LCR Cylinder Rubbing Frame When Closing

[Dragline45]

I just bought a new Ruger LCR in 327 Federal yesterday and noticed that when closing the cylinder it is rubbing the frame, to the point where only after a day of having it, it has worn a pretty large spot down to bare metal. I have owned J frames in the past and have never remembered an issue like this, so I am wondering if this is just the nature of the beast with LCR's or something to be concerned about.

I emailed Ruger about it but they are away for New Years and wont be able to get back to me until the 4th.

 

[BillM]

Check with Ruger for sure, but I suspect you have an example of
"tolerance stack". Every bitty piece has a ± on it's size. Get enough
of them all plus or all minus---and suddenly two things are trying to
occupy the same space at the same time. If it works when closed
and open, and doesn't bind when the two parts kiss, it's probably just
cosmetic.

If you actually carry it, it won't be long until that little worn/shiny spot
has lots of company. My LCP looks like it's been thrown down a gravel
road and ran over by a dumptruck after 6 years of every day carry in a Kydex pocket holster.

 

[ScaryWoody]

I had an issue with my Ruger LCR 38 where the ejector star would offset when you pushed it. I emailed Ruger with pictures. They had me call a number. Issued an RMA. Had the revolver back in a few days. They replaced the cylinder. 100%

I did make the mistake of shipping it in the zippered case. They returned that in a separate box. You just need to ship the revolver by itself in a plain box.

 

[Dragline45]

I had an issue with my Ruger LCR 38 where the ejector star would offset when you pushed it. I emailed Ruger with pictures. They had me call a number. Issued an RMA. Had the revolver back in a few days. They replaced the cylinder. 100%

The same happens with mine occasionally too, I've had awful luck with buying new guns lately, if this one has to go back to Ruger this will be 3 out of the last 5 guns I bought new that needed to go back to the factory, the other 2 cases were Beretta and S&W.

 

[ScaryWoody]

Personally, I think that with all the advancements in CNC technology they have lost the "craftsmanship" that can be seen in the older revolvers and pistols. Back when every piece was hand fit, a lot of attention was on the firearm before it got to the proof fire test. Now, its off the machines, hand assembled and rushed through.

 

[WCWV]

I have a LCR 357 and haven't had any issues like that with it, and I've run over a 1000 rounds through it since June. I would stay after Ruger customer service and I'm sure they'll make it right with you.

 

[FrankenMauser]

Mine touches a bit.

But the drag indicated in your photo would be a bit much for me to tolerate.
Once you get an RMA number from Ruger, have an FFL ship it back (MUCH cheaper than shipping it yourself, but Ruger can still send it directly to you after the repair).

 

[Terminatorret]

I had a problem with the cylinder dragging on an LCR...turns out that the tiny hex screw located under the cylinder release was loose. I tightened it up and the cylinder released smoothly!
Maybe not your problem, but might be worth checking.

 

[KW Gary M]

I had the exact sme thing happen with my GP100 and Ruger fixed it right away as well as paying shipping both ways. Give them a call.

 

[bedbugbilly]

+1 to BillM . . .

I'm sure if Ruger and you consider it a problem, they'll take care of it.

I had a 357 LCR for a while - never had an issue with it (or any of my Rugers for that matter) but I traded mine off on a Smith Model 36 just because I like the steel J frame better (in 38 spl.)

I hope you'll post a review on your 327 LCR once you've had time to play with it and spend some time at the range. My wife doesn't like hard recoil or semi-autos - she does enjoy shooting the vintage 22 Rugr Bearcat that I have though. I'm thinking that possibly a LCR in 327 might be a good HD hangun for her. For practice, I could always load up some 32 S & W for her and the recoil shouldn't be bad at all.

Good luck and let us know what Ruger says about it.

 

[g.willikers]

It would seem to be more conducive to the bottom line and company reputation if manufacturers would spend more time getting it right than having to make it right.

 

[SwiftPilot]

That is obviously not normal and Ruger will correct it.

I have a total of 6 LCRs and none of them drag or even come close to dragging like that. The only times I've had that happen to me on new firearms were on two S&W's both were early models of the Sc. One the corrected right away, the other took three tries and after the 3rd I refused it and demanded a new one.

 

[849ACSO]

If you actually carry it, it won't be long until that little worn/shiny spot
has lots of company. My LCP looks like it's been thrown down a gravel
road and ran over by a dumptruck after 6 years of every day carry in a Kydex pocket holster.

I have a J frame scandium smith I have carried in an ankle holster for the last 8 years. It looks like it's been used for a fence stretcher and drug behind a pickup. That said, a day old gun shouldn't have that mark. That's an issue that should be looked at by the factory.

 

[johnwilliamson062]

It would seem to be more conducive to the bottom line and company reputation if manufacturers would spend more time getting it right than having to make it right.

