Ruger LCR: Ugly as a mud fence, but shoots better than a J frame.

I wish Ruger would make their excellent LCRx 3" in .327 Federal!

Styx said:

I said it before and I'll say it again. I don't know why Ruger can't put the LCR trigger in their other revolvers, and why they do not make both a stainless and aluminum frame revolver the same size as the LCR... IMHO, they'll sell more than the LCR and the SP101.

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I'd like a stainless LCR or 3" LCRx.

Technically isn't the LCR family stainless guns with the black coating on the steel or aluminium parts? So would a stainless model should actually be cheaper?

Phaedrus/69 said:

I wish Ruger would make their excellent LCRx 3" in .327 Federal!

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Be patient...they went a couple years longer than anticipated to offer the 357 LCRx 3".

Cowhide Cliff said:

I agree, they are ugly but may have the best feeling double action on any out of the box gun ever.

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Very true; I agree completely for the most part. Not sure I'd go as far as to say "any out of the box gun ever".

Apropos of not much, I took my GP 100 to the range yesterday, and shot some of the Speer 357 Magnum 135 gr. short barrel loads. Surprised? You bet! The recoil was not much greater than my 150-158 gr. IPSC 860 fps loads! I alternated loads in the cylinder to compare, and was favorably impressed.
NOW: that said, I would like to have a carry gun that is somewhat lighter than my GP 100, a 3" Model 60 is my first choice ...WITHOUT the lock!, The LCRX 3" 357 also looks like a good choice, even if it is lighter. With milder loads...38 +P or even the Speer 357 short barrel rounds, loads, it doesn't seem the recoil will be as brutal as with some others. Problem is, I want to leave my guns to my grands or great-grandkids, and I'd like them to last for a couple of generations, but don't know about the longevity of the newer offerings that are greatly fiberglass reinforced plastic. I have had experience with "wonder" plastics literally falling to pieces after a decade or so. Does anyone have information about that?

I was under the impression the Ruger fiberglass reinforced plastic formula was incredibly strong.

Guns like the P95 were always described as tanks and I have not heard of any issues

What revolver does Chuck carry? You Got it!

IWAC said:

I want to leave my guns to my grands or great-grandkids, and I'd like them to last for a couple of generations, but don't know about the longevity of the newer offerings that are greatly fiberglass reinforced plastic. I have had experience with "wonder" plastics literally falling to pieces after a decade or so. Does anyone have information about that?

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There are hundreds of different formulations of "polymer", just from DuPont, thousands of formulations world-wide. It is difficult to know exactly what goes into a Ruger frame versus a Glock, versus an HK or any other brand. But having said that, quality high performance polyamide resin will maintain its structural integrity and tensile strength for hundreds of years.

http://www.dupont.com/products-and-...resins/thermoplastics/brands/zytel-nylon.html

Yep, hundreds of years.

There are plenty of pictures on the Internet too of Diamondback DB9 frames that have broken, and other brands too.

Polymer isn't adamantium.

I'm not sure if there is an advantage to steel over polymer 50 years from now. Most guns are going to be difficult to get parts for regardless of the material the frame is made out of. Maybe BHPs and 1911s are an exception to that - there are a lot of those around and probably will be for the next century.

IMO, two hundred years from the frame on a Ruger LCR is going to function just as well as it did when it left the factory.

C0untZer0 said:

There are plenty of pictures on the Internet too of Diamondback DB9 frames that have broken, and other brands too.

Polymer isn't adamantium.

I'm not sure if there is an advantage to steel over polymer 50 years from now. Most guns are going to be difficult to get parts for regardless of the material the frame is made out of. Maybe BHPs and 1911s are an exception to that - there are a lot of those around and probably will be for the next century.

IMO, two hundred years from the frame on a Ruger LCR is going to function just as well as it did when it left the factory.

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I do not worry about the polymer as much as aluminum vs steel frame.

IWAC said:

Speer 357 Magnum 135 gr. short barrel loads.......The recoil was not much greater than my 150-158 gr. IPSC 860 fps loads!

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I’m not surprised those loads are reduced power. I think they are supposed to produce 990 fps from (I think) a two inch barrel. Designed for compact 357 snubs.

Jeb Stuart said:

Yep, hundreds of years.

View attachment 837456

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To be fair, there could be a plethora of reasons for why the frames in those pics cracked.

Definitely a YMMV situation. I have an LCR .38 Special, but don't enjoy shooting it at all. The trigger is very good, I don't care how it looks, and it's light and small and sleek and therefore well-suited for carry. My complaint is that mine delivers what I consider to be very poor accuracy (7-yard groups that are often about 4 or 5x larger than any of my other handguns), and it's near painful to shoot due to the recoil and the way it fits the hand. I also bought the larger Hogue aftermarket grips for it and can't detect any meaningful improvement in the unpleasant-to-shoot nature of it. From a size and weight standpoint it would be good for carry, but it is not a gun that I want to shoot for practice or for fun, so I probably shouldn't even own it.

I6turbo said:

Definitely a YMMV situation. I have an LCR .38 Special, but don't enjoy shooting it at all. The trigger is very good, I don't care how it looks, and it's light and small and sleek and therefore well-suited for carry. My complaint is that mine delivers what I consider to be very poor accuracy (7-yard groups that are often about 4 or 5x larger than any of my other handguns), and it's near painful to shoot due to the recoil and the way it fits the hand. I also bought the larger Hogue aftermarket grips for it and can't detect any meaningful improvement in the unpleasant-to-shoot nature of it. From a size and weight standpoint it would be good for carry, but it is not a gun that I want to shoot for practice or for fun, so I probably shouldn't even own it.

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Yea as with recoil and any gun, YMMV. Haven't heard to many people complain about recoil while shooting 38 and I think you're the first to complain about poor accuracy especially at distances of only 7 yards. With 38 sp in the LCR, the recoil is no better or worse than shooting 9mm out of a single stack for me. With .357, the blast, recoil, and the beating up of my hand makes it hard for me to even get through a cylinder.

Styx said:

To be fair, there could be a plethora of reasons for why the frames in those pics cracked.

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Yep, too many rounds fired for the gun. At least the 4 I had. Never shot plus p out of any of them. I might be able to find more pics. Had one crack all the way down the magazine well. Just typical stress over time for the size gun, caliber and materials used.