mhl6493

  I know very little about firearms, and I know less about reloading.  :D  And to be honest, I don't really want to know.  It might save me some money (and maybe some pain), but I just don't want to put the time into it.  At least not at this stage of things.  Maybe down the road...

  I love my XDs 45.  No doubt about it, it's a 45, and I feel it.  But it doesn't hurt me like the 442 does.  I mean, it is physically painful...

  Yep, the light weight was my primary reason for getting it as well.  I might try some different grips on the 442 -- maybe something that completely covers the metal backstrap.  I think that's a big part of the problem.  But with a bigger grip, it might have an impact on pocket carry.  Always a trade off isn't it...

I recently bought a Smith and Wesson 442.  I've taken it to the range a couple of times now, with the same experience each time -- with standard, plain old Federal .38 special rounds, it literally hurts me to shoot it.  Seriously.  The web of my hand between my thumb and index finger is in pain after 1 shot -- won't even say what it feels like after a whole cylinder full.     I had heard that the airweight snubbies were "snappy," but I wasn't expecting the pain.  I have shot a Ruger LCP, Smith and Wesson 640, Springfield XDs .45, and a Ruger GP100.  I can feel the recoil on some of them pretty significantly, but none of them hurt to shoot.  Recoil I can handle -- pain I don't want.   I'm actually considering trading the 442 in on something else -- maybe a "pocket 9" of some sort.  I'm wondering, how does the felt recoil of the 442 compare to, say, a Ruger LC9?  I know recoil can be a subjective thing and is hard to quantify, but I was hoping to get some ideas from others' experience.  Thanks!

Just a quick update. Took the LCP to the range this morning and put about 70 rounds through it (Magtech and Fiocchi ball ammo). Takedown pin stayed put - no problem. Only had 1 FTF, but other than that, everything worked like a charm. Will continue to put it to the test for a few more rounds before carrying it again, but I already feel better about it.

Received the LCP by FEDEX today.  Ruger didn't include an extra magazine for my trouble (I guess that was too much to expect after all), but they did include a silicone gun cleaning cloth with the Ruger logo on it.  Hey, at least it's something.  A nice gesture by Ruger, I suppose.  I'm planning on trying to get to the range Friday or Saturday to run some ammo through it and see how it performs.  Will update afterwards.

I don't have either the Gen 3 or Gen 4 Glock 19, but I've had a chance to hold them both.  I'd probably choose the Gen 4 because of the ability to change out the backstrap.  I have relatively small hands, and a regular double-stack Glock grip is a handful for me.   And congrats on your new pistol.  Enjoy!

I got an e-mail today letting me know that my LCP is being shipped back to me.  They replaced the takedown pin and the takedown pin detent -- whatever that is.  They fired 24 test rounds through it after repair with no problems.  So, I guess that's that.  I'll give it a try, but I'm thinking since this is the same gun that I'll never completely get what happened out of my mind.  Honestly don't see myself keeping it at this point...  Anyway, just wanted to give an update.  The gun should arrive Monday or Tuesday, I'd guess.

I finally had a chance to take my buddy's XDs out to the range today and put 50 rounds of Federal 230 gr. ammo through it.  I'd be lying if I said my hand didn't sting a little bit afterwards.  But honestly, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.  In some ways, I think my Smith and Wesson 442 stings me worse than the Springfield.  And I was able to shoot it, for me, very accurately.  Overall, just extremely nice for a semi-pocketable .45.  I will probably have to bite on this one... Thanks again for the input on the price!

  Rep said the turnaround time is typically 5-7 business days, depending on what all they have to do to repair it.  A free mag would be great, since it only came with one...  :D

Just a quick update.  Heard back from a Customer Service Rep at Ruger today.  She emailed me a shipping label, and the LCP should be going back to Ruger sometime tomorrow.  I'll update via this thread as any new developments take place.  Whatever happens, it sure looks like Ruger's customer service is top-shelf!  Whether I can ever trust the gun again, that remains to be seen.

  Yeah, I contacted Customer Service via e-mail yesterday, and I expect I'll be hearing from them early this week.  I'm sure they'll want me to send it in.  From there, who knows.  I'm still not sure I can ever have confidence in the gun again, no matter what happens.  That's not a knock in any way against Ruger or the LCP.  It's a fine gun form a great company; just hard to get the image of what happened out of my mind.  A lack of 100% confidence in your carry gun, well, that's not good.  Maybe they'll let me trade it for an SP101 3" barrel...  :D

  No, unfortunately not.  Probably would have looked a lot like the old bank security guard on the Andy Griffith Show whose gun fell apart when he tried to fire it...  :D

  Yeah, I may do that.  If I still felt like trading it in afterwards, I'd still have that option.

