Shot the Ruger LCR today

M

Mr Budha

New member
And I have to say that I am not a huge fan. It is the first revolver I've ever shot (newb) but there were a few things that didn't fit me.

First, the trigger pull took me a while to get used to. The revolver is double action (so i believe the trigger pull has to be longer?) but being a new shooter I had a hard time getting getting familiar with it and I seemed to flinch sometimes which would send my shot way off.

The second, and biggest thing I didn't like was the overall grip of the gun. I couldn't seem to get a real good grip as I could only get about two and half fingers on it. Especially after shooting the .357 mag my hand felt pretty sore in the area right between my palm and thumb.

Definitely see myself getting a larger or full size revolver in the future. Any suggestions? :D

Anyways, i just wanted to share. Thanks for reading.
 
.357 in a light revolver is a handful. I like .38 Special in J-frame sized revolvers like the LCR.

As far as a good full-size revolver, look at the Ruger GP-100, the S&W 686, and used S&W K-frames. You can often find excellent quality police or security personnel trade-ins for under $300
 
I hear ya. I'm not really crazy about snubs, but they do have their place. Sounds like you are looking for more of a range gun. You can definately find a better range shooter, but the snub is designed for a different purpose.
 
First off . . . as you state, you're new to shooting. Give it a chance. Try some other revolvers and perhaps start out with a 22 which has virtually no "kick" to get the basics down . . . grip, stance, etc. You'll probably flinch with that as well once in a while.

The LCR is designed for SD CCW carry. I have the 357 model and love it. It's light to carry and I really enjoy shooting it. The key is practice, practice and more practice. I got the 357 model so I could shoot both 38 spl and 357 if I wanted to. However, I'm primarily a 38 spl guy and that's what I carry in it for CCW . . I'm comfortable with that and know that it will do the job if needed.

Yea, the DA trigger is different . . but you get used to it. I don't have any problem with mine and I've been strictly a SA shooter for 50 years. I try to get range time as often as I can even if it's only a few rounds. You must keep familiar with your carry gun.

If you don't like the LCR . . try others. Try the S & W Bodyguard and other similar ones. This is my first snubbie and personally, for my hands, the S & W wasn't comfortable. Don't judge Rugers based on whether or not you like the LCR. They make great firearms . . they're rugged, dependable and function well. Yea, everyone has their preferences. I own Colts, S & Ws but have six Ruger handguns and love them all.

If you can, go to a range where you can rent different makes/models and try them out until you find what works best for you. In the meantime, take some shooting classes and get some help with your hold, stance, etc. Pretty soon, it will seem like "second nature".
 
I picked an Lcr last month, shot about 10rounds and that was enough for me. It is one wicked snubbie. I just bought a 640-2 Smith and Wesson, what a jewel. I cannot believe that there is hardly any kick, very pleasant to shoot. I am glad I had the Lcr to make a good comparison on recoil. The Smith for me is the way to go.
 
If the grip wasn't comfortable try a different grip or a different gun. An example.
A Glock in 9mm or 40 cal, doesn't bother me at all. In .45 or 10mm it hurts that same webbing in between my finger and thumb after a few rounds.
A 1911 style .45 feels just fine even after 200 rounds.

I didn't like the original wood grips on my S&W mod. 65, I changed to Hogue combat grips and feels just fine.

If you are not sure, go to a range that allows you to rent a variety of guns. Shoot as many as you like. Tell them that you are looking to buy, they'll help. They might even give you a few rounds free (assuming that you are going to buy from them, lol). They might even have different grips for the range guns and will swap them out for you to try.
 
First, the trigger pull took me a while to get used to. The revolver is double action (so i believe the trigger pull has to be longer?) but being a new shooter I had a hard time getting getting familiar with it and I seemed to flinch sometimes which would send my shot way off.
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Training and practice will take care of that.

The second, and biggest thing I didn't like was the overall grip of the gun. I couldn't seem to get a real good grip as I could only get about two and half fingers on it. Especially after shooting the .357 mag my hand felt pretty sore in the area right between my palm and thumb.
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A two finger grip is fine, for a snubbie. The third finger curls under.

Especially after shooting the .357 mag
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Two comments: "Your mileage may vary" as far as personal recoil tolerance, and "Don't do that then". .357 is going to be a handful in any gun that size and weight. I ran a cylinder full of .357 through an LCR once. My personal perception was that it was much more tolerable than I expected.

grips
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One of the nice things about revolvers, is that there tend to be a much greater variety of grip shapes available for them. Many different hands can be accommodated. Autoloaders have the constraint that the grip much accommodate the magazine. Revolvers don't have the limitation.

That said, I don't think there's much in the way of alternative grips for the LCR yet.
 
I love snubs and shoot them all the time. My carry gun is a Ruger LCR. You can change grips and that might help. Shoot the 38 +P and you may like that better. No one gun is for everyone, but the LCR sure is for me. My wife loves hers too. :)
 
The trigger on the LCR is very unique, pull the trigger on any other major manufactures small revolver and you'll see what I mean. I personally believe that the LCR trigger would be very user friendly when it comes to new shooters and the big cushy grips should help with the felt recoil. I say rent a Smith & Wesson J-frame (if you've never shot one) of the Airweight/Airlite revolver, shoot a box of 50 through it and then shoot your LCR. I think you'll feel different about the grips and recoil. Stick with the LCR in its original configurations if you intend on carrying it is my advise...

