Ruger Polymer-Framed Revolver

DPris said:
Bill Ruger did not want his company to participate strongly in the concealed carry market, and wasn't much of a fan of polymers.
Innovation aside, there were certain designs and sizes that he would not have approved during his lifetime. The LCR and LCP could only have been made after his death. You'll also notice the reversal of the long-running Ruger policy against selling 20-round Mini-14 magazines to non police buyers. That also would not (and did not) happen under his management.
Denis
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Ahh, good point.

I was thinking of his wholesale embracing of the casting when everyone was doing the forging processes for firearms. I can see the old curmudgeons now grumbling about never getting one of the new fangled cast iron Roogurs, instead of a man's Colt or Smith and Wesson. Just like today's grumble about that aweful tupperware. I had imagined he would see the benefits of plastics. If I recall correctly, the P85 did have just a touch of plastic in the grips.

Funny thing is I see that Ruger is the one's who actually cast all the parts for the S&W PPK.
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American Rifleman recently had an article on the Nylon 66. The AR-7 isn't near as old, but also beats the Glock and H/K to the plastic ranch too, I believe.

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As far as Ruger and the Ruger Letter, I haven't forgotten either. I did break down and get a second hand SP101 though. Ruger makes a good revolver.
 
I believe that Glock has proven that the use of polymers does not reduce the strength of the firearm's frame--if anything, it should increase tensile strength by adding a degree of flex not present in the harder and more brittle materials of similar weight. And where flex is not advantageous, the parts are still metal.

I may be wrong--time will tell, but I think I'm going to have to have one of these LCRs [even though I already have a S&W 442 and a 642].
 
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Well, I happened to find an LCR at Ludco's Gun Shop in Parker City, IN yesterday and it followed me home. The fit and finish were much better than I expected and it just felt "right."

The trigger is different than my J-frame S&W's. It is just as light as my 642--the one with the most extensive trigger work--and much better than the others that have stock triggers. The LCR stages differently than the S&W's. I'm told that it feels more like the trigger on a Colt Cobra, but since I've never shot more than a few rounds through a Cobra it's hard for me to say. The first stage positions the cylinder and locks it in place and the second stage drops the internal hammer. Different from what I'm used to, but nice.

The sights are large but difficult to see against a dark background. In the future I may replace the pinned front sight sight with a high visibility dot sight when they become available. I'll also likely invest in the Crimson Trace laser grips when they become available separately.

Some articles have stated that the LCR will fit in holsters made for the the S&W J-frames, but that is only partly true. I have lots of snubby revolver holsters made for J-frames, and the LCR will fit in about 1/3 of them. The trigger guard is shaped differently and prevents fitting in the form-fit holsters.

Shooting the LCR surprised me. It surprised me a lot. I can normally shoot roughly 6 inch groups with my 642 at 7 yards...not great, but sufficient for my purposes. With the LCR my groups shrunk to about 3 inches with a variety of loads at the same distance. I don't know what to attribute this to, but I don't really care why it's happening, I'm just pleased that it is.

Once I can get the big dot front sight and the CT grips, the 642 will move to my safe and the LCR will be in my pocket.
 
I agree with Jill. I have had an S&W 342 for years, weight is 11.3 oz with hogue grip. Make a plastic .38 that weighs under 10 oz and I might have interest, otherwise no.
 
zenheretic said:
American Rifleman recently had an article on the Nylon 66. The AR-7 isn't near as old, but also beats the Glock and H/K to the plastic ranch too, I believe.
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Killed many an Eastern Oregon rabbit with a nylon 66. Great rifle!
 
Robert H said:
Killed many an Eastern Oregon rabbit with a nylon 66. Great rifle!
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It's a good thing they functioned well without much cleaning and rarely broke parts. I once had a client bring me one as completely dissassembled parts in a bag. I'm here to tell you - never, ever take one completely apart unless you like puzzles, have a lot of patience and aren’t busy for quite a while.... :D

Innovative? Yes. Simple? No.

TR Graham
The Glocksmith
 
wutitiz said:
I agree with Jill. I have had an S&W 342 for years, weight is 11.3 oz with hogue grip. Make a plastic .38 that weighs under 10 oz and I might have interest, otherwise no.
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If the trigger is as good as they say it is, I am ready to trade up my S&W 340PD for one.

Craig
 
The more I shoot my new LCR, the better I like it.

