Kel-Tec vs Ruger

808hondacrguy · Mar 19, 2017

Great choice.

Nick Burkhardt · Mar 19, 2017

AR SLOOT said:
It's settled I will be buying the S&W M&P 9 Sheild for my fiancé. She is left handed and I figured I would have to go with something ambidextrous but I recently found out she shoots and feels more comfortable with shooting right. Not going with the Kel-Tec or the LCP. S&W never fails.

I picked the Ruger LC9s over the Shield for myself. Let her shoot both and a few others before deciding. How will she be carrying it?

TeacherSmurf · Mar 19, 2017

AR SLOOT said:
It's settled I will be buying the S&W M&P 9 Sheild for my fiancé. She is left handed and I figured I would have to go with something ambidextrous but I recently found out she shoots and feels more comfortable with shooting right. Not going with the Kel-Tec or the LCP. S&W never fails.

Watch how she shoots. I am right handed, but semi-ambidextrous. I started with my right, because I am right handed and hubby (@CountryGent) shoots that way as well, so everything was set up on the right side. Didn't think about it until I was watching him, then had a turn and used my left hand. Now I shoot with whichever hand happen to pick the gun up with.

Most smaller hand guns are made for right handed shooters and are therefore uncomfortable in the left hand. It may be that she is shooting right because it is more comfortable. I have held the LCP and the magazine release is right in my palm. Kel-Tec's is more flush, so it is not as uncomfortable, but I'm not sold yet. Both feel better right handed.

That said, I started with a Beretta Tomcat (with tip-up barrel). Fun. When I bought my own, I got a Walther P22 and I love it. I then went up to a Walther 9mm.

I have been looking for another CC for awhile. Recently, I looked at a Colt Mustang .380. It felt pretty good and I would really like to play with one of them. The S&W doesn't stick out in my mind either way.

AR SLOOT · Mar 19, 2017

I don't know where and how some of you live but down south here I can't just walk in and rent 10 guns and see what she likes. I have to go off of what I like, mixed with m opinion, peppered in with what my friends have. So I can't have her shoot all of them and have her choose. It is what it is. I do however have the income to buy what I think she will like based off of what she has had the availability to shoot.

With all that said I do like the input all you guys have given me. She is left and shoots right. I have had her use all of the mechanics and right works for her. We have shot and she is more accurate wiTh right, and we have done the dominant eye test and it is right. She does feel more confident with a right handed gun over the left setup.

Now it is my job to find out what is the best option for what she is asking without her testing all of them.

This is where we are at.... she thinks the SW.40 has to much kick. The Glock 9mm has just the perfect kick. The Glock to her feels like a Lego gun a 5 year old built. The SW feels good in the hand. The result is the SW9mm sheild .

She will be carrying it in her purse most of the time. The Sheild is a compact design. The Sheild is longer than the compact. The Sheild is single stack so it is slimmer than the double stack compact 9. I think it will be perfect.

As for the Ruger and the Kel-Tec, they are out of the question now. After shooting my friends they are ok but do not feel like a gun should like a S&W.

I'm sure the .380 Ruger would be ok for me but to much snap for her and the Kel-Tel is just a poor mans excuse to spend $300 instead of $329.

Nick Burkhardt · Mar 20, 2017

How close are you to The Barons Den at the South end of Eugene? Call and see if they would rent her a few for a flat fee <broken link removed>

TeacherSmurf · Mar 20, 2017

Nick Burkhardt said:
How close are you to The Barons Den at the South end of Eugene? Call and see if they would rent her a few for a flat fee <broken link removed>

The Baron's Den would be a good 2 hrs north of Grants Pass. I would think there would be something similar in Medford.

AR SLOOT · Mar 20, 2017

You would think there would be one down here but I have not heard of anything local. I've asked many of the local shops and ranges.

Pops1911 · Mar 21, 2017

I vote Ruger!

AR SLOOT · Mar 21, 2017

Pops1911 said:
I vote Ruger!

Really? You would go Ruger over a S&W M&P 9c? Or are you just saying Ruger over Kel-Tec. If it is Ruger v Kel I agree. Ruger all the way.

MooThulhu · Mar 21, 2017

My first pistol was a Kel-Tec P11 and while I liked it (the belt clip was the bee's knees for me for some reason) I found the trigger would sometimes not reset if I wasn't very attentive to it. I'm not sure if it was user error, a deficiency of the design or I just had a bad gun. It could be something that would be off putting in a self defense situation though so I would look out for it if you get a chance for her to test fire the guns. The problem wouldn't occur all the time but every once in a while I would find I needed to completely remove my finger from the trigger for it to reset.

If I had to go between the ruger and a kel-tec p11 I think I'd err on the side of 9mm, while it is true that shot placement is more important than caliber I think many people won't end up shooting one of the little pocket pistols enough to become Annie Oakley with them. It is totally possible to do so, but seeing as this is for a Significant other who may or may not be as enthusiastic about shooting as OP is I'd err on the side of caution.

Misteramax · Mar 30, 2017

So I shot my lcp2 today and I definitely have some things to report. Mostly good.

The good: it's accuracy is great for it's size. I was pulling but at 10 yards still managed to put all 5 shots (I'll get to that part) on paper. Grouping was 3.75" first mag. Settled down and a couple shots were just right at 2". Now I'm not the best shot and I shot like seconds mattered to simulate a situation.

The bad: the mag no matter trying to condition zero/one or trying to chamber one from condition three, it would not feed that 6th round. Load it at 5, no problem.

Overall: it works. For what I payed it will make a great carry gun and I can look past the mag issue. The trigger is what makes this gun work for me. The sights vanished on me a bit but I'm going to get sight paint.