HighValleyRanch
New member
So if it's still a LCR then it still has "poly junk" for the grip and trigger housing.
It has stainless in the upper instead of monolith aluminum.
If it's a Ruger SP101, then it weighs a bit more than 17 oz.
Debating LCR in .22 mag or .327 mag
- Thread starter VADER
- Start date
So if it's still a LCR then it still has "poly junk" for the grip and trigger housing.
It has stainless in the upper instead of monolith aluminum.
If it's a Ruger SP101, then it weighs a bit more than 17 oz.
seeker_two
New member
Agree with both. If possible, have her try the Walther CCP Mk2 and S&W Shield EZ in .380 as well. In the end, she won't use any gun that she's not pleased or practiced with.....or that she didn't want in the first place.
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Obambulate
New member
I would go for the LCR .327 and load it with .32 H&R magnum or .32 S&W Long for self defense.
A 1/4" dowel in hand will work for defense if you modify it with a pencil sharpener. No complaints or other issues from the school either. However, sticking sharp things into people takes a totally different mind set than using any hand gun does.
"...had far too many failures of .22 Mag not firing..." There's something wrong with whatever you've been firing it out of. .22 Mag is no more unreliable than any other rimfire.
"...had far too many failures of .22 Mag not firing..." There's something wrong with whatever you've been firing it out of. .22 Mag is no more unreliable than any other rimfire.
Jim Watson
New member
No, TO, you don't modify it with a pencil sharpener.
I think everybody in my friend's karate class carries a stick on their keyring, a "kubaton."
Difference is, it is part of their martial arts training and they know how to use it.
FrankenMauser
New member
I would also lean toward the .327.
But... I wouldn't load it with .327 Federal ammunition.
Chamber pressure is too high. Recoil is too sharp. Muzzle blast and report are going to be perceived quite terribly by your daughter.
I would load it with a decent .32 H&R load, and run with that. Still adequate, and better than .22 WMR, but the muzzle blast and sound level are notably lower than .327 Federal.
There's always the saying, "Better deaf than dead."
But I have a different perspective. If I can do something to reduce the potential hearing loss in an SD encounter, then why shouldn't I?
For me, that's doing exactly what I suggested above. I daily carry a .327 LCR. But it's stoked with a .32 H&R handload (w/ 85 gr XTP) that I worked up eight or nine years ago for other purposes.
I already have more than enough hearing loss. I don't need ".327 Federal fired in a confined space" levels of hearing loss added to that. There will still be damage done with .32 H&R, most certainly ... but likely not as much as with .327 Federal.
--
(.32 H&R being adequate, and handloads being carried for SD can be highly contentious topics. I am not going to get into a debate about either. I simply wanted to share my opinion, and let other people make the call for themselves.)
But... I wouldn't load it with .327 Federal ammunition.
Chamber pressure is too high. Recoil is too sharp. Muzzle blast and report are going to be perceived quite terribly by your daughter.
I would load it with a decent .32 H&R load, and run with that. Still adequate, and better than .22 WMR, but the muzzle blast and sound level are notably lower than .327 Federal.
There's always the saying, "Better deaf than dead."
But I have a different perspective. If I can do something to reduce the potential hearing loss in an SD encounter, then why shouldn't I?
For me, that's doing exactly what I suggested above. I daily carry a .327 LCR. But it's stoked with a .32 H&R handload (w/ 85 gr XTP) that I worked up eight or nine years ago for other purposes.
I already have more than enough hearing loss. I don't need ".327 Federal fired in a confined space" levels of hearing loss added to that. There will still be damage done with .32 H&R, most certainly ... but likely not as much as with .327 Federal.
--
(.32 H&R being adequate, and handloads being carried for SD can be highly contentious topics. I am not going to get into a debate about either. I simply wanted to share my opinion, and let other people make the call for themselves.)