I personally much prefer the J-frame grip and trigger over the LCR but I've been shooting J-frames for many years now. If I had starting shooting when the LCR came out, I probably would have gone in that direction.
 
The gun was my bosses carry weapon, he was just nice enough to let me shoot some. He personally really likes it and was MUCH more proficient with it than I was of course.

I definitely plan on practicing with a variety of different firearms. I just got into shooting and my first purchases were a Marlin .22, Mosin, and an AK-47 (all of which were very easy to shoot). I'm finding out very quickly however, that shooting handguns requires a certain finesse which comes with practice.

We also shot his mini Colt .45 which I found much easier to shoot accurately. My other hand gun experience was with some Glocks (and I'm personally planning on buying a Glock 23 to carry as my first) and I found those also much easier to shoot.

I definitely want to shoot the LCR more. I know my hand prefers the .38 special :P But I was more accurate with the .357 for some reason.

But I'm very aware I need to do one thing...practice, practice, practice!
 
So with a double-action only revolver like the LCR, I guess with practice you know how far to pull the trigger before the hammer falls... so you can pull the trigger back most of the way and then a little more for the shot once you are on target? Or is it made to just draw and shoot quick all in one motion?


I've got a Ruger SA/DA revolver and I admit that when I fire double action I am often surprised by when the hammer falls, but I guess that's kind of the point. I have noticed that I can put a certain amount of pressure to get the trigger most of the way back and then follow through when I'm ready to fire, but I have the visual input of seeing the hammer moving! Not sure how doable that is with the LCR.
 
That's interesting you were more accurate with the .357 vs. 38 special. Could it be that you had a more pro-active grip and stance when you knew you were shooting .357?
 
The LCR in 357 Magnum or .38 Special is a GREAT gun... however.... it's not a great or even good beginners gun.

Any small lightweight double action only snub is going to be tricky to learn on, and IMO, you're more likely to develop bad habits than be good right out of the blocks with it. ESPECIALLY shooting .357 Magnums.

Get yourself a nice double action mid frame .22 like a S&W model 17 or 617. Learn the basics of double action trigger control. When you get good with that,then give the little snubbie another try.

Everything that makes those small light snubs great to carry, works against them for ease of shooting.

Learn the basics first.
 
Two 7-shot .357 revolvers that are bigger but still suitable for carry are:
  • Smith&Wesson 386 Night Guard, 2.5-inch barrel, 25oz (recently suspended production)
  • Smith&Wesson 686P, 3-inch barrel, 37oz

These are more controllable and comfortable to shoot, and carry 2 more rounds. The downside is of course, they're not as small/light on the hip.
 
A buddy bought one last week and I tried it out the other night. Great double action trigger. Very nice shooting with 38's, tolerable with some moderate factory 357's, absolutely miserable with hot 357s. I won't be doing that again. That hurt more than my 460.
 
That's funny. I had my first experience with a Ruger LCR today (bought if Friday) and shot it next to my everyday carry, a 438 S&W J-Frame. I'm definitely not a new shooter and certainly not new to double action revolvers, having owned six.

The Ruger trigger is lighter than the Smith, but the reset on the Ruger is unacceptably long for me. If the trigger doesn't go all the way forward, then, of course, the trigger locks up or the cylinder will revolver, but the weapon won't fire. The same thing can happen with a S&W, it's just far less likely to occur. If you don't believe me, then take them side by side and dry fire them quickly and see for yourself.

Not surprisingly, the shorter reset on the S&W actually made for faster followup shots, at least for me.

Another minus for the Ruger, the S&W also seemed to have easier extraction.

Both revolvers were equally accurate with the Ruger have just a big more muzzle flip than the S&W.

My take:

LCR

Pro:

- 2 ounces lighter than Airweight.
- Equally as accurate as my S&W.
- Lighter Double Action pull.
- I like the Hogue girps even if they are a little big. I might get a monogrip for my airweight.

Cons:

- Bulkier than the airweight, thicker and taller in pretty much every regard, even discounting the grips.
- At my shop the Ruger was slightly more expensive.
- LONG trigger reset that is much more prone to short stroking than the S&W.
- Slightly more recoil than the S&W.
- Stickier extraction than the S&W for the three different handloads I tested in the weapon. (158 grain Plated, 5.1 grains Power Pistol. 158 grain Plated, 4.9 grains Power Pistol. 158 grain Plated, 3.5 grains Bullseye.)

I like how light the Ruger trigger is, but I don't like it's long reset. I could try practicing around the issue, or just keep the S&W and not worry about. I've decided to keep the j-frame and get rid of the Ruger. It's going back to the gunstore next week.

It's too bad, too, I honestly wanted to like the LCR.
 
What Jayhawk said.

You'd be much better served with a four inch Model 10 Smith or Ruger of the same type.

Snubbies are not for beginners and the ultralight ones are defintely not for beginners without some training.

Which means you go out and practice with the thing until you can shoot it well.

Even if that takes months or years.

You could shoot at a badguy with a snubby at fifteen feet and kill the walls all around him just before he kills you.
 
I find my LCR trigger to be fantastic. It's so easy to stage -- that hitching point is easy to feel. BTW, on the grip, my long fingers make my most comfortable grip one where the trigger is between my first and second joint (the middle segment of my finger). It's not orthodox, but my accuracy is acceptable, and the grip becomes very comfy that way.

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2
 
There is always next time.

We might very well be reading a different range report if the OP used a 4 inch Colt Trooper, S&W M15 or Rugly Security Six with American Made 158 grain ball.
 
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