Polymer revolver opinions?

M

moosemike

New member
I'm seeing more and more of these. They mostly seem to be snub nosed. The Ruger LCR is even pretty nice looking. I'm just looking for opinions good or bad.
 
Don't care for any polymers.

The Ruger LCR is even pretty nice looking. I'm just looking for opinions good or bad.
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Can't really say as I don't plan on getting one. Generally speaking, I don't like plastic on any firearm. I once read that their is .75-Cents of "polymer" in a Glock. Don't get me wrong, I use to be in the polymer resin business and they make some tough resins. Yet look at the prices you pay. ...... :rolleyes:

Be Safe !!!
 
Ruger LCR series is like the Glock of revolvers. Mine will shoot any of the hottest loads without worries. Bomb proof, nice workable trigger, light weight.
 
anything larger than 22lr no thanks, and that's only if it was for CC.. sorry I don't own many revolvers but when I buy one it's gotta be metal, and stainless is highly preferred.

Dont' care if someone chimes in with "oh i've got xyz with 10k rounds thru it" no thanks, don't want.

I don't own any but have not heard anything bad about the Rugers, I've heard of loosening side plates and cracked frames on the Taurus.. have heard absolutely nothing about the S&W (Didn't even know they was making one now)
 
Let's see,
Smith J frames .38 special......careful about shooting +P through them.
Smith K frames .357......Don't shoot 125 grain loads because of the forcing cone cracking.
Smith scandium frame warnings:
"ALL SCANDIUM REVOLVERS FIRING MAGNUM AMMUNITION
WARNING: DO NOT USE MAGNUM® LOADINGS WITH BULLET WEIGHTS OF LESS THAN 120 GR. THIS WILL REDUCE THE POSSIBILITY OF PREMATURE CYLINDER EROSION."
and you have to worry about jumping crimp!:eek:

Just shoot an LCR, you don't have to worry about any of that!LOL:D
 
Several members of my family have bought polymer revolvers, mostly the Ruger. They all also own small steel frame revolvers.

They all claim that the polymer frames seem to have less noticeable recoil then the steel framed guns.
The thought is the flexing of the polymer mitigates the recoil.

The key part of the polymer revolvers is the actual frame and it's still steel.
The polymer part is under no real stress, no more so then a polymer Glock or M&P.
 
Can't really say as I don't plan on getting one. Generally speaking, I don't like plastic on any firearm. I once read that their is .75-Cents of "polymer" in a Glock. Don't get me wrong, I use to be in the polymer resin business and they make some tough resins. Yet look at the prices you pay.
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What does the cost of the material have to do with the price of the final product?

What do you think about software which is sent over the air? ZERO material cost. Coca Cola has less than that in their sodas you pay $1.89 for 24oz............you have an issue with that? Whole lot of folks look at one aspect instead of every other cost involved and whine because someone is making a profit...........forgetting about all of the costs t took to get there.
 
Not worth a conversation ..

What does the cost of the material have to do with the price of the final product?
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Hey, the OP asked for opinions and that's all it is. Now you want to turn it into a conversation. Not worth my time but perhaps you might want to talk to a mirror. ..... :p

Be Safe !!!
 
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I don't necessarily have a problem with polymer revolvers but the 3 different times I've had cash in hand to buy an LCR everyone of them had a major problem. One felt like it hand sand embedded in it throughout the trigger pull. On the 9mm version i looked at you had to manually adjust the extractor every time it was used otherwise it didn't sit straight and on the 38 special one I looked at the cylinder rubbed on the frame when opening. I'm sure Ruger would have fixed the issues on any of the guns, but I'm not buying a new gun knowing it has problems. If they cost half of what Ruger charges I'd probably try one but there's no way I'm paying the going rate for one after those experiences.
 
moosemike said:
The Ruger LCR is even pretty nice looking. I'm just looking for opinions good or bad.
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Hello Mike, new member here just sign up and your thread caught my eye cause it mention the LCR, here's my story.

