Ruger LCP Max Performance Upgrades 

You're most welcome! I am glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching and commenting!

I agree.

Thanks so much! I'm glad it was helpful and I really appreciate the positive feedback!

Thanks for sharing your experience! I'll take note of that pocket holster as I am looking for one that will more often then not stay in my pocket. I forgot to mention in the video that the MCARBO hammer springs have have an insert that acts as a damper and quiets the spring noise! Thanks for watching and commenting!

No apologies warranted. I personally always like hearing what other folks are doing for their setups. Going to have to check out the Desantis holster - I just picked up an LCP Max last month

@@scrungus483 Yes, the Super Fly is definitely my favorite pocket holster. It has a tacky exterior and cut so that you can get a good master grip on the small gun. I would be fine if they did away with the Velcro on flap and lowered the price a little. I wore all the tacky texture off of my Super Fly and have been using a DeSantis Nemesis lately, no comparison. I need a new Super Fly!

11:46

That sounds light (lbs) for a pocket gun

Yeah 2lbs is too light for a pocket gun trigger@@matthewbeaver5026

I am glad! thanks for watching and commenting!

Agreed. I got the Ruger LCP MAX ELITE for summer since I noticed that my glock 43x MOS prints pretty bad in my fitted shirts and since I am short and have a larger frame. It comes with a stainless steel guide rod, a upgraded trigger, better coating on the firearm and I put the 13lb Galloway recoil spring in as well. It's amazing to say the least. My 43x MOS usually stays home next to my night stand. I actually just picked up my 43X Mos after not touching it for a month and let me say the weight and size comparison left me speechless. I thought this 43x MOS was small.. Boy when I went back to it, it was like a 1911 lol. (Not really but you get the point.) I always have my 380 on me. It gives me zero reason to not carry a weapon. Even when I have my 380 on me, I still take the 43x MOS in the car in case I need a bigger round. Only time I'll probably carry the glock now is in the winter when more layers are worn and I need more stopping power / penetration, or maybe I'll carry the glock in the summer if I am going to a out doors concert/event where I may need extra accuracy and to hit a target a bit further away with confidence. But I would always have this 380 in my pocket just in case the glock gets too uncomfortable. Love this little gun.

​@@cross8215damnit lol I've got my LGS on the hunt for a Max Elite, chances are I'm going to grab a "standard" Max with a stainless slide. I've got quite the custom rust cerokote job on my current LCP, looking for a more durable option, plus a few extra rounds, for my EDC.

Me too. But now its dippin below 65 here so now i wear my 45 cal glock 30. The max is my backup, on my ankle

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with the pistol! Sounds like you have you setup dialed in. Thanks for watching and commenting!

Thanks for sharing!

Awesome! It's a great little gun. The takedown pin, stainless guide rod, and heavier outer recoil spring should come with the gun from the factory.

Different loads/grains have different weight so ultimately just add the weight of the ammo to the gun

@@f45411 Yeah, thanks, I realize this but to me it would be more helpful to add the weight of standard ammo most would purchase instead of give the the weight of the gun empty. What we are talking about with different grains wouldn't be anywhere near as significant or perceptible. 6 rounds of 95gr FJM in 380 is about 2oz. If you put 1 in the chamber now you are talking 2 1/4oz. Nobody is going to be able to tell the difference even if you were to add or remove an entire round. But you can definitely feel the weight difference between that of a loaded firearm v. an empty one. And when it comes to something like the max with 12+1 it is even more pronounced.

are you happy with the viridian lazer you got? can you tell me if you got the red or green.

Congrats on your purchase! Thanks for watching and commenting!

Hi, I saw a video from Ruger that specifies that the LCP Max is not rated for +P ammo.

@@herberar Oh noez.

What’s the difference? Is the reset better?

@@mar1video Shorter pull, crisper/lighter break and adjustable reset.

@@gschlectic - awesome ! That’s what I’m looking for. Thank you for your input !

I've been pleased with it! If you want decent capacity and firepower in the smallest and lightest package... I think this is it!

Glad it was infomrative. Thanks for watching and commenting!

