Hello to all,
Just secured for my collection a Ruger LCR in 357 and was wondering if any of you have one and what your thoughts are about it are??
I also want to get a Taurus “Poly Protector” either in 38 special or 357 magnum.
I have a .38+P Ruger LCR and am very happy with it. While not a .357 like yours, it is my “gun when I’m not carrying a gun”(my EDC is a Springfield TRP). It shoots even the 158+P ammo pretty softly, so I imagine with the little extra weight of the .357 version it should be even more pleasant to shoot +P .38’s in.
Good gun, but go easy on the .357’s. Mine became loose end-shake wise after about 4 yrs / 2000 rds IIRC. (I’d have to check my previous posts about it for better numbers) and probably related, the cylinder popped open while firing. (I think I was firing 180 gr .357 at the time)
About a third of what I fired was factory .357.
There was a youtube video that showed some serious flame cutting in early .357 models that were fed a steady diet of factory magnum loads. This was several years ago when the gun was first introduced. I don’t remember the round count but it was low. To their credit, Ruger warrantied the gun and apparently changed the materiel used on newer frames.
That said, I think the intended purpose of this gun is as a defensive weapon and not a range blaster. The LCR line has expanded so it is obviously popular.
It should be popular it’s a light, reliable gun with a good trigger. (For a DA)
I’ve had four. Still have two. My favorite is the .327 Fed. 6-shot. The wife carries it. Never fired .327 from it and dont plan to. Just .32 S&W Long, .32 H&R mag, and the occasional .32 S&W and 7.65 mm.
I owned the LCR 357 and carried it for about a year or so. I actually still regret selling it. Defensive .357 loads were not fun, and liked to eat my hands, so I carried .38 +P’s in it which were much more pleasant to shoot. It is one of my favorite snubbies I have shot personally.
Wish the .327 had found more traction, and that other gunmakers (Smith!) would build them. The incredible range of ammo they’ll consume is only one reason.
Moon
My favorite loads for it were the Hornady Critical Duty 135 gr .357 and Rem. Golden Saber 125 gr. Both are a slightly reduced load and bridge the gap between. 38+p and .357 mag.
For steel guns I prefer Federal .357 180 gr SJHP.
There is a list here:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/.327_Federal_Magnum
It’s only about 11 yrs old. I think well see more guns. S&W seems the biggest hold out. (Except for the one revolver) But I think theyll come back to help sell more revolvers.
The two big draws, of course, is the extra shot you get and the 5 cartridges they fire.
Although I wonder if the Henry .327 rifle will feed the shorter cartridges?
Hola,
I do not have a Ruger LCR but I do have the Taurus 605 Poly Protector (.357 mag) and love it. So light but still feels solid. No issues after about 250 rounds although the majority of these were .38 Spl.; .357 does beat up your hand pretty fast but .38 are just fine.
The only issue I have with it is the factory grip(s) get in the way of a speed loader. I don’t know if that would be an issue for you or if there are after market grips that have addressed this already.
Have the Ruger 357 and even shot it in IDPA BUG (back up gun which includes semi auto’s) and managed not to come in last even, that’s versus magazine fed guns. You can get fairly fast with speed loaders but you’ll still be about two to three times as long as a semi auto load. Still, it’s not as slow as some would think. The course of fire had 10 shots at 15 yards. I had no misses on a torso sized target, shooting at speed, but had about a fourth of the shots in the -1 area (outside of center mass)
That said, per the FBI stats, a reload in a defensive gun use is really, really rare. So I’m okay carrying a revolver in many cases
I carry the LCR a lot. I carry a 38 +P round with solid copper hollow point bullet. I think the buzz about it being intolerable in 357 is not warranted. No, you wouldn’t want to shoot a box of 50 full power 357s, but 5 rounds of it isn’t a thing at all IMO. If you have arthritis, then no. I don’t carry 357 for the reason that if you shoot defensively indoors with unprotected ears, it’s like a stun grenade … the shock will disorient you. That’s true of most rounds, but even more so with 357. Worse yet with AR pistols. People have little idea what those blasts will do to your senses.
With practice anyone can handle +P in a snub and shoot at speed and hit a pie plate at 7 yards
There’s times when a concealed hammer snub is a great choice for carry. Plus, there’s things that can’t go wrong with it versus a semi auto
As you can tell, I’m a fan of the snub revolver … IMO they will always be relevant for self defense use
Two reduced .357 magnum loads you might want to check out. They split the difference between .38 +p and full-factory power .357 magnum:
-Remington 125 gr Golden Sabre JHP. (averaged 1108 FPS from my LCR357)
-Hornady Critical Duty 135 gr FTX. (averaged 1173 fps from my LCR357) This load uses low-flash powders. It’s actually a little smokey.
The recoil of both falls between .38+p and .357 magnum. The Golden Sabre has a little more flash than the Hornady, but the Hornady has a little more recoil, comparing the two.
Both are very available last I checked. The Golden Sabre comes in 25 rd boxes ($11-$17) and I think 50’s too if you can find them. The Critical Duty I’ve only seen in 20 rd boxes. ($18-$22)
One more low-blast load is the Federal .357 magnum 180 gr SJHP. It really is low-blast and low-flash. But it kicks!
Has always expanded in my amateur testing and why not? The bullet nose is lead HP and the semi-jacket is serrated to help expansion. (Unlike the Remington load of the same weight) My LCR pushed it out at an average of 970 fps with a deviation of only 24 fps for 5 rds.
Thanks Ron3 … I’ll take a look see at those recommendations. Something 38 “++P” would seem like a good use of the LCR 357 platform
Um, guys, I perma-banned Falshooter as a scammer, he’s probably not going to respond to your posts…