New Ruger LCP Max

[Deputydave]

I also compared the LCP Max to a Glock G42 which my wife carries sometimes. The Max is lighter, more compact/discreet, and carries more rounds. Now if only they are to be found

Yep, that's going to be the real trick right now. I'm seeing folks that have ordered them getting them around the $379 mark. I suppose that's about right, at least for now, with it being the new kid on the block. I paid around $315 last year for my LCP 2.

[Deputydave]

I sold my LCP 2 with the intention of picking up an LCP Max. I normally wait a year on a new pistol design but I figured 'what the heck'. Picked one up this afternoon at a shop I normally deal with. $399 for the pistol. $467 OTD with an additional 12-rnd mag + tax + BG. Mag was $29 and change.

Put it on my scale. 10.2 ounces empty, 14.0 ounces with 13 rounds. So that's about 9 ounces lighter than the P365 I have been pocket carrying.

Impressed with the sights. Really is an improvement over the milled sights of the older versions. I was very pleased with how bright the front night sight was when I took it into a dark room. Eyes hadn't even adjusted yet and it was easily picked up.

Plan is to take it to the range tomorrow if my son can go. I could 'probably' load rounds into a mag with effort and pain but if he's available it would make it easier. I'm only a week past surgery on my wrist. Good chance for some one-hand shooting. I'll try to run FMJ & HP through it. I enjoyed the LCP 2 quite a bit so I'm hoping the Max runs great. If so I can foresee carrying it quite a bit.

[cal45]

Congrats on the Max. It doesn't look that much thicker than the Glock 42 and is way shorter in length. Should make a great carry.
Let us know how the range session goes.

[Deputydave]

Max (10-rnd flush mag) vs. G42 (6-rnd mag)

[mavrik]

I went with it, no regrets. Trained my 20 year old granddaughter week ago with LCP Max 380, and P365 9MM. She was able to handle both effectively(first time at a range for her). My 2 favorite pistols right now other than a 1911 commander in 45ACP I love the most but it doesn't always fit in in the pocket of a light pair of baggy shorts. Mav

[Deputydave]

Took the LCP Max to the range today. Fired a total of 168 rounds. 50 rounds 0f WWB FMJ, 50 rounds of PMC FMJ and 68 rounds of assorted HP's including FXT, XTP, Gold Dot and Golden Sabre.

Malfunctions: Zero. Very pleased with it's performance. Slide locked back every time. I was even able to drop the slide with my thumb, which worked well since I can't fully use my left hand till I heal up further.

Accuracy: Pistol didn't care much for the WWB as opposed to the PMC and hollow points. Accuracy with the WWB was okay and I would still have hit a man-sized target in the torso at 7 yards but the WWB seemed to have more flyers. The PMC and all the HP's all held a much tighter group. I was pulling slightly to the left but that was me shooting strictly one-handed and getting use to the pistol. With the PMC and HP's I could still do head shots at 7 yards shooting at a fair pace. So overall I'd say the accuracy at typical SD distances was very acceptable to very good with the right ammo. Normally I could easily make head shots at 12-15 yards with the LCP 2 I had using a two-hand hold and taking my time. I suspect I'll be able to do that with this pistol as well once I'm back to using a firm two-hand hold.

Trigger: This is not a $2k match grade race gun trigger. But for what it is I'd say it's quite acceptable. Definite wall and then fairly 'heavy/crisp' break that was consistent from shot to shot. I liked this trigger better than the trigger on my LCP 2.

Recoil: You still know your shooting a 10 ounce pistol. But I was able to shoot all 168 rounds one-handed. Started to get a slight blister on my trigger finger towards the end but I could say the recoil overall did feel like it was better distributed than with my LCP or LCP 2. With my LCP I was done after a couple of mags. The LCP 2 was fine for 50-100 rounds. This one was doable for 168 one-handed. Still need to have a firm grip on it though to control it. I was able to rapid fire 'fairly' quickly one-handed but a firm two-hand grip would definitely make it quicker.

Mags: I have one 10-rnd and one 12-rnd. No issues loading either (son did the majority of the loading). I was able to slowly load some rounds into the 12-rounder so I was pleased with that.

Sights: Well what can I say? Going from milled in nubs to actual real sights is night and day. Very pleased with how easy the front sight is to pick up and how bright the night sight is. The U-notch makes it easy to pick up the front sight.

Texture: Aggressive enough to allow you to keep a grip but bot so much it's going to cause a problem tearing up your pocket. Nothing particularly special.

Overall I'm pleased with my decision to move from the LCP 2 to the Max. Now that I've done some vetting I'll start pocket carrying it to form an opinion on how it carries compared to the LCP 2. I don't suspect any substantial difference.

[cal45]

Appreciate the detailed review - sounds like a keeper.
Also, I saw on one of the videos that the holsters for the LCP will also work for the Max. Guessing that is probably more a concern for belt carry as opposed to pocket.

[Deputydave]

Appreciate the detailed review - sounds like a keeper.
Also, I saw on one of the videos that the holsters for the LCP will also work for the Max. Guessing that is probably more a concern for belt carry as opposed to pocket.

Yeah, anything that fits the LCP 2 should fit and likely anything for the regular LCP as well. Wore it all day yesterday and forgot I was carrying it. So it's a thumbs up all the way around.

[Deputydave]

Updating the thread; the Max continues to impress me. Normal around-the-house carry as well as times I'm simply going to friends or family. Disappears in the pocket and easily forgotten about, which is the whole point of a pistol like this.

Gotta give it a thumbs up.

[mavrik]

Updating the thread; the Max continues to impress me. Normal around-the-house carry as well as times I'm simply going to friends or family. Disappears in the pocket and easily forgotten about, which is the whole point of a pistol like this.

Gotta give it a thumbs up.

There’s just one thing…………….the slide is really loose after shooting about 200 rounds.I realize it’s not a target pistol of course. But still, down the road a problem? Then again, it’s a “carry a lot shoot a little” type pistol. I called Ruger and spoke with a rep, she assured me that the looseness of the slide has been taken into consideration and everything is A-OK. I all but told her that sounds like a pat answer. But I didn’t do that. Mav