I checked his serial number last night -- not subject to the recall.  However, with my LCP issues, I may have to hold off on the XDs for a bit.  Don't think I can pocket carry that .45.

Well, I got up this morning and decided to perform an experiment.  When I cleaned the LCP last night, I made *sure* that the takedown pin was snapped in, as it should be.  So this morning I just started dry-firing.  And with nothing but a very little bit of that, the pin had already started backing out a little.  Not good at all.   I don't think I could ever have confidence in this thing, even if I sent it back to Ruger for repair.  I'm tempted to just cut my losses, take it back to the lgs where I bought it, and see if I can trade it in on something else.  Very disappointing, but I guess it happens.

From what y'all have said, and from the additional reading I've done since I realized this was a common occurrence, there is enough doubt in my mind about whether I actually had the takedown pin snapped in all the way that I'm not going to get too excited about this yet.  I think I'm going to shoot the snot out of it over the next few weeks (if I can find enough .380 ammo to do it) and just keep my eye on it and see what happens.  If it does it again, then I'll contact Ruger, get it fixed, and probably sell it...  :D Thanks again for the help!

Wow, I had no idea the takedown pin backing out on the LCP was a common problem.  So what do you think causes that on certain models, but not all of them?  And evidently once it happens, sending it back to Ruger isn't going to do much good as far as repair is concerned.  Not sure I can ever feel confident in this gun again, especially since it's primary purpose is as a carry gun for self defense.

Ok, I had my first "What just happened?" moment today since getting into firearms a few months ago.  A buddy and I went to the range to do some shooting.  I shot 6 rounds through my LCP, and my buddy was in the process of shooting his 6 rounds, when it happened.  After the 4th round, the takedown pin evidently backed out, and the slide "shot" forward, leaving nothing but the frame in my buddy's hand.  The spring fell out on the ground, and the slide and barrel landed about 6 feet in front of us.  I put it all back together and shot 6 more rounds through it (different ammo this time -- Hornady Critical Defense 90 gr.), and it seemed to be fine.     So, what do you think might have caused that?  Could I have failed to get the spring firmly seated the last time I cleaned the gun?  I had previously shot 56 rounds through the gun about a month ago (Blazer and Hornady Critical Defense) with no problems, then cleaned the gun before taking it out today.  But if I hadn't gotten the spring seated well, how would that explain the takedown pin backing out?  It really seemed like everything was back together just fine.   Could it have been the ammo we were shooting at first today?  It was Magtech 380 Auto 95 gr. FMC.  I've never shot that before, and it was the only thing I could find beside the expense self-defense stuff.   Or, could it be some defect in the gun?     I'm doubting it's the latter, and figure it's one of the first two things.  But I'm just not sure.   Any advice on this one?  It's got me a little concerned, and whether it should or not, it has lessened my confidence in my LCP - and to be honest, in my ability to deal with a semi-automatic correctly.  Thanks in advance!

  I guess they have.  My lgs has a new XDs .45 for $499 plus tax.  

No, it won't be his first Glock -- he has several.  He just wants to get a .45 in the same platform. 

Thanks for all the input.  I'm going to double check whether the gun is subject to the recall, then try it out to see if I can deal with the recoil.  If it passes both the recall and the recoil tests, I think I'll probably buy it.  I believe he'll even let me make payments.  He wants a Glock pretty bad...  :D

I have a friend who is trying to sell his Springfield XDs 45.  It's been shot some, but not excessively.  He bought it after the recall was issued, so it shouldn't be subject to that.  He has about $500 in it, and is asking $475.  Nothing wrong with the gun, he just wants to go all-Glock because he prefers that platform.    So what do y'all think -- is that a fair price?  It seems maybe a little high to me, but when you consider the FFL fee or sales tax I'd save, it's doesn't seem all that bad.  Just wanted some educated opinions...

If I already carried an XDs, I'd probably stick with the platform and go with either an XD or XDm of some sort if I wanted something a little bigger.

  Yeah, the 640 isn't going anywhere.  Haven't actually had a chance to shoot the 442 yet, but I love the way it looks and feels.  Trying it out in my ankle rig today.  Compared the 640, can't even tell it's there.  Very nice!