I could always hit better with a semi-auto than with a revolver, but for pocket carry I almost always went back to carrying a snubby revolver because inevitably I experienced a few malfunctions with true pocket autos regardless of the brand or cost. That never happened with any of my revolvers, (or any of my Glocks for that matter, but none of them could be comfortably carried in a pocket.) The LCR has changed everything. It carries as easily as any snubby revolver I've owned and I can hit with it nearly as well as with my Glocks and SIGs. My S&W J-frames are now officially safe queens.
 
Interesting idea but I tend to never buy things that are new in the gun market.

I like to let other people test them out and find the bugs so the manufacturer can fix stuff before I buy it.
 
I handled a LCR last weekend, and was impressed by the ergonomics and the trigger. It did not have the laser grip, and I found the sight picture a bit lacking for my aged eyes. I almost bought it for my wife (less than $450), but with tax day looming, I reluctantly resisted. I would have been happy to stimulate the local economy, but alas, have to give the money to Washington instead. :-(
 
TR Graham said:
It's a good thing they functioned well without much cleaning and rarely broke parts. I once had a client bring me one as completely dissassembled parts in a bag. I'm here to tell you - never, ever take one completely apart unless you like puzzles, have a lot of patience and aren’t busy for quite a while.... :D

Innovative? Yes. Simple? No.

TR Graham
The Glocksmith
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I have to LOL!:D When the Nylon 66 first came out, many went to a gunsmith in a paper bag to be re-assembled. Once you figured it out though it was a piece of cake. The only one I ever saw that came in for repair was just last month. The bolt handle broke off.

At the SHOT Show, the LCP and LCR had nicknames. Little Crappy Pistol and Little Crappy Revolver.
 
Whatever works for you--but I really like my LCR.

RugerLCR-Nemesis-SpeedStrips.jpg
 
DPris said:
Bill Ruger did not want his company to participate strongly in the concealed carry market, and wasn't much of a fan of polymers.
Innovation aside, there were certain designs and sizes that he would not have approved during his lifetime. The LCR and LCP could only have been made after his death. You'll also notice the reversal of the long-running Ruger policy against selling 20-round Mini-14 magazines to non police buyers. That also would not (and did not) happen under his management.
Denis
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i always wondered why bill was like that and for me anyway it kinda turned me off rugers of all types, in all my yrs i have owned exactly two ruger firearms, a 10/22,which was given to me by a bud and had been disassembled and was missing a couple of parts (i have since got it running) and my mini14 which i got in '79 before i had heard of bills thoughts on a lot of things.

oh i know they are gen;ly pretty good guns, all in all, but there is just too many other makers who dont restrict stuff like he did.
 
It's probably a fine piece like all Rugers, if I didn't have anything comparable I'd definitely check it out. But, I do have the Airweight so I'm not going to worry.
 
SIFU1A said:
i always wondered why bill was like that and for me anyway it kinda turned me off rugers of all types, in all my yrs i have owned exactly two ruger firearms, a 10/22,which was given to me by a bud and had been disassembled and was missing a couple of parts (i have since got it running) and my mini14 which i got in '79 before i had heard of bills thoughts on a lot of things.

oh i know they are gen;ly pretty good guns, all in all, but there is just too many other makers who dont restrict stuff like he did.
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Most firearms makers in this country are not publically traded corporations. In the last anti-gun wave, two that were are Ruger and Smith and Wesson, and both maneuvered to court Federal survival at the expense of the buying public.

Surely some of his opinions were his own personal thoughts, but likely attempting to ensure his company survived also motivated his actions.
 
A nice gun to be partnered with a glock pistol...both steel/polymer...both *ehem* ugly but definitely capable of living rough lives.
 
adorable_harree said:
A nice gun to be partnered with a glock pistol...both steel/polymer...both *ehem* ugly but definitely capable of living rough lives.
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Well that is always true. When you look at what a skilled smith can do to a 1911 or all steel revelver and compare it to a polymer pistol there is a clear winner and a clear loser for looks. :)
 
zenheretic said:
Most firearms makers in this country are not publically traded corporations. In the last anti-gun wave, two that were are Ruger and Smith and Wesson, and both maneuvered to court Federal survival at the expense of the buying public.

Surely some of his opinions were his own personal thoughts, but likely attempting to ensure his company survived also motivated his actions.
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imho there is right and wrong and he was wrong in this matter, to me anyway, and i choose not to spend my $$ on his products, of course its a free country and ya can do as ya wish but thats how i feel about it.
 
SIFU1A said:
imho there is right and wrong and he was wrong in this matter, to me anyway, and i choose not to spend my $$ on his products, of course its a free country and ya can do as ya wish but thats how i feel about it.
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I agree. I had several Rugars in the olden days, but sold them all after the Ruger Letter. I finally broke down and got a SP101 though. :o
 
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