I mentioned I got not one, but TWO new guns. Here they are!
I put a deposit down for an LCR 22, and when it arrived an LCR .357 Also arrived! Well I guess I needed them both!
First up, I’ll say in the whole preference of revolvers race, I’m mostly agnostic, but overall I prefer Smith and Wesson. Still when looking at the MSRP for the M&P640 and the M317, they were really too rich for my blood.
Still I LOVE .22 Revolvers, and I love Jay’s Snubbie from Hell, and I love me some pocket-sized guns. When the price for the Rugers came in at nearly half the price of the S&W offerings, well I had to bite.
Now these guns are damn near identical in size and weight as the S&W offerings, only while S&W makes their guns light with expensive scandium, titanium, and aluminum alloys, the Ruger uses a cast steel (in the .357) and Aluminum (in the .22…or .38 Special, not shown) for the frame window and barrel shroud, and polymer for the fire-control housing.
I must say I was a bit skeptical, but I shot Jay’s .38 Offering, and it seems to be a good design!
Let’s open them up!
The .357, like most guns of its size has 5 charge holes, and the .22 is cut for 8 shots. Also you can see the Hogue Tamer Grips that completely enclose the grip frame and offer a soft recoil reducer. I’ll let you know how it works tomorrow after a trip to the range. I’m sure the .22 will be very mild, but the .38 Special and .357 Magnum loads I have will really test things.
OK, so why don’t I compare them to some similar offerings in the armory!
Here’s a neat comparison, I happened to pick up my Beretta 21A at the shop the day I was contemplating buying the S&W317. OK so comparisons between these two are slim. The Beretta holds 7+1, and the Ruger holds 8. The Beretta is both smaller and lighter than the revolver, but the revolver offers some reliability that few .22 Auto-Loaders can compete with. Oh and if you want to geek out this way, the Ruger is 100% idiot-proof with nothing but the trigger and the cylinder release for the user to manipulate, while the Beretta has an exposed hammer and a manual safety, as well as the magazine release. Rather moot if you ask me, but some people care about such things.
BTW the ammo strips are Tuff QuickStrips, I’ll be testing those out too!
Here’s a more fun comparison!
So there’s my S&W 642, the first carry gun I ever bought, and one I’d recommend to anybody. They’re affordable, high-quality, small, light, and offer a gun that is just stone-axe simple that can be quickly pocketed when you otherwise might not carry a gun.
Still the 642 is approximately the same size, weight, and price as the Ruger, but the Ruger is in .357 Magnum…but can also fire .38 Special. Now things start to blur when you turn to the Kahr. The Kahr is SLIGHTLY smaller, and SLIGHTLY heavier, but it rocks 5+1 of .45 ACP +P while the Ruger is 5 shots of .357 Magnum. Now .357 beats out the .45 ACP in power, but with +P 230 grain loads that I carry, that power difference is moot. Further the Kahr reloads with magazines, while with the Ruger I need to reach for a speed loader, or a Speed Strip. Further the Kahr can eat from extended magazines making Eleanor still my #1 choice for a backup/ light carry gun.
Also Eleanor has a surprisingly mild recoil…while I haven’t shot this Ruger LCR .357 yet, I suspect I won’t be interested in shooting more than a few cylinders of full-house .357 through it.
Oh, Jay seemed to have some minor problems with fitting these guns into S&W J-Frame holsters….I didn’t experience that.
That’s a Desantis Nemesis and a Remora They fit as well as my J-Frame does!
So yeah, there are my new guns! More on then once I’ve had a chance to shoot them!
