[video=youtube_share;24b7MvVaL4I]https://youtu.be/24b7MvVaL4I?si=lAXN8rl6poVY_V2O[/video]
I am extremely excited about this. This is exactly the pocket gun I have wanted for 20 years. They took all good stuff about the 650 Pro but put it on a .38 airweight. Plus it has a better trigger and some modifications to increase durability. I will buy at least one.
I am going to snatch up 3 of these up as soon as Bo gets them in. Thanks for the heads up on these models!
If these have a useable trigger weight I will grab one.
The older I get the less useable a 12# trigger is for me.
I like the sights and cylinder mods he described. Odds are the grips will get replaced so I’m not real concerned about those.
I have been looking to add a Jframe for my fanny pack jogging setup. Now I will wait until these release
I had decided to get an LCR .38 to my .327 LCR company but I’m interested in this J-frame.
But which caliber? I reload both.
I prefer to carry an over pressure. 32 mag, which is safe in my .327 Fed.
Hot .32 mag (100 gr bullet @950 fps) or a moderate .38 spl to reduce recoil. (125 gr @ 850 fps or 158 gr @ 750 fps)?
Darryl and Bryan are friends, and helped design this. It’s been in the works for a while. Street price should be around 700 bucks.
I have been carrying Scandium J-frames for a while. I am honestly glad they did not go that route to keep the cost down. Plus, shooting a 342 is absolutely brutal on your hands.
The 38 has the advantage of much cheaper ammo costs, plus you can literally buy it anywhere on earth.
I have an LCR in 327 Federal Magnum. The recoil is an powerful with that round, as my 342 is with 38 Special standard velocity Gold Dots. So I never shoot it with that round. I carry it with a Buffalo Bore 32 H&R Magnum round. It’s a lot milder.
For practice, S&B makes a 90-ish grain wadcutter that is pretty mild and accurate. It feels roughly the same as a .22 Magnum revolver.
If you do not have a ,.38 J-frame, I’d snag it. If you already have an airweight J-frame for carry and a steel one for practice, I’d snag the .32 H&R.
Having said that, I’ve ordered both. Because I’m like that, and already have a supply of .32 revolver chow.
Your milage may vary. But the pre-release prototypes shot really well, and have excellent sights. Plus I love those VZ grips almost as much as the old CT grips for a pocket J-frame.
Hope that helps.
Man, that is a great spot to be in. I agree with you on that load, it sounds very controllable and still capable of getting you to 14" inches in gel.
I would have done this a long time ago, but the .32 H&R Magnum J-frames (all five of them ever made - sigh) go for north of $1800 on Gunbroker.
Is there a specific bullet you load? And I am guessing you are sticking with the old reliable Bullseye as a powder?
I just got one of these:
https://www.thewilderness.com/waist-pack-holsters/db-defender-waist-pack/
It is superb. It’s replacing my old and much beloved Eagle Industries gun pack.
100 gr SWC’s. 3.5 gr 700X. Eventually I work up a load with Tightgroup. Average was about 965 fps from my 1.9 in LCR. I tried slower powders but they produced alot more recoil and blast for a similar velocity. I would NOT use this load in anything but a .327 fed mag gun.
I’m not aware of a factory .32 mag load that can expand and penetrate from a snub. .32 mag and .380 are pretty similar ballistically.
Can the S&W .32 mag J handle a moderate number of .32 ag “+P” loads? I don’t know. I wouldn’t think they’d be any harder on the gun than a .38 +P.
Yes, I have some of those 115 gr (IIRC) Gold Dots in .327. Too much! Sticky ejection, offensive recoil, obviously so loud I’d never subject my ears to it even in SD.
I had two LCR .357’s. My wife got tired of .38 recoil and I stretched one with too many +P and .357 loads. This was before I reloaded.
We got two .327 LCR’s to replace them.
I can say Federal .327 “Low Recoil” 85 gr Hydrashok is NOT too heavy in recoil or sound. But they may be short on penetration, are expensive, and rare. Consider them.
I’ve also read the Federal 85 gr JSP’s are a reduced load that splits the difference between .32 mag & .327. I’d like to try them. But they are about $40 / 50. I can load new 100 gr SWC for half that and reload the same for practice for about $10 / 50.
Reloading is worth it for about every pistol cartridge except 9x19. (At least today!) .380 and.40 are debatable depending on how much you plan to fire. Everything else is worth it if you shoot regularly. Stock ammo or stock primers, but stock something if you want to keep shooting during the next run.
Thanks for the data, much appreciated!
I’m saving all my brass, and will probably get a buddy to reload me some wadcutters. I would not mind a powder-coated 90-grain DEWC to reload as a plinker with a couple of grains of powder. I’ll have to invest in some Titegroup.
Thank you, I appreciate the link! These look really nice
After Sam at The Wilderness made the final prototype, Darryl wore it for a total of 5000 miles worth of driving across country to events.