TruthTellers
New member
No, because that revolver has shot many hundreds of more rounds of .22 Short and LR with a lot less failures to fire. It's not the gun, it's the ammo and this is in a single action NAA, but put .22 Mag in a DAO LCR and I would fully expect more failures to fire because the hammer is not getting as good a strike.
I don't think that .22 Mag ammo manufacturers make their ammo with a revolver in mind, they make it for rifles.
I wish I could say the same.heyjoe said:
Cosmodragoon
New member
I have the LCR 327 and it is my non-winter EDC. I have fired the .22 mag version and I wouldn't dream of replacing the .327 model with it. The trigger is stiffer and I have much less confidence in the round.
In my personal experience, the 85-grain Hydra-Shoks are a perfect mate for the lightweight LCR. In a side by side comparison with the original LCR, the felt recoil of this .327 load is indistinguishable from whatever cheapest 120-something grain .38+p we found at Walmart. However, the difference on water jugs was night and day. Looking at published chronograph results for the LCR 327, those little Hydra-Shoks are breaking 1200 fps despite the short barrel.
The heavier .327 loads might shine in the heavier steel revolvers but they start encroaching on .357 magnum recoil levels in the little LCR. If the Hydra-Shoks aren't available, you could try .32 H&R magnum. I've only tested one commercial load of .32 H&R Magnum through the LCR 327. Recoil was gentle, damage to water jugs was on par with standard-pressure .38 special, and it left unburnt powder in the barrel. It wasn't great but I'd still probably choose six of those over six in .22 mag.
In my personal experience, the 85-grain Hydra-Shoks are a perfect mate for the lightweight LCR. In a side by side comparison with the original LCR, the felt recoil of this .327 load is indistinguishable from whatever cheapest 120-something grain .38+p we found at Walmart. However, the difference on water jugs was night and day. Looking at published chronograph results for the LCR 327, those little Hydra-Shoks are breaking 1200 fps despite the short barrel.
The heavier .327 loads might shine in the heavier steel revolvers but they start encroaching on .357 magnum recoil levels in the little LCR. If the Hydra-Shoks aren't available, you could try .32 H&R magnum. I've only tested one commercial load of .32 H&R Magnum through the LCR 327. Recoil was gentle, damage to water jugs was on par with standard-pressure .38 special, and it left unburnt powder in the barrel. It wasn't great but I'd still probably choose six of those over six in .22 mag.
If you are looking for a small caliber, I would recommend trying the LCR in .22 lr before ruling it out as an option. With such a short barrel, the difference in performance between the .22 lr and .22 mag is less pronounced than it would be when fired out of a rifle or even a 6-inch barrel. The .22 lr LCR has an 8-round capacity as compared to the 6-round .22 mag, and the recoil is barely noticeable. The price difference between the two rounds is significant, which should allow for more practice. I picked up the .22 lr version as a plinker for my young sons, but have been impressed with the quality and performance. While I have always carried larger caliber semi-autos, I think the .22 lr LCR would be a perfectly viable pocket gun.
jetinteriorguy
New member
Have you considered a nice K frame in a 4" barrel. .38 Special, 6 rounds in a nice manageable size with a good trigger. I keep my model 67 with me every day. Best shooter of all my collection. A nice used model 15 or model 10 would work well. Even better would be a 3" barrel, maybe a Ladysmith.
I would definitely go with the 327.
If recoil is a problem, 32 S&W long recoils about like a 22, but the slug weighs about twice as much and is about 1.5 times as wide.
My wife and MiL have damaged wrists, but can shoot 32 H&R just fine. It's a pretty decent SD cartridge, way better than 22 magnum.
My LCR is a 38 and is my most-carried CC handgun. The trigger is excellent.
If recoil is a problem, 32 S&W long recoils about like a 22, but the slug weighs about twice as much and is about 1.5 times as wide.
My wife and MiL have damaged wrists, but can shoot 32 H&R just fine. It's a pretty decent SD cartridge, way better than 22 magnum.
My LCR is a 38 and is my most-carried CC handgun. The trigger is excellent.
