A acquaintance of mine at my gun club has one. One day last year he and I were shooting next to each other on the range. I had bought a Kel-Tek P3-AT as a back up carry. We noticed each others guns and compared the two, even took turns shooting each others. The Kel-Tek was first with the design and Ruger essentially duplicated its with a couple of cosmetic changes. I thought that it was a toss-up as to which one was better. They really were equal in all aspects.

A .380 (or .38 in revolvers) pulled its share of duty for police departments for many a year. Of course things weren't as technical nor did you have all of the shoot-outs back then, but it served admirably for its time. For close up, because the LCP only has a two inch barrel, it could serve as a good deterrent, if fired. I must say though, that those unfamiliar with it have a tendency to think the its a toy gun, so using it to scare off an assailant might not work for you. I put about a thousand rounds through my P3-AT and never had a problem. I always used Federal Premium Hydra Shocks for carry ammo and shot a hundred rounds a month of ball ammo (any thing decent that was on sale) and I never had a jam or misfire. I never really felt comfortable with its accuracy though. With the 2 inch barrel it was hard to hit the side of a barn at any real distance. But like I said before, up close, it will put a hurt on someone making a move for you...Just always use some sort of reliable hollow point ammo for carry.

TWO THINGS!!

1) The Ruger LCP did have a recall on it. There were a couple of reports that they had discharged when dropped, so Ruger immediately did a recall to address that. I found this... http://www.ruger.com/LCPRecall/index.html?r=y . Make sure that the one you are looking at was retro fitted.

2) I always carry locked and loaded (meaning one in the barrel and cocked). (An unloaded gun really isn't much good , is it?) My P3-AT did NOT have a mechanical safety. The P3-AT was a DDO (double-action only) so it had a very long trigger pull. I always used a pocket holster that completely covered the trigger housing as a safety precaution. I never really felt comfortable with that lack of a mechanical safety, so I ended up selling the gun.

I will end this post by saying that safety is the most important thing when owning a gun. I choose a .45 to carry. Yes its bigger, its heavier, and its harder to conceal, but with no less than two mechanical safety mechanisms (some have three), there is NO gun safer to me than a 1911. Only a .50 cal has more stopping power, but I just don't have the strength these days to lug that around. Hope this helps.

Gary

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: Wow!!! What A Ride!!!"