Got my new Ruger 3" LCRx finally!

[Phaedrus]

I finally got my new Ruger 3" LCRx .38 Special today! So far I've only dry fired it; I picked it up on the way to work and probably won't get to shoot it til Monday. It's got the same trigger and basic feel as the older 2" LCR, just more pipe and taller, adjustable sights. Stock it does come with longer grips. I'm sure that as a range gun or even a "kit gun" the new grips would be better. But I wanted it for CCW so I also purchased a set of the older, shorter Tamer grips. And just as I had read, the old grips fit fine. Swapped 'em out in about 30 seconds. The only time consuming issue was figuring out what bit to use as the manual just says "using correct bit" but never says which bit that is! For those that are curious it's a Torx T-10. You're welcome.


Here are a few 'Droid pix (and sorry about that 2nd one- didn't notice it was out of focus til I went to crop it):

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Just for giggles I tried to stick in the Garrett IWB for the 2" LCR...it's a no-go. The front sight is too tall. However I do have a new Garrett Revolver IWB on the way, hopefully it will be here by Monday-ish.

I really loved the 2" LCR and carried it a lot. But when I saw the 3" at the LGS I decided to sell my old one and go with the longer one. Maybe I should have kept it and just had two but it was hard to justify having both a 2" LCR and a 3" LCR. With the short Tamer/boot-grip it should conceal just as well as the shorter on IWB but give me longer sight radius and a bit more velocity. From what I've read I think another 150 fps is a reasonable expectation with some loads. Plus having a hammer to cock for a SA shot will make it a little bit more versatile.

According to a video I was with a Ruger rep there will be other calibers available "soon" for the 3" LCRx. I'm sure a .22 LR version would sell like crazy. A 9mm version would be cool. Obviously a .357 Mag version would appeal to many as well. I'm not crazy about Mag rounds out of a gun this light myself so .38 Special is kind of the "sweet spot" for me. With 158gr +P LSWC it should get the job done.

[Rick]

My wife carries the LCR with Crimson Trace grips. I like that platform a lot. I like the looks of the X.

[hunter63]

Congrats.....like the looks as well.

Actually I like the hammer....just seems like the thing to do...cock it first.
Mostly shoot .38's in LCR....just nice to know that I can use .357's.

[Zack]

I finally got my new Ruger 3" LCRx .38 Special today! So far I've only dry fired it; I picked it up on the way to work and probably won't get to shoot it til Monday. It's got the same trigger and basic feel as the older 2" LCR, just more pipe and taller, adjustable sights. Stock it does come with longer grips. I'm sure that as a range gun or even a "kit gun" the new grips would be better. But I wanted it for CCW so I also purchased a set of the older, shorter Tamer grips. And just as I had read, the old grips fit fine. Swapped 'em out in about 30 seconds. The only time consuming issue was figuring out what bit to use as the manual just says "using correct bit" but never says which bit that is! For those that are curious it's a Torx T-10. You're welcome.


Here are a few 'Droid pix (and sorry about that 2nd one- didn't notice it was out of focus til I went to crop it):

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Just for giggles I tried to stick in the Garrett IWB for the 2" LCR...it's a no-go. The front sight is too tall. However I do have a new Garrett Revolver IWB on the way, hopefully it will be here by Monday-ish.

I really loved the 2" LCR and carried it a lot. But when I saw the 3" at the LGS I decided to sell my old one and go with the longer one. Maybe I should have kept it and just had two but it was hard to justify having both a 2" LCR and a 3" LCR. With the short Tamer/boot-grip it should conceal just as well as the shorter on IWB but give me longer sight radius and a bit more velocity. From what I've read I think another 150 fps is a reasonable expectation with some loads. Plus having a hammer to cock for a SA shot will make it a little bit more versatile.

According to a video I was with a Ruger rep there will be other calibers available "soon" for the 3" LCRx. I'm sure a .22 LR version would sell like crazy. A 9mm version would be cool. Obviously a .357 Mag version would appeal to many as well. I'm not crazy about Mag rounds out of a gun this light myself so .38 Special is kind of the "sweet spot" for me. With 158gr +P LSWC it should get the job done.

Congratulations. Like the others said, it is a really pretty gun! I hope you get some fun range time in !

[aflineman]

I like the feel of those. I really can't wait until they come out in .22 long rifle.

[Phaedrus]

Turns out to be a good shooter, too! I picked up a hundred rounds of WWB and headed to the range with the Ruger and my HK P30L V1 LEM. The latter is my first LEM gun and there's a bit of learning curve to it after decades of single-action and DA/SA autos carried cocked-and-locked.

Subjectively the 3" LCRx has less "snap" recoil-wise than the 2" version. It could be that the 3" model is a bit heavier (15.25 oz on my digital scale vs about 13.5 for the original). The improved sights and longer sight radius also make it easier to get good hits. I started out with a few mags from my Ruger Mk I .22 pistol just to warm up a bit as I've been too busy to get to the range for a few weeks. Then I tried a cylinder full through the LCRx single action to get a feel for POI/POA. Then I started working DA, and I loaded 2 or 3 rounds per cylinder leaving the other 3 or 2 empty; this way I could diagnose any flinching, pulling or pushing in anticipation of recoil.

With a short amount of practice I was shooting double taps that landed about 2" part pretty consistently at 21 feet. Moving the target back I was able to keep all five rounds clustered in the head of a B25 target at 35 feet, not bad for DA with a new gun.

Bear in mind that I only took a hundred rounds along so this is really more of a "first impressions" report than a full review but I'm very pleased! I was a little worried that I might have been hasty to sell the 2" version gambling that I'd like the 3" better but it does seem better in every way. When I did carry my old LCR I did so IWB so the extra barrel length is irrelevant. So far I'm very happy! And I'm pretty confident that if I ever do need to deploy the gun defensively it will get do the job (if I do my part).

Apropos of nothing I'm making headway with the LEM trigger. It's wasn't easy to figure it out but it's starting to come together. I'm at the point where I'm pretty confident in my ability to get good hits out to 50 feet or so (by good I mean consistent head shots on a B25 target).

Lastly I got an e-mail from Garrett Industries that my new Revolver IWB for the 3" LCRx has shipped! With luck I'll have it Weds, Thurs at the latest.

[hunter63]

Thanks for the review and report......nothing like taking a new child for a run.......

[crashdive123]

Glad it's working out for you. Looking forward to hearing how the new holster works.

[Phaedrus]

Hit a little speed bump today with the holster. I got my new Garrett IWB but the gun doesn't fit- it's not even close. This is as far as the gun will go in before the sight maxes out the space in the sight track:

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I e-mailed them when I got home from work. Their CS is awesome and I already got an RMA so I'm not worried but I am pretty bummed. I was looking forward to wearing it for CCW! Hopefully they'll fix the issue with their mold gun soon; probably the issue is the newness of the gun. They could tell from that picture what the issue was so hopefully they'll get it fixed up.

[alaskabushman]

I looked at one of these at the sporting goods store the other day, the lady behind the counter was visibly surprised by the absence of weight when she lifted it off the rack. I really liked it but I'm holding out for a .357 version. Not that I'd shoot magnums all that much, but I like options. If a magnum version never materializes, then the standard version will have a home in my collection! Great trigger and super lightweight!