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.

You'll never shoot anyone on a whim with that one. When the victim fares only slightly worse than the shooter's hand, you tend to think before doing that to your hand again:)

That sounds familiar. I absolutely can not shoot a Glock. Full size 9, 40, 45, compact 9.

Too much pain from Arty in that second joint. Fortunately none of my revolvers nor the 1911s give me such issues. The LCR with top loads, as mentioned, will shock my hand, but it does not beat on that thumb joint.

Recoil is a thing with any snub and the LCR is the lightest snub on the market.

Hard to imagine target wadcutters hurting, even in a super lightweight revolver.

Yes. The wider the back of the grips are, the less painful is the recoil. It spreads out the foot pounds of energy against your palm. Narrow grips will hurt the most, since it concentrates the foot pounds of energy on a smaller surface.

For what it’s worth I agree wad cutters should not be too painful

357 different story

If it’s worth it to you I would suggest more practice and work on basics

If you don’t plan to shoot a small light revolver it doesn’t matter too much

I have quite a few Jframes
But I also like the Ruger LCP series have all calibers but 327

Hank

I think I probably need to toughen up. I would like to be able to shoot a lightweight snubby because i liked a lot about it, right up to the point where it went boom. And it wasn’t agonizing - I shot through several cylinders worth of ammo - but it was unpleasant and enough to make me want to stop shooting.

Maybe if I just shoot more and keep adjusting my grip I’ll find something that works well for me.

I've always liked the Smith hammerless so that I could "choke up" on the backstrap. I'd hold the gun so that the web of my hand was just below the top of the backstrap. It cut down on the flip, which is where a lot of the pain comes from.

^^^^^THIS, you can get the longer grip through Hogue^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

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

Maybe the ammo was loaded hotter than standard wadcutter loads? You might want to double check that.

I just picked up a snubby LCRx in 38 Special a few days ago.

Winchester 130gr FMJ are very manageable. Advertised as 800 fps on the box, so probably 700 fps or so in the snubby.

My handload of 5.0gr Unique under a 170gr Keith style SWC was bucking pretty hard. Not sure on the velocity, maybe around 800 fps or so? I need to set up the chrono and see what's what.

Overall, I'm liking the little revolver. The factory grips do a great job absorbing the shock from the recoil, even being a two-finger grip.

Totally understand the OP's frustration. In the pic is an old s&w 649 Bodyguard 38spl. It's all steel and a might heavier than the LCR. It's not the most uncomfortable to shoot but little revolvers are difficult to manage. It still about moderate in feel and not p8nishing with standard loads.

The SP101 has been recently acquired in the past 2 weeks. It's heavy, and with 38spl it's extremely fun to shoot. The mass and those Crimson Trace grips are really c9mfortsble. I'm learning more about the Ruger.

Light rev8lvees are wonderful to carry but a person n3eds something shootable. Try many of them and then decide. Good luck

I am a revolver guy. I probably own revolvers 4 to 1 over autopistols. For years my favorite every day concealed carry piece was a 2” SP-101 357 mag. For a few years now it’s been a Sig 365. Higher capacity, quicker reload, easier to carry and much, much easier to shoot fast and accurately. The only advantage a snubby has, in my opinion, is that, as someone mentioned, it’s better for unwrapped pocket carry.

You're not alone. I'm not the most accomplished handgunner, but I have shot and owned several from .22lr up to heavy-ish 45 Colt. Yes - even average 38 Special loads that are mild in my SP 101 are not comfortable at all in my LCR. If you don't roll your own, maybe try to find some cowboy action loads in 38 Special? I ended up loading my own full wadcutter to simulate cowboy type loads and all is good!

MontanaMarine commented on that.

For defense use you do not need to limit yourself to lighter recoiling (lower velocity) lead bullet loads. The Federal HST Micro is labelled +P yet easy to shoot in small light guns. The bullet is completely in case just like wadcutter target loads.

I'd suggest since you're new to shooting, then go to a range where you can rent some firearms and use some off the shelf target loads. Then you can practice and get the feel of the weapon that you like.

Or you could get a 22 in the frame size that you think that you want, and practice with it. If you change your mind on your carry gun then you'll still have a nice little 22 to carry in the woods or whatever instead of spending a lot of money on center fire ammo resulting in sore hands and probably flinching.

Or, just try to find a trustworthy mentor around your area who isn't going to throw a 44 mag in your hand and see how you do...I agree that the wadcutters could've been some reloads that were made for defense.

I use the same load in my.model 60 ss Dao and yeah they shoot well but talk to you recoil wise..mb

A small, light revolver in 38 Special has a bit of snap to it, but I never considered it uncomfortable. 357 Magnum in a similar revolver is another matter entirely. We all have different recoil thresholds, and different guns fit different peoples' hands better. I'm not a fan of excessive recoil. If that makes me less of a man, so be it.