View Full Version : Got a Ruger LCR 22LR - range report
So I ended up winning an auction on a Ruger LCR 22 when the guy I was going up against stopped trying at $340 (winning bid was $345, crazy). I was in the market because I have a 357 LCR that I enjoyed shooting but didn't enjoy buying ammo for lol. I was on the fence because I heard that some people ended up with really stiff triggers and others had trouble with some types of CCI ammo. Anyway, unexpectedly winning on such a low bid kinda forced me off the fence. I took it to the range last weekend for the first time, and instantly fell in love. Probably put about ~300 rounds through it (winchester and federal bulk) and it functioned flawlessly. Trigger is a little stiffer than the 357, but not a big deal at all. So much fun though... essentially no felt recoil whatsoever, and ammo was cheap enough that you can just dump cylinder after cylinder through it without a care in the world. Seems to hit point of aim within 15 yards or so (I was shooting metal plates etc so hard to say exactly, but it hit all the stuff I was aiming at pretty darn well).
As an added bonus, seems like an excellent trainer for the 357. The slightly stiffer trigger makes operating the 357's trigger smoothly that much easier, and way more importantly, firing the 22 is helping to train me to fully reset the trigger between shots. The first few rapid fire cylinders on the 22 I noticed that I didn't let the trigger fully reset, so when I pulled it back again nothing happened. This same thing happens with the 357, but I didn't fire it often/rapidly enough to even realize it my first time out with it. I spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between rapid and slower fire with the 22, and seem to have broken the bad habit of not letting the trigger reset fully by the end of the day (of course, I'll have to go back and shoot it *a lot* more, just to make sure :D ).
Anyway, seems to be a great gun. Highly recommend it for those who want a trainer for their 38/357 LCR, or just want something to get new people used to shooting. It's got a little more noise than a longer-barreled 22, but it's not intimidating in the least.
I think I may pick up some vipers or yellow jackets for it, see how those go :)
Thanks for that. I have yet to see a LCR .22 on the shelves anywhere.
Thanks for that. I have yet to see a LCR .22 on the shelves anywhere.
Yeah, I see them from time to time in local stores, seems like tons of online places have them, each running sales at different times. It's quite similar to the 38spl in your hand, although an ounce or so heavier unloaded and a hair less loaded (about 15.9oz since 22lr is so light).
I plan on picking one of these up to go along with my .38 as well.
great pick up for a great price
twistedcomrade
03-28-13, 02:42
I had one and the trigger was horrible compared to the 357 LCR I bought. I wound up selling my LCR 22 off because of the stiff trigger. I got a SP 101 in 22 to fill the void.
TacCommE21
03-28-13, 11:21
Thanks for the report. I love my .38 and this would be nice for practice. Though as of late, .38's have been easier to find than .22's. :rolleyes:
I like my LCR22 well enough for what it is. A trigger pull trainer with feedback loop. It functions great; fouling build up does not seem to affect it over hundreds of rounds. My old K-22 would be binding up with fouling by that point and need cleaning.
The first few rapid fire cylinders on the 22 I noticed that I didn't let the trigger fully reset, so when I pulled it back again nothing happened. This same thing happens with the 357, but I didn't fire it often/rapidly enough to even realize it my first time out with it. I spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between rapid and slower fire with the 22, and seem to have broken the bad habit of not letting the trigger reset fully by the end of the day (of course, I'll have to go back and shoot it *a lot* more, just to make sure :D ).
This is commonly known as "short stroking" in double action revolver shooting. It is more prominent in the LCR design. You now have discovered that you have to let the trigger cycle all the way out before beginning the next press.
I love my LCR .22LR. Up until recently, I shot it at every training/practice session. .22LR ammo are hard to come by this year, so I have not shot it much.
I came up with a simple drill, a variation of the famous Bill Drill with the addition of an actual local self defense shooting.
Using an electronic timer, starting with the fully loaded gun, aimed at the head box of an IDPA or USPSA (B zone) target, at 3 yards/9 feet from the target. At the buzzer, the shooter engage the head box will all 8 rounds. All shots must be in the head box. Repeat at any pace until the shooter can keep the shots within the 6" x 6" square (approx). With practice, one can get the hits and keep the time under 3 seconds. Under 2 seconds is good. I assume somebody like Jerry Miculek can probably do 1 sec. :) oh wait, he shoots S&W.
I kept the drill simple and eliminated the draw or presentation to the target. We are only dealing with trigger manipulation and sight alignment.
I got the idea from a situation here where a burgler broke into a home while a mother and her two children were hiding. When he discovered the occupants, the burgler advanced toward them in a threatening manner. The terrified mother shot the burger 5 times with her .38 special revolver. He did quit being aggressive and cried like a little girl begging her not to shoot him again. He was arrested by the police and transported to the hospital where he recovered.
While the gun, caliber and quantity of shots are different, it still made the drill fun and interesting. You can do it with the centerfire LCR loaded with .38 special. Again, 3 seconds would be a good time to shoot for.