A couple years back after I took my courses to get qualified and permitted to carry concealed in my area I got sucked in by the hype, I had bought a semi-automatic but never shot it because I didn't feel comfortable enough with it not to shoot myself with it so I sold it and used the money to buy a Ruger LCR .38 special.

When I took those courses I was the only one in the class who qualified using a revolver. It was a big class and even some of the NRA instructors gave me the look, the fire line boss on the day of shooting qualification was an active detective and he let me use one of his revolvers to do the shooting course. Problem was it was a big heavy S&W .22 LR.

Like shooting peas from a spoon.
Fast forward I buy that Ruger and it was pure 'brutality' ! Never even got to 40 rounds, got home cleaned it up and sold it.

Since that time I have own several S&W J-frames and what I discovered was despite what some may think or even say polymer does not work the same way as it does on an auto-loader. It doesn't flex. And it sure as hell does not absorb recoil, all it is is lighter weight.

A 642 S&W is only 1.5 oz heavier and yet it's night and day. It should not make a difference but it does, because even aluminum does better at control than polymer, however polymer will out last aluminum. If you can take the beating.

Now, get ready for this. Fast forward again a few years and I decide to get another LCR, because no revolver out of the box has a better trigger, that's important for me because I only shoot one handed and from both sides.
I bought the .357 magnum version which is constructed differently then the .38 special version only.

But not to shoot .38 specials, strickly .357, not full house loads but never the less you know you got a hand cannon.
So what changed, a few years shooting some real blasters and I understand recoil better and how to roll with it. Don't get me wrong, a .357 magnum out of a 17.1 oz snubby is not for everyone.

https://vimeo.com/259112815

I just wanted you to know that LCR .38 special will kick like a mule and if you ain't use to it will shock you, the old line about carry often shoot little is b.s., if you buy it you better be shooting every chance you get because snubby's are hard to master to begin with, but more so you don't feel afraid of it because of how it kicks.

Good luck in you decision, hope it helps some.
Mr_Nasty.jpg
 
I just wanted you to know that LCR .38 special will kick like a mule and if you ain't use to it will shock you(...)
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So will an aluminum J-frame with the same loads and level of experience.

They're light revolvers.
They have much more pronounced recoil than all-steel versions.
It's that simple.

There's plenty that can be said about recoil perception and how one person might be perfectly fine with something that the next person finds offensive and painful to shoot. But the bottom line in this discussion is that the polymer frame doesn't matter -- it's the rest of the bits (the stuff still made from metal) that get the job done.


I've owned both.
I carry an LCR, and the J-frame is long gone...


P.S.: After having more experience, the next biggest reason for you finding the .357 Mag LCR 'nicer' to shoot is probably the frame(s). The .38 Special LCR has an aluminum frame, while the .357 LCR has a steel frame. There's enough extra weight (3.6 oz) in the .357 to make a difference.
 
Can't really say as I don't plan on getting one. Generally speaking, I don't like plastic on any firearm. I once read that their is .75-Cents of "polymer" in a Glock. Don't get me wrong, I use to be in the polymer resin business and they make some tough resins. Yet look at the prices you pay. ......
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If you used to be in the polymer business you'd probably know then that a set of injection molding tools can cost upwards of $100,000, and the injection molding machine itself can easily reach a million. Not to mention the team of people including engineers, operators, managers, buyers, lab techs, down to the guy sweeping the floors. Often, materials are just as small fraction of the price of something.
 
Sometimes I use plastic to pay for steel guns. That's about my only involvement with plastic.

Don
 
@USSR, LOL

@Bass
Ya but aren't a lot of those costs fixed, I mean Im fairly sure the mfg's using aluminium and steel also have managers, and techs, and people sweeping the floor.. probably indoor plumbing, heating and lighting as well.

Also don't the molds tend to last a really long time? yes they cost a lot up front but don't they also produce product faster, Time is money.

on a 1 to 1 comparison I think we should most definatley see a reduction in cost of the product at retail.. it should be noticeable too.. but for a long time we did not see this savings being passed on to the consumer, now the market has taken a down turn and while all guns are down, price wise the polymer guns have really been showing a reduction in price.
 
