Ammo questions for Ruger LCR Shooters

[Maineshooter]

My father just picked up a Ruger LCR .38 special for personal defense. I have very little experience snubbies and neither does he. Anyone have a preference for defensive ammo that shoots POI/POA? I would guess this would be somewhere in the 7 yard range with the right ammo. I was eyeballing the Horndady Critical Defense 110 gr. load as a possible choice.

I will only have a short time to spend with the gun, but I would like to get the ammo choice tested as well as some handloads worked up for him that shoot reasonably to the same POI.

Any comments from LCR owners would be appreciated.

[khc3]

Currently, the Speer Gold Dot 135 gr +P JHP, Winchester 130 gr bonded +P JHP (RA38B), and Barnes 110 gr XPB all copper JHP (for ex. in the Corbon DPX loading) offer the most reliable expansion we have seen from a .38 sp 2” BUG; Hornady 110 gr standard pressure and +P Critical Defense loads also offer good performance out of 2" barrel revolvers.

From this thread (https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=19914).

[dmaxfireman]

I carry the 135g +p gold dots as well. POA POI accurate with a XS Dot on both of my 357 LCR's

[Maineshooter]

I have had good luck with Speer Gold Dot in other calibers - it looks like a winner.

Thanks for the information.

[ImBroke]

I have an LCR 38. Just like most 38 and 357 revolvers, the sights are regulated for a standard 158gr load. I have found that the Speer 135+p Gold Dot shoots to point of aim.

The Hornady 110gr load shoots low. Like 4 inches low at 15 yards.

If he is new to revolvers and especially lightweight ones that recoil a lot, point of impact differences will most likely not really be noticeable between loads b/c his groups will suck anyway. As he gets better and his trigger control and sight alignment improve he will see a difference.

[twistedcomrade]

I am carrying UMC JHPs in my 38 because i screwed up and shot most of my stash. I haven't seen 38 defensive ammo on the shelf for a while.

[Glock30]

I carry the 135g +p gold dots as well. POA POI accurate with a XS Dot on both of my 357 LCR's

yes, the golden saber gold dot! :dance3:

[PA PATRIOT]

Factory 148gr. standard velocity lead full wad-cutters, accurate with penetration & manageable recoil for light weight snubs.

DocGKR has recommended them for use in 2" .38spl's.

Any +P loading will be a real boomer in a light weight .38spl snub which will slow recovery and follow up shots.

[arizona98tj]

Anyone have a preference for defensive ammo that shoots POI/POA? ...... Any comments from LCR owners would be appreciated.

I've found they work well. :) Chronograph data is in my LCR review (http://www.stu-offroad.com/firearms/rugerlcr/lcr-1.htm).

http://www.stu-offroad.com/firearms/rugerlcr/lcr-4.jpg

[Maineshooter]

This one is definitely a boomer. Just fired it with 158 gr HP hand loads. Wouldn't want to shoot plus P in that all day.

Sent from my XT881 using Tapatalk 2

[CDR_Glock]

It feeds anything but +P after 50-100 rounds doesn't exactly feel comfortable. I ended up getting a S&W 442 instead.

The key to snubbies is trigger control, dealing with the short sight radius and rudimentary rear channel sights. They take a lot of practice, and it's not ideal for a beginning shooter for revolvers. I can put a 4" Colt Python, S&W 627 or 586 into the hands of a beginner and they're not doing too bad at. However, a snubby is a totally different animal.

A colleague we have at work has a P238, Glock 23/26, and a 442. He was getting frustrated with his Snubby. Work on technique and trigger control. It takes some work but the LCR is quite accurate out to 25 yards. I never tried shooting any further with it.

[PA PATRIOT]

If you can find some hard cast lead full wad-cutters and load them to 750fps to 800fps they a not abusive to shoot out of the light weight snub.

Also check out some of the after market grips which help with felt recoil, myself being a S&W 337 owner it took one extended range session to convince me to find a controllable ammo/grip combination.

[arizona98tj]

PA PATRIOT,
Have you tried the grips that Ruger ships on their LCR?

[Maineshooter]

PA PATRIOT,
Have you tried the grips that Ruger ships on their LCR?

Yes - we are using the stock grips.

[arizona98tj]

What ever you do, don't get a set of CT grips. They make the factory grips seem like a velvet cushion. :D I personally thought the factory grips were quite comfy....Hogue....is that who made them? (been a while since I had them on)

[Ron3]

I really like mine. Factory grips and frame design make it recoil less than the light J-frame S&W's.

My favorite .357 mag load is the Federal SJHP 180 gr.

I don't know why but it has much less muzzle blast then typical 125gr-158 gr .357 ammo. (Which is a bit much!) I had a buddy fire the gun with this 180 gr ammo during a night shoot along with +p .38 in the same cylinder load. It was barely any louder!

It also has almost no muzzle flash at night. They have a small red / orange flash.

I've fired these bullets into sand, dirt, mud, and water jugs. They have always expanded to around .50-.55 inches average. It cracked the back wall of the 4th one-gallon milk jug filled with water. No it's not science.

Other folks with chrono's get around 900 fps with this load from a 1 7/8" barrel. Slow for .357 mag sure but it's similar to a short barrel .40 S&W 180gr and with greater sectional density.

It's the Federal 357G load. Give it a try if you can find it.

In .38 I like the Federal +p+ Hydrashok 147 gr. It was very available in 50 rnd boxes for awhile and not that expensive. It dented the 5th jug (1 gal milk jugs with water) in my amateur testing. They always expanded to around .5 inches in water and mud from short barrels for me. They have a medium sized yellow / white muzzle flash. IIRC it was the last FBI spec .38 ammo. (Am I wrong?)

Loads I'd also consider are 158 gr +p LSWCHP's or lead or jacketed flat nosed bullets after that.

I think the loads to avoid are the lightweight bullets. They bring the .38 special down to .380 performance. The 110 gr +p DPX .38 was a let down. Didn't always expand completely and whether it did or not it penetrated less then everything else. It also had a medium sized yellow fire ball in low-light despite cor-bon's claim of them being low flash. 110 gr .38 SJHP's from Winchester I tried were very similar but they always expanded fully.

[Maineshooter]

I appreciate the information all the information. The good thing is that, despite the shortage, I am finding some quality defense loads here and there on the shelves locally.

[Plumber237]

The 110 gr CorBon DPX's that Doc lists are awesome, they shoot POI/POA at all the distances I've tried. They're very fast loads, plus all copper, which I really like.