I just went through this a few weeks ago. They had a decent sale in my area and I looked at the LCR, Bodyguard, S&W Airweight and a Taurus Model 85. I bought the Ruger.
I liked the feel of the LCR best and the trigger was definately the best of the group. The revolver sold for $400 which is the lowest I've seen in my area. It's very lightweight as you can imagine. HKS doesn't make a speedloader for it but the HKS 36A (for J frames) will work work although it doesn't work as well as it does in J frames. 5Star makes an aluminum speed loader for the LCR and it sells for about $18. This works a lot better. I've only put about 150 rnds through the LCR so far. Most of it was 125gr Remington and a little 148gr wadcutters. The wadcutters weren't bad but the recoil was quite a bit heavier with the 125gr Remingtons. I think this will be a great carry gun. I usually carry a Kahr CW9 but this will be a nice change.
I checked out the Bodyguard and liked the laser but not the location. The gun sold for $430 which seemed like a bargain for a handgun with a built in laser. The thing is the laser is in an awkward location and it seems to me that you must use the off hand to turn it on and then it must be left on. I don't like this setup in a defensive firearm. I will say however that the laser can be turned on to pulsate which makes it easier to see as the eye picks up movement better than a stationary dot. The gun felt as lightweight as the Ruger and the trigger seemed almost as good. I didn't like the grips and I didn't like the location of the cylinder release. I've also heard a lot of bad things about the reliability of this gun but it's all third hand stories.
I've got a S&W Airweight but it's really the wife's gun. The Ruger's (and Bodyguards) trigger is much better and so are the grips in my opinion. The trigger on my Airweight seemed better than the one in the shop so maybe it's smoothed out over the last decade. I didn't see much difference in the weight. The price was $400. I'd recommend the Airweight. My wife's has been a good gun and as this model has been around forever it's pretty much proven itself. I also like being able to cock the hammer if I wish. This model has a shroud around the hammer with just the end of the hammer showing through.
I also checked out a steel framed Taurus Model 85 just because it was right there in front of me. The price was $300. The trigger wasn't that good in my opinion. The gun was heavy compared to the others as you would expect when comparing steel to aluminum and polymer. Everything else about it was the standard J frame. It was OK. If $100 was that important to me I could see buying it. I will say that the dealer didn't seem impressed with the Taurus brand in general. I waited until after my purchase to ask his opinion of the brand since I expected the cheapest gun to get the worst reviews and I figured the answer might be more honest after the deal was done. I've got a Taurus .357 that gets shot every 2 months and have had no problems with it so I've got no issues with their revolvers.
I like the LCR but need more practice with it. I shot it outdoors as the light was fading and the sights are dark. The target was dark and hard to see under these conditions. As these conditions are what may encountered when CCW it's something to think about. My Kahr shoots better, the sights are better and I have more ammo capacity. I still like the LCR though and will end up carrying it and seeing which is easiest for CCW.
They make a LCR with Crimson Trace laser grips but this model was about $240 more at my lgs.
"I've also heard a lot of bad things about the reliability of this gun but it's all third hand stories".
Which gun would this be? The S & W Bodyguard?
I didn't care for the position of the laser sight on Bodyguard. The Crimson Trace sight I felt better with and the engagement of the laser I liked better because you don't have to shut it off like the one on the Bodyguard. You just let off the button on the LCR with Crimson laser grip.
There is a big difference in cost between the two revolvers when both equipped from factory with laser sights.
I believe it would cost less to purchase LCR with standard sights and if one still wanted to add the laser sights buy the Crimson Laser Grip later then add onto gun.
I believe the cost will be less doing it this way.
I have also seen the LCR with night sights with laser which was a big improvement over the standard sights that come with LCR.
Though the LCR is for real up close work you probably won't even use the sights anyway so like I previously mentioned it would cost less to add the Crimson Laser Grips later if laser sight is still desired.
Like I said earlier the Bodyguard did fit my hand better but I would have no problems with either gun. I like the Crimson Laser set up better. The S & W trigger pull is fine just different than the LCR.
I guess it would be more fair to compare these two snubbies with just iron sights but the Bodyguard comes with it from factory but you can compare both just with the iron sights they both come with.