My buddy just said a local shop has one, but apparently in CA they're LE only (anybody know if that's the case? it was the tag they had on it at the shop he said).
i'm glad you like it, and hope you can find 22lr, around where I am we can't. I think the trigger is a problem Rugers have developed. I have an SR22, I miss my high Standard sports king. :) I tried the Ruger LC9, holy crap, if they gave that to me I couldn't sell/trade/melt it fast enough, most awful trigger ever. I had a guy at a gunshop the other day try telling me,"the long trigger pull is good because if I draw the gun I have that takeup to give me time make sure of my decision." (not verbatim but pretty close). I was polite and just walked on, um, shouldn't he have decided "before" he pulled the gun?
I'm glad your trigger isn't unacceptable, maybe since it is a revolver it is something that can be worked on to smooth and lighten a bit.
Red
My buddy just said a local shop has one, but apparently in CA they're LE only (anybody know if that's the case? it was the tag they had on it at the shop he said).
Nope. It's on the roster now, and OK for anyone to buy..
I hadn't run my .22 LCR very much until a few days ago when I had a chance to put about 300 rounds through it.
Even using ammo stored poorly for 10+ years I have zero malfs. It's fun to be able to grab loose ammo from my junk ammo box and be able to load high speed, sub sonics, hyper velocity and shorts and never have to worry about a malfunction. My AA kit for my G17 is rather finicky about ammo so this is a nice change.
In addition, most likely due to the grip and trigger, I was easily able to shoot really well with that gun. Didn't shoot any groups, but doing a walk back drill on a half popper I was 100% on weak hand only out to 10 yards, strong hand only to the 25, and two handed out to the 40.
I like this gun.
ETA; had a chance to run our qual, KS C-POST course with this gun, both for giggles and because I will likely have this on me during trips to the woods, shot 100% on that COF from AIWB carry.
This is commonly known as "short stroking" in double action revolver shooting. It is more prominent in the LCR design. You now have discovered that you have to let the trigger cycle all the way out before beginning the next press.
I love my LCR .22LR. Up until recently, I shot it at every training/practice session. .22LR ammo are hard to come by this year, so I have not shot it much.
I came up with a simple drill, a variation of the famous Bill Drill with the addition of an actual local self defense shooting.
Using an electronic timer, starting with the fully loaded gun, aimed at the head box of an IDPA or USPSA (B zone) target, at 3 yards/9 feet from the target. At the buzzer, the shooter engage the head box will all 8 rounds. All shots must be in the head box. Repeat at any pace until the shooter can keep the shots within the 6" x 6" square (approx). With practice, one can get the hits and keep the time under 3 seconds. Under 2 seconds is good. I assume somebody like Jerry Miculek can probably do 1 sec. :) oh wait, he shoots S&W.
I kept the drill simple and eliminated the draw or presentation to the target. We are only dealing with trigger manipulation and sight alignment.
I got the idea from a situation here where a burgler broke into a home while a mother and her two children were hiding. When he discovered the occupants, the burgler advanced toward them in a threatening manner. The terrified mother shot the burger 5 times with her .38 special revolver. He did quit being aggressive and cried like a little girl begging her not to shoot him again. He was arrested by the police and transported to the hospital where he recovered.
While the gun, caliber and quantity of shots are different, it still made the drill fun and interesting. You can do it with the centerfire LCR loaded with .38 special. Again, 3 seconds would be a good time to shoot for.
The "Loganville Drill." Destined to become a classic.
I've been looking to find one for my wife for a while now. No luck in my area.
I like my LCR 22 so much that I bought another in 22 WMR when they became available. Out of 3 LCRs the new 22 Magnum has become my favorite and moves the rimfire into the realm of a defensive revolver. Several ammunition makers have developed 22 WMR ammo specifically for short barreled revolvers, namely Speer Gold Dot, Winchester PDX1 and Hornady Critical Defense. Not only do these loads have more horsepower out of a short barrel they have really good bullet designs. So for anyone recoil shy or imfirmed in some way the LCR 22WMR would be an excellent choice. For a lot of us the rimfire LCRs are not only a great training aid for our centerfire versions but they are also fun guns.
I like my LCR 22 so much that I bought another in 22 WMR when they became available. Out of 3 LCRs the new 22 Magnum has become my favorite and moves the rimfire into the realm of a defensive revolver. Several ammunition makers have developed 22 WMR ammo specifically for short barreled revolvers, namely Speer Gold Dot, Winchester PDX1 and Hornady Critical Defense. Not only do these loads have more horsepower out of a short barrel they have really good bullet designs. So for anyone recoil shy or imfirmed in some way the LCR 22WMR would be an excellent choice. For a lot of us the rimfire LCRs are not only a great training aid for our centerfire versions but they are also fun guns.
I really like my LCR22. Do you find a noticeable difference in the trigger pulls of the LR vs the WMR?
JHC, Yes I did, the trigger on my LCR 22 WMR was noticeably lighter than the trigger on my LCR 22. I think Ruger may have tweaked the trigger on the Magnum version as I've examined a few and they all had a lighter trigger pull.
I continue to enjoy my LCR .22. A shop in my area has all calibers in stock, and I plan to buy one in 38 spl. My .22 smoothed up nicely with use. In this gun I will replace the hammer or main spring with one made for the .38 version and thus will have both revolvers with about the same trigger pull weight.
I continue to enjoy my LCR .22. A shop in my area has all calibers in stock, and I plan to buy one in 38 spl. My .22 smoothed up nicely with use. In this gun I will replace the hammer or main spring with one made for the .38 version and thus will have both revolvers with about the same trigger pull weight.
I'll be interested to hear how that works out for you.
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