The aluminum part is more of a cosmetic cover. There is a steel metal skeleton frame & barrel liner under the LCR's aluminum covering, with the exception of the poly grip frame & tang. That part is an all glass filled nylon 6 polymer grip tang & housing, and it's pretty darned solid too. Before the LCR, I opted for a Colt D frame over the S&W J frames. It's heavy high carbon steel, (holds 6 not 5) and I have seen more than a few dozen of the Detective Specials, Agents, Cobras & Diamondbacks reamed out to .357 Magnum, and used with full house loads, although infrequently, with no ill effects. The LCRs have applicable proper metal cylinders & barrels for the loads they shoot, with stainless cylinders for .357 & .327 Magnum. My mom really likes the LCR's light weight and she loves the light trigger, for carry, but for range shooting, the Colt is king, just because of the added weight, and Colt D frame triggers are fabulous, too. Taurus? meh, It is heavy, stiff & gritty, with a heavy trigger pull but they work. The LCR has a weird cam action that is non-standard, but it is very very cool. The trigger pull is smooth & no stacking, but the break is odd feeling, and unlike anything before it. You get used to it, no problem! Taurus also makes a poly frame revolver, but the Ruger LCR beats it hands down. You pay for light weight with recoil. That goes with everything. Mom is 82 and can't rack slides on a lot of autoloaders, but I did find a Beretta 86FS for her. The LCR's plastic grip frame reminds me of a good quality power tool. Yes, the plastic does get buggered up being toted around inside a purse. So does aluminum, so these with use these will get dinged up just like a Scandium J Frame. There is always a trade off. Carbon steel or stainless, and minimal finish wear, or light weight alloys, & plastics and worse wear. If your budget it tight, the Taurus gets the job done too. It's just not the gun the LCR is. When I mean business, the S&W K & L frames come out. For defensive carry, in a lightweight package, the LCR is fine. For daily carry, I am a Sig Sauer or Swiss Sig (no JP Sauer) man. I may switch to the Beretta PX4, just because I can really shoot that gun exceptionally well. It's a poly framed gun too. I generally don't care for poly striker fired guns as carry guns. I don't need the easy to master weird consistently spongy triggers. I grew up with DA revolvers, & DA/SA & SAO hammer fired guns, so I can stage a DA trigger with the best of them, and get myself immediately disqualified from any IDPA match. I started shooting in the 1970s, and we didn't have any IDPA or IPSC. We also didn't shoot ourselves or each other, so it all worked out okay. I am not a DAO fan at all, but..... I can deal with them. In closing, "I like the LCR". It is what it is, and it is probably not an heirloom gun. It is more than adequate though!
 
I've had several different LCR revolvers and I will say they are very fine firearms in my opinion. The .357 magnum shot very nice with .38 special loads due to the extra weight as previously mentioned.

With that said, I've had quite a few J frames too. For the record, NONE of the J frames or LCRs (in .38) were what I would call "fun" to shoot, definitely not range guns. But doable of course.

I will say that all the LCRs always had better triggers than the J frames from the factory. But I think this is pretty much common knowledge now.

Currently, the only LCR I still have is actually an LCRx in .22 LR caliber, with the exposed hammer and 3" barrel. I carry a J frame the majority of the time, not because it's a better shooter but it just carries better for me, probably due to the slightly smaller / narrower grip. I will readily admit if i wanted a better shooter I'd still have the LCR in .357.

The only other polymer revolver I have experience with is a Taurus Public Defender Judge model. That one does kick a bit, but I do enjoy shooting it mainly because it's fun to see 4 holes in my target with one trigger pull when using the Federal 000 buck loads :) I will admit, it took me several tries at LGS to find a decent Public Defender in polymer...but thats not the fault of the polymer, thats the fault of Taurus.

So to me, I don't really see a big change between polymer or steel revolvers. I don't see me shooting either or enough to wear it out.
 
How is the price of polymer/resin related to anything? A pound steel cost under a couple bucks, yet a decent 1911 starts around $750

If you think a polymer gun is cheap and easy to make I'd suggest trying to start up a new manufacturing plant. The margins are so high you'll be a millionaire in no time at all...
 
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