Ruger LCR Polymer Revolver

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I'd pass over that "improved trigger" Smith, just because it almost always means it's either used (which I prefer not to buy) or prohibitively expensive (nobody supes up a brand new smith and sells it for a reasonable price).
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Ah, but you're evading one of my conditions. What happens if the Ruger and S&W are priced close to the same? It appears to me that this could be the case. Ruger need to recoupe the cost of designing, development and tooling - where S&W and Taurus don't.

Also what happens if the Ruger trigger pull isn't as "inproved" as it's thought to be?

The Old Fuuf is playing :evil: adcocate, because that's what market studies are all about. :uhoh:
 
Ah well, if they're priced the same you'll have two factions peel off. The 38 Special crowd and the 357 mag bunch.
1.) Those who like the 38 will buy the lightest gun for the price, which would appear to be the LCR.
2.) Those who want a small frame 357 (I'm guessing the younger crowd) will go for a Smith, being the producer of the lightest 357 mags out there.
Still just a wild guess on my part.
 
And those who want a gun their mother can use without it hurting her will probably choose the LCR. Fact is, the LCR is designed with comfort and shootability in mind. As soon as we get the LCR, that old Airweight we've got is going on Gunbroker. I've seen the prices they're fetching, and we should break even.
 
I too am very intrigued by the LCR... though considering the LCP and SR9 recalls, I will likely wait a while rather than be a test subject. I do love Ruger firearms though, and I see a lot of promise in this design.
 
i looked at an lcr in a store....alongside a dao sp101 and a centennial airweight s&w, 642 i believe.

the sp101 was much heavier than the lcr or the centennial...which might be good if you needed to throw it at someone.

but i cant see the benefit of attatching polymers to metal frames in revolvers of solid metal alloys (centennial around 14ounces) are already as light as the lcr (14 to 17 ounces). the trigger guard in the lcr was bulkier than the s&w centennial.

i guess polymers have reduces weight in semiautos but i am not aware of other benefits...often polymer semis are more expensive.

i have read that the lcr may have an improved trigger mechanism....and have seen videos stating the recoil was roughly equivalent between an lcr and a centennial.

the taurus 650 is 24 ounces and likely cheaper...i dont see where eight additional ounces in a concealed hammer revolver would matter much in a holster but if loose in a pocket 8 less ounces may make a difference to some. half a pound.

to me, the s&w had a slightly smoother pull but the lcr seemed crisper.

it may be a competitive offering in the dao revolver market.
 
the sp101 was much heavier than the lcr or the centennial...which might be good if you needed to throw it at someone.
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or, you know, if you want to shoot it ;) the LCR and airweights are flat out not fun to shoot, even with plain ol' .38spl. the sp101 is comfortable even with balls out .357 loads. that's why it exists, imo (i.e. to be the smallest .357 that you can actually fire .357 from without pain).
 
I like my Ruger LCR just fine. It is a light weight. It recoils more than my Ruger SP101, which weighs twice as much. Go figure hunnh?
Mine is a .38+P, so that's what I shoot in it. I tried the triggers on the S&W J-frames and the Taurus model 85's. I like the trigger much better on my LCR.
I gave $429 +tax for it about 3 months ago.
When I get the money, I'm going to buy a .357 Magnum LCR.
Some folks just handle recoil better than others.
 
Don't look or feel right in my hand. I haven't fired it much, don't own one and the few rounds I fired didn't really impress me. I think wait for lot more opinions of owners before laying out that much cash.
 
I have an LCR in each caliber. They shoot, carry, and conceal wonderfully!

For me, the LCR was by FAR superior to any comparable s and w j frame. Each of my LCR's wear an XS trit nightsight and a set of CT grips. Too bad they can't figure out how to stuff an extra 10 rds in these things. Love these wheelies!

Drew
 
Three years ago a friend of mine died and I bought his GP-100 4" at auction. My wife shot it and now it's hers. This spring I bought an LCR at a Sioux City gun show. My wife shot it and now it's hers. I'm hoping to find an LCR with the XS sight and maybe she'll let me keep it. They are absolutely unnoticeable in your pocket and easy to shoot.
 
