Armed Lifestyle - Issue 2 - June 2022

32
FIREARMS: THE RUGER LCP MAX
Shooting the Max was an interesting experience, especially
when I brought in my original LCP for a control. The grip texture
borrowed from the LCP II is a small marked improvement over
other pocket pistols in its class but I never felt it did anything to
keep hands on the gun under recoil. That had more to do with
the greater girth and length of the grip that soaked up recoil. The
Max never wanted to slip out of my hand or bury into a sore spot
in my palm, which I can’t say the same for other pocket guns. As
such, I was able to shoot the Max longer and get faster follow-up
shots--though some of that can be attributed to the trigger and
the sights.
The trigger on the Max was not any lighter than my original
LCP, breaking at about six pounds on my Lyman trigger scale. But
it is not as heavy as some other small pocket guns like the Keltec
P3AT or the S&W Bodyguard. If you are used to heavier triggers
you might be apt to put too much finger on the trigger and get a
bit of a pinch against the grip frame as the trigger resets.
Otherwise, the reset it short and the trigger breaks cleanly.
The tritium Hi VIZ front sight, paired with a blacked-out rear pops
into view prominently, even in the bright Louisiana sun, allowing
me to get back on target between shots faster compared to the
gutter sights on pocket guns. I came to prefer them, even over
the usual three-dot sights found on larger pistols. The kicker is
that the front sight is large and visible, which makes fast shooting
on large targets easy, but not so good for printing groups on the
square range. On paper at seven yards, I managed to shrink my
groups on paper to three-inches using Sig Sauer V-Crown 95 grain
JHP ammunition. However, the variation in accuracy from one
brand of ammunition to the next was largely insensitive whether
groups were taken with hollow points of full metal jacket
ammunition. Group sizes with my other ammunitions ranged
consisted of no less than five inches at the same distance—about
the size of an open hand. Hitting the center of a steel torso was
no issue. Knowing where the rounds hit to my sights, it was not
overly ambitious to hit eight-inch steel plates out to twenty-five
yards.
Over several range trips, I logged one thousand rounds
downrange with no malfunctions with the only some initial
out of box cleaning and lubrication from the start. With a good
cleaning, careful break-in of the magazine, and the ability to get
a commanding grip on the gun in the field, the Max avoided
the typical trouble one might expect from a small pocket pistol.
The Max digested mostly Seller & Belliot and Remington fullmetal-jacket
ammunition, but I also ran several boxes of different
hollowpoint ammunition including the aforementioned Sig Sauer
V-Crown, as well as Speer Gold Dot 90 grain, Remington Golden
Saber 102 grain, Federal HST 99 grain, and Ammo Inc. 95 grain
defensive loadings. The only ammunition that may be worth
thoroughly vetting is Russian steel-cased ammunition that are
notorious for hard primers and failures to fire and extract. Given
the lack of ammunition availability in recent times, I had none on
hand to test.
PARTING SHOTS
Ruger released their LCP Max at roughly the same time as their
Max 9, a micro-sized red-dot ready 9mm pistol that squeezes ten
rounds into its grip. While the latter was intended to compete
in the trend of squeezing a true service caliber into a smaller
footprint, it may have already reached its zenith. Those guns are
no fun to shoot and it takes more conscious effort to keep them
under control. The Max chambered in 380 is softer to shoot and
offers more grip that allows for a better grasp on the draw and
a better reach for the controls. Toss in truly useful sights and
the Max 380 turns into a homage to larger pistols and a marked
improvement over smaller ones with a trade-off of a few ounces
of extra weight. While I ultimately stuck with my original LCP, I
know tiny guns like these, while useful, are problematic and not
for everyone. I am a pocket gun aficionado. For the everyday
shooter, it will be more useful—and less painful-- to reimagine
the ubiquitous 380 pocket pistol than shave a 9mm design into
the former’s role. At this, Ruger has succeeded.