My
Ruger LCRs have had a love, then hate, then love relationship for some
time. What first drew me in on the LCR in .357 magnum was the weight and
compact size. It could deliver full power 357 magnum loads from a
snubby about the weight and size of a mini-380 ACP and still shoot less
expensive.38 Special loads for practice.
The
problem was that the LCR was a bitch initially to find carry options
because it really did not fit “universal” snubby revolver holsters.
Another issue was that my prefered 158gr 357 Magnum loads from my heavy
revolvers made the hyperlight 357 magnum snubby feel like I was shooting
.44 Magnum rounds... I have plates in my dominant arm from a break and
honestly it freaking hurt. I have prided myself on having good trigger
control without a bit of winc, however I flinched like a little bitch
when shooting those 158gr 357 magnum rounds. Reloading solutions were
also a little too slow and fumbly for my taste. The last issue was a
minor one, but important; the LCR needed a front night sight for
reliable targeting on anything beyond 5 yards in a reduced light.
FIXING THE CARRY ISSUES
For $30, it will transform the
utility of the LCR and will not interfere with any of your other carry
options. In essence the ClipDraw attaches a pocket clip the the revolver
unobtrusively with VHB - Very High Bond Tape and allows the revolver to
just be slipped and clipped inside pants, shorts, waistband, underwear,
or skirts (at least according to my wife). In addition this option even
provides a tuckable carry option which allows your shirt to tuck in
over the clip.


I did modify it a bit to make the LCR 357 magnum version
fit by removing the inner stitching row. Basically the stock state made
the pistol ride way too high for me, but removing that one non-
supporting stitch line allowed my LCR to fully seat in the holster. This
is a great simple holster which allows great concealed carry. Sourced
from ShopRuger.com
TAMING RECOIL
Newton’s
law tells us that acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass.
The greater the mass (the heavier the bullet being accelerated) the
greater the amount of force needed (to accelerate the object) and of
course Newton's third law explains recoil that for every action there is
an equal and opposite re-action. If we lighten the bullet grain weight,
we can drop recoil down a bit as well.
Heavy
grained 158gr rounds can be a bit harsh to shoot in this lightweight
revolver, however the recoil can be reduced either dropping the bullet
weight or the charge. You could just shoot lower power .38 Special
rounds like the Hornady 110gr round to drop the charge and recoil. The
other option is to to move over to lighter Hornady 125gr .357 Magnum
rounds or something in the middle with a +P .38 Special round. This is
what I love about the .357 Magnum chambering; it is flexible with the
ability to shoot a huge variety of .38 Special to .357 Mag rounds. What I
found took the edge off the recoil was just dropping to the Hornady
.357 Magnum Critical Defense 125gr FTX ammo. Still a little sharp,
however the round still delivers all the power you expect from a .357
but with more control. Sourced from my ammo guy named Vinnie.
RELOADING OPTIONS
I
am generally a huge fan of “press to reload” Safariland Comp series
speed loaders however sadly they do not make one for the LCR. The HKS
twist to reload speed loaders do not work as smoothly and catch on the
grips during reloading. Bianchi Speed Strips are a better carry option
for those that carry a revolver and lay flat in the pocket. They are a
bit slower for reloads however I have found them to put rounds in the
cylinder a bit more reliably than a speed loader that does not quite
want to go in willingly. $5.99 for two speed strips is a steal, so I
purchased three sets. Sourced from MidwayUSA.com
NIGHT SIGHTS

FINAL THOUGHTS
My
Glock is of course my first choice, however there are many situations
where the Glock will not work well with that certain pair of pants or
print just a bit more than I would like with “that shirt”. At that
point, which seems to be often, I reach for the Ruger LCR or Kahr CM9.
The LCR’s Bianchi holster or Clipdraw attachment both provide deeply
concealable tuckable carry options. Thus, the ultra-light 357 magnum LCR
gets carried much more than I ever thought it would. The lighter 125gr
Hornady ammo take a bit of bite out of the recoil from the original
158gr rounds and now the Tritium sights add safety to taking shots in
low light environments.
Over four months of carrying, shooting, and protecting, my updated LCR is finally what I would term as the perfect carry snubby. On more than one occasion I have been asked by a first time gun buyer what should they buy for a universal personal defense firearm for home and concealed carry. My answer is usually a Ruger LCR. I believe there are capacity advantages to a semi-auto pistol however much more training is required to be proficient with a semi-auto pistol however for the money and simplicity of a revolver, the LCR with a $30 ClipDraw attachment is the perfect light, dependable, and concealable option.
Ruger - http://www.ruger.com - http://shopruger.com
Bianchi - http://www.bianchiusa.com/
Trijicon - http://www.trijicon.com
H&K Speedloaders - http://www.hksspeedloaders.com/
Clipdraw - http://www.clipdraw.com/
Hornady - http://www.hornady.com/
6 comments:
Just found your article via Google. Nice! Question - are there any replaceable after market grips for the LCR?
Just found this post via Google search, nice article! Question - are there any after market grips for the LCR?
Great article.
I put the boot grip on my LCR. Makes it very concealable, but you need to limit yourself to 38+p or the gun want to twist out of your hands.
Mine shoots low. Did the tritium sight you used shoot low?
There are some out there, however I think what is on the gun is the best I have tested.
I've got a clipdraw for my lcr. unfortunately, it covers the serial number of the gun when installed.
Ergo 4583RUG Delta Ergonomic Grip for Ruger LCR Black Rubber.they are the best. Looking amazing really comfortable
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