One of my LCP MAXs is already gone, and the second will be very soon. The recoil has always been unpleasant, but my arthritic thumb and wrist has deteriorated significantly over the past few months, and they're now painful to shoot. My NPE gun is now a SIG P238, which is a much softer shooter, and subsequently much more accurate, albeit with a significant loss of capacity. I like it enough that I have a second one on order.
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There are a bunch of mini-1911 SA .380s, locked breech, and relatively soft shooting.^^^^^
Really nicely made striker guns are much more uncommon. The LCP always works, but isn't much fun. The II and the Max are more pleasant shooting, but have trigger slap and pinch. And they simply feel cheap...Ruger, you can do better.
Really need to try an older Bodyguard; mine has a smooth, very revolver like trigger; maybe the old ones were worse? Mine is actually fun to shoot, and I can hit things. Things smaller than a breadbox.
I've tried a buddy's Pico, now that thing has an awful trigger, in an otherwise nicely made pistol.
It may be the LCP has taken all the air out of the small .380 market. It's inexpensive, it works, it's tiny, and it works. Did I mention they work? For most folks who buy one, shoot it a couple times, and shove it in their pocket, they're content. It's probably the most carried gun in the country? My plumber carries one.
(As an aside, a buddy's wife has an LCP; she carries it jogging. She tried to fire it at camp, and the first round went off. The slide was, literally, immobilized with rust. I cleared it, cleaned it, and lubed it, and got it running. Sadly, she's likely more in need of a pistol than most of us. Unhappily, her husband's 1911 was almost as bad; it wouldn't run either.
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Moon