[lklawson]

As a reward for being a good boy today and doing chores, I decided to take a visit to one of my favorite LGS's, Olde English Outfitters. I figured that I would look and see what sort of owb leather they had to fit my upcoming wheel gun. You know, support the local guys before you buy online or the local guys will dry up and go away. Sadly they had none but I decided, as long as I was there, I'd eyeball the LCP MAX and see if I liked it or if it felt the same as the Taurus 738 TCP. It just so happened that they had a lightly used one, under glass, for $280. Well shoot! I didn't bring my hobby money with me, expecting only to pay under $60 or so for leather if they had it (hopefully under $40). So put that rascal on layaway. I guess I'm going to go back early next week and finish it out. I already have ammo and a pocket holster that it will fit so I'm just going to need to find a spare magazine or two.

I still need to decide what to do for my "treat yourself" gun.

Peace favor your sword (mobile)

 

[lklawson]

I used to live in New Carlisle, OH. Olde English is a GREAT shop. Bunch of knowledgeable people, experienced LEOs and nice folk. If this is your location, go visit them. I just started into guns in 2016 when prices were dropping. Bought a lot of stuff from them. My 995, a bunch of Rugers, ammo, tools, gear - whatever. Miss being able to visit - live in N OH now.

My father and grandfather helped build that structure. First gun I bought was from there and old Mr. English recognized my name and asked after my grandfather.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[lklawson]

I picked it up on Monday afternoon. No range trip yet. The trigger is a tad better than a stock glock trigger but not much. A fair amount of take-up and no "breaks like glass" wall thereafter. The wall is probably 5.5 lbs at a guess (I'll put my scale on it later) and it drags through the wall for probably 1/16", which kinda feels like forever when your paying attention to it. It'll never be a Colt Mustang trigger but it's vastly better than the long DAO of the Taurus TCP 738 or the KelTec P3AT / P32.

It's definitely taller than the TCP, even with the 10-round mag, mostly because the baseplate on the 10 has a pinky extension. I might look around and see if I can find a non-pinky-extension baseplate for it. Most people like the extra length on the grip because it gives them a better hold. But I never needed it on my TCP or my P32 and it makes draw from a pocket easier. But the sights do add a smidge to the height as well.

There is simply no comparison on the sights. The LCP MAX sights are better than the sights for any other palm-sized pocket 380 I've ever handled. Period. They are real, drifted in, sights in comparison to the TCP (and most every other) milled in itty-bitty sights. I painted my TCP sights with high-contrast model paint. The LCP MAX has a nice sized rear U-notch and a genuine radioactive front sight (which, as all radioactive sights do, will need replaced in a few years). For academic reasons, I wonder if it'll take the super micronized RDS designed to fit in a glock dovetail? Hmm...

I think I'm going to try to stoke it with the Underwood loading of the Lehigh Defense Xtreme Penetrator 380 loads. Those have been show to approximate 9mm Luger performance in jello tests.

I'm hoping to get to the range tomorrow and I'll try to post up some comparison photos.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[lklawson]

I got out to the range with it today. I was limited on time so I just did a reliability test. No malfunctions at all with two different types of ammo. GTG on that front. I could wish to be a lot more accurate with it, however. Despite the relatively good sights, my accuracy at 35 feet was not what I want. Let's just say that I will NOT be sharing the targets on the internet. Still, at closer ranges it was certainly accurate enough. I could put all rounds in that 4x6 index card at 15 feet but that's not really "good enough" in my estimation. I guess the Red Dot on the MC2sc has me spoiled.

The only other notable was that the blasted thing gave me trigger pinch every single time. Didn't matter where I placed my finger or how hard I gripped the pistol. It always pinched during recoil. Fortunately, it wasn't so hard as to draw blood but it was a little unpleasant.

Pics in a few.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[lklawson]

So here it is side-by-side with the pocket 380 it is replacing, the Taurus TCP 738. The profile is very nearly identical. The LCP MAX is just a tad taller because of the sights and the 10-round baseplate. But it's close enough.

