Ruger LCR in 9mm or 38 Special?

9mm revolver or 38 Special revolverl or 380 auto

  • 9mm

    Votes: 41 38.0%

  • 38 Special

    Votes: 51 47.2%

  • 380 with easier slide

    Votes: 8 7.4%

  • None of the above (please elaborate)

    Votes: 8 7.4%
  • Total voters
    108
Well I went to the gun shop with my wife just to look at LCRs down the road. They are much bigger than I realized and my wife didn't like how they felt in her hand. So scratch that. Looked at Taurus TCP 380 and didn't care for it even for $209 new. Looked at one of those new Remington RM380s. Liked everything about it except the trigger which was terrible. Pull was so long that you had to literally bottom out the trigger against the back of the trigger guard to get it to fire. Hated it. We weren't looking to buy anyway, just looking for the future.

Then we noticed a used revolver, a small five shot .38 special with a price of $195. My wife loved it and I liked it too. We got to shoot it out back and it was nice. It was a Charter Arms Undercover .38, serial number 169xxx made around 1970 in Bridgeport CT. Even though we weren't looking to buy that day because money is still a little tight we decided to get it since it was so cheap. My after the fact research tells me that the 1st generation Charter Arms revolvers were pretty good and the new ones are good too. It was the middle years when the company was in and out of business that quality was pretty sketchy. Looks like I paid a fair price, maybe a little under market value even.

The trigger seems good and it shoots well. Lock up is tight, just as good as the new LCRs and the one new Taurus revolver I looked at and the timing seems right on (no lead spray or anything when we tested it). It's a steel frame so it's heavier than the LCRs even though it's smaller so recoil is not bad. The previous owner bobbed the hammer but did a good job, it looks good and functions fine. Figured at that price it was low risk and we both got to shoot it first which was cool. Excited about it, hope it's as good as it seems now. Looking forward to getting it cleaned up better and to the range to take more than 4 shots with it and see how the accuracy is. It has good lands and grooves so I am expecting decent accuracy.

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It's really very simple. Take your wife to the range. Have her try each of the guns you're suggesting. Then have her try a bunch of other guns. Then let her decide which one(s) she actually likes.
 
I tried to look for reviews of Charter Arms guns too (after the fact). They are certainly out there but many of them are not specific about exactly which era of Charter Arms gun they are reviewing. I assume most to be recent production but still, I couldn't tell exactly how recent. I guess they expect you to go by the date they posted the review. Since I was trying to get an idea of the quality of a 45 year old gun I gave up quickly.

I did see Hickok45 do a recent review of the 44 special Bulldog. Apparently he had one years ago that he liked so he got a new one and seemed to like it but I was distracted by wife and kids through the whole review so I missed plenty of it. Just Google Hickok44 special bulldog if you want to see it.
 
snubnose said:
carl, had this one bookmarked

http://www.chuckhawks.com/charter_arms_pitbull_9mm.htm

could you pm me with the shop if you saw one, I have yet to see one-not on the 'list' in MA
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Thanks, interesting article. I didn't see any new Charter Arms guns at my LGS, just the used one I bought. If I see any anywhere I will let you know. Obviously I am in CT so not sure if I will be of much help depending on where you are.
 
Oldarmy said:
Realize the OP has bought a revolver. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this? I was thinking of one for my wife. No moon clips required. There are some good reviews out there. It is American made too. Any thoughts on this one? https://charterfirearms.com/collections/pitbull/products/79920-9-mm-pitbull-rimless-revolver
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I'm just skeptical of 9mm defensive ammo out of that short a barrel. Yes the round itself is more potent than .380 and even hot .38s, but bullets and loads for the latter two have been optimized for reliable energy dumping and expansion out of short barre CCW guns. the effectiveness of modern 9x19 ammo is reliant on velocity and without enough of it you get failures to expand and sometimes jackets not even seperating. Not saying its impossible for good defensive loads out of a 2 inch 9mm, but its gonna need some experimentation at the least if there is suitable factory ammo at all. I'd try glaser safety slugs.
 