Sam has them on sale right now for $10 off. I have no financial interest in her company, she is just a really nice lady that makes stuff here in the US. I think a bunch of us have worn her Instructor belt forever. I probably have three of them.
Another neat thing about the design is that you can use your existing AIWB or IWB holster with it. So you save a bunch of money that way. My JM Custom holster for my compact Beretta, and my Dark Star Apollo holster for a J-frame both fit perfectly.
And the construction is rock solid, it will definitely outlast me.
Titegroup is great for lightly loading big cases. 700x is, too, but it meters poorly. I use dippers with it.
Another strategy is to get .38 Colt Short cases. It’s 9x19 with a rim. Of course you can’t load it to 9x19 pressures unless you have a .357 magnum, but we’re talking about light loads anyway. (You can load .38 SC with a 158 gr bullet to 850 fps if you like) but load .38 Colt Short to max and enjoy. They also eject easily being so short. They don’t work from some speed loaders if that’s a concern.
I was going to shoot & discard my .38 SC cases but I probably shouldn’t. They are easier to load and go in chambers than .38 spl. wadcutters.
I have a few hundred loaded with 140 gr BNH 12 FN to about 715 fps IIRC. (From a 3" barrel) I’ll have to double check the powder charge on that before stating it.
.38 WC would work just as well, except I found loading blunt bullets to slow down my loading press and they don’t go in chambers as easily.
I probably won’t get one of these UC’s.
My LCR’s have been good and I may get another in .38. That model is 13.5 oz unloaded. A regular S&W allow is 15 oz. These Ultimate Carrys are 16 oz. Probably due to the grip and rear sight.
The Ruger LCR in 9mm, .327, and .357 all use a steel frame and weight about 17.5 oz. I find this a bit heavy in my pocket.
All of these guns weight about 1.5 oz more when loaded.
The LCR .38 & S&W lightweight .38’s need to mindful of bullet-pull.
But not the .32 mag. I’ve loaded the .32 mag over pressure with lead bullets (in my .327 LCR) that kicked almost like a .327, but didn’t pull the 90 gr or 100 gr bullets.
The question for buyers is:
Are you going to carry with .38 +P?
If you’re not and plan to carry wadcutters or similar you should consider the .32 mag and get that 6th shot. Speed loaders are available if that’s a concern.
158 gr +p 850-950 fps (ouch, and not good for the gun, either)
125-135 gr +P 875 fps
158 gr Std SWC 725 fps
125-148 gr 625-750 fps
Or .32 mag 100 gr 950 fps
.32 S&W Long 90-98 gr 650-735 fps. (Will remind you of .22lr recoil)
Just some common options.
Y’all have convinced me. I am buying both.
I’m not getting my hopes up in finding one of these “UC” models, particularly the 432UC, if/when they start shipping in later February '24 (next month). I’m thinking of getting a Ruger LCR in .327, until or if a 432UC or even a 632UC should one of these ever show up in my locale. Should Lipsey’s demand ever slow down, then perhaps one of my preferred, local gun stores can order one. After years of reading/watching reviews, I just don’t quite feel that comfortable with Ruger and its LCR, however.
When “allocated” it seems the Lipsey’s sales reps have sole discretion as to which stores and how many of the sales rep’s allotment will be sent to those stores. From what I see, many of these stores are “chains” or have several stores in various states & cities. At this moment, it seems difficult to impossible for me to go to a store and even get onto some type of waiting list. I just don’t even know folks at these “big box” stores and if they’d even know what a #SM14035 was (the 432UC version).
How big will the demand be?
Will the initial allotment evaporate with maybe only a few making it to Gunbroker?
How big will this 1st batch be?
When will S&W and Lipsey’s begin producing another batch and when might it hit the supply channels if the 1st batch actually sells out?
Might I be able to score one or two of these “UC” models by the time a 2nd batch is released (assuming I won’t find one in the 1st batch)?
I’m just posting some of my anxieties.
The LCR’s seem to be top tier as far as new revolver reliability.
I’ve read of a rare transfer bar break and several trigger return springs breaking. But search that for any revolver and you’ll fine it.
I’d like to know when they should be replaced. I should buy a couple. I don’t know how to replace the spring I need to look into that, too.
New Colts have had hammers break, S&W’s have mainspring issues, (and not just the strain screw coming loose) and pins shearing, (including J-frames) ejector rods unscrewing, GP100’s breaking transfer bars, etc.
These UC S&W’s have titanium pins, btw, stronger than alluminum.
None of them are perfect. I think the LCR is about as good as it gets right now as far as reliability.
I beat on my LCR .357 until it stretched (gap grew until out of spec) and the cylinder popped open firing magnum ammo. But until then it ran 100%.
This is interesting and I’m glad to see them paying some attention to the old J-frame. Some of do us like the somewhat classic lines of these little gems. For someone actively looking for a gun of this size and type I think it will be a great option. For me though, already owning 3 J-frames (640, 642 and M&P 340) it would be hard to justify another at the $700 price point.