Bought an LCR in .38 earlier this year, 'cause everyone on line said how great it was to shoot, much better than the Airweights I have owned that always stung my hand badly.
Very disappointed to find out that some folks don't know what they are talking about. Guess I should have known. The LCR in .38 really isn't better than an Airweight on felt recoil, and may in fact be a bit worse than a boot-grip Airweight because the more vertical grip on the LCR allows the gun to slam a bit more straight back into the web of the hand.
Ditched the .38 LCR, and looked for the .357 version some have touted here. GLAD TO SAY the folks praising the LCR .357 DO know what they are about.
The LCR in general is not a bad design for recoil management, because the lighter 13.5 oz. .38 version does feel about the same on recoil as the 15 oz. Smith Airweights. Doing the math, I figured the 17 ounce LCR .357 would feel like an 18.5 oz. Airweight, and thus be pretty tolerable on recoil, and I am glad to say it is!
I did not like the one .357 load I tried in it ( Hornady 140 gr. FTX), but ALL the .38 loads I tried, including the FBI load, felt just fine.
No more flinching in anticipation of the shot, no more sore hands that can take the pounding for only 50 rounds or so. Yet still very easy to carry in the front pocket if you want.
I prefer the reliability of a pocket revolver over most of the pocket pistols. Finally I have one I can actually look forward to shooting!
Very disappointed to find out that some folks don't know what they are talking about. Guess I should have known. The LCR in .38 really isn't better than an Airweight on felt recoil, and may in fact be a bit worse than a boot-grip Airweight because the more vertical grip on the LCR allows the gun to slam a bit more straight back into the web of the hand.
Ditched the .38 LCR, and looked for the .357 version some have touted here. GLAD TO SAY the folks praising the LCR .357 DO know what they are about.
The LCR in general is not a bad design for recoil management, because the lighter 13.5 oz. .38 version does feel about the same on recoil as the 15 oz. Smith Airweights. Doing the math, I figured the 17 ounce LCR .357 would feel like an 18.5 oz. Airweight, and thus be pretty tolerable on recoil, and I am glad to say it is!
I did not like the one .357 load I tried in it ( Hornady 140 gr. FTX), but ALL the .38 loads I tried, including the FBI load, felt just fine.
No more flinching in anticipation of the shot, no more sore hands that can take the pounding for only 50 rounds or so. Yet still very easy to carry in the front pocket if you want.
I prefer the reliability of a pocket revolver over most of the pocket pistols. Finally I have one I can actually look forward to shooting!