Ruger LCR owners: Q about POA/POI

[Totem Polar]

So, I shot my second LCR in .38 this weekend. This was a range rental in a square lane; by way of comparison, I had my own 642, as well as "old faithful" (my 36-1 3" RB heavy barrel Frank McGee special from the 200th anniversary of our nation's birth) along for the ride. Since my friendly local range rents by caliber ($7 and a box of their brutally priced 130fmj range ammo lets one try out anything in the rack in the same chambering), I also took a spin through the incomparable 340pd. Oddly, I didn't find the impossibly light PD to be a whole lot different in feel than my 642, save for the sights-damn near worth the $400 upgrade fee alone, at least to my mid-40s peepers, but I ramble.

Every gun grouped as well at 21 ft as I could group; all the clusters looked satisfyingly similar, with the nod going to the 3" tubed 36--also plain black sights on light grey target diamonds and circles, but all plenty good.

But the Ruger... holy kittens... that thing's group was, like, 7 inches low at 7 yards. When I handed it back to the RO, he was like: "I know, I know... I told you that you wouldn't like it or want to buy one any more after shooting..."

The only other time I shot one was in a 3 berm dirt pit at tennis balls... I figured then that I was just having an off day combined with unfamiliarity.

Do they all come regulated like that?

Just asking; don't hate on the messenger, if you please. I really want to like that thing, but if the XS and fiber versions also shoot to POA like that, then I'm out.

Thanks in advance for the feedback.

[JHC]

LOL nice.

My LCR .22 front sight is way off. Its POI is HIGH as the dickens; about to the degree you describe low.

[Dave J]

Going from memory, my LCR 38 shot high out of the box with the stock sights. POI was about 5-6" over POA with 158-gr, 3-4" high with 135-gr, GDHP and about 2-3" high with 110-gr DPX, at 7 yds.

Switching the front to an XS dot pushed everything down somewhat, so Gold Dots are pretty much on, and DPX prints slightly low. However, I find it much more difficult to hold a consistent sight picture in terms of elevation with the XS front, so will probably try a Novak front at some point, to get a square front blade.

[rathos]

mine wears the xs big dot. I am dead on with 135 grain short barrel gold dots. Pretty close to right on with regular 130 grain practice ammo. My buddy has one with the hi-viz and its the same story. I have never tried one out with the standard blade.

[Chuck Haggard]

My .22 has standard sights and shoots dead on.

[MGW]

My .357 model is dead on with .38 critical defense.

[breakingtime91]

Mine is wearing an xs front and hits poa. The factory front sight isn't good at all if I remember correctly. Xs sight and crimson trace fixed it :)

[1911Nut]

My wife and I each own LCR's, both in .38 Special caliber. One has the stock Ruger front night sight and the other has an almost identical aftermarket sight that was installed before Ruger began making the revolvers with the night sights.

Both of them shoot 1" to 1 1/4" high at 15 yards with Buffalo Bore 158 Gr. LSWCHP ammo as well as a handload using Oregon Trail 158 Gr. cast SWC's over W231 powder tailored to provide almost identical MV's.

The Buffalo Bore ammo is used as carry ammo and the handloads are used as practice ammo. Recoil is stout, so I loaded some really light loads of a Hornady 110 Gr. JHP's over W231 powder for my wife to use as a practice load.

There is little, if any difference in POI at 15 yards between this light 110 Gr. load and the heavy 158 Gr. load (in both revolvers).

[Totem Polar]

I really appreciate the feedback, folks. Sounds like it's case-by-case on these little guys.

[Chuck Haggard]

I really appreciate the feedback, folks. Sounds like it's case-by-case on these little guys.

Snubs are often that way.

[Totem Polar]

Fair enough. I've been lucky that every S&W .38/.357 that I own shoots to the same POA. The exception was a recent Brinks run model 64--built to NY-1 specs: DAO, bead blast, etc.-- that shot high. I loved the look and feel of that wheelie, but it still didn't last long.

Hey, while I have you in the thread, tpd223, what's your verdict on the .22lr LCR? Recommended, or recommend something different? Thanks in advance. (you too, JHC, if you're still reading)

[Chuck Haggard]

Fair enough. I've been lucky that every S&W .38/.357 that I own shoots to the same POA. The exception was a recent Brinks run model 64--built to NY-1 specs: DAO, bead blast, etc.-- that shot high. I loved the look and feel of that wheelie, but it still didn't last long.

Hey, while I have you in the thread, tpd223, what's your verdict on the .22lr LCR? Recommended, or recommend something different? Thanks in advance. (you too, JHC, if you're still reading)

Depends on what you want it to do I guess. If you are looking for a .22 trainer/understudy for a snub, or just a plinker, it's a good little gun. I find that shooting snubs, for me, is tough and that if I do some snub work as part of my keeping up with the basics than my shooting improves. I call it ballistic dry fire due to the lack of blast and recoil.

I also have a .22 kit for my Glock, but it gets far less use now since almost all of the .22 ammo I have left is horribly unreliable when using the AA kit. The LCR on the other hand (and my S&W 317) runs everything that fits in the chambers. I found a bunch of .22 longs, as an example, no one wanted them apparently since they were on the shelf gathering dust, but they sure work great in the LCR.

[Totem Polar]

Pretty much what I wanted to hear, thanks for that. Yeah, the understudy idea is what interests me, since I'm also a snub 'basics' fan. The stark reality is that I probably have enough .38s in the safe already.

[Chuck Haggard]

It wasn't until after I had a .22 snub that I really figured out how useful they can be.

In one shot from the draw drills everything is exactly the same, sights, trigger, grip, etc., until the recoil hits (or doesn't I guess).

Shooting a snub at distance is a challenge and forces the shooter to get really good at the basics.

All of this happens cheaply and with low recoil. I can have a very happy time getting to the range with the .22 and beating up the steel targets (I don't even have to reset them!)

[JHC]

Pretty much what I wanted to hear, thanks for that. Yeah, the understudy idea is what interests me, since I'm also a snub 'basics' fan. The stark reality is that I probably have enough .38s in the safe already.

I also got it as a trigger finger training tool last winter when 9mm was drying up; and I didn't realize I'd be able to source 9mm easier this year than .22LR. ;)

I must look for .22 longs (tip of the hat to tpd223); that hadn't occurred to me.

I would rather have a 3" S&W 317 but it was twice the price of what I got this LCR for.

I suspected that I might could get some front sight relief from Ruger customer service if I tried but haven't gotten around to it. If and when I do I will also ask about the difficulty releasing/opening the cylinder. It's a bitch to release.

I have a G19 AA .22 kit also but it doesn't get a lot of use either. I swear it makes the trigger pull quite a bit lighter - and I only really use it for practicing reloads which I could do with dummy rounds anyway. I thought they were a cool idea for awhile.

A Ruger SR22 just purchased has run very well for a couple hundred rounds and it's trigger is heavier (ie more useful as a trainer IMO) than the AA kit. It's single action strikes me as fairly close to a Glock with a minus connector. Not exactly by any means.