Ruger’s Lightweight Compact Revolver?

J

JCooperfan1911

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Does anyone fancy their LCR?

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I personally find mine to be superb. It is accurate, light of weight, hits with some authority, and stows nicely about the breeches or even a tweed swimming costume. The capacity of 5 central-fire cartridges is enough for my needs, and I’ve equipped this revolving pistol with illuminated sights and Hogue bantam handles.

It is of my most favored of shooting pieces, and finds itself among my many midnight ramblings and strolls about the countryside.
 
JCooperfan1911 said:
Does anyone fancy their LCR?

View attachment 1154225

I personally find mine to be superb. It is accurate, light of weight, hits with some authority, and stows nicely about the breeches or even a tweed swimming costume. The capacity of 5 central-fire cartridges is enough for my needs, and I’ve equipped this revolving pistol with illuminated sights and Hogue bantam handles.

It is of my most favored of shooting pieces, and finds itself among my many midnight ramblings and strolls about the countryside.
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I like mine. I'd say they're superior fit, finish, and build wise vs the S&W aluminum revolvers. I have the 357 version with the stainless cylinder and frame.

I'm a stainless steel revolver guy. Not aluminum, polymer, or blued type of guy, but I like the LCR.
 
I think they are fine tools, but as others have noted, I'd have a hard time really warming up to one.

Having said that, I'm starting to come to terms with my 340PD. I always have thought of them as purely utilitarian pieces that no one could love, but here I am. Maybe just the fact of carrying them every day creates some sort of connection.

(The opening post, by the way, was delightful. I almost - but not quite - want to see the tweed swimming costume.)
 
I have the 3" LCRx 38 Sp. Shoots good. Double action just "feels right". The 38 Sp is much lighter than the 357 or 9mm versions. As such I load "low recoil" 38s for shooting at the range. The adjustable sights on the LCRx lets me shoots POI at POA with my loads.

I have fired buckets of ammo through it and have yet to disassemble it for a full cleaning.

It gets 20 to 30 rounds through it every trip to the indoor range (average of say 40 trips per year).
 
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My last woodsbumming trip last week, I took my LCRx 3" .38 special instead of my usual .40 or .45 semiauto. The light weight makes you forget that it's on your hip. It seems like every trip, I'm trying to shed stuff to carry and weight of the stuff I do take. I may stick with it for the woods. It doesn't quite give me the peace of mind that a pistol with more capacity does but I think I can get over that.
 
Lcr 357 was my ccw of choice for many years.

I've gone to a 642 since, as I realized over those years I didn't care to put more than 50 rounds or so of 357 through the lcr.

Nothing wrong with a 38 Keith style hardcast for woods bumming, along with some snake shot, wadcutters, and jhp in speed strips. Versatility to weight ratio is considerable!

They're very accurate like most snub, it's just spending the time to find the right grip, load, etc so that you can be brought up to the level of accuracy of your hardware.
 
Mine is my favorite carry piece. The trigger is so nice!

It's the very light 38 special version, 13.5 ounces. Barely know it's in my cargo pocket. Very fast and easy to draw.

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I've come to appreciate the LCR line. Light, good trigger, nothing to look at but functional. I've got 3" LCRx in 38spl & 22LR, 2" LCR in 38spl & 327 Mag. I carry the 327 about 90% of the time with 32 H&R mags. I can keep all 6 in a 4" group offhand at 15 yards rapid fire.
 
I have it in 9mm and it is a little snappy. I'm a little bit bothered by bullet creep. Its not the gun's fault and it not the ammo manufactures' fault. The 9mm cartridge wasn't designed for that platform and the LCR wasn't originally designed for the 9mm semi-auto cartridge.

I could use 100gr Hornady Critical Defense Lite or Federal 105gr Guard Dog in it to reduce the snappiness, and there is lighter-loaded loaded ammo like DRT and Lehigh Defense 90gr Xtreme Defense.
 
Have you taken a Vow of Poetry?
Are we trying to channel Ralph Waldo Emerson or Henry David Thoreau?

Jeff Cooper never uttered phrases like “does anyone fancy”, “superb”, “light of weight”, “hits with some authority”, “stows nicely about the breeches”, “even a tweed swimming costume”, “revolving pistol”, “my most favored of shooting pieces”, or “my many midnight ramblings and strolls”.

Stay true to your avatar Jeff Cooper, who would have carried a 10mm 1911 or Glock, anything big and semi-automatic, with a 38 LCR last on the list.
 
Comfortable recoil reducing Hogue Tamer grips, stainless steel frame, barrel, and cylinder that's also PVD coated for weather resistant and durability, lightweight, has a great trigger, and excellent customer service. With the PVD coating, stainless steel, and polymer trigger housing it's perfect for carry in humid environments.

I've owned my 357 LCR since 2012, and the finish has held up better than any Glock, M&P, and HK finish. It still practical almost looks new.

The only reason NOT to like the LCR is because vanity is put before utility. The trigger, materials used, weather resistance, fit and finish, weight for having majoy stainless components instead of aluminum, and the warranty is superior to any of the lightweight S&W revolvers, but the LCR will be dismissed for EDC and self defense purposes because some care more about how their conceal carry weapon looks. It's not meant to be a collectable, safe queen, an accessory, or a BBQ gun.
 
ontarget said:
I just can't warm up to plastic on a revolver.
I'm sure the LCR is a great gun, just not for this guy.
I'm a self proclaimed S&W fanboy, but I think the LCR is the only Ruger revolver I can't see myself ever owning.
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Same here, not much of a fan of the LCR either. (Also not a fan of the Chiappa Rhino, S&W M&P Bodyguard and a few other revolvers out there.) But that’s what makes America great; those who do prefer the LCR (or others I may not select) can get one for themselves :thumbup:.

