When I first saw the Ruger LCR 9mm online, my first thought was "that's ridiculous. Why would I need that? I'm going to get one".

I was in no rush, so I figured when I came across one in the shop I would get it. Well, yesterday I came across one and did indeed get it. $450, not too shabby.

I put 150 rounds down range when I got home, and overall am pleased.

Some pros:

- It's comfortable to shoot. The Hogue Tamer grip seems to do its job well.

- It is also comfortable to hold, BUT (see cons).

- It's accurate at a nice distance. The farthest out I shot was 50ft, and was pleased with the placement... BUT (see cons).

- Obviously, it's chambered in 9mm which was a draw for me. Ammo is cheap and plentiful. Plus I like the option of carrying my Sig P938 and the Ruger using the same ammo.

- The moon clips. I haven't had much experience with moon clips, but I like option. It came with 3 and it is pretty easy to load and unload rounds into the clips. Reloading the gun is a breeze too. With zero practice I am able to reload quicker than I can with my 642 using a speed loader.

- Out of the box, the trigger is almost as nice as my 642 is after a trigger mod.

Some cons:

- Comfortable to hold, BUT... Not as nice as my 642. My 642 has nice little boot grips. The LCR's Hogue grips are a bit fatter. Which might be better for some, not me. My middle finger is forced to ride farther down from my trigger finger than it does while holding the 642. It actually feels a little awkward to me, and I'm considering getting the boot grips for the Ruger.

- Accurate BUT... The front sight was off. Way off. It came with the front sight having a white strip on it near the top. When lined up with the rear notch, it shot about 5" low at 7 yards. I had to bring the front sight up so that the bottom of the white strip was just even with the top of the notch. Then it was dead on. This felt very awkward since no other gun I own is like that. So, I blackened the white strip and painted the sight white beneath it. I also put some white on the rear notch, giving me 3 white points to line up. Beautiful.... to shoot, not beautiful in appearance maybe, but I don't care.

- The cylinder release. What the...?! No! Just..... No. This is my first Ruger revolver. I've owned S&W revolvers up until now. I'm used to sliding the cylinder release forward, not pushing it in. When releasing the cylinder on a S&W, I can keep the gun facing forward. With the Ruger setup, I end up turning it to the left a bit to push the button. Meh. Not a big con I guess.

- The cylinder release screw. I almost lost it. While handling the LCR this morning on the couch, I noticed the tiny screw on the cylinder release had backed out quite a bit. A quick search online and I discovered this is a common thing with LCRs of every sort. I put some loctite on there and will monitor. I'm just glad I saw it because another 50 rounds might have made it come out.

I have a favorable opinion of the LCR 9mm in general. I had to alter the sights, and will likely change the grip, but I make some mods on almost every gun. The only one I haven't changed is my P938.

This gun didn't fill any hole for me. My P938 is smaller, easier to conceal, and carries more rounds. 6+1 flush and 7+1 with the extended mag. I already have 642 and a 442, so it's not like I needed a snub. I just wanted this one.... and I like it.

A note on size comparison to a 642: they are close to each other in size, but the LCR is a little bigger with this grip and it is heavier. LCR loaded = 19.252 oz, 642 loaded = 16.920 oz.

The LCR is a little taller from the top of the frame to the bottom of the trigger guard. About 5mm taller. Noticeable to an eye accustomed to looking at J frames. Also, it doesn't quite for my J frame holsters.

Some shots:

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- The Federalist #46 -

I was not in the market for a new gun what with taxes and the christmas buying but when I saw the LCR 9mm I just had to have one. All my carry guns are now only 9mm or 45acp and I needed something just a bit smaller than my 6906. I have a LCR in 22mag which I enjoy shooting. I have shot a 38 LCR and am looking forward to shooting the 9mm to see how the recoil stacks up to the 38. First warm day I will get out and check it out.

Sweet gun, Ski! It's interesting, for sure. A nice addition.

Thanks,

Saw one the other day and was quite tempted.

Thanks for the report. When Ruger first came out with the LCR I said I'd buy one if they ever made it in 9mm but I figured it would be the same weight as the .38spl version. In spite of the weight difference, I'm seriously considering putting my Wyatt 637 up for trade to see if I can bag me a LCR 9mm to try out.

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Don't kiss smiling dogs!

You mention the moon clips as an option. You can use it without? How is it without?

Without the moon clips, you need to remove each spent round individually. I can get three or four out by tipping the gun, but the rest need to be poked out.

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- The Federalist #46 -

Thanks for the write up. I haven't been on this forum much the last few years but came across this.

The LCR9mm really caught my eye. I've been shooting a lot of 9mm lately and picking up 9mm handguns. I think I'll end up getting one too if I come across it!

Looking back at the 642 / LCR comparison shot, they are pretty close in size. The weight difference doesn't bother me. I'd be interested in a comparison with the LCR boot grips.

I have one in 9MM and really like it. I made two modifications that really help. I put the XS Big Dot sight and the Hogue boot grip. This grip is smaller and easier to hide. I carry Speer Gold Dot 124 +P ammo. The recoil is right in the middle of 38 and 357. Very controllable and more powerful than +P 38. I carry my spare ammo in a pill bottle that perfectly holds 2 moon clips of ammo and takes up much less space than two speed loaders of 38. I have several S&W J Frames in 38 and wish S&W would make the 642 in 9MM. Until then the Ruger LCR in 9mm is a great carry gun.

I did order boot grips from Ruger, and also a front sight. I got the sight from Amazon so it will be here in two days. The grips, who knows.

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- The Federalist #46 -

I'd like to see the new setup compared to a J snub.