A buddy at North Texas Arms in Highland Village was able to get in one of the Ruger LCRs yesterday and we ran a few rounds through it last night. I'd read some reviews on the Lighweight Compact Revolver in the gun rags and finally got to check it out myself before adding to the "rental fleet".
Not bad ... In fact, the trigger on it is much smoother out of the box than the last several years' crops of j-frames. And the grip and polymer frame do seem to contribute to reducing recoil. Loaded with 130 grainers, the LCR tipped the scales at just slightly over 16 ounces. Accuracy at 7 yards was about as expected, although we both seemed to push groups slightly to the left when shooting it one handed. I've not had time to check in some other holsters, but it would not go all the way in a leather pocket holster I got years ago from Hedley for j-frames ...
Maybe more on it later - after some time to run some +Ps thru it.
No time to shoot the LCR again, but did try it in some more j-frame holsters. Contrary to what I saw in gun rags that it should fit in "j-frame" holsters, I must say "some, but certainly not all." Trigger guard on the LCR is slightly larger - and ties into the frame considerably further forward than on the Smith 5-holers.
I think he is confusing the LCR with the LCP for that price, the LCP has a MSRP of $347, the LCR is $525 and $792 with laser grips. The LCR that Greybeard is mentioning I sold to him for my cost and it was close to $400.00. The LCR has a great trigger, especially for an out of the box gun and I believe that they will give the J Frames a run for the money, in short I was impressed with it.
Salty1 wrote:I think he is confusing the LCR with the LCP for that price, the LCP has a MSRP of $347, the LCR is $525 and $792 with laser grips. The LCR that Greybeard is mentioning I sold to him for my cost and it was close to $400.00. The LCR has a great trigger, especially for an out of the box gun and I believe that they will give the J Frames a run for the money, in short I was impressed with it.
Not to fet into a debate about Revolvers over autoloaders, but why wouls a simular sized semiauto be cheaper than a revolver? There is less to a revolver, isn't there?
Liberty''s Blog
"Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom." John F. Kennedy
The gun manufacturers themselves are generally the ones who set the "MSRP" (Mfgr. Suggested Retail Price). And the same ones who put out "wholesale" prices to their distributor network.
While the cost of manufacturing is sometimes primary, they may also have costs they hope to recover on research and development, marketing, etc. But, overall, the market itself often determines the "going rate" at any given time, based upon these and other factors.
In the case of the LCP (Lightweight Compact Pistol), it's pretty well known that it is a "knock off" of a very similar Kel-Tec product - only with Ruger's name on it and reputation behind it, which, in itself, can make many people willing to pay a little more money for it than they would a Kel-Tec.
The LCR (Lightweight Compact Revolver) appears to be aimed at taking market share from the very popular Smith and Wesson j-frames. Pricewise, the 13 1/2 ounce LCR does not appear to attempt to compete with the lower priced revolvers (such as Taurus, Charter Arms, Rossi, etc.), but is instead appears to be "positioned" just slightly more than the 15 ounce Smith and Wesson j-frames (the 442s and 642s being one of the most popular "carry guns in the country) and a substantially less than the 12-ounces j-frames (scandium/titanium alloys).
As with any new product that is high demand, I suspect the "market price" on both the LCPs and LCRs will likely remain close to MSRP until the "supply" catches up. Irrespective of what it actually costs Ruger to actually manufacturer either one of them.
Very good points, Greybeard. From what I've seen of the LCR, there is probably some R&D costs they're trying to recover as relates to the design and engineering of that polymer frame (half frame?) as well as that new lighter cylinder design.
There wasn't as much R&D in the LCP because it is a bit of a knock off.
Thanks Greybeard that sounds pretty reasonable, It's great how we can get answers to even the unimportant questions. The LCR does have my curiousity.
Liberty''s Blog
"Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom." John F. Kennedy
first revolver - purchased for my wife as she's coming onboard into self-defense and chl application herself - it is so simple, very elegant design, love it - grip is amazing, accurate, trigger as everyone has said is very smooth - powerful round in the .38 special +p - everything else i have is semi-auto (380, 9mm and .45 cal) - excited to have her begin shooting - GREAT gun the Ruger LCR - highly recommended !!!
I often carry an LCR-LG in a J Frame pocket holster as a BUG, if not it then a Smith 442 fills the role. I prefer the LCR over the 442 because it has the best production DAO trigger I have ever felt on a revolver. Along with that the gun is super comfortable.
How do you explain a dog named Sauer without first telling the story of a Puppy named Sig?
R.I.P. Sig, 08/21/2019 - 11/18/2019
Liberty wrote:Not to fet into a debate about Revolvers over autoloaders, but why wouls a simular sized semiauto be cheaper than a revolver? There is less to a revolver, isn't there?
Not necessarily. Although revolvers predate semiautos, revolvers can be more complicated mechanically and require tighter tolerances. A "loose" semiauto may have less intrinsic accuracy but can be more reliable. A "loose" revolver is likely to have problems with accuracy and reliability.
A blowback auto or semi auto can be incredibly simple but they are usually more dependent on good ammo.
