Tiny carry guns, today's learning.

[oafpatroll]

A little used first generation Ruger LC9 came up on my club whatsapp group for a really attractive price I bought it on a whim. On reflection I started to doubt the decision because tiny guns in real calibres (its in 9mmP) can be difficult to shoot well and can be a bit of a chore.

Well not this little powerhouse. Shot it this morning for the first time and it was a revelation. Despite being very, very small, narrow and light it chomped through 50 or so rounds of my SD equivalent training load in a most surprisingly pleasant manner. The thing is barely longer than one of my 18 round CZ Shadow mags Iin the pic for scale) and probably doubles in weight on loading but it shot out to 25m in a way that suggests I will be able to rely on it as an understudy to my more beefy carry guns without too much worry.

The very long DA trigger stroke was something I didn't love but there's a kit available from the US that eliminates the first 30% of the stroke which I will consider getting if I struggle too much to adapt to it. My worry is that I have tree other pistols with similar SA/DA triggers and I don't want to have one that's a major outlier if possible.  

As soon as I get possession of it it will be stripped and deep cleaned and then I'll redo the slide in Gunkote as its beaten up to hell having been a pocket gun for years.

 

[Treeman]

I have only heard moans in regard to this weapon, I was going to buy one myself. Hearing your opinion makes me wish to shoot it myself. I thought it a very nice potential for occasions where a standard carry pistol was a battle.

[oafpatroll]

Due to CFR buggery I only picked this little blaster up yesterday. Didn't get a chance to shoot it again yet but did have some fettling time. Detail stripped it and gave it the full on spa grade clean and degrease routine. During that process I sent the mainspring retaining pin into low earth orbit when the hooked pick I was using to remove the spring parted company with it's handle. Had to stop proceedings to make up a matching one from the growing catalogue of pin stock I'm building up as a result of being pin kryptonite.



Once I had that sorted I used a small polished ball peen hammer as a burnishing tool to smooth out some of the dings and gouges in the frame and then flatted the rougher bits of the slide with 800 grit paper on a bit of glass. Put on 5 or 6 coats of cold blue with a few passes of 0000 steel wool between and reassembled. I plan to blast and gunkote it but haven't the time for that at the moment and it looks good enough now to not make my OCD kick in too hard.



I had forgotten just how small it is. While a picture doesn't really get it across it's dwarfed by a CZ P07 in all dimensions and measures but for calibre and will make a useful deep concealment gun as soon as I'm confident of it's function and my competence with it. Some 9 round extended mags are already on order and I'll be making an IWB mag carrier and a pocket insert holster for the pistol. In one of those it will have roughly the print of a wallet.         

 

[Ds J]

A new gun is always fun - congratulations!

How does it compare to the new single stack Glocks? Close to a G43?

[223]

A new gun is always fun - congratulations!

How does it compare to the new single stack Glocks? Close to a G43?

More like a Glock 42, I'd say.

I shot one a while ago.  Being used to shooting DA revolvers, I had high hopes for the trigger.  Was not impressed.  The example I tried had a heavy and gritty trigger, making shot placement challenging.  Perceived recoil with the locked breech, short recoil system was quite pleasant, compared to the typical snappy recoil of blow-back pistols in the same caliber.

The thing to really compare it to would likely be a 5-shot 38 Spl snubby.  It is smaller, lighter, holds more ammo, has less recoil and is easier to shoot. So that's a thumbs-up.

[oafpatroll]

A new gun is always fun - congratulations!

How does it compare to the new single stack Glocks? Close to a G43?

Thanks, I'm chuffed with it. Very compact and concealable and easier to shoot than a blowback 9mm short IMO while being in a more serious calibre.

I haven't shot or even handled a single stack Glock so can't compare.

[oafpatroll]

A new gun is always fun - congratulations!

How does it compare to the new single stack Glocks? Close to a G43?

More like a Glock 42, I'd say.

I shot one a while ago.  Being used to shooting DA revolvers, I had high hopes for the trigger.  Was not impressed.  The example I tried had a heavy and gritty trigger, making shot placement challenging.  Perceived recoil with the locked breech, short recoil system was quite pleasant, compared to the typical snappy recoil of blow-back pistols in the same caliber.

The thing to really compare it to would likely be a 5-shot 38 Spl snubby.  It is smaller, lighter, holds more ammo, has less recoil and is easier to shoot. So that's a thumbs-up.

This one's trigger is heavy but smooth and progressive so it is quite a bit like shooting a rollie DA. I shot around 50 rounds of my 1200+fps SD ammo mimicking training load through it when I bought it and was pleasantly surprised at how controllable it was. With the 9 round mags it will offer much better firepower, handling and concealabilty than a +P capable snubby. With a bit of training I expect to feel adequately armed wit it and three 9 round mags on hand.

This is an LC9 which is in 9mmP. I think you may have shot the LCP which is very similar but chambered in 380.

[Ds J]

I had one of these Rugers in the hand some time ago. The grip looked very small, yet was comfortable. Are magazines and other spares available?