I have a question....I had a LCR in .38. I loved it. It shot well, carried well and was overall a nice revolver. The problem i had with it was the clicking noise it would make as I walked. Probably no one else could hear it, but to me it sounded like a freight train coming down the track with each step. I had it checked out at LGS and found it to be a issue with all of them, not just mine. It was something to do with the transfer bar internally.
Has this been corrected in the 9mm? If it has I may buy one (or even another .38 if that is now fixed).
 
No love for the .327 lcr?
I gives you a bunch of options for ammo .32 s & w, .32 h & r mag, .327 federal mag and I think .32 acp. . It also gives you 6 rounds instead of 5 like the 9mm and .357 lcrs have.
 
mousegunguy said:
No love for the .327 lcr?
I gives you a bunch of options for ammo .32 s & w, .32 h & r mag, .327 federal mag and I think .32 acp. . It also gives you 6 rounds instead of 5 like the 9mm and .357 lcrs have.
Click to expand...

I didn't give it much consideration just because I am not all that familiar with that caliber and what ammo is available for it.

I still think the LCR is a little large for what I want in an occasional pocket gun for me and as a home defense gun for my wife, she wasn't thrilled with how it fit her hand. Her pinky was half on half off the grip and neither cramming it onto the grip nor stretching it a little to get it below the grip felt good to her. Personal fit issue, seemed like a nice gun otherwise.
 
PilotRPI said:
Never noticed a noise walking with my 357 LCR. If I shake it I can hear something, but nothing noticed while walking on a carpeted hallway.
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Sorry to ruin your experience. Now that you know its there, you will hear it loud and clear for the rest of your life! Its going to drive you crazy. Like when your car makes a noise that drives you nutz, but only you can hear it! [smile]
 
Here's another question. My buddy came over with a Safariland speed loader for 5 shot .38 revolvers that is supposed to fit the Charter Arms small revolvers. The rounds lined up in the cylinder but the rubber grip prevented it from getting perfectly straight so the rounds could only go in about 1/3 of the way.

Since the Safariland speed loader needs to be pushed all the way down onto the cylinder to release the rounds it wouldn't work at all. The question now is will the HKS speed loader that uses a twist knob to release the rounds allow me to get them in 1/3 of the way then twist the knob so they drop the rest of the way in on their own?

I will probably buy a pair of speed strips but if it looks like the HKS speed loader will work I may pick up one or two of those too.
 
The LCR (in .38/.357) does NOT work with the "standard" 5-shot J-frame loaders...even the ones that work with the SP-101. There are a few manufacturers that makes ones explicitly for the LCR. 5 Star Firearms comes to mind. The HKS loader doesn't work great, and is fairly easy to accidentally jam in hard enough to get it stuck, or to hang up a round or 2 so you can't close the cylinder. I would recommend speed strips over using an improperly sized loader.

Happy hunting! We settled on the .22LR LCR with CT grips for my wife.

Carl in Ct said:
Here's another question. My buddy came over with a Safariland speed loader for 5 shot .38 revolvers that is supposed to fit the Charter Arms small revolvers. The rounds lined up in the cylinder but the rubber grip prevented it from getting perfectly straight so the rounds could only go in about 1/3 of the way.

Since the Safariland speed loader needs to be pushed all the way down onto the cylinder to release the rounds it wouldn't work at all. The question now is will the HKS speed loader that uses a twist knob to release the rounds allow me to get them in 1/3 of the way then twist the knob so they drop the rest of the way in on their own?

I will probably buy a pair of speed strips but if it looks like the HKS speed loader will work I may pick up one or two of those too.
Click to expand...
 
gulfmp said:
I have a question....I had a LCR in .38. I loved it. It shot well, carried well and was overall a nice revolver. The problem i had with it was the clicking noise it would make as I walked. Probably no one else could hear it, but to me it sounded like a freight train coming down the track with each step. I had it checked out at LGS and found it to be a issue with all of them, not just mine. It was something to do with the transfer bar internally.
Has this been corrected in the 9mm? If it has I may buy one (or even another .38 if that is now fixed).
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Only clicking I hear is the rounds bouncing up and down when I walk fast.


Carl in Ct said:
I didn't give it much consideration just because I am not all that familiar with that caliber and what ammo is available for it.