As I have used the CYA IWB holster more it's my preferred carry method for this firearm over pocket carry. It just works for me!

This is a good video with solid ideas, but it’s also a lot of fiddling with the gun. I have had the Max for a couple years and I rarely carry it or even shoot it at the range. It hurts my hands to shoot after a mag or two and that damn trigger pinches my finger. I usually carry a 365 XL or a HK P30SK. The Max is, for me, pocket carry in a pinch.

I feel that the guide rod, take down pin, and 13# recoil spring are absolutely necessary upgrades for this pistol. I need to try that Hogue grip sleeve for this gun. I have an LCPII in .22lr and put the grip sleeve on it. Really made a difference. I am sure the grip sleeve would help with hand fatigue while shooting too. Only issue is when pocket carrying the rubber sticks to your pocket really well and makes drawing more difficult - but I rarely pocket carry so it may be a good option for me. Thanks for watching and commenting!

I absolutely agree about being too sticky for pocket carry. I also would rarely pocket carry, despite that being the main reason I bought the pistol. Even when I became proficient with pocket carry it just never felt as natural as appendix.

@@Bobby_B. With the little IWB holster I got and the size and weight of this pistol I forget it's there when carrying appendix. Also, appendix carry is so much faster and more repeatable for me.

did you upgrade the trigger spring also or just the mcarbo trigger?

did you change your trigger spring? or just the trigger itself

@@bryantartus just the Galloway short stroke trigger

@@carrow2250 and you feel no need to change the trigger spring? happy with the factory?

@@bryantartus yeah its fine. I’m not out at the range enough to really care a bunch. I’ve only taken it out once to the range afte the upgrades so I’m probably not the best to give a good review of it.

@@carrow2250 ok thanks!

did you ever install the 13lb trigger spring?

@@bryantartus not yet. Took my time shooting the gun a bit more and learned to control it as best as possible for what it is. I may still try it.

@@DoctorMeatDoesHousecalls sounds good! Im going to do the same. maybe just upgrade the recoil spring and guide rod before doing anything with the trigger.

I feel the LCP Max squarely fits into the "pocket carry" catergory with its 10 round flush fit mag. Certainly the single stack LCP, Kahr, and some other 380s out there are a bit smaller. The cool thing is with the stack-and-a-half mag of the MAX, its barely wider than the LCP 2 (I have both). Its funny how pocket guns do seem to be getting bigger, but the 9mm carry options are getting smaller. But no one could convince me a P365 or Hellcat is a "Pocket carry" pistol haha.

@@dltz yeah, it’s incremental. Every next release is slightly larger. Kinda like pickup trucks.

Sounds like you got your EDC dialed! The springs in the MCARBO kit have little rubber dampers in them that stops the "twang." I have never had any issues with the factory trigger. I have large hands but very skinny finger so maybe I don't have enough meat out there at the end to get pinched haha. Thanks for watching and commenting!

are you happy with the 12lb trigger spring?

@@bryantartus It feels really lite. Way easier than the factory. It allows me to be very accurate with it now, but in my humble opinion, I think it is just a bit too lite for a pocket carry gun. I still carry my original LCP daily due to this, instead of switching to the MAX. I may try putting the original 15# back in, but keeping all the other new parts in it to see if that balances things out. (Just been too busy to fool with it really)

@@44Mag I hear that! Im strong enough to pull a trigger so making it lighter doesnt seem like the ideal for me. Im just going to upgrade to the Mcarbo trigger and put in a 13lb recoil spring.

I don't think any of the LCP's have a thumb safety except for the .22lr LCP.

🐴 feathers! Such an idea as a thumb safety on a tiny life preserver as an LCP is preposterous, there's already a super long trigger pull accompanied by the trigger safety. If you're scared, go 2 church.

are you still happy with the factory trigger springs. I got the Mcarbo trigger but on the fence about changing the springs.

@@bryantartus I'm keeping the factory springs for now. As my primary carry weapon, I just don't want to risk reliability.

