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Thread: Experiences with Ruger LCRX .38?

  1. #1
    Boolit Grand Master FergusonTO35's Avatar
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    Experiences with Ruger LCRX .38?

    My S&W 637 needs a pal, so I'm thinking about the Ruger LCRX .38 Special with 2" barrel. Having examined them at the shop I really like the trigger pull and the sights, more grip options are finally starting to show up too. Anybody have alot of experience with this revolver? Do they seem to prefer a particular boolit weight? I'm planning to feed it a 150 grain LSWC at around 750 fps.
    Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    Hickcock45 and Jeff Quinn of gunblast has reviews on YouTube. Looks like a nice easy carrying pistol I'd like to hear people's experiences to of real world shooting and accuracy. Todd/3leg

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master FergusonTO35's Avatar
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    Only thing I'm concerned about is how well it shoots with traditional loads using boolits. Ruger probably expects that most people are going to feed it $1.00 a shot lightweight JHP's. My S&W 637 shoots boolits great, and it would be a huge bummer if the LCRx did not also.
    Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
    DerekP Houston's Avatar
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    I have the LCR 357, but not the X version. Mine shoots cast just fine, both magnum and 38 spec rounds. I used a 158gr GC variety for my magnum loads.
    My feedback page if you feel inclined to add:
    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...raight-Shooter

    Thanks Yall!

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy
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    I shoot 158 gr boolits very accurately. Fresh cow pies explode at approx. 50 yrds. That's about a 10" target. Pretty good for for the knucklehead pressing the bang switch. Lots of fun to see the **** fly! You definitely don't want to shoot them at close range!!

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master FergusonTO35's Avatar
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    Yep. Shot bunches of them with my .22 and .410 when I was a kid!
    Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.

  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy
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    My LCR (not X) 38+P shoots cast well. It is all I feed it. It has shot well pretty much everything I have fed it from 140 grain WC to 200 grain RN. I don't shoot +Ps out of the gun much. It is a very light gun as you know. But the standard loads at the upper end of the loading data work just fine and the recoil is much more manageable and less painful. YMMV

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    I find 158 +P's to be slightly unpleasant for extended shooting. I load 125's in mine.

  9. #9
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    I got one for my daughter. She is petite, 5'1" 90 lbs, and racking a slide, no go. We were at a gun show and the best DA trigger, in her opinion for her, was the LCR or LCRx. I have owned many J frames and the J Frame trigger is around 15 lbs, what a joke. Had a gunsmith get my wife"s J Frame down to 12 lbs. anyway, I bought a bunch of ammunition. My daughter tried it all. She settled on a 148 grain DEWC. It will shoot through a man even at anemic levels. I know that at 650 FPS, it will shoot through 16" of ballistic gelatin., in the front and out the back.

  10. #10
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    J Mort points out one of the best-kept secrets this line of revolvers keeps to itself--how NICE the DAO triggers are in all of the examples I have tried out. I have gone "hands-on" with 5 of these little jewels now, and all had good trigger squeeze dynamics. Most of the ammo I fired through these guns was either Lyman #358429 or #358477 sized @ .358". I was able to hit pretty well to 25 yards with standard or +P loadings in 38 Special. Like most handguns of this size range, my gun hand's little finger was out of the equation, and I REALLY don't like that--but I managed the short little handles well enough to hit things. Ruger will sell a zillion of these affordable little rollers.
    I don't paint bullets. I like Black Rifle Coffee. Sacred cows are always fair game. California is to the United States what Syria is to Russia and North Korea is to China/South Korea/Japan--a Hermit Kingdom detached from the real world and led by delusional maniacs, an economic and social basket case sustained by "foreign" aid so as to not lose military bases.

  11. #11
    Boolit Grand Master FergusonTO35's Avatar
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    Thanks, that's what I needed to know. I feed the Lyman 358429 at 712 fps to my 637. I think it is the best possible combination of accuracy, ease of shooting, and penetration for this little gun. I'll try to make an LCRx happen after Christmas.
    Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    I tried a rental at a gun range. Being a rental, I had to buy their factory ammunition to use in it. That was the most difficult part of the test. I haven't bought factory ammunition in years and the cost just about gave me a heart attack. I tried some 125gr +P 38 Special. The trigger pull was unusually good. The gun was accurate.

