Pighuntingpuppy
Well-Known Member
All my motorcycle riding years, I used to carry a backpack with me. In it, I carried my laptop, rain gear, cold weather gear and some other small items. On the side of my backpack is a fantastic pocket for my 1911 45 caliber pistol. Was an easy(for me) draw and always there. The other pocket contained the extra magazines. Years of riding with this....I eventually toasted a lap top. Bumps, jars and so on, causing things to bump and bang into each other caused that laptop to restart every time pressure was applied to the keyboard. So I decided to eliminate the backpack all together. With my new riding jacket, it has gun pockets on the inside. The 1911 fits in there wonderfully. However....Its a mini cannon. 2 and a half pounds on one side makes it not ideal to carry with. I do have other smaller guns. I have PT22 and PT25 pistols. But I think of these as more novelty than self defense. Dont get me wrong....wouldnt want to be shot with either. But nothing I would stake my life on. I have a PT140, 40 cal pistol. Reliable gun, great stopping power. Much lighter due to the polymer frame. But still heavy in that coat pocket.
So I started researching lightweight carry guns. Alot of em were pointing me to the PT140 size of gun. Which at 1.5lbs is still pretty good, heavy in that pocket. Pocket pistols are what I started looking at. Came down to a couple. Smith and Wesson, Walther and Ruger. All three of the pocket guns come in around 14 ounces loaded. Thats under 1 lb. While I have no problem with Walther....I dont want to say, shaken, not stirred every time I pulled it. Good gun, but cliched now. Smith and Wesson evidently dont deliver to New Mexico. The ones I did find were about 100% more than MSRP. Ruger though is readily available. So after checking them out, firing a couple different pocket guns, I settled on the Ruger LCP 380. The smallest and lightest of the bunch. This gun has been out for a while now and has turned out to be fairly reliable when needed. Main complaints about the gun are trigger pull. Its the heaviest thing on the gun. Plus you need to pull it back the distance of a freeway offramp to get it to fire. The sights are another complaint. Infected mosquito bites on the slide of this thing. Anything further than 5-7 yards....you wont be able to sight this in easily.
I addressed the main concerns. Short stroke trigger, lighter trigger, hammer and firing pin springs, and stiffer mag spring. Added a holster clip and a red dot laser sight. I did order an extended round magazine for a 7+1 instead of 6+1. Cause of its size, I still need to learn to sight it in better. I do hit center of mass, but I am low and to the left. I think thats cause of the small sights on the the slide. I havent shot it with the laser sight yet. The trigger is crisper than original. Stopping power is less than what alot will say. And I agree. As someone who carried a 45 for years, I know that a 380 isnt gonna pack the same punch. But hopefully it will deter someone from continuing on with their ill intents.
My new motorcycle carry pocket rocket.
So I started researching lightweight carry guns. Alot of em were pointing me to the PT140 size of gun. Which at 1.5lbs is still pretty good, heavy in that pocket. Pocket pistols are what I started looking at. Came down to a couple. Smith and Wesson, Walther and Ruger. All three of the pocket guns come in around 14 ounces loaded. Thats under 1 lb. While I have no problem with Walther....I dont want to say, shaken, not stirred every time I pulled it. Good gun, but cliched now. Smith and Wesson evidently dont deliver to New Mexico. The ones I did find were about 100% more than MSRP. Ruger though is readily available. So after checking them out, firing a couple different pocket guns, I settled on the Ruger LCP 380. The smallest and lightest of the bunch. This gun has been out for a while now and has turned out to be fairly reliable when needed. Main complaints about the gun are trigger pull. Its the heaviest thing on the gun. Plus you need to pull it back the distance of a freeway offramp to get it to fire. The sights are another complaint. Infected mosquito bites on the slide of this thing. Anything further than 5-7 yards....you wont be able to sight this in easily.
I addressed the main concerns. Short stroke trigger, lighter trigger, hammer and firing pin springs, and stiffer mag spring. Added a holster clip and a red dot laser sight. I did order an extended round magazine for a 7+1 instead of 6+1. Cause of its size, I still need to learn to sight it in better. I do hit center of mass, but I am low and to the left. I think thats cause of the small sights on the the slide. I havent shot it with the laser sight yet. The trigger is crisper than original. Stopping power is less than what alot will say. And I agree. As someone who carried a 45 for years, I know that a 380 isnt gonna pack the same punch. But hopefully it will deter someone from continuing on with their ill intents.
My new motorcycle carry pocket rocket.
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