Ruger LCR .357 vs Charter Boomer .44

I've been looking for information on this issue for a while now and have come up empty. Thought I'd perhaps get some opinions here.

I have both of these revolvers. They are roughly the same size. The Ruger loaded weight is about three ounces less than the Charter and thinner at the cylinder making it a bit easier to carry. I shoot 125 grain "full house" loads in the LCR, and 200 grain Underwood .44 special full wadcutters in the Boomer. The felt recoil is about the same with both guns.

My eyes have gotten old and for some reason, I can't really focus on the sights anymore, so I have reverted back to "point shooting" so the lack of sights on the Boomer is not an issue for me. I can put five rounds in a pie plate nailed to a tree up to 25 feet pretty fast and that is fine...for me. Any further than that, and I'll just throw the empty smoking gun in the general direction of the threat and run like hell.

My question is about stopping power. When an attacker is high on meth and bath salts and running toward me wielding a machete, or just super pissed and intends to murder me, which round would be the most effective to stop the attack cold. Keeping in mind that the only way to achieve a "one shot stop" is a hit to the brain or spinal cord.

I love the .357 round. Fired from the 2 inch barrel, I get velocities roughly equal to a 9mm fired from a four inch barrel at around 1150 fps with the 125 grainer. The .44 on the other hand, with the hard cast full wadcutter is running around 850 fps from the Charter. Penetration is not an issue with the .44 and over penetration is not a concern where I live. I really want to carry the Ruger, but will the .357 hollow point penetrate enough muscle and bone to take out a section of spine on a larger attacker from the 2 inch barrel?

I realize that a spinal hit would require a bit of luck on a quickly moving target, but I know the .44 is up to that task. The .357 bullet will expand but will it penetrate deep enough to do the job? Which would you carry and why?

ThomasT said:

I would keep the LCR and go with a heavier bullet since the recoil of a 200gr 44 bullet isn't an issue for you. And then look at getting an XS Big Dot front sight for the LCR to help with sighting issues.

https://www.xssights.com/Ruger_LCR_38Spl_Sight_Selection_pr-13160.aspx

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My LCR has a fiber optic sight that actually works good for me. But at close ranges sights really don't matter. For me at least. But I admit that hits beyond twenty feet or so are more difficult with the Bulldog. I just wish Ruger made a LCR in .44 special.

.38 Special said:

I doubt it matters much. If penetration truly is an issue, a heavier bullet in the .357 will likely penetrate deeper than will a .44 wadcutter. As far as "stopping power" they both are pretty good as far as handguns go, which means neither are very good overall. Honestly, if center-of-mass shots from either caliber don't stop an opponent, I'm going to start thinking about trying to break him down with shots to the pelvis. Hitting the spine, from the front, under the stress and immediacy of a life-and-death attack, is simply too much to ask, in my opinion.

At any rate, I personally would carry the Ruger. Even as a fan of the .44 Special, I have never liked Charter products, really don't appreciate ported barrels, and have utterly no use for a revolver without sights.

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I've never been a real fan of the Charters either. I picked up the Boomer last year on a lark and became really fond of it. Better trigger than a current Smith, goes bang every time. (At least 250 times so far.) All metal construction. I put a set of oversized Altamont grips on it and it handles very well for what it is. I prefer to carry the Ruger though. It's trigger is smoother than the Charter for sure.

.38 Special said:

I doubt it matters much. If penetration truly is an issue, a heavier bullet in the .357 will likely penetrate deeper than will a .44 wadcutter. As far as "stopping power" they both are pretty good as far as handguns go, which means neither are very good overall. Honestly, if center-of-mass shots from either caliber don't stop an opponent, I'm going to start thinking about trying to break him down with shots to the pelvis. Hitting the spine, from the front, under the stress and immediacy of a life-and-death attack, is simply too much to ask, in my opinion.

At any rate, I personally would carry the Ruger. Even as a fan of the .44 Special, I have never liked Charter products, really don't appreciate ported barrels, and have utterly no use for a revolver without sights.

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Center of mass shots at ten feet are real easy. Even under stress. Just consider the gun an extinction of your fist. Center of mass...that's where the spine is.

lee n. field said:

https://charterfirearms.com/collect...-crimson-trace-lasergrips?variant=33043803395



Kind of a low probability scenario. At that level of probability, I'd also be worried about the Charter's transfer bar breaking. (Something that I have had happen, multiple times. Never even seen Bath Salt Machete Guy, despite living in a crap neighborhood.)

Don't overthink it, just pick one.

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Broken transfer bar? Please elaborate.

ThomasT said:

Sounds like you have the best of both worlds. Just flip a coin and be done with it.

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Well, I DO have two pockets.

.38 Special said:

Well, center of mass generally is considered about ten or twelve inches. The spinal cord is between 1/2" and 3/4" in diameter, depending upon how far up or down it is measured. So there's a whole hell of a lot of "center of mass" that doesn't include spinal cord.

Now, I've done a bit of force-on-force training. Not nearly enough to make me any kind of expert on the topic, but enough to convince me that hitting a <one inch target, hidden behind a torso-length mass of bone, fat, and muscle, in a life-or-death struggle, under the most severe imaginable stress, is far more than I can manage by anything but sheer luck. Of course, lots of folks have cooler heads and better skills than I do, but it's probably still worth thinking about.

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You said it friend. Sheer luck as far as snapping the cord goes. But a hit anywhere along the spine is very effective at making the upright supine. Bust a vertebra or two and the whole house collapses. Same goes for femurs and pelvic girdles as well. I think the 200 grain hard wadcutter is hard to beat for smashing through bone. And as far as luck goes, I'll take all I can get.

In my opinion, the best “reload,” for a snub-gun, of any small-frame revolvers, is a second gun.[/QUOTE]

True, but my carry permit only allows for one gun. At least that's what was told to me in class many years ago. But then again, I'd rather be judged by twelve...