I spend 3 1/2 hours at the range yesterday. I bought a new Ruger LRC .38+P and I wanted to shoot it and get a feel for it. I shot some Remington 38+p SJHD 158 g and some of my reloads also 158 grain FnFMJ over 6.1g of AA#5. lets just say 25 rounds of that and the revolver went back in the gun case. It is accurate shoots to point of aim but it sure beats up the palm of your hand and the heel of your thumb. I wanted a smaller revolver, I normally carry a 3" model 60 or a 2.5" 686. The Crimson trace laser site is nice but sure doesn't reduce the recoil.

I switched over to my 4" 686 and stepped up to a steel plate target and the second shot kicked back a chunk of lead. I was hit in the left side. It raised a welt and this morning is still red.

I went to look at the plate, it was covered with pocks from someone or a group of someone's shooting at in with larger guns then the allowed 45 cal.

I called the range manager to let him know.

But all in all I had a great day in the fresh air and sunshine.

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Carpriver.

I have a .357 model with the stock Hogue grip and don't find it to be bad at all, even with .357 mag loads. Wonder if you changed out the TC grip if you find it is better for you?

Pete

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Don't tread on me

The Ruger LCR, LCP, S&W BG38 and BG380 are all fine for personal defense. But my experience has been that none of them are particularly "fun" range guns.

The LCR in .357 is Not a Good plinker/or target gun, But it is the perfect pocket pistol. No fun to shoot, but in an emergency it`ll do the job just fine.

I was watching Detroit SWAT and there's an officer on there now handled "Ricochet". Same thing happened to him shooting steel and almost lost one of his balls so be careful.

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I'm Proud To Be An American!

Take that LCR out of the gun case and put it into your pocket or hideaway holster...
NOT the best thing for the range, but sure is easy to carry ALL OF THE TIME.

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In dog years I'm dead.

I have an LCP and it isn't unpleasant to shoot. I do have the Hogue grip for it, however. That probably helps.
I learned to shoot on a KelTec P11 which jumps way more than the LCP.

The LCR, on the other hand, is not fun to shoot. I shot a friends girlfriend's and I couldn't give it back fast enough. I agree that if you needed to shoot it, you wouldn't feel the recoil.

Check your hand position on the grip - keep your hand up as high as possible on the grip back-strap - once that's done it should help take the majority of the "snap" out of it.

I will agree, though, it's not meant to be a comfortable shooting range gun!

Pete

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Don't tread on me

I carry mine LCR alot. I fired 10 rounds of 38 special +P then have switched to 158 grain rounds nose and 148 grain wadcutters.

I'm not a fan of 158gr loads in a small revolver. I reckon the Winchester 125gr +P HP is perfectly adequate and does very well in FBI style gelatin tests.

I would also recommend some 125gr +p. Keep in mind this firearm is designed solely for self defense purposes. If you want a great little carry gun and a decent range gun offering from Ruger I would recommend the Ruger Sp-101. It is beefy and has hardly any felt recoil from my experience even with full powered .357 loads.

I gotta be honest guys-With all the airweight J frames around, I cannot for the life of me see a reason to buy a BG38 or a Ruger LCR. The J frames are lighter AND smaller. I just bought my mom a LCR in .22 and I am NOT impressed one whit when comparing it to my 317. Don't get me wrong, it is a nice little gun and will be perfect for mom and I guess if I had no prelock airweight J frames I might look at one in .38 but these new fangled revolvers do nothing for me.
Heck, I waited abour 18 months before I was able to snag a 638-2. It is lighter and smaller than the BG38 and it is on a proven frame . They are out there, you just have to be patient.

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Forum consigliere

Love my LCR 38 but not so much at the range! My wife's LCR 22 is much more fun at the range.


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I'm with Cajun on this. It has taken me years to warm up to the polymer pocket autos and I'm still not crazy about any full size polymer semi auto pistol. It will be a LONGGGG time before I buy a polymer revolver!

I got the LCR for a carry gun but I wanted to make sure the Laser sight was set correctly, and I wanted to get the feel of the gun before carrying it daily. I ammo was ammo that I had been carrying in my other 38 +p carry guns it was being replaced with 130 g Winchester +p self defense rounds.

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Carpriver.

That's pretty hot for AA#5 with 158gr. They gotta be around 1,000 fps.

I've never seen anyone load more then 5.5 gr of AA#5. Is there alot of flash ?

I didn't notice as I was outside in full sun.

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Carpriver.

ya pansy I made it to 35 before me and two others failed to expend a box of ammo with one
grief giving aside, I liken it to sluggin a steel post full on with a baseball bat ..... YEOW!!!!!!!!!!

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it just needs more voltage

I borrowed a BG38 from a buddy that owns an indoor range and had one in his rental rotation. It's not for me. If I want to carry a LW revolver I'll carry the 37, 442 or 642CT.

BTW, shooting the BG38 with Speer GD 135 gr Short Barrel +P was MUCH worse than shooting the same out of the 642 with CT 105's installed.

I've reassigned the the CT 105's to pulling duty on the M60-14LS. Shooting Buffalo Bore Heavy 38+P 158's LSWCHPGC is tolerable for about 15 rounds with the 105's installed vs. the 642.

Class III

On the ammo question; Speer makes Gold Dots in a 'short barreled' version. I know they come in 38 (135 gr bullet), 357, 45, and other calibers. I carry them in my 638. Check it out.

Thanks for the ammo suggestions, I'll check them out. I will be caring the LCR when I travel, it will be more comfortable them my 3'' model 60 J frame. Around town and in the woods I will continue to carry the Model 686 3" or 2.5".

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Carpriver.

That sounds not quite as bad as using a .45 Derringer for a range gun.

Load the LCR down to use at the range and fire just enough of the full power loads for familiarization if that's what you want to use for PD.

I think you showed that a bad day at the range is better than a good day elsewhere!

PS I shot a .38 at a live tree once (stupid) and was rewarded with a large thump to the middle of my chest. I don't shoot anymore at anything that shoots back.

A .357 cartridge fired out of 2" tube is kind of like a 600 horse power engine on a motorcycle! In other words (kind of useless 'cause you can't get the full usage from it) most of the powder is being burned outside the barrel doing nothing to propel the projectile. The muzzle flash, blast, recoil and noise do nothing except become a hindrance. One would be better served using a .38 Special Buffalo Bore +P 158 grain SWCHP-GC HEAVY round instead. The velocity and muzzle energy would be about the same as the .357 from a 2" barrel without all the negatives.

If you want to take advantage of what the .357 really has to offer I believe you would need a 4 to 6 inch barrel to do so. Just my .02 cents.......