Stay safe.
 
bubbaturbo said:
My last woodsbumming trip last week, I took my LCRx 3" .38 special instead of my usual .40 or .45 semiauto. The light weight makes you forget that it's on your hip. It seems like every trip, I'm trying to shed stuff to carry and weight of the stuff I do take. I may stick with it for the woods. It doesn't quite give me the peace of mind that a pistol with more capacity does but I think I can get over that.
Click to expand...

i had a ruger lcr 38sp. ruger versus s&w, honda versus toyota, i choose the latter two. i simply didn’t like how the lcr felt shooting in my hand… that said, serving as an outdoors hiking sidearm is the perfect role for the lcr-x: exposed hammer for both da/sa shooting, longer sight radius with 3” barrel, lightweight, can mix ammo in the cylinder (e.g. snakeshot and wadcutters), ruger’s excellent warranty if the lcr-x takes a tumble.
 
JCooperfan1911 said:
Does anyone fancy their LCR?

View attachment 1154225

I personally find mine to be superb. It is accurate, light of weight, hits with some authority, and stows nicely about the breeches or even a tweed swimming costume. The capacity of 5 central-fire cartridges is enough for my needs, and I’ve equipped this revolving pistol with illuminated sights and Hogue bantam handles.

It is of my most favored of shooting pieces, and finds itself among my many midnight ramblings and strolls about the countryside.
Click to expand...
Hardly ever shoot it, almost always carry it.
Those Hogue Bantams are the secret sauce.
 
I had and sold an LCR in 9mm and another in 38 special. A bit snappy for me. But I’ve found the LCR and LCRx in 327 to be “just right” with the 32 H&R magnum rounds. Really like the trigger and the sixth round on these. Also have a 3” barrel LCRx in 22lr that is a fun plinker. Once you get past the looks and actually shoot one you’ll never know.
 
JCooperfan1911 said:
Does anyone fancy their LCR?

View attachment 1154225

I personally find mine to be superb. It is accurate, light of weight, hits with some authority, and stows nicely about the breeches or even a tweed swimming costume. The capacity of 5 central-fire cartridges is enough for my needs, and I’ve equipped this revolving pistol with illuminated sights and Hogue bantam handles.

It is of my most favored of shooting pieces, and finds itself among my many midnight ramblings and strolls about the countryside.
Click to expand...

A fine piece of hardware, modern materials, optimized design. The sole downside is, Safariland doesn't make their nice speedloader for it.

(LCRx .38 is mine.)
 
SterlingBullet said:
Have you taken a Vow of Poetry?
Are we trying to channel Ralph Waldo Emerson or Henry David Thoreau?

Jeff Cooper never uttered phrases like “does anyone fancy”, “superb”, “light of weight”, “hits with some authority”, “stows nicely about the breeches”, “even a tweed swimming costume”, “revolving pistol”, “my most favored of shooting pieces”, or “my many midnight ramblings and strolls”.

Stay true to your avatar Jeff Cooper, who would have carried a 10mm 1911 or Glock, anything big and semi-automatic, with a 38 LCR last on the list.
Click to expand...
We all need to wax poetic sometimes
 
Styx said:
Comfortable recoil reducing Hogue Tamer grips, stainless steel frame, barrel, and cylinder that's also PVD coated for weather resistant and durability, lightweight, has a great trigger, and excellent customer service. With the PVD coating, stainless steel, and polymer trigger housing it's perfect for carry in humid environments.

I've owned my 357 LCR since 2012, and the finish has held up better than any Glock, M&P, and HK finish. It still practical almost looks new.

The only reason NOT to like the LCR is because vanity is put before utility. The trigger, materials used, weather resistance, fit and finish, weight for having majoy stainless components instead of aluminum, and the warranty is superior to any of the lightweight S&W revolvers, but the LCR will be dismissed for EDC and self defense purposes because some care more about how their conceal carry weapon looks. It's not meant to be a collectable, safe queen, an accessory, or a BBQ gun.
Click to expand...


Eh, I wouldn't say it's the only reason. I outlined some of my thinking going for the 642 over lcr357.

Of all the lcrs, I've owned 22, 38 and 357, I preferred the 357 because at 17 oz or so it handled all 38 loads more comfortably.

However, I could never warm to the trigger return and my shot times were much better with the sw. The lcr requires a user to allow the trigger to fully reset and its a bit awkward feeling. You can easily short stroke it coming from smith and Wesson.

The j frame trigger is much heavier, but predictable. And...as I came to find...easily staged. My long range accuracy with j frames is much better than double action only rugers. You can stage a single action trigger pull with a Dao smith and really reach out there in a way I don't recall doing with the lcr.

So for me, the slow spongy trigger return is a factor.

Wasn't wild about the ejector either, and how it required specific oiling of a certain part (can't recall, been awhile!).

Upgradable sites are awesome, grip choices...yeah, i keep an eye out for another lcr 357..I miss mine
 
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