Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns LCP II problem

Been debating a pocket gun for awhile. Really wanted to try a Glock 42 (I'm a glock fan). Liked the feel and I already use glocks for all my CCW. However, trying it in my pocket at Sportsmans it's almost just a touch too big and if I'm going IWB, I'm gonna carry my 19, 26 or 30. Wish glock had made the barrel a tad shorter but from all accounts it's a super sweet, soft shooter. May still grab one some day.

Anyway...(sorry about that detour)

I had been also looking at the LCP II which got good reviews. Went back in to SW yesterday to fondle one and they had a 'used' one from their shooting expo on Sat for $250. The guy I dealt with said he ran the Ruger booth and it had only one mag run through it. Figured it was too good a deal to pass up so I snagged it. Man, that thing is tiny (I got large hands to boot).

Cleaned it and went out and burned 200 rds of S&B 92 gr FMJ through it at ranges from ~ 3-15 yds. Shoots a tad low with that ammo but not bad. Surprised at how accurate and easy to shoot it was. Had one FTE on the second to last round and it may have to deal with my 'problem'.

Shooting one handed (strong or off hand) I had zero issues. However, when shooting two handed, thumbs forward, nearly every time I would trip the mag release about the third or fourth round causing it to drop slightly and resulting in an empty chamber. It seemed worse with a tighter grip but it would do it about 75% of the time with a softer hold.

Anyone else encounter this? I tried various holds, tried keeping my middle finger tight to keep,it from 'bouncing', etc but it would still trip the mag. I'm thinking I may have to strategically wrap some hockey tape to build up the area and make a 'fence' for the mag release. I realize this is a last ditch, GTF off me gun and will probably have to be used one handed if worse comes to worst but I'd like to be comfortable with it in any scenario.

Suggestions?

I do not have a II, but I do have the first gen LCP. Never had a problem with dropping the mag.

That being sad, youtube is full of folks who've complained about this very problem. The two handed, thumbs stacked hold seems to make the thumb slide forward on that smooth triangle area by the mag release, thus tripping it and dropping the mag. That's a deal breaker for me. Perhaps some grip tape in this area would prevent it. YMMV

My recommendation would be to take those two thumbs and raise them up, resting them on the slide. No, you'll never slow or inhibit slide travel by having your thumbs resting on the slide. Give it a try.

I have the last gen of the original LCP. I've only fired about fifty rounds through it, but it handled them all without a problem.

Maybe just use it one handed.

I have an LC9s pro. First time I shot it I had an accidental mag release or two. Note I was wearing gloves at was winter. Last time out plinking no problem with accidental mag dumps. Great little gun, surprisingly accurate.

I've got the LC9S Pro, too. I have nothing but good things to say about it. If I had any criticism, it would only be on the take down procedure, but that's relatively inconsequential.

That's good to hear. I've been eyeing the LCP II .380 from afar in contemplation. I think I shot one of the very first LCP's when they came out...A friend had the LCP and the Kel Tek P3AT and it was such a close copy the slides would actually interchange.

Yes, I have had that same issue. I bought the gun for the wife and for some reason she didn't have the mag dump issue. When I shoot it I get at least one dump on every mag.
I'm not interested in changing a grip that works fine on every other handgun I shoot just for this gun. I doubt one would remember to use their "special" grip when the SHTF.
I'll just stick with my Colt Pony.

For heaven's sake folks .... please don't do this.

If such a suggestion doesn't IMMEDIATELY defy your own sense of logic and reasoning (irrespective of your knowledge and experience) then perhaps you shouldn't handle firearms.

You're right, what does Jeff Cooper, Jack Weaver, and John Farnam know.
Jeff Cooper taught that hold at Gunsite as an alternative to thumbs forward for people who tended to hold the slide stop down. Or...wait for it...people with huge mits who had a tendency to bump the mag catch. John Farnam taught that hold to pretty much everyone back in the '90's; for all I know he still does. He felt it helped people's tendency to shoot low and left, and at his class I did see it help people with such tendencies. Jack Weaver pretty much echoed Cooper, but actually preferred that hold himself while shooting an auto, and held much the same way when shooting a revolver. First time I ever saw Bill Wilson shoot, I noticed he rested his left thumb on the slide. But hey, I guess you know better.

Jack Weaver shooting a reovler


John Farnam instructing, notice where the student's thumbs are

Farnam demonstrating for a class



If your hand is too big for the pistol and you're dumping mags, you have to get your thumbs out of the way. Where else do you propose to put them?

Why doesn't that interfere with slide movement?

The slide just has too much energy in either direction. Obviously, more energy going back, but more than sufficient on the return to battery. There's also the recoil impulse which will jar your thumbs away from the slide when the gun goes off. To make any difference at all, you have to make a very concerted effort to really press your thumbs into the slide. And the way your thumbs are resting on the slide, they really don't have a lot of leverage. Pull your Glock out of your C-Force, unload and lock the slide back. Now do that hold, resting your thumbs, and find some way to drop the slide, either catch the rear sight on something, or have someone drop it for you. Now do it again, but press your thumbs onto the slide. You can slow the slide if you exert a LOT of force, but it takes a very deliberate, purposeful effort to do so. Farnam teaches that hold pretty much exclusively (or at lest he did). I've been to a couple of his classes, so that's 4 long days of watching a couple dozen shooters shoot with that hold all day long. NEVER once seen any type of malfunction induced by that hold. In fact, it prevents slide stops from being bumped up by some, or held down (preventing lock on last round) for others.

I shot with that hold for a while and liked it, but when I began competing more and more, my thumbs nudged their way down. By observation I also saw that many competitors who hold with thumbs forward will actually be resting their thumbs against the bottom edge of the slide, and don't really realize it.

One advantage to that hold is that it is rather platform agnostic. You'll never have issues with thumbs hitting things regardless of what you're shooting.

Like most things in life, it's not necessarily for everyone (although Farnam thinks so, and he did get results), but I have seen it work well for many. NvHunter has a good point though...may not be the best idea to carry a gun that requires a "special grip" in order to make it work properly. If it works as a grip for your other handguns, and you can consistently use the same grip regardless of the size of the pistol, or even pistol vs. revolver, then it makes sense. I typically hold with my thumbs forward but lower, but honestly I really don't see any problems with the high thumbs hold at all.

I take no issue with where you put your thumbs, but deliberately making contact with the slide - as a matter of course - is inviting a malfunction with some pistols.

That's what I thought too, but actual shooting has taught me it's just not an issue. In 20 years, I've yet to encounter a pistol where it's been an issue. Like I said, first you have very little leverage, and even when you make a concerted effort to press against the slide, you don't interfere with it much. And when the gun goes off, your thumbs will actually bounce away from the slide. It's the difference between what you think may or can happen, and what happens in the real world. Farnam has been teaching that hold technique for decades, and I'd think it there was any chance it could cause an issue, or if it had ever been an issue; he would have A- discovered that, and B- either stopped that practice, or made changes to mitigate the issue.