On Friday, June 5, 2026, the following story appeared in Shooting Wire:
“Ruger has discovered that in some LCP MAX Manual Safety models, the recess that retains the safety lever detent spring may not be machined properly. When this condition is present, the safety lever detent spring can become dislodged under the recoil of firing.”
The way to check it is to determine if the safety lever stays ON SAFE (up) and to check if there’s a positive “click” when the safety is placed on or off. They allow that, after the gun is fired some, the defective spring will show itself.
“If present, the condition typically will emerge after firing 50-100 rounds through the pistol and the condition will be readily apparent when attempting normal operation.” (https://ruger.com/dataProcess/lcpmaxRetrofit/?r=announcements)
I have an early sample of the gun and there’s been quite a bit of shooting in its evaluation. I thought I’d run around 100 rounds through it and recheck that safety to ensure its solid.
Not all of the guns from earlier production have this problem; the best way to check it is to check it.
I took a variety of ammo out and consumed around 115 rounds of ammo. There’s a lot made of how uncomfortable the LCP and variants are to shoot due to small size and recoil; I have to confess that, after the first few 10-round magazines (loaded for convenience in determining the round count), it seemed to get less and less abusive.
Maybe I just got used to it.
In any event, the shooting went off without a hitch. There were no stoppages when shooting two-handed. I determined I’d shoot with the non-dominant hand, supported – no stoppages. I then tried one-hand shooting, right- and left-handed.
Still no stoppages.
I stopped every four or so magazines to check that safety – still positive on and positive off, with a pronounced “click” each time.
I had a 11”x17” sheet on a backer to use as a target. Over a hundred rounds went into that target, shooting from 30 feet or so in to close combat. The last few rounds, I shot a “one-hole” precision drill.
Nearly all of the rest went into that paper in a 7”x6” cluster, burning out the center of the cardboard backer.
I even shot some one-handed, bent-arm, like the Federal Protective Service practices – though from further away.
There are other micro-380 auto pistol options out there these days. I’ve heard some of them are good ones; I have some experience, for example, with the GLOCK 42.
I have a lot of experience with the Ruger LCP line across variants. While there are those who scoff at them, I find them a solid value.
When I was at my most compromised medically, I carried one, the LCP II.
That’s trust.
If you have the LCP MAX with the safety, check it. Go to the link, watch the video and ensure your gun works as the factory intended.
If you’re going to do the shooting test, make it count: account for each round fired on one- or more targets. You may as well get some relevant practice out of it.
– Rich Grassi