Dropped in my friendly local gun shop today and he was laying out his snubbies. I picked up a lightly used LCR and my smart gun shop owner (he knew dang well I'd like it) gave me a handfull of 38 ammo and said take it home and see how it shoots. I did, I liked it, even with +p. Its on my hip now as it came with a nice Fobus paddle holster. Traded a NAA Guardian 380 for it.
 
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I bought a Blackhawk size 3 at Scheels when I bought the LCR and it works quite well.
 
Is the LCR 38 special +P rated or do you need to buy a special version. Sorry for the dumb question.
 
i've put several thousand rounds through mine...some advice.....paint the rear sight notch with bright green paint, buy the night sight for it, do not shoot the aluminum casing blazer ammo out of it (or any non-crimped ammo) because the bullets will actually push forward out of the casing and get stuck when the cylinder turns. Shoot several shots out of it and you really will not be able to find and flaws with it, its easy to carry around and is definately reliable. All the critics were looking at this thing skeptically, but mine still acts like its brand new.
 
How are the .357 LCR's holding up? How many of you would chose an .357 LCR over a .357 SP101?
 
I've posted this elsewhere, but it bears mentioning here...


I'd encourage anyone thinking of purchasing a .357 to get at least a 4" barrel (unless you plan on shooting .38 +p only). Out of a 2" barrel, the .357 magnum struggles to reach 1000 fps, although Corbon's DPX does 1050. Coupled with extreme noise and high flash, a 2" barrel is just a waste of good gunpowder, turning the .357 into the ballistic equivalent of a weak 9mm cartridge.

The Ruger LCR's barrel is not even 2 inches! It's 1.875! You'll be lucky to get 900fps for all of that .357 noise, kick, and flash -- that's terrible!

A 4" barrel gains you an additional 300 to 400 fps in the .357!

Source: http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/357mag.html
 
Baccusboy-

Note that in the tests you linked to they say that they measured the test barrel from the breach face as on a rifle, not from the forcing cone as on a revolver.

Since COL for a .357 is around 1.6 inches, the effective test barrel length for the "2 inch" barrel is closer to 0.40 inches. No wonder performance was so low!

Sure we can deduct some velocity due to the revolver's cylinder gap, but the referenced tests are not representative of snub nosed revolver performance.

Bob
 
nofishbob makes a great point. Published and personally measured short-barrel ballistics for a .357 would indicate that the BBTI measurement that more closely indicates a two inch .357 is the 3" measurement which without a cylinder gap is closer to published numbers for a snubby .357.
 
So far I love my LCR, I only have about 250 rounds through it right now but no problems at all. Picked mine up for $430. It really does become practically unnoticable in your front pocket. The DA pull is light and feels great IMO; it has taken me some time to get adjusted to it though (being used to a 1911 trigger.) I would highly suggest at least looking into one.
 
Actually, you are correct, but given the length of the .357 cartridge, it's still not reaching 1100fps.

Still about 300 fps less than what the cartridge is meant to do out of a 4" barrel, depending on if you're thinking of a revolver or not.

That's a pretty poor showing for a .357, and not worth it, IMHO.


Actually, let's take a look at some numbers FROM an LCR -- sad thing they messed-up the .357 numbers, but the Smith's barrel length is pretty close:

http://www.dentoncountysports.com/chronographyservices.htm
Revolvers used: Ruger LCR (approx. 13.5 ounces) and Smith and Wesson 340PD (approx. 12 ounces)

Ammo: Speer Gold Dot 135 grain (short barrel: product #23921) 38+P.

Ruger LCR: Chrono malfunctioned with 3 of 4 rounds. 818 fps recorded on 1 round from LCR.

S&W 340; fps: 752, 840, 856

Ammo: Hornady 110 Grain 38+P Critical Defense.

Ruger LCR; fps: 877, 888, 956

S&W 340; fps 875, 909, 882

Ammo: Corbon 125 grain DPX .357 Mag.

S&W 340; fps: 1,047, 1,076, 1050, 1021

April 2, 2010 Wallace and LW "Laboratory" session
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