Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Ruger LCR… ouch

I’m new to shooting revolvers so don’t make fun of me too much.

Went shooting with a friend and got to shoot a Ruger LCR. This was with target wadcutters, and the thing still hurt to shoot.

It was a different experience than other recoil I’ve experienced. The gun was very controllable, and I shot it better than I thought I would. But the recoil was painful, like getting smacked in the hand.

I was disappointed because I’d been reading that wadcutters were so easy to shoot even in a snubby. As is I could see owning it for defensive use, but it was no fun at all at the range. But maybe that’s the idea…

Makes me wonder if I was doing something wrong. I studied different grips … maybe that was it. Any suggestions? Or does it sound like I had a typical snubby experience?

Lightweight snubbies with any kind of .38 ammo are a bit snappy, even with wadcutters, and progressively friskier with heavier loads. .357's are pretty brutal, on both ends. People's opinion of recoil is subjective, but in general, the more hand-filling the grip is, the less it hurts.

It helps me to make sure the web/middle of the meaty area between my thumb and trigger finger is as high up on the grip and as deep as possible in my hand. Basically a nice tight grip, but a nice tight grip low on the grip vs high makes a noticeable difference for me. I also wrap with my off hand and push/pull with wrists locked. It is a light little revolver though and it's going to snap but the way you hold it will effect how you feel that snap. I went with the .357 version of the lcr and lcrx, mainly for the little bit of extra weight. 38+p is the stiffest they will see from me.

Take my input with a grain of salt as I've never been taught proper shooting form....but I do a lot of shooting and this works well for me.

Besides being light weight, how a handgun fits your hand can make dealing with recoil better or worse.

Wear a thin glove when you practice as it will take some of the sting out. It is not a range gun, so you shoot it enough to become proficient - then enjoy the ease of carrying it.

I dislike the way the LCR feels with the factory grips. Maybe there are some aftermarket grips that make it feel better in the hand. I shoot a couple Airweight S&W snubbies often and have no issues with the S&W grip.

My LCR is in 327 Fed. With 120s over a max load of H110, it stings the hand a bit.

So, I usually shoot it with 85 gr or 100 gr bullets over a light load of Titegroup.

I put the 120 gr hard cast in the cylinder before I put the gun in the car or in a pocket for defence carry.

I have the 3-inch LCRx in 357 Mag. It has a bit larger grip, and more weight. Makes for an enjoyable shooting experience with 38 Special ammo.

I've seen a couple of the shorty LCRs that the owner purchased the larger grip that comes with the 3-inch model and installed that grip on the shorty LCR. It gives up some concealability, but makes it easier to control, more comfortable.

My wife carries a 38 LCR-----I carry a S&W airweight. We practice with a 22 LCR & with Winchester low recoil practice loads in 38 spl. But we carry the 38 spl. I have some Federal 125 grain HP + or with wad cutters that I bought here from Mackay Sagebrush.

I did change the grips on the Airweight to Hogue----that helped tame the recoil. The wife likes & uses the factory grips on the LCR.


Practice with the 22 LCR but carry the 38.

Bob

Thanks all. Sounds like my experience isn’t out of the ordinary but there are also some things I could try to improve it.

I get that it’s not a range gun. I’m still new to CCW but I hate the idea of owning a gun that I don’t enjoy shooting.

Try loading it with wadcutters and doing some drills. Like just presenting and shooting at a silhouette. Don’t bear down on the sights and shoot flys.

I just bought one of the snubby lcr’s. I love it, but with +p 125 factory it was damn snappy.

I'm just 100% out of the defensive revolver business. I have switched to a 12 shot .380. Lighter weight, twice the capacity, and easy to shoot.
Small frame .38's were the best game in town for a lot of decades, but to my eye they just don't make much sense anymore.

My revolvers have been re-classified to fun guns...and they are a lot of fun.

For years, I carried a 642 or 340. The stupid thing is that I working the shipping/receiving department in a large gunshop/range. I had to manually check the serial numbers of every gun that came into the store. Some days, that was over 100. I'd had a Glock 19/23 for years but it wasn't until I actually played with a G43 (I'd probably handled 100+ by then) that I decided to get one. The snubbies went down the road soon after.

Yep. I haven’t carried a snub nose J-Fame as a pocket gun in YEARS. Pretty much quit when I got my first LCP 380.

I looked at the LCP Max II a few weeks back at the local gun store. Really liked it. And not much of a noticeable difference in size as compared to my LCP II in 380.
I’ll probably end up trading my old original LCP 380 for the Max II version soon.

I like that I can carry the LCR without needing a holster, as I seldom wear a belt.

That. I got used to the .357M in my Ruger SP101 but it was still not all that comfy.. My thought is, IF the time comes where it's gonna be used in a self-defense situation I bet the user won't even notice any recoil...

I wonder if the heavier 357 model of the LCR would be significantly more comfortable to shoot with 38 loads.

Edited to add...when I started carrying the 43, people would ask me why I didn't get a hi-cap. I'd reply "I did, it's a 7 shot. My old snubby only held 5".

Yes, it is. I carry a 357 LCR, it's 25% heavier than the 38.

Absolutely.
With small thin revolver grips and some semis, I can get the grip just a bit wrong.
When that happens, recoil causes the corner to roll on the second joint of my thumb.
It's kinda like hitting your funny bone. It hurts like Hell, and the pain radiates.
My G19 can do it if I grab it wrong, the slim grips on a K snubby get it dam near every time.
Round grips like S/As or bigger revolver, 1911s never cause an issue.