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Wife just picked up a LCR in 357, any ladies here shoot one?

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 5:54 am
by walnut red
We were at the Buckeye Bash last night and she won one of the firearms drawings. She was looking for another CCW firearm and the choice seemed to be the LCR, a SR 380 or a M&PC in 40 S&W. Had we been looking for me the M&P would have come home with us but I told her when I bought the ticket that I had bought it for her, and there were witnesses. She is hoping to find a ankle holster for it. Any reviews on this pistol or suggestions on a holster?

Re: Wife just picked up a LCR in 357, any ladies here shoot

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 10:37 am
by TSiWRX
Depending on how the fit of the gun is to her hands, felt kick can be better or worse than a comparable Airweight S&W J-frame. For me, the LCR is more comfortable to shoot, but the J-frame with standard stocks "point" significantly better - so given my desired use of the gun, I went with the J-frame.

The gun's lack of mass will make for more subjective felt recoil. That's unavoidable. Experiment with different .38 Special +P loads and .357 Magnum offerings by the big names to find one that your wife thinks she shoots well/better, paying particular attention to the speed and accuracy with which she can deliver follow-up shots (remember, a shot-timer won't lie). Pay attention to possible crimp-jump as well: that's doubly the reason to properly vet your/her chosen defensive ammo.

With respect to ankle holsters, I really like my Galco Ankle Glove (although mine, of-course, is for the J-frame, there is an LCR variant available). I like the fact that it has a supplemental calf-strap, but the holster can be worn without it, should the user wish.

The big thing she's gotta remember for an ankle holster is that her draw stroke (unless she's down on the ground) will require that she bend-over (bend over in front of your wife, mimicking the draw stroke from the ankle holster, and ask her how easy it is for her to just kick the heck out of you) and also that her pants leg can be *easily* hiked over the leg/holster (may not be compatible with today's fashion; regardless of the tightness around the leg, the draw stroke needs to be rehearsed, as a tighter thigh section, even if the pants material is looser around the lower leg, can render a grab-and-pull on the thigh section ineffective or not sufficiently effective to expose enough of the gun for the draw stroke - some pants will require that you actually pull up at the area that drapes over the gun, necessitating that you bend over ever farther). Similarly, keep in mind that even longer skirts may not offer sufficient concealment.

Re: Wife just picked up a LCR in 357, any ladies here shoot

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 10:44 am
by Werz
walnut red wrote:We were at the Buckeye Bash last night and she won one of the firearms drawings. She was looking for another CCW firearm and the choice seemed to be the LCR, a SR 380 or a M&PC in 40 S&W. Had we been looking for me the M&P would have come home with us but I told her when I bought the ticket that I had bought it for her, and there were witnesses. She is hoping to find a ankle holster for it. Any reviews on this pistol or suggestions on a holster?
I will acknowledge that I have never fired one; however, based on everything I have heard from at least one other person who has, you will definitely want to load it with basic .38 Special the first time she uses it. If you load it with .357 Magnum - or even .38 Special +P - the first time out, she may may have a negative experience. Your post implies your wife is not a novice, but when it comes to super-light snubby revolvers chambered in .357 Magnum, I know experienced male shooting instructors who will say that the recoil is uncomfortable.

Re: Wife just picked up a LCR in 357, any ladies here shoot

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 1:07 pm
by pleasantguywhopacks
I would call the .38 model tolerable shooting +p. I wouldn't want to shoot an extended session of .357 just based on the time shooting .38 LCR.

Re: Wife just picked up a LCR in 357, any ladies here shoot

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 1:29 pm
by walnut red
Thanks for the suggestions and comments. I have a S&W M37 that she does not like mainly because of my choice of grips. I keep a pair of Hip Grips on it and she finds them too narrow to shoot comfortably. Her normal carry and shooting handgun is a S&W 6906 that she likes very well but she is looking for something smaller that would be easier to dress around. She borrowed a Galco ankle holster rig from a friend and liked it with my P3AT so I expect we'll try that rig with this revolver. This afternoon we started her out with the LCR and my 38 S&W Special 148gn handloads. Frankly I don't care if she ever works up to full 357 loads, if she decides she likes the firearms we'll find some load that is a good compromise between accuracy and shootability.

Re: Wife just picked up a LCR in 357, any ladies here shoot

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 1:38 pm
by TSiWRX
^ Good stuff. :)

I don't find an absolute need to go with the .357 Magnum, either. Performance of modern .38 Special +P is just fine. :)

Re: Wife just picked up a LCR in 357, any ladies here shoot

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 2:12 pm
by carmen fovozzo
My guess you will be owning it after she fires it......

To much recoil, period...

Re: Wife just picked up a LCR in 357, any ladies here shoot

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 3:01 pm
by curmudgeon3
It's handy to have a revolver available that's capable of shooting .357 mag. if you're gonna be taking a stroll in the woods somewhere where a black-bear and her cubs might not want to share their space with you.

Re: Wife just picked up a LCR in 357, any ladies here shoot

Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 6:04 am
by rainmaker
After trying a rental at Vandalia Armory, my wife decided on the LCR since it fit her small hands better than other handguns we tried. Picked the 357 since the extra 3.5 oz helps with recoil and I convinced her she really wouldn't notice when carrying in a proper holster. She had a chance to shoot her LCR last weekend, 35 rounds, did well and she's really happy with it.

I did have her fire one full-house 357 so that she would understand that it would be the max recoil she would ever feel. Bang and ouch and tingle - but she was pleased to know she could handle it. Doesn't want to do 357 again, but she's OK with standard loads.

Re: Wife just picked up a LCR in 357, any ladies here shoot

Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 6:53 am
by BobK
Werz wrote:I will acknowledge that I have never fired one; however, based on everything I have heard from at least one other person who has, you will definitely want to load it with basic .38 Special the first time she uses it. If you load it with .357 Magnum - or even .38 Special +P - the first time out, she may may have a negative experience. Your post implies your wife is not a novice, but when it comes to super-light snubby revolvers chambered in .357 Magnum, I know experienced male shooting instructors who will say that the recoil is uncomfortable.
No doubt!

I have a lot of handloaded .44 magnums that are loaded right to the redline. I'd rather shoot 50 rounds of that than shoot 5 rounds of .357 mag from a j-frame airweight.

I have always described shooting a j-frame airweight with .357 mag ammo as being like driving down the street at 45 mph and slapping a mailbox. It stings.

Re: Wife just picked up a LCR in 357, any ladies here shoot

Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 7:51 pm
by walnut red
Well she has been out shooting with the Ruger several times now and picked up a holster for her birthday. So far she has not fired 357 in it but has stuck to my standard 38 Special reloads. She has fired one cylinder of the Hornady Critical Defense for familiarization because that is what she carries in it. My reloads are the old 3.5 BE under a 148 DEWC and 5.0 Unique under a 158 gn SWC which while not +P are on the upper end of the scale. Frankly with identical loads the Ruger feels better than my 3" S&W M37.

Re: Wife just picked up a LCR in 357, any ladies here shoot

Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 6:57 am
by TunnelRat
BobK wrote: I have always described shooting a j-frame airweight with .357 mag ammo as being like driving down the street at 45 mph and slapping a mailbox. It stings.
I'm gonna file that one away. It is a nearly perfect description of the sensation. Thanks.

Re: Wife just picked up a LCR in 357, any ladies here shoot

Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 3:39 pm
by keepitlow
Wife uses LCR and me too. We got a few LCR's. But we use basic .38. .375 is too hot for us.

If .38 is too hot for the gals, the .327 LCR loaded with .32 H&R mag is another option. Love the trigger pull of the LCR. Fantastic gun for what it is designed for.

Here is .32 H&R compared to .38 and 22.

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Re: Wife just picked up a LCR in 357, any ladies here shoot

Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 9:44 am
by WY_Not
Yep. Lightweight handguns can be less than uncomfortable to shoot. Start with light loads and work up.

About 50 rounds through my LCP is all I can take before the webbing between my thumb and index finger starts getting sore. I can shoot my 1911 all day long.
Werz wrote:
walnut red wrote:We were at the Buckeye Bash last night and she won one of the firearms drawings. She was looking for another CCW firearm and the choice seemed to be the LCR, a SR 380 or a M&PC in 40 S&W. Had we been looking for me the M&P would have come home with us but I told her when I bought the ticket that I had bought it for her, and there were witnesses. She is hoping to find a ankle holster for it. Any reviews on this pistol or suggestions on a holster?
I will acknowledge that I have never fired one; however, based on everything I have heard from at least one other person who has, you will definitely want to load it with basic .38 Special the first time she uses it. If you load it with .357 Magnum - or even .38 Special +P - the first time out, she may may have a negative experience. Your post implies your wife is not a novice, but when it comes to super-light snubby revolvers chambered in .357 Magnum, I know experienced male shooting instructors who will say that the recoil is uncomfortable.