@@donne9768 sounds like a smart idea. I am just going to upgrade the trigger, recoil spring, guide rod, and the mag release spring, and leave the trigger springs factory. I have a professional to do this for me as I have zero experience here.

Its a good little pocket gun thats for sure! I heard all the cool kids have one and keep it in their underwear...

To light for pocket piece.

I appreciate that man!

I have one of the slot headed ones in my LCP II chambered in 22lr. I liked that design as well!

If it's an actual Sticky holster, you can wash them and restore the stickiness easily.

Thx, didn’t know that.

100% Agree!

Much appreciated!

@@dltz would you trust this gun to save your life as an edc iwb carry with all the upgrades now?

@@EvilEntI absolutely would. Since these upgrades I have put a few hundred rounds through it of multiple different ammo types and not had a single issue. Whether you upgrade the pistol or not, if you're trusting your life to it, it needs to be thoroughly tested.

At what distance? It seems the poi/poa on these pistols is a little bit further out than it should be.

@@dltz 7 yards

@@augiebusch Mine shoots low at 7 yards also. I did a hold over excercise and shot starting from 3 yards then backed it up to see where my POA/POI was. They were on around 15 yards (which in my opinion is too far for this kind of gun). Shooting less than that I compensate and hold over a couple inches.

@@dltz I was thinking about getting the max performance but not sure. This gun seems useless without a proper shot placement at 7 yards. It may be unique to my gun.

@@augiebusch As I said, mine shoots low at 7 yards as well. That is just how the sights are on them - they sights are on a little further out. I have read comments on this video also saying it shoots low at 7 yards. Pretty easy to practice and train around as I mentioned in my last comment. Even if you were to file your sights down to get the POI/POA on at 7 yards, it will be off any distance that isn't 7 yards so you would need to know that and know how to account for it if you're going to use the gun for self defense. Thats part of practicing with a gun for self defense. Also no telling what distance an engagement would happen at (7 yards is the average of a bunch of collected data). Part of practicing with a gun for self defense is getting comfortable shooting it at different distances and knowing where your sights are on, and accounting for distances outside that. Even if you had a red dot on a gun, perfectly sighted in for 7 yards, it would shoot low or high outside of the 7 yard distance. But to be fair, if there is something you don't like about the gun and don't want to use it or train to get used to it, thats your business.

These really should have the heavier recoil spring from the factory, I agree. The firing pin has so little mass on this gun I am not worried about the inertia of it igniting a round should it be dropped (with the lighter firing pin spring installed). Factory trigger shoe is fine for me. Factory recoil rod is steel, but it is MIM (metal injection molded). I prefer a higher quality steel and finish on my guide rods for longevity and reliability sake.

I agree that the trigger is uncomfortable. As far as the sharp edges, I solved that with sandpaper. My other issue with it is the pinch point between trigger and trigger guard when the trigger is pulled.

I do like flat faced triggers. The stock trigger is flat enough for me in this case. The profile where my finger goes is comfortable.

Thanks for answer @@dltz

Good to know. wonder why it came off. It's pretty easy to pull the fire control unit and reattach that.

1. I kept the factory trigger because the profile was fine with me. It was comfortable enough for my finger. The MCARBO (and Galloway Precision) trigger do allow you to adjust out some of the pre-travel - that is the biggest advantage to them. I kept the factory trigger because in this application it makes more sense to me to keep the extra pre-travel so I have to be extra deliberate with the trigger. This is the same reason why I didn't use the reduced power trigger return spring in the MCARBO kit. It made the take up too light and I also didn't want to make it any shorter. It comes down to personal preference and what I view the application of this gun being, along with the expectations of trigger performance I have within that application. Also saved me some money. 2. The trigger return spring should not make any difference in ignition reliability. What controls how hard the hammer hits the firing pin, and how hard the firing pin hits the primer, are the hammer spring and firing pin spring. I shot 150 rounds after I installed these parts of two different ammo types without a malfunction. I am confident that running the factory trigger return spring with the aftermarket hammer and FP spring will not cause issues. 3. I do want the benefit of reduction in trigger weight - the trigger feels a lot better now. To unsure reliable ignition, the reduced power FP spring is needed with the reduced power hammer spring. The firing pin spring will prevent the firing pin from hitting the primer of a round in the chamber in the event you drop the gun. The firing pin is so small and light in this firearm, and I am sure that MCARBO did lots of testing with this spring kit, that I am no longer worried about it. The firing pin weight is so low that I have a hard time believing it will have the inertia required to hit the primer with enough force to ignite a round should it be dropped. Long story short - I thought about it more and I am not worried about that any more. Long winded answers but you asked some really good questions. Hope this helps! Thanks for watching and commenting.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my questions in such detail! I really appreciate it! This helps out a ton in my decision making about what I want to do to my max and puts my uncertainty at ease with some of the options here. One thing I will note you may consider in the future though. I agree with you completely about wanting adequate pre-travel with the trigger, but I still may eventually swap out the factory one with the MCarbo trigger for one reason. The MCarbo not only allows adjustment of the pre-travel (which hopefully can be around the same amount as factory), but it is also CNC machined aluminum and doesn’t have a 3D printed safety dingus like the Galloway does. So as long as the pre-travel on the MCarbo can be adjusted to factory amount, which I’m honestly not sure if it can, then switching over to it might be worth having a sturdy aluminum material over plastic for durability sake. Either way I decide to go, you seriously helped me a lot here. Your extra thought about the firing pin spring put some confidence in me so I might go for the 12 pounder like you did. I agree that the other is just waayyy too light for a gun in this application. Thanks a ton again for replying so quickly and so in depth homie. Much love.

I'll have to check out the Alabama Holster Company option! Thanks for commenting.

@@dltz I concur with Matthew here, I got the Alabama front pocket holster for my father and its been great for him and I'm about to order one for myself as well since I just bought myself a lcp max yesterday.

Vedder has the same in their Pocket Locker holster...but $50 is too much, in my opinion.

The guide rod and heavier recoil spring are fantastic upgrades as well. As for aftermarket triggers for self defense - as long as I shoot it enough to be comfortable with its operation and reliability then I have no problem with it. Any upgrade AT ALL to a defensive (trust your life to it) firearm needs to be thoroughly proven out.

just curious, why did you go back t FMJ? When I used flat head bullets, I had many failures to fire (malfunctions) on the LCP Max.

There is no firing pin block, but I am sure it is drop safe from the factory. The trigger has the little dingus inertial safety, and the firing pin is very light and has a rather stiff spring, which would keep it from coming forward and hitting the primer if dropped. Of course with the trigger modifications I did I installed a reduced power firing pin spring but the firing pin is so light I dont think its and issue.

I agree, that is why I didn't use the lightest hammer spring. I also did not install the lighter trigger spring which makes the take up lighter. Also did not install an aftermarket trigger shoe that takes up pre-travel. Its important to consider modification and upgrades through the lens of your application of the firearm and comfort with the safety features. Also yeah, Ruger needs to get their shit together with slide finishes - they are really bad. Thanks for watching and commenting!

How is this different than a striker fired pistol where the “hammer/striker” is pre tensioned and ready for release just like this pistol, they just don’t have a big scary hammer for you to see!

@foshizzle4074 It's not much different unless the striker pistol has a safety otherwise it's similar .

