NRANews's Cam and Company [ iTunes Link, 1/14/10 episode ] let slip the news that Ruger would have a LCR chambered in .357 Magnum on display. I am sure that this is the wheel gun that Michael Bane recently blogged about!
The original .38 Special Ruger LCR was announced at SHOT Show last year.
[ Many thanks to Nick for alerting me to the news. ]
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I think I’d rather see a slightly upscaled LCP in a 9mm that could fire +P.
As a LCR owner I can only imagine the recoil of the 357!
LCR in .357 sounds painful.
Is there any advantage in using 357 Magnum over 38 Special in a revolver with such a short barrel? It seems like the extra propellant in the 357 would just create a bigger muzzle blast rather than a faster bullet.
LCR 9mm. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please.
(And a short cylinder would be extra cool.)
I agree with Mike. An LCP in 9mm (even if it wasn’t +P) with some sort of fancy recoil management system for the ladies. I am really looking forward to this years SHOT and the cool “must haves” that will debut.
Sounds great, as long as someone else is shooting it.
LCR (and SP101) also needs a 9mm version. Moonclips ftw!
I like the elaborate fluting on the cylinder. It looks very optimized.
Do you think they’ll discontinue the .38 model?
Your not the only one!!
Jonathan, interesting point. This is sure to weigh more, so I think they will keep the .38 Spec … but we shall soon know for sure!
It will be interesting to see if they keep the aluminum frame/polymer fire control housing configuration in the .357 LCR. If they do, it will be a heck of a design – and a kick to shoot!
It’s also a big departure from the design philosophy that produced the SP101.
A 9mm LCP seems unlikely after the introduction of the SR9c, but if they produced one I would buy it.
Would be nice if they made a 6-shot version. Detective Specials are getting a bit old for daily carry, a modern replacement would be nice.
Holy flame cutting! My guess it the LCR in .357 will be shot even less than the .38’s so I guess they’re worried about that issue. Agreed that they need the PF-9 killer LCP in 9mm before they need this.
This sounds markedly unintelligent. I have an S&W 640 and I don’t use .357 ammo simply because I can’t reliably control those hot shots in an urban legal CC environment. In my opinion, the potential for collateral damage is very high.
Regards,
Three weeks/142 rounds later, and my LCR said “no mas.” This morning. Ruger customer service was fantastic. Should arrive in New Hampshire shortly and I’m confident the returned 38 will never let me down. That’s what I tell myself anyway.
Carl,
Ruger used to sell a 9mm version of the SP101.
Daniel, yes they did. But they are not very common on the used guns market, and about the only manufacturer making a 9mm revolver today I believe is Taurus (905), which seem to get mixed reviews, and possibly some obscure russian manufacturer. So there is a need for good 9mm revolvers.
Whatever,
There is a significant increase in exterior ballistics when comparing the .38 Spl. and .357 Magnum in snubbies. I was a very earlier proponent of the small frame .357, owning both a Ruger SP-101 when they were marked for 125-grain loads only as well as the first S&W M640 Magnum that hit my local dealer’s shelf. I chronographed a lot with both revolvers and can assure you that when same bullet weights are compared (110-, 125- and 140-grs.), the .357 loads were 150-300 fps faster than the .38+P’s.
The trade-off is shootability. As you mentioned, muzzle blast is greatly enhanced. So too is muzzle flash. Recoil control is significantly reduced when shooting Magnum ammo. As an example, the only way I could get anywhere near the control with .357 loads in the M640 was to use a big, cushiony Hogue Monogrip. This oversized grip totally defeated the reason for a small frame snubbie. The gun would no longer work in an ankle holster unless you wore 70’s disco bell bottoms. Pocket carry was also out of the question even with hiking shorts or surplus Army BDU’s. The long grip would hang-up in the pocket, making a fast and safe draw nearly impossible. The only way I could use that M640/Hogue combination was when wearing a winter coat with oversized exterior pockets.
For me these trade-offs were just too much. I believe in the “control is everything” maxim when it comes to defensive firearms. I also don’t want to compromise concealability. Both of those small Magnums are long gone and were replaced by a pair of .38 Spl. M649’s with appropriate grips. I just bought another this past weekend. I also own a 9mm Kel Tec P11 to fulfill the same small CCW role when I feel a need for more than five immediate rounds.
Personally I find ANY hammerless revolver just a touch above useless.
Before any of you armchair Rambos spout, I HAVE been in urban firefights and speak from experience, not every shot is a spray and pray situation, and the DAO ideology has simply made it harder to put down a perp and prevent further civillian injuries and death. No matter how hard you train, that DAO action is a BAD compromise, and at least a shrouded or skirted hammer on a revolver offers the accuracy of a single action shot.
My agency uses DAO Austrian tinkertoys as service pieces but my backup which I HAD to use in one instance in a justified shooting, is a custom compact 1911, and if it wasnt for the inherent accuracy of the single action pull, there would have been two deceased officers and an unknown number of civillians.
Face it people this piece is just a gimmick gun meant to part you from your money, there was no serious thought given to a real defensive firearm in it’s design or there would be a cockable hammer on the damned thing.
A 25 year vet
Is the .357 mag LCR on display at SHOT? I do not see it among all the coverage so far of Ruger’s new products.
Michael Bane mentioned that Ruger was pushing back some product announcements to the NRA Annual Meeting. Is the .357 LCR one of them?
What exactly is “DAO Austrian tinkertoys”?
“What exactly is “DAO Austrian tinkertoys”?”
That would be the Glock
I’ve seen people consistently hit 50yard plates with .357 magnum airweights. It just takes trigger time. I’m not saying everyone can do it, but nobody should say that it’s not possible to use these as precision guns. Never say never. There is no one size fits all gun or we would all have it.
Obviously some people are biased against anything polymer, but to say that anything that is Dao cannot be shot accuratety in self defense is nuts. I won’t bother defending glock, as the fact that they are used by the vast majority of cops speaks for it’s self. However I will say the lcr has a great trigger. DAO or not, and there is no reason a person couldn’t use the lcr to defend his or her self. Any one that has shot an LCR knows how mice the trigger is and how accurately they can be shot.
I would rather see the LCR in .327
have a taurus m851 in 38 special. after 1000’s of rounds at 25yds the only way to get accurate groups is to use in SA. DA can result in missing the target completely. most self defense situation would happen at a much close range, i know even though I have never been in a “urban firefight” and pray I never will; however, you can never prepare enough for the what if…..357 in a lightweight frame is overkill and would be near uncontrolable…..hard enough to control in a full frame 4″ S&W model 28 aka “highway patrolman”.