LCR in .357 acquired!

[Baccusboy]

After trying out several, I decided on buying an LCR. Fabulous summer carry piece. It's truly a gun that you can bring with you most anywhere (and that's what is important).

The boolets to get with that are the .38+P 135 gr. Gold Dot short barrel load. They were created SPECIFICALLY for short barrelled .38's of 2" or less.

Everything you want to see, including how recoil looks, expansion, and penetration in inches is here with a simtest media block and denim by Tnoutdoors9:




For a light non+P load that is guarenteed to expand, and has a very light recoil, the Hornady Critical Defense rounds will work (don't laugh too hard at the guy in this video). Personally, they don't expand much IMHO, and I would rather go with the Gold Dot:






Loads to AVOID in this caliber include the Corbon Powerball .38+P and the Winchester PDX-1 (they don't even expand!). Tnoutdoors9 has videos showing this on Youtube:






The Federal Nyclad has been a favorite for years, but as this guy says, it only went into 2 jugs, which means it lacks penetration I'd be comfortable with. Very soft shooting round, but always noted for nice expansion in about anything, despite being NON +p:

 

[jawn]

Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out if I'd rather carry .357 or .38 +p in mine. .357 magnum is always an adventure haha

 

[knownalien]

that. gun. is. SWEET!!!

 

[Baccusboy]

Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out if I'd rather carry .357 or .38 +p in mine. .357 magnum is always an adventure haha

http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/357mag.html

Well, you can look at these stats and see how many fps you're getting if you shoot a .357 vs. a .38+p in a short barrel (you'll have to click on .38 below after hitting the link to get those numbers). They're not measuring based on wheelguns, though, so that'll make a difference.

As I've seen said many places all over, the .357 out of this short of a barrel gives you a lot more flash, noise, and recoil. Increase in fps will be about 200 to 300 fps in the LCR. Whether or not that's enough of a gain for you depends on how you can control it.

But if your goal is to scare the living daylights out of someone just by the noise, a .357 magnum out of an LCR will certainly do that.

I'd stick with .38+P's in either the Speer Gold Dot short barrell load posted in the video above, or the Corbon DPX. Neither are inexpensive, but both will penetrate to the desired amount, and expand in nearly all situations. You'll also enjoy faster follow-up shots, most likely.

 

[aehnuke]

I recently purchased a Ruger LCR .357 from Engage. Thanks Andy!

I am extremely impressed with this gun. I kind of went out on a limb purchasing this gun with very little experience shooting revolvers or compact handguns in general, but after the first 5 rounds I was in love with it! It is very easy to shoot well, especially with the way you can stage the trigger just before the break. I was consistently nailing a 6" steel target at 25 yards, with both .38 and .357! Amazing for such a short sight radius--- I generally don't shoot that well even with full-size pistols! The recoil is smooth too. It pushes your hand up and back with authority, but it settles back on target easily. My palms are a little sore today, but at least discomfort was not a problem while shooting.

I am very pleased. Cheers!

p.s. I'll take pictures eventually. I'll have to clean the carbon off first

 

[jawn]

I recently purchased a Ruger LCR .357 from Engage. Thanks Andy!

I am extremely impressed with this gun. I kind of went out on a limb purchasing this gun with very little experience shooting revolvers or compact handguns in general, but after the first 5 rounds I was in love with it! It is very easy to shoot well, especially with the way you can stage the trigger just before the break. I was consistently nailing a 6" steel target at 25 yards, with both .38 and .357! Amazing for such a short sight radius--- I generally don't shoot that well even with full-size pistols! The recoil is smooth too. It pushes your hand up and back with authority, but it settles back on target easily. My palms are a little sore today, but at least discomfort was not a problem while shooting.

I am very pleased. Cheers!

p.s. I'll take pictures eventually. I'll have to clean the carbon off first

It really is amazing. It'll make you shop for more revolvers.

 

[jawn]

Centerfire family photo. Just because.

As a follow-up to everything aehnuke just said, the LCR in .357 really is quite a little hand cannon. The trigger pull on mine has slicked up a lot over the last few months and the break is quite crisp now.

One minor annoyance is the fact that a lot of holster manufacturers don't differentiate the .357 Magnum model as a distinct gun. It is slightly larger than the .38 special model, so finding a non-universal holster for it has been somewhat of a pain.

 

[Baccusboy]

Here you go, Jawn:

http://tuckergunleather.com/revolvers.html

http://www.crossbreedholsters.com/Q...efault.aspx?SortField=ProductName,ProductName

I bet if you call them you can get something for the .357

 

[jawn]

Here you go, Jawn:

http://tuckergunleather.com/revolvers.html

http://www.crossbreedholsters.com/Q...efault.aspx?SortField=ProductName,ProductName

No differentiation between models again. They are different.

 

[Baccusboy]

No differentiation between models again. They are different.

Call them and ask. If I remember what I read correctly, the guy at the first link might be able to help you there.

 

[Baccusboy]

This link shows a pic of the Pocket Defender by KD Holsters as working:

https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/reviews/guns/magnum-force-rugers-lcr-357-gets-serious/

But it's kinda weird... scroll down to the bottom and the review says:

**The Ruger LCR-357 was provided by the manufacturer, and was later purchased at a discounted price. The holster pictured was provided by K&D Holsters for a previous review at no charge.....

Maybe they are so close that it actually doesn't matter with a leather holster?

 

[mcbruzdzinski]

Nice looking! How is the kick?

 

[jawn]

Nice looking! How is the kick?

It's really not bad with .38 specials or +Ps, but .357 is pretty intense.