Wd40 is not for guns bro. Use Ballistol

Pretty much. It slows the slide down. It spreads the recoil impulse out over a longer time (I think thats what you're saying by "delaying it."). Ugh I tried to link to a comment but it didn't work. Copying the full text wall below haha. This is my in depth response to another comment regarding recoil. Goes into the energy method and spring-mass-damper systems: Good explanation, sound reasoning, and I agree with some of it. I agree that the slide will return into battery harder causing more muzzle dip. If you had a super stiff spring, or say no spring (like a revolver), all the recoil energy would go into your hand. Subjectively, the pistol shoots softer and feels like it has less recoil. Physics/engineering explanation below - I'll do my best (I'm a mechanical engineer but I may be shit at explaining things - it will make sense to me in my head). 95% sure on this one. If you have a good grip on the pistol, the spring is still the "softest" thing in the system of the gun, your hand, and body. The heavier spring requires more energy to be compressed due to its higher spring rate. Since the same energy is produced by the shot being fired and the heavier recoil spring soaks up more of that, your hand (and body) will see less. At the point where your grip becomes the "softest" thing in the system, like limp wristing the pistol, that is when you would feel more recoil (and also that's when malfunctions occur, all the energy went into moving your hand, not compressing the recoil spring and cycling the action properly). It's a conservation of energy problem but can also be viewed as a spring, mass, damper problem. In this case I would consider our hand and body as the damper as our grip dampens the oscillations or bouncing of the pistol (mass/spring system). As the slide comes forward and the muzzle dips, our grip brings the muzzle back up (damping the oscillations). But our body also acts as another mass in the system. The mass of the slide and recoil spring take up energy that is produced by firing, and what is left over gets applied to the other mass (our hand, arms, body). If the spring is heavier is dissipates more energy and therefore less of that recoil energy can act on the mass of our body. Again, since the spring is "softer" than our grip on the pistol, the spring gets acted on first, that's why I am saying "what is left over acts on our body." It's not as though the pistol is deciding when and where to dump its energy. Just like electricity and water - energy will take the path of least resistance. Another way a stiffer spring reduces recoil is by reducing the speed the slide hits the abutment of the frame. When the slide hits the frame at the back of its travel, there is no more give in the recoil spring and all that energy gets put directly into your hand. To get minimum recoil out of a pistol, ideally, the recoil spring would be of a rate so that the slide comes to a stop before returning just as it touches the frame at the rear of its travel. That sounds all fine and dandy, but that scenario doesn't have enough slide velocity for the case to hit the ejector hard enough to be ejected properly.

You make an interesting point about the compression of the spring resulting in heat, not a lot of people would have thought of that so I wanted to touch on it. Springs are designed to be compressed and cycled - the metal only elastically deforms during cycling - if a spring plastically deforms (deformation that causes a change in the shape of the metal that it cannot recover from) then the spring is done for. I am sure you have bent a piece of ductile metal in your hands - say a piece of aluminum. If you bend it back and forth it will get warm to the touch, and eventually fatigue from the plastic deformation and fracture (the plastic deformation actually hardens the materially locally until it experiences a brittle like fracture). Elastic deformation - what springs undergo converts almost none of the mechanical energy used to compress the spring into heat. If you put in 10 pounds to compress a spring 1 inch (a 10lb/in spring rate), you will get 10lb of force out - none lost to heat. Less than a fraction of a % would be lost to heat energy. So you may be thinking what about rapid cycling of a spring? Certainly there would be the opportunity for more heat to be generated from that rapid cycling. Well, think of a valve spring in an engine. It is compressed and extended 1000s of times a minute - 10s of times a second. The only heat those springs are designed to handle is that of the elevated oil temp. Of course, the metallurgy of those spring is a bit different, but the logic still stands. All that being said - the time when mechanical movement of metal creates heat in the bulk of the material is when plastic deformation occurs. During plastic deformation, grains of the metal are actually slipping past each other, and due to an enormous amount of friction between crystallographic planes and the grains of the atomic structure, it creates a significant amount of heat. Since springs - when operating within their proper range of elastic deformation - only experience elastic deformation - there is almost no heat generated from compression and extension. Spring set is of course very minor plastic deformation that can change the free length of the spring but that is just the newly formed crystal structure of the base metal from the manufacturing process finding where everything wants to sit. This will not cause any excess heat either as it is very minor and happens over thousands of cycles. Anyways - the stiffer recoil spring soaks up some extra recoil energy as it takes more energy to compress it as opposed to a lighter spring, but mostly the change in felt recoil is from the recoil impulse being slowed down. If you actually read this I hope it was interesting - my background is mechanical engineering and I spent some extra time studying and doing research on material science.

Mine has held up great. Been functioning reliably for hundreds of rounds. The trigger return spring will make the take up lighter, and it may reduce the trigger pull weight a little bit. I would argue that it doesn't need to be changed with the rest of the kit from a reliability or longevity standpoint.

