Description
A charger is a large format pistol built on a carbine’s parts. The Ruger LC Charger 5.7x28mm is exactly that: it takes the receiver, the fire control and the magazines out of Ruger’s LC Carbine, cuts the barrel to 10.3 inches and leaves the back end bare. What you get is a gun that is sixteen inches long, weighs just over four pounds, and shoots a cartridge that was designed to be fired out of something longer than a handgun.
That last part is the real argument. 5.7x28mm loses a great deal in a five inch pistol barrel and gets most of it back in ten. The Ruger LC Charger 5.7x28mm sits at the point on that curve where the cartridge starts making sense, without the length of a carbine.
Ruger part number 19304, the state compliant configuration at 10+1. Black nitride threaded barrel, M-LOK handguard, a full length Picatinny rail on top and nothing else in the way. MSRP $1,039, and we are holding 192.
Ruger LC Charger 5.7x28mm at a glance
- Blowback operated semi-automatic large format pistol in 5.7x28mm, 10+1 as supplied.
- 10.30 inch black nitride steel barrel, 1:9 twist, eight grooves, threaded 1/2×28 with a protector fitted.
- Black hardcoat anodized aluminum receiver with a full length Picatinny rail, and an M-LOK handguard.
- Ruger Secure Action fire control: a protected internal hammer with a bladed safety trigger.
- Ambidextrous manual safety, reversible charging handle, ergonomic bolt release and an extended magazine release.
- Uses the same steel magazines as the Ruger 5.7 pistol and the LC Carbine.
- 16 inches overall, 4.16 pounds, no sights fitted. MSRP $1,039.
Why the Ruger LC Charger 5.7x28mm barrel length matters
- 5.7x28mm is a small, fast, relatively slow burning cartridge. It was developed around a carbine length barrel, and short barrels leave a meaningful share of its velocity unburned.
- Ten inches is not a carbine, but it is roughly double a service pistol barrel, and the difference in muzzle velocity is not subtle.
- Recoil in 5.7 is already minimal. Four pounds of gun under it means the Ruger LC Charger 5.7x28mm essentially does not move, which is what makes it pleasant to shoot at volume.
- Blowback operation keeps the mechanism simple: no gas system, no port, nothing to adjust.
- The trade is noise. A short barrel on a high velocity cartridge is loud, and 5.7 out of ten inches is louder than most people expect.
Ruger LC Charger 5.7x28mm specifications
- Ruger model number: 19304
- Caliber: 5.7x28mm
- Capacity: 10+1 as supplied, one magazine included
- Action: blowback semi-automatic
- Barrel: 10.30 inches, steel, black nitride, threaded 1/2×28 with thread protector
- Twist: 1:9, eight grooves
- Receiver: aluminum, Type III hardcoat anodized, full length Picatinny rail
- Handguard: M-LOK
- Grips: black polymer
- Fire control: Ruger Secure Action, protected internal hammer, bladed safety trigger
- Controls: ambidextrous safety, reversible charging handle, extended magazine release
- Sights: none fitted
- Overall length: 16 inches
- Weight: 4.16 pounds
- MSRP: $1,039
What is in the Ruger LC Charger 5.7x28mm box
- One Ruger-5.7 steel pistol magazine, which is the same magazine the LC Carbine and the Ruger 5.7 pistol use.
- An ambidextrous magazine button, so the release can be set up for either hand.
- An M-LOK QD sling socket and a hand stop for the handguard, plus multiple QD sling sockets already in the receiver.
- A hex wrench for disassembly and a thread protector fitted to the muzzle.
- No sights and no brace. Both are deliberate: the rail is continuous and the back end is left for you to decide about.
That accessory list is more generous than it looks. A hand stop, a QD socket and an ambidextrous magazine button are three small purchases most people make in the first month with a gun like this, and Ruger puts all three in the case.
Sights, braces and the legal line
No sights come on the Ruger LC Charger 5.7x28mm, which is deliberate rather than a cost cut: the receiver is one continuous Picatinny rail and the expectation is that you will fit a red dot where it suits you. Flip up backup irons fit the same rail if you want them.
The rear of the receiver is bare, and that is the part to think about before you buy accessories. A pistol brace is a legal accessory on a pistol. A shoulder stock is not: fitting one to a firearm with a 10.3 inch barrel creates a short barreled rifle, which needs ATF approval and a transfer through a dealer who handles NFA items. MAG5 does not sell or transfer NFA items, so settle that with a dealer who does before buying anything that goes on the back.
The same applies at the muzzle. The 1/2×28 threads take compensators and brakes freely; a suppressor is an NFA item and not something we sell.
Magazines and ammunition for the Ruger LC Charger 5.7x28mm
Ruger states that the Ruger LC Charger 5.7x28mm uses the same steel magazines as the Ruger 5.7 pistol and the LC Carbine, which is the practical advantage of buying into this family: one magazine pattern across three guns. One magazine ships with the pistol.
We do not currently stock Ruger 5.7 pattern magazines. The 5.7 magazines we do carry are FN pattern and they do not interchange, so we are not going to sell you one and hope. If you want spares, tell us and we will order the correct Ruger part in.
Ammunition for the Ruger LC Charger 5.7x28mm we do have, and deeply. Hornady 5.7×28 40 grain FTX is the heavier of the common loads and the one we would put in it for anything serious, and FN SS198LF 27 grain JHP is the lighter, faster lead free option. Both are held in the thousands.
How it sits beside the rest of the 5.7 rack
- The Ruger LC Carbine is the same gun with a 16 inch barrel and a folding stock, and it is the right choice if you do not need the shorter package.
- The Kel-Tec P50 is the other large format 5.7 we stock in depth, and it takes a fifty round P90 magazine, which is a completely different proposition.
- Against a 5.7 handgun, the Ruger LC Charger 5.7x28mm buys velocity and shootability at the cost of concealment. Nobody carries one of these.
- Against a 9mm carbine, 5.7 buys flat trajectory and very low recoil at a higher cost per round. Which matters more depends entirely on what you shoot.
The Ruger LC Charger 5.7x28mm is a specialist gun that knows it: a range and home gun for people who like the cartridge and want it doing its best work. Specifications here come from the distributor record and from Ruger’s own spec sheet for model 19304. This is a serialized firearm and ships to a licensed dealer for transfer, and we are 192 deep, so there is no wait.
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