Ruger LCR .357, anyone use one?

[Bawanna]

I have no experience with the rounds that Steve carries but I suspect they would be a handful although I could be wrong.

I have loaded lots of 38 special and have recipes that I loaded for freinds and co workers wifes. They really found them pleasant and guys found them rather boring. In other words a perfect range practice ammo. It was rather embarassing but not my fault, one guy, actually he was a manager that I had loaded several boxes for, some for him, and some for his wife. He asked me to load a couple more and I just assumed they were for him, fire breathing hot loads, flames out the barrel stuff. Turns out they were for his wife, she wasn't the least bit happy with me for awhile. Learned a good lesson on that one. I loaded her 6 boxes of the light stuff she liked for free. No good deed goes unpunished....................

In the factory world (is it me or is it dang hard to find standard velocity 38 anymore?) I'm not sure what would be a pleasant light load.

I was always fond of the 125 grain in jacketed bullets but quite often used 158 grain also.

I do suspect those rubber grips would soak up alot of the bite.

[Jeremiah/Az]

rholmes, I'm sure that you already know this, but recoil is a matter of physics. The heavier the bullet & the higher the velocity, the more recoil, but with lighter & slower, you sacrifice penetration. You may want to let her try light & work up to see what she is comfortable with.

[rholmes69]

I gather from some research online that the 357 loads will earn me a night on the couch at the very least. I figured I would start with the wadcutters so she could pop off 50-100 rounds and be comfortable with the mechanics of and the loading process and not be tired of it. Only then could we work to find a load she could handle 5 rounds of.

The last thing I want is for her to be in the situation where she is questioning whether that BG really needs another round their way and has to "talk" herself into pulling the trigger again. I also don't want to end up with 10 different boxes of PD rounds and all the money associated with it if I could narrow it down to a few that seem to be popular with other gals.

Thanks for the insight folks!!

[Jeremiah/Az]

My GF is a small woman with small hands. In the Airweight .38, about the same weight as the LCR, the 148 grn. wadcutters, a target load, is about all that she can handle. Not the best personal defense round by our standards, but I sure wouldn't want to get hit by one. There is always a compromise about gun weight, that we will carry, & the ammo ( recoil) we can tolerate. The standard 125 grn. ( not +P) is a good self defense round, but it does bite a little in these light guns.

[rholmes69]

Perfect info, thanks!