Ruger LCR---No Thanks!

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

Let me say right off that I have no desire to own a light weight, small frame 357 Mag or 38 Special. I have three S&W J frame 38 Specials, two Model 36s and a Model 60, the Stainless version of the Model 36. Firing these small, steel framed 38s is all the recoil I want to handle. I can't imagine shooting a 357 Mag version.

I was at the range yesterday and a pal had a Ruger LCR. Five shot 38 Special. He asked if I wanted to try it. I remember I shot one a few years ago and did not care for the trigger. He handed me five rounds of ammunition. I was shooting one handed. First shot, ouch! Plus the gun jumped way up. Second shot, ouch again. I emptied the gun and gave him back the three unfired rounds. We both had a good laugh over it. Maybe if I had tried it two hands I would have liked it a bit better.

Call me a sissy if you want, but the Ruger LCR is not on my Christmas list.

 

[FrankenMauser]

Let me say right off that I have no desire to own a light weight, small frame 357 Mag or 38 Special. I have three S&W J frame 38 Specials, two Model 36s and a Model 60, the Stainless version of the Model 36. Firing these small, steel framed 38s is all the recoil I want to handle. I can't imagine shooting a 357 Mag version.

Come on. You know you want to.
The 'Scandium/Titanium' AirLite .357 Mag is a joy to shoot.
There's something special about feeling like you're getting hit in the web of the hand with a crowbar. ...Right up to the point that the 3rd or 4th round has a bullet jump crimp and jam the cylinder.


In all seriousness:
I traded off a S&W 642 .38 Special, because it was unpleasant to shoot and, well, tearing itself apart.
Its replacement was a Ruger LCR...

 

[HighValleyRanch]

I was shooting one handed. First shot, ouch! Plus the gun jumped way up. Second shot, ouch again.

Were you shooting +P?

 

[TruthTellers]

At the present time, NO snub nose revolver is on my Christmas, birthday, or Black Friday list.

I shot my Rock Island .38 last month with +P ammo and thankfully that thing weighs 25 oz, otherwise it would have jumped out of my hand.

I shot a friends J frame .38 with standard and +P and the grip on that thing is so small, it's a struggle to tame the recoil and do follow up shots.

Double action with both? Forget about it for anything further than 7 yards.

I can't imagine what .357 must be like and I don't even care to entertain it. .357 has no place being shot out of a barrel shorter than 3 inches.

 

[Cheapshooter]

Each to their own. I happen to enjoy shooting my LCR 38 Special. Held properly in a two handed stance it has never been a problem to shoot, and shoot accurately.
With +P it certainly gets your attention. But not enough to stop after two rounds. 20, or 30 maybe.

 

[HighValleyRanch]

can't imagine what .357 must be like and I don't even care to entertain it. .357 has no place being shot out of a barrel shorter than 3 inches.

Here we go again. I don't know why these myths keeps getting perpetrated?

the reason I love my .357 LCR is carrying in the woods for 4 legged critters and how lightweight it is. Got it in my carhart pocket right now around the ranch.
Snake shot in a couple, and BB in the rest.

An then the results of the chronograph test of the Buffalo Bore .357 Outdoorsman heavy 180 grain out of the 1 7/8" Ruger .357 LCR.
1246 and 1250.
This yields an amazing 617 ft. pounds ME out of a 17 oz revolver!
So those that say .357 out of a snub is useless and not greater than a .38 need to do their own testing and they will see the truth.
https://youtu.be/C8gDwX4nwuQ

Double action with both? Forget about it for anything further than 7 yards.

As for accuracy out of these little snubs, I quaifilied with my snub and the 3" a couple of weekends ago. Out of the group of twenty shooters, I had the tightest group except for two others. One was a IDPA competitor, and the other friend was shooting with a M&P with a optical sight on it. Of course they are going to shoot better groups!LOL And Of course the Sheriff's department require ME to shoot DOUBLE ACTION ONLY against their striker fire pistols!LOL

I shot a friends J frame .38 with standard and +P and the grip on that thing is so small, it's a struggle to tame the recoil and do follow up shots.

Heavy 180 grain .357 magnum out of a Ruger LCR. Does this look like it's out of control?
https://youtu.be/8zZyXkhKPiM


And then there is this other guys video of regular .357 out of the LCR:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X14AWsisL-c

__________________

 

[Carmady]

Did the LCR have the factory equipped big Hogue grips? I thought they were just about perfect and made the LCR pleasant to shoot. That was a regular DA .38 Special.

 

[HighValleyRanch]

Did the LCR have the factory equipped big Hogue grips? I thought they were just about perfect and made the LCR pleasant to shoot.

