollow points won't initially feed unless you let the slide go forward with full force as opposed to easing it forward. Polishing the feed ramp may or may not help that either.

 

[bmcgc]

I will buy a box of brass ammo. I always fired jacketed, its cleaner, never thought about the case.

I have mixed feelings on stand your ground. If you can defuse a situation by retreating, I think in most cases you should. If you shoot, do so because it is the best option vs shooting because you can legally do so.

I didnt shoot the dog because the owner was on the sidewalk in my line of fire. Im going to keep bear spray in the garage, its what one of my close friends that lives in the boonies keeps, he has mountain lions and bears in his yard occasionally.

Thanks for the advice on the gun and ammo.

 

[IndyFive-O]

I will buy a box of brass ammo. I always fired jacketed, its cleaner, never thought about the case.

I have mixed feelings on stand your ground. If you can defuse a situation by retreating, I think in most cases you should. If you shoot, do so because it is the best option vs shooting because you can legally do so.

I didnt shoot the dog because the owner was on the sidewalk in my line of fire. Im going to keep bear spray in the garage, its what one of my close friends that lives in the boonies keeps, he has mountain lions and bears in his yard occasionally.

Thanks for the advice on the gun and ammo.

I run Hornady Critical Defense through my LCP without issue if you want a recommendation. Don't forget about the magazines, maybe the generic ones are causing the issue??
You can pick up standard or extended capacity mags for the LCP on Rugers website - and many other places.

 

[mikec35]

I had the unfortunate situation where my neighbors dogs came into my yard and killed my wife's cat about a month ago. I heard the commotion and grabbed my gun. My wife grabbed the flashlight and by the time she lit up the area where the noise was we saw the neighbors lab running off with the dead cat in its mouth. I didn't shoot because the cat was obviously already deceased. Many of my friends said they would have shot the dog. I believed since the cat was already dead there was no imminent threat therefore I didn't shoot. The dog's are normally fenced in next door but that night they were on the loose. I recovered the cat and called the Sheriff's dept. The dogs were hanging out in my back yard and they told me I am within my rights to dispatch them if I am in fear of my safety. There is a lot of baggage that goes along with shooting an animal and it should be avoided and a last resort if at all possible. Had I thought it would have made a difference in saving the cat I would have shot the dog. It was dark and I couldn't really see what was going on until it was too late. In retrospect I wish I would have shot into the ground to maybe startle the dogs and give the cat a chance to get away.

I'd take that Ruger to the range and run enough brass through it that you feel comfortable carrying it. I hate that, these things are supposed to be reliable and ready to go when you need them. The LCP will need to gain your trust again.

 

[Huntingky]

My EDC is an LCP. When I first got it, it would stove pipe the last round out of the clip about 2 out of three times. I ran several more boxes of ammo through it and since then it has never failed once. I stay with brass on it, usually Hornady Critical Defense in summer, solids in winter when I perps might be wearing heavy clothing and I would want plenty of penetration.
I have to admit that I am somewhat lax about cleaning and oiling and the gun rides in my pocket every day. Every time I pull it out to empty the clip, it has functioned flawlessly, pocket lint and all.
I would avoid the steel ammo. Also, I carry with one in the pipe. With that heavy trigger, it takes a pretty deliberate action to discharge it.
If it wasn't for my need for extreme discretion I would move up to the slightly larger SIG P238. I really really like the 1911 action guns, my truck gun is 1911 .45 ACP.

 

[TheMaineEvent]

I'd never run steel cased ammo, or any ball ammo, for protection. Not can it only over penetrate (keep on going), a 380 ball round isn't going to do a whole lot to stop anything. I do have one 380 that I carry that's a SIG P238 as I like the fact that it has a hammer and a safety, but I carry Hornady Critical Defense ammo in it.



You might want to check your feed ramp to make sure that that isn't causing feeding issues. If that's good to go then try cycling some brass case ammo and see what happens.

 

[rdnck1]

Not sure about the laws in your state, and sometimes a local ordinance impacts the use of a firearm, but where I live and work a person has the right to defend themselves against serious physical injury or a fear of eminent death and as long as the firearm is not discharged in a reckless manner, and I believe the o p was well-trained, disciplined, and in fear of his safety that he would have been justified in the use of the firearm and most likely would have hit exactly what he was aiming for. Part of that good training is knowing what is beyond your target and being accountable . The so-called stand-your-ground laws don't apply so much when there is nowhere to retreat. And backed in a corner of his own garage, in my opinion, there is no need. He was where he was supposed to be and the dog was not; if it had been as another poster described, a drug-crazed or goal oriented murderous burglar or the like, he would have still been absolutely justified.

Don't misunderstand I'm pro 2nd amendment and not anti gun,I also like (most) dogs,But curious From a law enforcement stand point? The OP stated it was night there for dark. Also stated the dog was in the driveway so for sake of argument Had the OP fired it would have been towards a road with potential bystanders, driverbys, people walking,biking ect how would this have played out legally ? I don't know the law in the OP's state ( or yours)but in NY we don't (sigh) have a stand your ground law you may only use deadly force if you can not get away and you would have to prove a threat to your life with out a doubt

I'm also pro 2nd amendment, I carry and I practice. Your issue probably was with the ammo. As far as stand your ground or would you be justified, that would depend on where you live and would be your call to make. Like the saying goes, would you rather be carried by 6 or tried by 12? If it is a real threat, I know what my choice would be.

 

[CJM68GT390]

Beware of some dog people. An officer shot a dog in my county and the jury found it unnecessary and awarded $1million plus ... for a dog. The "baggage" can be unnerving.

 

[spliffy007]

I agree with the brass case as mentioned. Also, rotate your magazines every once in awhile so the spring doesn't get too weak. But most important, is get some range time with what pistol, magazines, and ammo that you are going to carry.