If everyone shot as much as most on this forum I would agree. Unfortunately, many Ruger buyers probably don't put as many rounds down range in the guns lifetime as OP has already. Although annoying, and I agree it should be fixed by Ruger, this is a mostly aesthetic issue that doesn't show up with normal use.

 

[bedbugbilly]

As far as making it right the first time . . . yea, in an ideal world that would be great but we don't live in that. Does Ruger have some problems once in a while . . yes . . . but they back it up with excellent customer service. Does S & W, Taurus, Charter Arms, Colt, Henry, etc. have problems at times? You bet. The difference is that not all of them give good customer service.

Nobody likes to buy a new handgun and then have an issue with it . . but it happens. It's no different han buying a Ford or a Chevy, an appliance or whatever. Maybe I've been lucky, but I have had probably 10 brand new Rugers of some shape or form over the years. I never had an issue with any of them other than a revolver with tight cylinder throats . . . and it's well known that you can have that with some Ruger revolvers - no big deal and a ream job solves that.

I give Ruger a lot of credit. They are an American company employing Americans. They are a great supporter of the NRA which, whether you agree with it or not, is working to protect our 2nd Amendment rights. If you look at the American gun factories that "used to be" and what there are now . . and the left movement to squash our Constitutional Rights over the past years . . . I give them credit for staying "afloat". Just take a look at Colt's problems they are going though and many of us are old enough that we never expected such a company to have problems.

So yea . . it would be nice if every gun that came off the production line of ANY gun company were "perfect" but they are made by humans who are "human". We live in a "throw away society" . . . just look at the products on the shelves of Wally World and others . . . if it breaks, there is no "fix" . . you buy another one. Not so with most firearms . . . I'm shooting revolvers that were from my grandfather's generation and he would be 149 years old this year. I shoot a Colt that was made the same year as my Dad was born and he would be 108 years old this year. The Rugers, Smiths and others that I have I fully expect will be going strong two generations from me, if, by then, by the grace of God and gun companies such as Ruger, Henry, etc. who support the 2nd Amendment continue to fight along with the rest of us.

Whatever needs to be done to fix the problem, Ruger will do it as has been proven many, many times before.

 

[05kas05]

i am interested in knowing the outcome if you do send it in for repair. i have an lcr 357 and it is starting to rub in the same place but i only have 225 rounds through mine so far. i assumed it was normal because i have looked at other lcr pics and most of the ones i found have the same wear in the same spot.
i

 

[Dragline45]

Sorry for not replying back sooner, just been so busy these days. The gun went back to Ruger, they didn't say much other than said they would like to take a look at it and sent me a pre-paid shipping label. They got it a couple days ago but I don't anticipate to hear from them for another week or two.

With that said I love the LCR. I have owned and carried a few J frames over the years, and when the LCR came out I told myself I would never get one, firstly because I thought they were ugly as sin, and two I convinced myself J frames were superior. I pretty much swore off snubs in general for carry due to the 5 round capacity, but once Ruger introduced the 6 shot LCR in .327 I will most likely be retiring the Shield for the time being and going to the .327 LCR. After spending a bit of time with the LCR I gotta say I prefer everything about the LCR except the looks over J frames. The trigger is leaps and bounds ahead of J frame triggers, it feels better in my hand, and it comes with better sights. Unfortunately I never got a chance to shoot it, but I will do a range report once I get it back.

 

[05kas05]

Thanks for the info hope it works out for you, as far as mine goes I'll be making the call to send mine in also. I took it to the shop I bought it from to get their opinion because not only am I getting the wear mark but my release seems to be getting hung up, sometimes I need to push it twice for it to open.they took it to the back looked at it and lubed it and said it was just stiff and needed to wear in .
I don't know for sure if they did anything else but when I got home later I opened it a couple of times to see how it worked and it seemed ok. I put some snap caps and dry fired it about 5-10 times and tried it again and all was well until I went to push on the extractor to remove the snapp caps and noticed something fall out , I looked the gun over and realized one of the tabs on the extractor broke off. Hopefully I can get it repaired with out to much cost involved.

 

[Dragline45]

Heard back from Ruger, the gun needs to be replaced, only problem is they have been waiting on the needed parts and materials the make the .327 magnum LCR's since Novemeber and there is no end in sight. The woman I spoke with said that by the time they receive the materials and they get around to making them it could be some time before I receive my gun. Rather than wait months on end I was offered an LCR in a different caliber as a replacement, though the only reason I bought the gun was because it was in .327 so I wasn't really interested. I always wanted a 5.5" Vaquero in .45 Colt and the woman I spoke with asked her boss who approved it! While the .327 was more practical as it could have been used as a carry gun, I am just as pleased with ending up with the Vaquero as I have always wanted one.

With that said if anyone wants to trade some .327 ammo and .32 h&r for .45 Colt let me know, 20rds in each box.

 

[05kas05]

well i heard back from the LGS and ruger said my lcr 357 is unrepairable so they will be sending me a new one. kinda stinks that these things happen but at least ruger makes the process as painless as possible just hope this new one shoots as good as the old one.