LCP upgrade question

[BC9]

I've been thinking about some upgrades to my LCP. Sweet Pea trigger, a lighter hammer spring and a stronger recoil spring. Wondering if anybody has done any or all of these to their LCP & if so, are you satisfied with the results?

Thanx for any info you care to share.

 

[EvilKidsMeal]

Also been kicking these ideas around. Interested in the feedback. I have a gen 1 LCP

 

[looney2ns]

Lots of good info here: Ruger Pistol Forums - Elsie Pea Forum

 

[gglass]

During the rebuild of my LCP, I decided to go with the Sweet-Pea III trigger as well as doing my super-secret trigger job on the hammer, hammer catch and trigger bar, which doubles as the sear. My trigger pull is now 5.5lbs and there is very little take up and almost zero over-travel. I did not feel that changing the springs was necessary, as I would rather not disturb the overall timing of the pistol. I would much rather have a perfectly timed and reliable pistol than try to eek out a litte reduction in recoil.

I love how my LCP turned out and it shoots like a dream now!

 

[TCLe]

I've changed out my recoil spring to a 12# Wolff Spring, and I also have added a Pachmayr grip to mine. Originally I had a 13# spring in but it would occasionally short stroke and not eject spent casings. But the recoil is much more manageable now and doesn't beat up my trigger finger anymore.
The Pachmayr grip is nice, grants a decent purchase on the gun, but with use it rotates on the grip. If I were to go back on it, I would probably get a Hogue grip as they actually attach to the gun itself via the rear pin and mainspring housing.

 

[Nacelle]

At the very least, get the hogue grip for it. It's cheap and helps a lot with the recoil when you shoot it. I got the 7 round magazine for mine. It adds a little to the grip length. Enough to get a better hold on it, but not so much as to make it less concealable. I also got an 11# spring for it. I'm not sure how much of a difference it made because I bought it at the same time as the grip. But it works just fine with it.

 

[TCLe]

That reminds me, if you don't want the extended mags, getting a Pearce extended grip is great as well.

 

[Skullglide]

After owning both. They are both excellent Carry guns, however I do prefer my pair of 43's.

 

[ajeandy]

I wouldn't add the grip personally....changes the form factor of the gun which in turn makes it a bigger gun in your pocket.

 

[Grelber]

I sort of figure that it is like trying to polish a turd.
For a pocket gun I like it, it works as I need it to, if I want to shoot a good range gun then I grab one of those.

 

[6mm Shoot]

I put the Sweet Pea trigger in the wife's LCP. It works great. The trigger pull isn't so long and has a better feel to it. I also put in the metal take down pin. It makes it much easier to take down. Just turn the pin 180 and pull it out with your finger nail. Both were great up grades. Well worth the price.

My true feeling is that it should have been taken care of at Ruger before leaving the factory. Cheap hide away gun still needs a good trigger.

 

[gglass]

I sort of figure that it is like trying to polish a turd.
For a pocket gun I like it, it works as I need it to, if I want to shoot a good range gun then I grab one of those.

My polished turd of a PPQ works as intended, but if I want to shoot a good sniper rifle I grab one of those.

 

[Nacelle]

I wouldn't add the grip personally....changes the form factor of the gun which in turn makes it a bigger gun in your pocket.

I carry mine in my pocket when I'm at work, on warm days where I can't wear a jacket to conceal my XD. The added width that the grip adds is the same as the added width that the holster adds. How does that change the form factor?

 

[6mm Shoot]

I don't like the turd polishing thought. If I felt it was a turd I would have flushed it with all the others. Maybe you are the type of person that gets to buy just what works first time out. Some of us have to make due with what we buy so we try to make it work for us by improving on the product. People have been improving on products for years and you are the first person I know of calling it polishing a turd. Thanks for your so very insightful thoughts.

 

[ajeandy]

I carry mine in my pocket when I'm at work, on warm days where I can't wear a jacket to conceal my XD. The added width that the grip adds is the same as the added width that the holster adds. How does that change the form factor?

Thus you have a traditional bulky pocket holster. Those just don't work for me, thus why I made my own.

 

[Grelber]

I don't like the turd polishing thought. If I felt it was a turd I would have flushed it with all the others. Maybe you are the type of person that gets to buy just what works first time out. Some of us have to make due with what we buy so we try to make it work for us by improving on the product. People have been improving on products for years and you are the first person I know of calling it polishing a turd. Thanks for your so very insightful thoughts.

Just an honest opinion in response to the original post.

Pretty much all of my range guns I have tweaked a little or a lot, so I understand your thoughts on making a product better suit your wants and needs.

In this case the LCP did indeed work fine for me first time out. For me it is an up close pocket gun & seems reliable & acceptably accurate & nicely priced. My opinion, that no one needs to agree with, is that if I want to spend money to improve a gun I'm a lot better off spending it on a different gun with a higher potential for accuracy & trigger feel & shooting fun. I could have said 'trying to make the gun something it is not', instead of 'polishing a turd' though, and that would have probably been more polite & politically correct.

 

[Nacelle]

Thus you have a traditional bulky pocket holster. Those just don't work for me, thus why I made my own.

Yet no one has ever noticed that I'm carrying a gun. I've stood right next to my boss, who was sitting in his chair, with the gun practically right in his face, never did. It really doesn't look a whole lot different than my big phone that is in the other pocket. I guess if you're wearing skinny jeans, that's more of a concern then if you're wearing khakis.

 

[gglass]

Just an honest opinion in response to the original post.

Pretty much all of my range guns I have tweaked a little or a lot, so I understand your thoughts on making a product better suit your wants and needs.

In this case the LCP did indeed work fine for me first time out. For me it is an up close pocket gun & seems reliable & acceptably accurate & nicely priced. My opinion, that no one needs to agree with, is that if I want to spend money to improve a gun I'm a lot better off spending it on a different gun with a higher potential for accuracy & trigger feel & shooting fun. I could have said 'trying to make the gun something it is not', instead of 'polishing a turd' though, and that would have probably been more polite & politically correct.

I completely understood your original post and how it was intended. I simply counter with this: Why can we not tweak and improve anything we own? When I improve the trigger or grip of an LCP, it is not an attempt to make it an STI Open Race gun. It is simply to make a firearm function at its highest potential for me. I do the same thing on my other carry or competition pistols. I tweak, replace parts, change geometries in whatever way, to make the gun work better for me. The work done on my LCP to fit me is proved by the previous 10-yard target pics, which was shot with an LCP that has an improved trigger and better traction to grip the small gun... Not too bad for a belly gun.

The below PPQ is an example of my tweaking work. This was done to a pistol that some say is perfect out of the box, but I wanted it redone in a way that was perfect for me. This is not an attempt at making my PPQ a sniper rifle, since I have a "tweaked" sniper rifle for that roll as well.



PPQ made to fit me:

• Barrel Quadra ported by Mag-Na-Port
• Slide lightening cut
• Dawson Precision FO Sights added
• Trigger lightened to 3.5 lbs
• Custom Cerakote finish

 

[Grelber]

I simply counter with this: Why can we not tweak and improve anything we own?

Time and money ?

 

[cosermann]

Some people have more time than money.

Some people have more money than time.

It's an equation that determines factors in to whether people tend to build or buy, have it done vs. DIY, upgrade vs. buy, etc.