Armed Lifestyle - Issue 2 - June 2022

FIREARMS: THE RUGER LCP MAX
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THE RUGER LCP MAX
THE LITTLEST, BESTEST 380? By Terril J. Hebert
Love it or hate it, the 380 ACP cartridge is undeniably popular.
With the proliferation of concealed carry state laws over the
last thirty years, the 380 has seen a resurgence as the largest
readily available cartridge that can work in small, pocket-sized
handguns. Try as we might to scale down designs to chamber
more powerful service cartridges like the 9mm Luger, pistols
chambered in 380 ACP have an undeniably smaller footprint that
lend themselves well to ease-of-carry.
Ruger has been a king in the micro-380 market for years
beginning with the introduction of their LCP or Lightweight
Compact Pistol in 2008. I have one of its millions of copies and
it has served me well; Even when Ruger upgraded the model
with higher visibility sights and shorter trigger in the LCP II, I
saw no reason to upgrade, but it and the LCP II has some the
same limitations of other small 380 pistols on the market--low
capacity.
The LCP and the gamut of small 380s use thin, singlestack
magazines, usually holding only six or seven rounds of
ammunition. Even if you are fine with lower capacity and can put
your rounds where they need to go, more ammunition isn’t a bad
thing--so long as it doesn’t negate some other advantage. For
micro 380s, you sacrifice capacity for a thin, lightweight pocketable
package. When Ruger revealed the LCP Max--a pocket 380
boasting a capacity of 10/12 rounds, I was ready to listen and
perhaps ready to upgrade.
FEATURES
Outwardly, the LCP Max carries over many of the features found
on the LCP II. At its heart, the Max is a LCP II from the slide upward
and a thicker pistol in its polymer grip frame. As such, the Max
will fit in any holster made for an LCP II. But the grip frame is
taller and thicker to accommodate a double-stack to single-stack
ten round magazine that is furnished with the gun.
LCP
LCP Max
Height: 3.6 in. 4.1 in.
Length: 5.25 in. 5.25 in.
Slide Width: .75 in. .75 in.
Grip Width: .77 in. .93 in.
Loaded Weight: 12 oz. 14.3 oz.
* Compared with an original Ruger LCP (dimensionally identical
to the LCP II)
Likewise, the Max has similar sandpaper textured stippling over
the grip and serrations in front of the trigger guard.
Overall, the Max is only a half-inch taller than its predecessors
and no thicker except in the grip frame. Fully loaded, the Max is
only a few ounces heavier in exchange for more ammunition.
Otherwise, the Max has the same squared-off trigger guard,
reverse-able magazine release, and a minimal slide stop carried
over from the II. Likewise, the Max has similar cocking-serrations
forward and aft on the slide.
The trigger is the familiar Glock-like safety type, with a wide
shoe and depressible inner sleeve that keeps the pistol from
firing unless the trigger is deliberately pulled. On this example,
the trigger has a sharp reset and breaks cleanly at six pounds on
my Lyman trigger scale.
Operationally, the Max is a single-action hammer fired pistol
that fires from a locked breech. Aside from an enlarged grip, it
does not remarkably stand out next to an LCP II. That is, except
for its magazine capacity and its sights. You are getting ten or