I still think the LCR is a little large for what I want in an occasional pocket gun for me and as a home defense gun for my wife, she wasn't thrilled with how it fit her hand. Her pinky was half on half off the grip and neither cramming it onto the grip nor stretching it a little to get it below the grip felt good to her. Personal fit issue, seemed like a nice gun otherwise.
Click to expand...
I carry an LCR in shorts, jeans, and work slacks pockets without issue. As far as fit is concerned, you might have tried the small grip because the standard Hogue is quite large and comfortable.


Carl in Ct said:
Here's another question. My buddy came over with a Safariland speed loader for 5 shot .38 revolvers that is supposed to fit the Charter Arms small revolvers. The rounds lined up in the cylinder but the rubber grip prevented it from getting perfectly straight so the rounds could only go in about 1/3 of the way.

Since the Safariland speed loader needs to be pushed all the way down onto the cylinder to release the rounds it wouldn't work at all. The question now is will the HKS speed loader that uses a twist knob to release the rounds allow me to get them in 1/3 of the way then twist the knob so they drop the rest of the way in on their own?

I will probably buy a pair of speed strips but if it looks like the HKS speed loader will work I may pick up one or two of those too.
Click to expand...
Five Star JII-357/38 Speed Loader off amazon works great for my LCR38.
 
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gulfmp said:
I have a question....I had a LCR in .38. I loved it. It shot well, carried well and was overall a nice revolver. The problem i had with it was the clicking noise it would make as I walked. Probably no one else could hear it, but to me it sounded like a freight train coming down the track with each step. I had it checked out at LGS and found it to be a issue with all of them, not just mine. It was something to do with the transfer bar internally.
Has this been corrected in the 9mm? If it has I may buy one (or even another .38 if that is now fixed).
Click to expand...

Per the manual: "The transfer bar is allowed some movement within the fire control mechanism so that the trigger pull is not affected. Due to this necessary “play” in the transfer bar, a shooter will sometimes hear the transfer bar “rattle” when the revolver is shaken. This rattle caused by the play in the transfer bar is completely normal in the LCR."
 
Freddy B said:
Per the manual: "The transfer bar is allowed some movement within the fire control mechanism so that the trigger pull is not affected. Due to this necessary “play” in the transfer bar, a shooter will sometimes hear the transfer bar “rattle” when the revolver is shaken. This rattle caused by the play in the transfer bar is completely normal in the LCR."
Click to expand...

I know it was normal. I had it checked out. It was just so freaking loud I felt like it was screaming "look at me, I have a gun over here". Once that mental image was stuck in my head it had to go
 
kalash said:
Only clicking I hear is the rounds bouncing up and down when I walk fast.

I carry an LCR in shorts, jeans, and work slacks pockets without issue. As far as fit is concerned, you might have tried the small grip because the standard Hogue is quite large and comfortable.

Five Star JII-357/38 Speed Loader off amazon works great for my LCR38.
Click to expand...

We looked at 3 LCRs, A .22, .22 mag and .357 and all seemed about the same size. I thought they felt good but my wife liked the Charter Arms better because it was smaller so I think we saw the regular LCRs. The overall size of the Charter Arms is much smaller than the LCR.

That Five Star JII-357/38 Speed Loader looks nice but $22.95 plus $3 shipping each, ouch. I'll wait and see how much we like the gun before buying one of those. Their site sells them direct and a few cool accessories like the bedside block. It's actually 55 cents cheaper to buy direct. If we love the gun I'll get one and maybe even another with the bedside block for an extra $30. Perhaps a couple of speed strips will suffice for no. I want to try those too anyway.

Great info though, much appreciated!

http://www.5starfirearms.com/J2-357-38-Bedside-Block-Kit-p/j235705310.htm
 
snubnose said:
The 9mm IS the perfect round for a snub and its what you do not see when you shoot one that confirms this (does the short ammo have the effect of providing more barrel?), and the LCR just may be the perfect revolver.
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HA! I never even thought of that!
Barrel is over 2" in that case.
 
I voted before reading the post. I would have suggested .357 Magnum but since it's for the wife what about 22 magnum. If not the 38 special in the .357 magnum frame sounds good.
 

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