Ruger LCR feedback

JustJim

Well-Known Member
Got a chance to shoot a couple of these recently, a 38 and a 357, both with 38 loads. Now I'm seriously contemplating the 357 for use with my preferred 38 load (+P 158g LSWHP). Has anyone shot one to the point of wearing it out? Any other feedback or thoughts on the little beast?

Likely use will be practice and pocket carry. Figure (roughly) weekly 50 rounds of handloads duplicating carry load.

Thanks,
Jim
 

jordanka16

Active Member
I have one in .38, I got it because they are considerably lighter than the .357 version, and like you I only intended to shoot .38 in it anyway.

I have shot mine a fair amount, it's my daily carry and I shoot it almost every time I go out. Well over 1000 rounds. Still shoots like it's new. I normally shoot plated xtreme bullets in it, but loaded to +p levels.

Recoil is considerable, my wife hates it.
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
As a long time disciple of the short barreled revolver platform, I wish to second the comments of CWLONGSHOT. The lightweight snubnose DA revolvers are optimized for ease of concealment and carry. That doesn’t mean they are weak; I’ve put thousands of rounds through an Airweight S&W J-frame and it has held up well. However, you need to fit the tool to the job.

I’ve shot the LCR’s and know several people that own/carry them. They are good guns but in the world of lightweight snubnose revolvers, they are relative newcomers. I don’t know if they will hold up to decades of use and thousands of rounds. BUT, As CW points out, that’s not the criteria for selecting such a gun.

It is FAR, FAR, FAR better to have a gun when you need it than to not have a gun when you need it, and that is why small guns were invented. The strength of a snubnose revolver is the ability to have it when you need it. That doesn’t mean they are inaccurate (they are capable of fine accuracy despite what some folks believe) but they do require practice and training.

The Ruger LCR is an innovative design that combines plastic, aluminum, and high strength steel to achieve a light weight. It has a very smooth & snag resistant exterior. The DA pull is very good.

If you need a small, lightweight, DAO revolver, the LCR fits that role.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
:headscratch: Well I guess my LCR 357 is shot out. Cause I have over 500 rounds though mine. IMO, the 357 LCR is the best hammerless on the market. Better trigger and better sights than any S&W snubbie...........and I own two 642's (one is a Talo version) and a Model 60. IIRC, the 357 version is only a couple of ounces lighter than the 38 version............still weighing less than 20 ounces, unloaded.
 

Rick H

Well-Known Member
I have a LCRx3 (3" bbl. adjustable sight single and double action) in 38Special +P. I have fired over 100 rds of various factory +P rounds through it before settling on Winchester Ranger 130gr jhp +P for carry ammo. It has fired 100 of the Winchester factory plus another 400 +/- of a cast equivalent load. Both the factory and cast run 860-875fps out of the 3" barrel. It has also fired an assortment of factory and handloaded wadcutter rounds, perhaps 150 or so.

When I first purchased the pistol I cleaned up and shimmed the trigger/hammer. I also replaced the bulbous grip with the standard compact LCR grip for easier carrying. As far as I can tell it is as tight as the day I bought it. I use it as a woods walking kit gun.

Rumors of its demise after 500 rounds are greatly exaggerated. If I was going to carry one with no more than 38 +P loads I would just get the 38 special instead of the 357 and save a few dollars and ounces in weight. The LCR's are butt ugly, however, they do what they are designed to do.
 

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
You seem to have had better luck than two of my shooting friends who had the plastic break away from the aluminum body. However, Ruger was excellent about replacing the whole revolver. p.s. there were both early 38 models.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
The LCR's are butt ugly, however, they do what they are designed to do.
The Gaston Glock Revolver Series.

The 642's DAO trigger jams on the third or fourth round during firing with some frequency. I have stopped carrying it, and once the desert cools down I'll run some rounds through the critter to assess what's going wrong. Just one of many hobby projects put on hold due to crummy medical system breaking down due to COVID excuse-making. Not feeling well at all.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
Yeah, the long-delayed meds (Epogen) are supposed to land here tomorrow before noon. About (serial cuss words) time.

Many thanks for the encouraging words, all o' y'all.
 
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JustJim

Well-Known Member
Hope the new med is working for you CZ9.3x62!

I apologize for the delay in getting back to this, been stuck on a tablet and I hate trying to write without a keyboard.

Snubnose revolvers are inherently difficult to hit with. If I'm carrying one on a regular basis, as my sole means of defense, I regard an average of 50 rounds a week as near-minimum training. My experience has been that the better my level of training, the longer I can try other means of defusing a situation before the fight begins.

This volume of shooting can result in a lot of wear on the firearm, so I'm trying to get an idea of MTBF. I've shot enough in Smiths to have an idea, and have info from a friend who shot some SP101s enough that they made the trip back to the factory. Not much so far on the LCRs.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
The meds seem to be slowly helping, I'm feeling stronger. Thank you!

I don't know a whole lot about the LCRs, and even less about their durability under sustained firing. I am having similar questions about the S&W Model 642 I have been hauling around pocket-carry fashion for a couple years. I am hoping to address my questions in depth now that the heat is receding where most of my shooting happens. Most of these small-frame snubguns are a carry-often/shoot-seldom option, and I don't know of an endurance test carried out to test this class of revolver (outside of factory R&D inquiries).

I'll be blunt here--my 642 was likely built to a price point rather than to a quality standard, and meant to compete directly with the Ruger LCR-series. 2 years ago, $400 was not a huge amount for a D/A revolver, and I rolled the bones on buying it. It may or may not work out, that trigger tension stack-up at Round 3 or Round 4 in a cylinder-full concerns me. If it re-appears with a variety of loads, the gun will go back to S&W for repairs. (All shooting has been with 125 JHPs at +P ratings so far, since that is what I carry in it). I don't carry it currently.
 

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
Recently S&W, and just about every other gun maker have been cranking guns out of their factories as fast as they can make them. The lightweight J-frames are a well proven design, but good design only goes so far when your goal is to make them fast and cheap.

I hold those little J-frames in high regard, but I can’t speak to the current crop from the last few years.
 

Rick H

Well-Known Member
It may or may not work out, that trigger tension stack-up at Round 3 or Round 4 in a cylinder-full concerns me. If it re-appears with a variety of loads, the gun will go back to S&W for repairs.

I would be interested in knowing what you learn about this problem. I can't wrap my mind around how this is happening. What could be causing it? My experience with J-frames was with a non plus P rated Model 36 (mid 70's era) that saw a pretty steady diet of plus P's and never faltered. I did go inside and polish mating surfaces and cut a coil out of the trigger rebound spring.

The only time I experienced a trigger stacking/binding with a Smith was when brass cleaning brush bristles worked their way into the inner workings and bound things up. ( I was never quite sure how they got there, probably through the cylinder bolt slot in the frame). Unlike yours, it stayed bound up until I fixed it. The fact that yours only seems to appear after 2 normal shots is puzzling.