I bought the bigger hogue grip that comes on the 3" LCRX and used them on the .357 LCR to shoot the BB loads. Yeah, that helped a bunch, comfortable as heck because of the extra cushion on the web part.

But the other guy in the youtube clip was using the stock 2 finger hogue grips for his shooting. But his loads were no where near as hot as the BB.

 

[Spats McGee]

I'm not what you'd call a recoil junkie, but I rather enjoy my LCR. It's chambered for .357, which I do not enjoy, so I carry .38s, which I do.

 

[TruthTellers]

Congrats to HighValleyRanch. Shooting a snub .357 works for you, it doesn't work for everyone. And you chose one premium load out of all the .357 loads to make an argument that 600 fps from a 2 inch barrel. That's one load out of many .357 loads and I don't base my opinion of a firearm because of one available premium factory load.

It's the same argument about +P+ 9mm ammo.

 

[DaleA]

Ruger LCR .357 magnum.

Nobody should be saying it CAN'T be shot, and shot well. It obviously CAN!

I'm just saying I'M not going to do it. I use my hands to hold the occasional can of beer and am VERY reluctant to loose this ability.

 

[dgludwig]

In my experience, the LCR is no more difficult to shoot than any Smith Airweight J-frame when using identical ammunition. Too, though I personally think the little Ruger is ugly; more importantly, it's also my opinion that the da trigger pull on the LCR is much superior to the one on any J-frame.

I still have a couple of s/s J-frames but my edc snub-nose revolvers currently are a vintage Colt Cobra and a S&W Model 12. I plan on switching to a Ruger LCR chambered in .327 Magnum, though, if I ever find one.

 

[Deaf Smith]

Just plunked down some money on a used S&W airweight J .38 stainless Centennial as an understudy for my carry J airweight .38 Centennial!

Cost me $300 flat, tax inc.

I have a .22 S&W 34 I already use for practice but I need a 'real' version that uses .38s. Could not resist that gun for just 300 bucks. It's a duplicate of my carry gun just like I have a duplicate of my Glock 26 just for practice.

Why? Cause I pack that .38 very often and one needs to maintain their skills. I just reload light 158s for practice and use factory 135 JHPs for carry. In an appendix position IWB one can draw and fight at lightning speed if you practice.

Deaf

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

No they were not +P loads, they were standard loads.

Yes, it had the soft spot in the grip near the web of the hand.

Yes, I was shooting it one handed. Perhaps if I had taken a 'proper' two handed grip it would not have been so unpleasant.

In my experience, the LCR is no more difficult to shoot than any Smith Airweight J-frame when using identical ammunition.

Yup, except I already said I am not interested in 'lightweight' J frames. I have a couple of steel Model 36s and a Stainless Model 60. I can handle the recoil, one handed, of standard 38 Special loads with those. Not interested in anything lighter in weight.

As my friend said, the LCR is not a 'range toy'. Not meant for casual plinking at tin cans. I agree.

No desire whatsoever to own one, or a 'lightweight' J frame.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[dgludwig]

As my friend said, the LCR is not a 'range toy'. Not meant for casual plinking at tin cans. I agree.

No desire whatsoever to own one, or a 'lightweight' J frame.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I don't think anyone is trying to talk you into buying any light-weight revolver, Driftwood; I'm certainly not. They have their irrefutable drawbacks as mentioned. And I too certainly agree with your friend, the LCR is not meant to be a "range toy". For most people I suspect, its real purpose is serving as a reliable, relatively light-weight and compact snub-nose revolver chambered for potent ammunition, that can be carried comfortably concealed for use in self-defense.

All that said, you can still scare a tin can more than yourself with it.

 

[UncleEd]

Regarding recoil: In an intense, adrenaline pumping situation, you won't
notice it.

Practice enough to be familiar with the light weight and be able to hit
a decent sized target at seven yards or under.

It's an emergency tool.

As dgludwig just said, it ain't a "range toy."

 

[CDR_Glock]

I agree 100%. The shape kills my hand. I can handle many Magnums up to Smith 500. That design is not for me.


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[Eazyeach]

I don't think Driftwood is really asking how to shoot a lightweight snubby . He is just saying it ain't his thing. He has small revolvers already but they actually have a little weight to them.

I personally carry a LCR .38 with +p ammo and it isn't very fun to practice with at all.

 

[TruthTellers]

Between a snub revolver and an LCP or a LC9 or Sig 938, I'd rather buy and carry the semi auto pistols. First time I think I've ever definitively said that.

 

[Slimjim9]

I also hated the LCR38 I tried with standard range ammo. I'm with Spats - LCR357 with 38s is all I want.I still don't put more than 4 or 5 cylinders through it every few range trips to keep in touch. I even opted for the cushier Pachmayr Diamond Pro grips. Works for me as EDC.