TruthTellers
New member
No, that's not correct. This is a screenshot of velocity data from Gunblast.com of the LCR in .22 LR and .22 Mag. You can see that with a 40 grain projectile, the .22 Mag gets 200-300 fps more over .22 LR.
While Remington Yellow Jacket (and probably CCI Stinger, but I have no data in front of me to support this) go over 1050 fps, they're lighter bullets. I like the Stinger more for the nickel casing then I do for extra velocity.
Whatever ammo one ends up using, it should be that which shoots best from their gun.
FrankenMauser
New member
It's still crap.
I'd rather have .312" projectile of 85-100(+) gr launched at 900(+) fps, than a .222"-224" 45(-) gr projectile at 1,000(+?) fps.
Honestly...
I think the daughter would be better off with a "light"/mediocre .38 Special load than anything previously suggested - including my own recommendation of .32 H&R (even with wadcutters!).
Cosmodragoon
New member
The .22 LR isn't exactly "crap". It could save your life. It's just solidly unimpressive compared to most any other choice in a handgun, including the old .32 S&W Long or even the ancient .32 S&W, which you could fire from an LCR 327. The .22 mag adds a couple hundred feet per second and while that may help, it's still fairly unimpressive. I'd easily choose it over that ancient .32 S&W but is it really better than .32 S&W Long? Take a minute to think about that. I haven't seen chronograph data but even if the common 98-grain SJHP from Magtech only got 700 fps, would you rather have that or the rimfire with 40 grains at 1100 fps?
If you'd even consider that question, I think you have an answer to the topic question. The .32 H&R magnum rises to "okay" for self defense and the .327 reaches "great" up until you hit your personal limit for diminishing returns on recoil. As I said previously, the 85-grain Hydra-Shoks in .327 offer a nice balance that I think most people can handle.
If you'd even consider that question, I think you have an answer to the topic question. The .32 H&R magnum rises to "okay" for self defense and the .327 reaches "great" up until you hit your personal limit for diminishing returns on recoil. As I said previously, the 85-grain Hydra-Shoks in .327 offer a nice balance that I think most people can handle.
because of the slightly increased recoil of even a wadcutter .38spl and the loss of one round... the 6 shot snubbies are appealing to the recoil sensitive people. that said I'd choose a .32 S&W Long snub nose revolver over a .22 Magnum snub nose revolver for defensive purposes.
FrankenMauser
New member
I would consider such, and believe I eluded to such. (Thought the numbers that I posted don't show it.)
My answer is that I'd prefer a 700 fps .32 S&W Long wadcutter over a 40 gr RN/HP at 1,100 fps.
I still don't think 85 gr HydraShoks are the answer. My problem with .327 Federal is more about the muzzle blast and report, than recoil.
I have suffered instantaneous, permanent hearing damage from people shooting .357 Mag when I had no hearing protection, at least three different times (in open spaces, not confined spaces!). Though I consider .327 Federal's muzzle blast to be 'better' than .357 Mag, it is still substantial and offensive. For sensitive shooters, it would make them hesitant to shoot the thing. But the report is the same, if not worse (due to the 9k psi higher chamber pressure). Firing .327 Federal without hearing protection - especially if in an enclosed space - is going to be instantly damaging. Why set someone up for the worst case scenario, when there are cartridges out there that will result in less hearing damage?
But, as per experience with recoil... I can tell you unequivocally that my wife won't shoot full power .327 Federal from ANYTHING - not even the boat-anchor 5.5" Blackhawk, or the GP100. It nearly took an act of God to get her to shoot .32 H&R in the SP101. I have never been able to get her to shoot the LCR; not even with 480 fps 'pop gun' loads. Her problem is mostly the recoil. But the muzzle blast from higher pressure loads is also a factor.
In my opinion, if VADER's daughter is recoil or muzzle blast sensitive, at all, full power loads in a .327 LCR are not going to work well.
That LCR will be back at the LGS to get traded in, almost as quickly as if VADER got stuck in their revolving door.