Would Anyone Rather Carry a Ruger LCR than their J Frame??

I'm a gun toting freak... I like them all J frames are my favorite between the two, but I have no problem with the ruger....21st century concepts are on the rise.

What I'm ccw carrying depends on we're I'm going. It's the right application for the situation your in.

Out to dinner (suit)
It's a ruger snubbie in 357 only because I don't own a nickel s&w yet.

Fishing / hiking in the wilds or on my land. (Bears/mountainlions)
S&w m58 4" 41mag. I prefer the shorter barrel because of a close encounter cat attack. A big cat smother's you. You may have enough room to pull a 4" barrel out of your pocket.

Hunting or Personal Protection (motorcycle) At night and daytime. Revolvers with 5" all the way to 7 1/2" barrels.

I do carry autos at times but not that often. I carry magnum revolvers mainly. I have shoulder holders for up to 10 1/2" barreks

When deciding for myself I couldn't make up my mind to go LCR or Airweight. A trip to the range confirmed that I could shoot both equally well. My preference, then was the S&W 100%.

ETA:
The LCR is more of a tool and the Airweight a modern classic.

I have both a LCR .357 and a Model 60-14. The 60-14 is one of my favorite guns -- it is very accurate. And very elegant. Still the LCR .357 is a great little gun. The rubber grip is hollow right where it meets the web between thumb and first finger -- so it sucks up a whole lot of recoil. It is not quite as accurate as my 60-14, but more than close enough for carry purposes (social work). And for most purchasers -- it is a whole lot less expensive. As a shooting instructor, I find myself often recommending the LCR .357s for those who cannot afford an all steel J-frame (I am not a fan of the aluminum frame guns). By the way, the trigger on the LCR.357 is excellent.

My step son has a Ruger LCR. It's OK, I like it but do not own one.

My back up years ago was a 5 shot J in 38. Ankle holster. A couple of Deputies wore their J frame in ankle holsters, inside their cowboy boot. None had to do a quick draw from the boot thank heavens or we would have noticed boots with holes in the sides or bottoms.

I like my 27-2 in 3.5". if I need to hide the outline I would carry my 19-3 4".

If it needed to be really hidden it would be one of my 1911's inside waist band, middle of the back. When off duty as a LEO I carried a Colt Combat Commander this way and no one ever knew it was there.

I know the OP asked if one would carry a S&W J over an LCR.

Push come to shove I'd carry a Ruger Single six in 4 5/8" if that's all I had.

But, Isn't no one knows it's there and it also shot puts a large chunk of lead down range with controllable recoil more important than the latest pocket rocket?

Can you get laser grips for the LCR?

What you carry is a personal choice.

David

I own and shoot several J-Frames. I've shot, but have never owned the LCR. I prefer the S&W's.

The other part of the question is, just because the technology will allow the gun to stay in one piece, do you really need to launch a .357 mag out of a revolver that small? There are modern .38 Specials, (or .38 Special+P) that will shoot your way out of any bad situation, and give you a much faster second shot than the .357mag will.

One man's opinion; the primary advantage of a J-frame (or equivalent) in .357 magnum is that if you are a reloader (I am), there is a better chance of the gun holding together should you ever accidentally double charge a .38 special load.

Said another way, when some genius designs a .44 mag in J-frame size, will you really believe it is a better weapon?

As always, your mileage may vary, that's why they make vanilla and chocolate.

J frame

No never, Model 36 and 442 all the way.

I own both. Neither is my EDC. Both get carried occasionally. The Smith is much more pleasing to look at. The LCR is the best snubby for double action work that I have ever shot. The lighter weight of the LCR is advantageous in a coat pocket. Neither work well for me in a pants pocket but the J frame is better there.

LCR in 38, Airweight and a SP101 in 357. Have carried all at one time or another and for me it's the LCR hands down for carry weight and shooting comfort. Hides well either on the belt or in a cargo pocket with a flat holster and doesn't swing around like a block of lead. Recoil is not an issue as if it has to come out recoil is going to be the last thing on my mind!

When doing a Serious comparison of an LCR357 to a compairable Smith & Wesson, the two that the LCR357 compairs to would be the M&P 340, and a new 640 in 357 Magnum.

The reason for compating the LCR357 to both the 340 and 640 is weight.

Weight: The M&P340 tipps the scale at 13.3 OZ.
Weight: The LCR357 tipps the scale at 17.10 OZ.
Weight: The 640 tipps the scale at 23 OZ.

The LCR357 is 3.8 OZ heavier than a 340, and 5.9 OZ lighter than a 640. What does this mean to me??? When pocket carried the LCR357 is enough heavier than the M&P 340 that you will notice it. The LCR357 is still light enough to pocket carry, but barely.
I have not fired a 357 Gold Dot Short Barrel through an M&P 340, but I will guarantee it recoils noticeably harder than an LCR357. The Hogue Tamer Grips and added weight helping the LCR357 to be more shootable. While I am a Huge fan of the 640, it is a belt carry J Frame, too heavy for most to pocket carry.

A look at GB showed a Buy Now spread of $749 - $829 for an M&P340 with Night Sights. Five were shown with Buy Now prices. The Average Buy Now price was $776.40

The LCR357 had a Buy Now spread of $460 - $550 on 17 examples I threw out 2 that were way over priced. Leaving an average Buy Now price of $504 for 17 listings.
The XS 24/7 Tritium Night sight is $54 from Midway.

The current Model 640 had only 2 examples with Buy Now pricing of $610 and $649 for an average of $629.

Average LCR357 + XS front sight = $558
Average M&P 340 $776
Average 640 + XS front sight = $683

That is a difference of $218 between the M&P340 and the LCR357 when both have Night Sights.

That is a difference of $125 between the 640 and LCR357 plus the 640 is 5.9 OZ heavier.

The LCR38 would compair to a S&W 442 favorably. The weight is close. Both will shoot 38+P. Both are close in price. The main difference between the two for concealed carry would be the Rugers pinned on front sight. For $54 you can add an XS 24/7 Tritium front sight to the LCR38. This is not an option with the NON-Pinned front sight on the 442.

LCR22 vs S&W 43C

Price and Availability. The LCR22 is way cheaper and you can find an LCR22 for sale with no problem at all.

I currently own an LCR22.
I have owned an LCR357 with XS 24/7 front sight.
I currently own a 442 Pro Moon Clip.
I currently own an SP101 38

Both Ruger and Smith & Wesson make Great products. I just wish Smith & Wesson would put pinned on front sights on all of their revolvers. Being able to put an XS 24/7 on my 442 for $54 would put a smile on my face.

Like Jimmy I belt carry most of the time, and leave the 442 for when I cannot carry a heavier revolver.

I am not a fan of 357 Magnum ammo in a J Frame airweight either. I reserve the Short Barrel 357 Magnum for my 3 Inch 66-2. Plus P 38 Special in my SP101, Model 10 and Model 15 Snubs, and my 315 Night Guard.

Just My 2 Cents.

Bob

A cop friend, who is also a fellow enthusiast, switched to the LCR after trying it out for a little while and deciding it had a better trigger and shot well. He was a convert until it went down (I do not recal the particulars) and he had to send it back to Ruger for repair. When it came back, he sold it and has returned to his beloved J-frames.

He prefers the Bodyguard while I like a centennial. He like the Airweights while I use both a steel 640 as well as an Airlite Ti. We both prefer 38 Specials. The J-frame Smith is hard to beat for it's intended use.

I have enough J-Frames to last several lifetimes. No need to add more. LOL

MikeyB said:

I have enough J-Frames to last several lifetimes. No need to add more. LOL

Click to expand...

Enough guns? No need to add more?? Heresy!

On topic: I wouldn't buy an LCR either but I don't like Rugers, that's just me being biased.

I have both the LCR and J-frame. They are both fine firearms that I trust. I would'd say I prefer one over the other for CC. The LCR has a few minor advantages for me but not deal breakers; I prefer the LCR trigger; I like the pinned LCR front sight I can change out without myself needing gunsmith machining; and I like the LCR stock Hogue Tamer grip.

Also, the S&W 642 beat the hell out of my hand until I got use to it (38 Spl standard loads). I didn't experience this with the LCR.

Nope,

I'll keep my J frames, thanks.

FYI - I am not going to carry a S&W BG38 either.

I gotta go against the trend here, I guess. I really like my .38 LCR w/ laser grips. I shoot it better than a J-frame and it's lighter to boot.

In a word, NO. I've owned a few LCR's and they are not bad guns. Given a choice, which I have, the well functioning J frame in the 36, 37, etc. over any little Ruger. is not even close. BTW, I don't currently own an LCR. Sold them. The 36, 37, 38, and on and on beats the little Ruger. Just my opinion, but I've shot them all extensively, so I know what I am talking about

Nope. No way. J frame all the way!

Lands no!

What a severely overrated revolver on firearms forums the LCR is. It's an utterly wretched design in every way. I loathe both plastic and aluminum alloy. I detest the double-action trigger of the LCR, no matter how many others sing the praises of the abomination of a design. The trigger break is indistinct and only has about a mile and a half of over-travel, making for a poor excuse indeed for a trigger pull. My Arrow staple gun has a similar feel when stapling up targets only I'm not certain but that the staple gun is the better of the two. On top of everything else, the LCR is hideously ugly. I'm just grateful that I'm not required to own one.

But, if an LCR "floats one's boat" then have at it. It's a great design ... for someone else.