    I have a couple of Airweight S&W's to compare it to. The S&W's did not have as nice a trigger pull right out of the box. However, some Wolff Springs cured that. I don't really see any real difference between the two, now.

  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master GhostHawk's Avatar
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    Neighbor has an LCR that I shot with both .38 special and fairly warm .357 mag loads.

    Good trigger, reasonably priced, whats not to like?

  14. #14
    Boolit Grand Master
    9.3X62AL's Avatar
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    The Ruger LCR series seem to be the Glock Of Revolvers. Not elegant, eminently practical, and likely the Shape Of The Future. An LCR in 22 LR or 327 Federal with 4" barrel and adjustable sights would make a very fine "Kit Gun". I suspect such things are in the cards.
    I don't paint bullets. I like Black Rifle Coffee. Sacred cows are always fair game. California is to the United States what Syria is to Russia and North Korea is to China/South Korea/Japan--a Hermit Kingdom detached from the real world and led by delusional maniacs, an economic and social basket case sustained by "foreign" aid so as to not lose military bases.

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy 18Bravo's Avatar
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    I have one of the earlier LCRx with the 3 inch barrel. Candidly, it shoots remarkable well for its diminutive weight. the trigger is better than expected and with the adjustable sights, it shoots to POA. I've feed it a little of everything but it really likes 148 DEWC and 158 LSWC. It's a nice addition to my tackle box for taking care of things that slither and crawl.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 20150112_221529.jpg  

  16. #16
    Boolit Master
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    Bought the missus a .357 LCR. Not an LCRx. If they had had the "X" with the exposed hammer, that is likely what I would have bought for her.

    It is a surprising accurate & fun to shoot revolver.

    I would expect that the "X" would be as accurate & fun to shoot.

    We changed the grips to some , IIRC, Pachmayr ones with the added little finger groove for more comfort & to get rid of the feeling that it wanted to flip out of your hand. ( She has smaller hands , but both carpal tunnel wrists so she wanted more grip, and for me... I have larger hands, without much hand/wrist issues to speak of, but do not like little grip pistols. The aftermarket grips with the little finger indent fixed the issues for both. )

    G'Luck if ya decide to buy one.
    2nd Amend./U.S. Const. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

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  17. #17
    Boolit Master sawinredneck's Avatar
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    I’d suggest getting the .357 version, it’s a bit heavier and the frame is less likely to flame cut, just my opinion.
    I have the LCR in .357, I wanted a powerful pocket gun in SS that was snag free. The Ruger was around $200 less than a S&W equivalent and about the same money as the Tarus offerings.
    Mine has had the sticky cylinder issue with .357 loads, I think I’ve gotten it taken care of by polishing the cylinder.
    For an 1 7/8” barrel, it’s scary accurate! I can hit beer cans at 15yds all day long stacking the trigger, and I’m normally a pretty lousy shot with small guns.
    I’ve got some cast loads worked up, 148grn SWC and wadcutters, but I just haven’t had a chance to shoot them yet to see how they work.
    Quote Originally Posted by sniper View Post
    Irish Proverb: Never approach a Bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or an Idiot from any direction!

  18. #18
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    LCRx shoots great with 130 grain factory loads. Shoots to point of aim. Very little recoil. Easy to carry.

  19. #19
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    [/img]
    Last edited by Three-Fifty-Seven; 04-28-2020 at 07:54 AM.
    John 3: 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

  20. #20
    Boolit Buddy


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    I'm with 18 Bravo. I have the same piece, a 3" with adjustable sights. I have believed in 3" as a minimal (for me) length in a small frame revolver since my cop days in the 70s and 80's. This gun is about ideal; very light, conceals in a front pants pocket. I shoot 158 gr reloads in it with no trouble, and it groups nicely on a 25 yd silhouette.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check