One of the things which kept popping into my mind is another gun I carried for a short while with a 12-round capacity, the CZ82. The CZ83 is identical except chambered in .380ACP so it can be considered a direct competitor as a 12-round 380 handgun. Here is the LCP MAX beside the CZ82. There is a pretty dramatic size difference.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[lklawson]

On your trigger finger? You using just the tip or knuckle deep.

"Just the tip."

Pad of the finger, not quite mid-pad.

Peace favor your sword (mobile)

 

[lklawson]

I just bought a Sig Romeo Zero, and a slide to hold it. Cost as much as some of the cheaper 9mm guns. Definitely more than a Hi Point.😂. Makes my 365 even better. Not to mention making it two tone, the slide is brown.

But I don’t have to aim it, I just point it, and it is easy to carry. It’s my “perfect concealed gun”….it completes me.🤣

My Mossberg MC2sc came with the optics cut. Bought the same RDS though.

But neither it nor the Sig 365 fit in my pocket.

Peace favor your sword (mobile)

 

[lklawson]

According to the Ruger forums, apparently the cure for the trigger pinch is Galloway Precisions Sigurd replacement trigger.

Peace favor your sword (mobile)

 

[lklawson]

I bit the bullet, so to speak, and bought the Galloway Sigurd. Galloway says that one of their goals was to fix the trigger pinch and the Ruger forums users claim it works sooo...

I decided to get the red. The last time I bought an aftermarket trigger, I bought black. But I figured I'd try something different this time.

Installation looks easy. I'll let you know how it goes.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[lklawson]

The Galloway trigger was delivered last night. I plan to install it this afternoon and hit the range.

I bought the stock flush floor plate for the 10-round mag from Ruger. $4 (plus $6 S&H!!! The humanity!).

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[lklawson]

The Galloway trigger was delivered last night. I plan to install it this afternoon and hit the range.

I installed the Galloway trigger but wasn't able to get out to the range until this morning.

Installation wasn't too bad. The pivot pin hole in the trigger was a bit too tight so I ended up having to dry fit the trigger pin three or four times, tapping it in and out with a brass hammer, before it would actually slide in easily enough for me to fit it into the action. And reinstalling the frame into the grip module was weird. Didn't look anything like the demonstration video that they have. The front doesn't actually fit down completely. There's like a little bit less than 1/32 of an inch incline that the frame pin snugs down. But in the end it worked out okay. Took me three or four times longer, when all was said and done, but not too bad all told.

So how does it work? Oh my gosh! What can I say? It was flawless. The painful trigger pinch is completely gone. I found that it had been giving me a flinch as well. I'm still not as accurate as I would like but the accuracy settled down a little bit and the pistol is now almost a joy to shoot. Who would have ever thought I'd say that a Palm sized pocket 380 was pleasant to shoot? But this LCP max, with the Galloway precision trigger, absolutely is.

I hate it when various online reviewers talk about their favorite "must have" enhancements or upgrades, but in this case, in my opinion, it absolutely totally is.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[lklawson]

@lklawson now that you've had the LCP Max for a few months, what's your take on it?
I've been eyeing one but still haven't taken the plunge. I honestly expected that S&W, Taurus, etc. would announce a similar double stack .380 at SHOT, but seeing that isn't the case, I'm back to the Max.

I think it was a good purchase. It's still harder to shoot well than a full sized handgun and still bucks like a pocket 380 but I think it strikes a great balance. It has better sights than most other pocket 380s, as good or better trigger than most, and clearly a superior round-count.

To get a better trigger you have to go to a shrunk down 1911 type, like the Sig or the Colt, but then you sacrifice the capacity and have the requirements of a cocked-n-locked single-action.

This is the handgun that Kel Tec should have updated the P3AT to. This is the handgun that Glock should have made instead of the G42.

As is becoming frustratingly common, Ruger took what someone else did and updated it to what they should have done but never did.

Yeah, I recommend this pistol. There's a pretty good chance you'll have to replace the stock trigger with the Sigurd but other than that, Ruger hit a home run.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[lklawson]

as well as the Makarov "High Capacity"
View attachment 77544

I have photos around here somewhere of those disassembled.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk