Ruger LCR .357

The LCR .38 Special has been one of my favorite carry revolvers as of late. The only issue I had was that the Crimson Trace grips which I preferred to utilize had significantly more "bite" than the Hogue factory stocks. This gun was a perfect weight for carry, but just a little too light for me to shoot with this grip/gun combo.

Earlier this year, Ruger announced that they would be producing a .357 Magnum version of the LCR, but instead of using aluminum to shroud the barrel and compose the upper frame, they would use high strength steel. Would this added weight solve my dilemma? I just had to find out.

I finally got my hands on one in November and have been shooting and carrying it for a couple of weeks. Obviously there was a few more ounces of weight, but not so much that it created a burden during extended carry. The factory Hogues were also improved with a scalloped hardened plastic area just behind the cylinder to allow for the use of speed loaders. The rear of the barrel shroud, just in front of the cylinder, is now angled in an apparent effort to redirect the blast from the cylinder gap. The cylinder itself is beefed up a bit to handle the magnum cartridges, but other than these small changes, its very similar to the original LCR.

As I mentioned earlier, my goal was to utilize Crimson Trace grips on my carry gun. Fortunately, the ones that came with my .38 switched out easily with the .357 (the the new Hogues fit the .38 flawlessly). A quick trip to the range allowed me to adjust the laser to point-of-impact.

So far, I have shot around 300 rounds of various types of ammo, including Winchester PDX1, Corbon DPX, Federal Hydroshocks, and Winchester FMJ's. No malfunctions occurred, primer hits were solid and centered, and accuracy was more than acceptable. Yes, these were all .38 Special rounds, and yes, I will eventually test it with .357, but for now, this is an ideal .38 with upgrade capability.

The opening and closing of the cylinder was a little stiff, but improved as the gun broke in. I did find one minor annoyance -- the roll pin holding the front sight was protruding a few millimeters and created a sharp edge on an otherwise snag-free revolver. A tap with a punch remedied this in short order.

Overall, this has the makings of a great carry gun, laser grips and all. The price is much better than the Scandium .357 Smiths and the recoil is definitely more reasonable. I'm looking forward to sharing more about this gun in the near future.