Yeah, even after the upgrades it's not really a "fun" gun to shoot. It serves its purpose well as a pocket pistol. Not a good range toy. I can shoot it good enough that I feel comfortable carrying it. I prefer how my Hellcat shoots as well but its a bit heavier and harder to conceal on my body type. My 380 range toy is a Beretta 84BB Cheetah. Now that's a fun gun. Thanks for watching and joining the conversation.

@@dltz I bought the Beretta 80x that was released recently. It was a great gun, but man-o-man, that slide was about the hardest to manipulate of any gun I have shot. (And I have owned/shot literally 40-50 over the past 20 years) I sold it at the last gun show. Took a small loss on it, but it would have just been a safe queen. I would like to stumble across an old Beretta model 86 (I think that was it?) with the tip-up barrel.

@@44Mag My 84BB is the hardest to rack out of any pistol I own. Nature of direct blowback action where the only thing keeping the round safely in battery is the recoil spring force and slide mass (rather than a locked breach that tilts). Check out the new Girsan MC 14T. Its essentially a Beretta 84 with a tip up barrel (.380 not 32 ACP)! I have generally heard decent things about Girsan quality for the price too.

I didn't even know there was an elite model haha. It appears to have an aluminum trigger shoe rather than plastic, and some Ni-B coated internals for smoother trigger operation, in addition to the stainless guide rod you mentioned. Thanks for watching and commenting!

I know the elite comes with a 12rd mag and heard there was some slight internal work and different trigger. I’ve added these part minus the trigger

Good explanation, sound reasoning, and I agree with some of it. I agree that the slide will return into battery harder causing more muzzle dip. If you had a super stiff spring, or say no spring (like a revolver), all the recoil energy would go into your hand. Subjectively, the pistol shoots softer and feels like it has less recoil. Physics/engineering explanation below - I'll do my best (I'm a mechanical engineer but I may be shit at explaining things - it will make sense to me in my head). 95% sure on this one. If you have a good grip on the pistol, the spring is still the "softest" thing in the system of the gun, your hand, and body. The heavier spring requires more energy to be compressed due to its higher spring rate. Since the same energy is produced by the shot being fired and the heavier recoil spring soaks up more of that, your hand (and body) will see less. At the point where your grip becomes the "softest" thing in the system, like limp wristing the pistol, that is when you would feel more recoil (and also that's when malfunctions occur, all the energy went into moving your hand, not compressing the recoil spring and cycling the action properly). It's a conservation of energy problem but can also be viewed as a spring, mass, damper problem. In this case I would consider our hand and body as the damper as our grip dampens the oscillations or bouncing of the pistol (mass/spring system). As the slide comes forward and the muzzle dips, our grip brings the muzzle back up (damping the oscillations). But our body also acts as another mass in the system. The mass of the slide and recoil spring take up energy that is produced by firing, and what is left over gets applied to the other mass (our hand, arms, body). If the spring is heavier is dissipates more energy and therefore less of that recoil energy can act on the mass of our body. Again, since the spring is "softer" than our grip on the pistol, the spring gets acted on first, that's why I am saying "what is left over acts on our body." It's not as though the pistol is deciding when and where to dump its energy. Just like electricity and water - energy will take the path of least resistance. Another way a stiffer spring reduces recoil is by reducing the speed the slide hits the abutment of the frame. When the slide hits the frame at the back of its travel, there is no more give in the recoil spring and all that energy gets put directly into your hand. To get minimum recoil out of a pistol, ideally, the recoil spring would be of a rate so that the slide comes to a stop before returning just as it touches the frame at the rear of its travel. That sounds all fine and dandy, but that scenario doesn't have enough slide velocity for the case to hit the ejector hard enough to be ejected properly. Don't know if that makes sense or anyone will actually read it.✌

@@dltz I read it. Solid response. Thanks.

@dltz My thoughts on why you have less felt recoil with the stronger recoil spring is that the slide hits the frame on recoil with less force, so that gives you less felt recoil. The stronger spring will absorb more of the recoil, much like the springs on your car absorb most of the shock from hitting a pothole in the road.

@@Bellboy40 good explanation. I believe that's exactly what's happening. And that's certainly how it feels in my hand.

Absolutely! Its important to prove out any gun you buy even if you don't modify it. If you're trusting your life to a weapon it needs to be tested especially if you have made modifications. If in doubt, leave it factory.

Mine shoots POA/POI just fine for the intended purpose of this gun. The sights are "coarse" for lack of a better term, they do not have a fine point of aim to them. The front dot is very large and the rear U-notch is quite large - this means there is lots of wiggle room around what a perfect sight picture would be. With this tiny little gun it is very easy for me to pull shots low (recoil anticipation) and left (trigger finger control). I think mine shot a little low inside of 15 yards as well. Which for a very small concealed carry gun I would like to see the sights on at ~7 yards from the factory - not out at 15. Hope this helps!

@@VictorBiooflife I feel the spring kit and trigger helped accuracy a little bit - less movement of my sights off target while I pull the trigger because its slightly lighter and smoother. I am still happy with the factory trigger.

Slide finish is dogshit on Ruger pistols unfortunately. Mine had some very faint surface rust out of the box and I am being extra careful to keep it wiped down with Birchwood Casey Barricade gun wipes so it doesn't get worse.

@@dltz That sucks. I've always liked bluing, but for some reason Ruger's bluing just sucks. I've heard people say that even cold bluing is more rust resistant (which just sounds insane). I had an LCP slide that I got coffee on and it stripped the bluing clean off. I haven't heard of Hellcat's rusting or anything, but I've seen a couple of them that looked like hell from normal use. (Like the finish holds up, but the coating or whatever they have is easily worn).

@@deucedeuce1572 Bluing, hot or cold, is a pretty fragile coating. You always have to wipe finger prints off of it to prevent rust in my experience. What (I think) makes Ruger's bluing worse is the rough finish on the metal before bluing. It looks like they use a medium coarseness media blasting or something. This makes it so the pits of this rough finish trap oils and moisture and can't even easily be wiped off. There are lots of great robust slide finishes out there, and the processes are well defined, I am sure it's just a cost cutting measure for companies if their finish is shit.

Nope. 150 rounds in both configurations and it's been 100% reliable.

The sights of the LCP are on at around 7-10 yards. I sighted in my Hellcat red dot for 10 yards if I remember correctly. I didn't really think to match the POA/POI on the guns I suppose it just ended up that way. These two guns are a good "team." I have a larger, more comfortable, more powerful round, higher capacity, an red dot equipped option. Then a smaller more concealable and super light weight option. .380 ACP is the minimum viable self defense cartridge in my opinion. I have also since added a CZ P-01 to my concealed carry arsenal for a larger, more comfortable to shoot option than the Hellcat for when I am wearing more clothing. There are a couple videos on the P-01 and how I have it set up on my channel now. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching and commenting!

what I mean is, is the handgrip similar enough that the wrist bends at the same angle so that you don't have to change that aspect of aiming when switching guns@@dltz

@@rrbearcat ah I understand what you're saying. They have a similar grip angle so when presenting it's not like the difference in grip angle from a 1911 to a glock where the glock will be pointing at the sky. However the size and feel of the hellcat and LCP are so different it requires practice and familiarity with both guns to be able to switch back and forth between the two and be effective. If I was carrying the hellcat regularly, then needed to switch the the LCP, the best thing I could do is go to the range with the LCP to refamiliarize myself with it even though i have hundreds of rounds thru it. Hope that helps/makes sense.

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sygQC89tG4c.html Also here is a video of the porting I recently did to it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XKOpx6JJ2dg.html

For self defense applications, from what I've heard (never been in one thankfully), your adrenaline will be pumping and if you're in a situation where you need to be ready to shoot (finger on the trigger) you dont want the adrenaline and jitters to make u inadvertently press the trigger and fire a round. Think about resting a shaking adrenaline pumping trigger on a 2# competition 1911 trigger. It may go boom. For self defense application I like a heavier trigger pull that I have to be very deliberate with. It's not about drop safety or safety in the holster.