USAF385
US Veteran
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:
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:
