9mm Lcr Review - It's Wheel Gun Wednesday! Today's review is part of our series of articles focusing on the role of the revolver in modern self-defense.
Throughout the series, I've talked about the techniques, equipment, and viability of carrying a revolver in today's world of affordable and reliable semi-automatics. But a popular topic that I haven't paid much attention to is lightweight and compact flat nose revolvers.
9mm Lcr Review
It is not an accident. Although featherweight snubbies are the most popular breed of wheelguns today, they are also largely responsible for the negative impression many shooters have of revolvers. They are difficult to control and to shoot accurately. In defensive calibers, they offer heavy recoil, and almost invariably have terrible sight. I much prefer to focus on revolvers that have a little more size and weight, that are both fun to shoot and easy to shoot well.
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But if there's one exception to the no-usability rule in the mild snubnose category, it's the Ruger LCR series. When the original special version of the .38 came out a few years ago, I wasn't too impressed at first. The trigger was certainly a big improvement over the ubiquitous Smith & Wesson J-frame, but the heavy recoil was not significantly better than other lightweight revolvers. Some people are fine with carrying a gun, they don't shoot much on the range, but to me it defeats the purpose of the exercise. If recoil from a handgun is unpleasant enough that I don't want to shoot more than 50 rounds at a time, then I'll find another gun to carry - one I'll enjoy practicing with.
Fortunately, Ruger followed up the original LCR with a slightly heavier version chambered for .357 magnum. You'd be a glutton for punishment for shooting magnums out of this thing, but the four ounces of extra weight on the .357 LCR makes a big difference when shooting .38 Special ammo, bringing the recoil down from "barely tolerable to "slightly annoying ". Adding a .22 LR version of the LCR, which I reviewed last year, made the line even more appealing, because then you could have a snobby trainer with the exact same size, shape and feel as its centerfire brethren.
And that brings us to the subject of today's review - the new 9mm LCR. It is built on the same frame as the .357 version, so the top half is steel with a polymer lower half. And like the .38 and .357 specialty versions, the 9mm barrel holds 5 rounds. In fact, aside from the caliber, the only major difference from the 9mm version is that it uses a moon clip.
Ammunition for the 9mm LCR is loaded from moon clips - small pieces of metal that are clamped into the base of the 9mm cartridge.
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You may be wondering if a 9mm revolver is a solution looking for a problem. With the dozens of loads available in .38 special and .357 magnum, what's the point of chambering a 9mm revolver, especially since you have to deal with moon clips to function properly?
If the simplicity of the revolver is what appeals to you, then the .38 or .357 versions of the LCR probably make more sense, but there are compelling reasons to consider the 9mm version.
The Ruger LCR 357 (left) and LCR 9mm (right) are distinguished by the raised cutout in the 9mm cylinder to accommodate the moon clip.
First of all, there is the advantage that moon clip offers for reloading. Ejecting spent cartridges and loading new cartridges is faster with 9mm moon clips than with rimmed revolver cartridges and quick loaders. The shorter length of the 9mm cartridge makes jammed cases less likely and generally speeds up the reloading process.
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But, as I've mentioned before, the likelihood of reloading a revolver in a true emergency is slim at best. However, there are less exciting but still practical advantages to a 9mm revolver. Ammunition costs are significant. Ammo prices are constantly changing, but I can't remember a time when ammo in the 9mm range was more expensive than .38 Special ammo. Sharing common ammunition with your semi-automatic pistols is another advantage. Even if you don't envision a nuclear salvage doomsday scenario, minimizing the number of calibers you have in your personal inventory can be very practical.
Unlike a quickloader, the moon clip stays with the cartridges and fits into the recess cut into the cylinder face. The revolver can be loaded and fired without the moon clips, but spent cartridge cases must then be individually removed from the chamber by hand.
But above all, the performance of the ammunition is probably the biggest advantage of the 9mm revolver. Neither the .38 Special nor the .357 Magnum are known to live up to their potential when fired from short barrels. There are a few decent self-defense loads designed specifically to solve this problem, but 9mm loads generally exhibit better ballistics in short-barreled weapons. You can find a ballistic test that will show superior penetration or expansion from a .357 compared to the 9mm, but that will come at the expense of severely penalized recoil.
None of these advantages really mean much if the 9mm LCR doesn't perform as well at the range as the other chamberings. I've owned the .357 magnum LCR for a few years now, and have spent quite a bit of time on it this year since the Wheel Gun Wednesday series started. I was pretty happy with the performance I was able to get from the .357 version, so how does the 9mm LCR measure up?
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Standard sights for the Ruger LCR 9mm are a U-notch at the rear and a replaceable, pinned white ramp at the front.
Despite the less-than-ideal sights, accuracy at slow fire was respectable. Using Hornady Critical Duty 135 grain 9mm ammo, I fired a 5-shot group of 2.25 inches at 15 yards. With the Blazer Brass 115 grain, the band opened up to 4 inches. Nothing fancy, but accuracy on par with other small revolvers.
The LCR 9mm trigger is as good as any revolver trigger you are likely to find. The pull weight measured 9 pounds on my trigger weight, about a pound lighter than my .357 LCR. But more important than the weight, it's also smooth and consistent. Traditionally, stiff triggers have been one of the worst aspects of shooting small revolvers, but Ruger has completely reversed that trend with the LCR series.
The Ruger LCR .357 (left) and LCR 9mm (right) are almost indistinguishable except for the wear on the XS holster and front sight on this .357.
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In the area, the moon rocks worked as advertised. I had no problems with them binding in the barrel, and reloading was certainly much easier than using quickloaders. Unfortunately, the overall shooting experience with the 9mm LCR did not live up to what I have come to appreciate from its .357 counterpart.
It all comes down to physics. Of course, 9mm ammo has better ballistic performance than .38 Special ammo and it has less recoil than .357 magnum ammo. But don't expect the recoil to look like a small 9mm semi-auto like the Ruger LC9 or S&W Shield. Without the reciprocating slide of a semi-auto to distribute and soften the perception of recoil, snapping a small 9mm revolver is no picnic.
The Ruger LCR 9mm is about the same size as the semi-auto Ruger LC9s, which holds three extra rounds and offers less felt recoil.
When I ran some drills with the stopwatch, my actual performance wasn't much different between the two revolvers. But after spinning some American Eagle 130 grain .38 Special through the .357 LCR, I was ready for more. After three cylinders with the somewhat soft Blazer Brass in 9mm LCR, I had to take a break for a few minutes.
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To me, the small ballistic advantage offered by 9mm ammo isn't worth the recoil tradeoff. Others may find the 9mm LCR more fun to shoot than I do, but I would suggest that less experienced shooters avoid this one. Even with the soft trigger, firing a firearm this quickly is a near-certain way to develop an unpleasant flinch reflex, unless you already practice with heavy recoil weapons regularly. On the other hand, the .357 LCR loaded with full light recoil wadcutter ammunition may be about the best way to meet the challenges of a light snubnose. I like the concept of the 9mm revolver in theory, and can't fault Ruger's execution of it, but the .357 LCR will remain my favorite lightweight compact revolver.
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