My mid-70s mother (quite active, goes to the gym twice a week, helps mow her own grass, etc, often carries a little .22 WMR over-under Derringer much like this, which is just something my stepfather had lying around:



It's a chunky little beast of a pocket pistol. She shot a snake with it the other day, so it gets use around the property and the deer camp, and she takes it when she travels. She also fires maybe 20 rounds a year from ARs/hunting rifles and goes hunting with my stepfather.

But I'm thinking of getting her something with higher capacity because I have a bias against Derringers unless ultra concealment is the goal, and I stumbled across this newer LCRx. It'll weigh more but have less recoil, and has 3x the capacity, and has a 3" barrel vs a 2.4" so there will be some gains in the accuracy and muzzle velocity departments.



Anyone here have one of these, or have shot one? Especially older folks, or smaller men and women (my mom is under 5'4", and not a large or especially strong person, fwiw).

Thanks.

My wife chose an LCR as opposed to the LCRx.

Her thinking on this was two-fold:

1. The LCR has an internal hammer. No spur to get caught on anything in her purse or pocket.
   
   
2. She also went through the mental exercise of thinking about cocking the hammer. She was not sure, in the event she cocked it and then decided not to shoot, that she would be able to de-cock it safely.

The LCRx 3” .38 will have a lighter trigger pull, at least based on experience with my .22 magnum LCR versus my .38 Spl LCR. And recoil from any of the low-recoil .38 loads shouldn’t be an issue with the excellent grips Ruger uses on those guns.

I have an LCR in .22LR; everything I read seemed to indicate that the .22 magnum isn’t all that more effective than its little brother, and it looks like the magnum gives up two rounds as well.

It’s pretty amazing how fast and accurately you can dump 8 rounds from the LCR out to normal SD range.

Although you didn’t ask about the LCR in .22LR – I too have one and they are great. Completely agree with gearhounds about LR vs WMR. At least with mine, you can forget about the problems that S&W lightweight .22’s (M317 in particular) have with sticky extraction and difficult cycling. I’ve never had any problems with my LCR .22 in over two years of ownership… and I bought it used.

One other option is a LCR / LCRx in .327 Federal Magnum. More rounds than the .38 and you can shoot everything from .32 ACP, .32 S&W Long, .32 H&R Magnum to full power .327 Federal Magnum.

I have the 1.87" LCRx. Light, easy to carry and a decent trigger.

Are you planning on her cocking it and then firing? Or firing it DA?

If DA, she may not like or be able to handle that trigger, I hear it’s quite heavy and stiff, more so than the .38 version.

quote:

Originally posted by MagnumU:
One other option is a LCR / LCRx in .327 Federal Magnum. More rounds than the .38 and you can shoot everything from .32 ACP, .32 S&W Long, .32 H&R Magnum to full power .327 Federal Magnum.

Excellent suggestion. .327 FM is very versatile .

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
The LCRx 3” .38 will have a lighter trigger pull, at least based on experience with my .22 magnum LCR versus my .38 Spl LCR. And recoil from any of the low-recoil .38 loads shouldn’t be an issue with the excellent grips Ruger uses on those guns.

arfmel speaks the truth.

I’ll take his suggestion one step further: the.357 magnum model loaded with the same .38 ammunition has even lower recoil. That’s what my wife carries.

What arfmel said. A neighbor told me he bought his adult daughter an LCR in .22 Mag. His daughter couldn't pull the trigger. He went back to the LGS and traded the .22 Mag in for the same gun in .38 Spcl. He reported the problem was solved due to the lighter trigger pull with the .38.

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
I have an LCR in .22LR; everything I read seemed to indicate that the .22 magnum isn’t all that more effective than its little brother, and it looks like the magnum gives up two rounds as well.

It’s pretty amazing how fast and accurately you can dump 8 rounds from the LCR out to normal SD range.

My wife's HD gun is the basic LCR-22 with 8 rds of 22LR:

https://www.ruger.com/products...specSheets/5410.html

The trigger pull is hard for her, but otherwise it's adequate. There is no perfect gun for older females.

Good points, all around. Thanks.

My only thoughts regarding caliber was to keep felt recoil the same or less, and I think they're sitting on some back stock of .22 Mag ammo, but I'll take a look at those other combinations given your suggestions.

What's it like getting a trigger job on any of these? Can the DAOs be lightened up some (not some match trigger or anything, but easier for a small / older person to work? I guess I'll just take her to a LGS when I'm visiting next time so she can try a few.

The more variables that change the less likely she is to like it, so I was hoping to change as lite as possible to help with the adoption of a new one. I was sort of hoping for it to be easy, but I can see that this will take a bit longer and require more research and such.

Possibly consider the Beretta 21a in 22LR. Double action/ Single action with exposed hammer and tip up barrel for easy loading with 7 round mag. Soft easy shooter.

I find great acceptance from women in my concealed carry classes.

Discontinued now but still plenty around being offered. In fact one of 29 claimed as new old stock offered on gun broker right now.

EasyFire

The 3" LCR is my wife's daily carry. Great gun. I carry the 2" version when I walk the dogs every morning.

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
What's it like getting a trigger job on any of these? Can the DAOs be lightened up some (not some match trigger or anything, but easier for a small / older person to work?

Might check one of the Ruger specific forums. I've never heard any mention of a trigger job on an LCR series revolver, though, just the all metal revolvers.

quote:

Originally posted by Blackmore:

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
What's it like getting a trigger job on any of these? Can the DAOs be lightened up some (not some match trigger or anything, but easier for a small / older person to work?

Might check one of the Ruger specific forums. I've never heard any mention of a trigger job on an LCR series revolver, though, just the all metal revolvers.

Maybe the 38 or 357 could benefit, but rim fire revolvers in general are probably not the best to do trigger jobs on, especially if SD is the intended purpose. Better to do a LOT of snap cap dry firing to smooth things up.

Got it. Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
I have an LCR in .22LR; everything I read seemed to indicate that the .22 magnum isn’t all that more effective than its little brother, and it looks like the magnum gives up two rounds as well.

It’s pretty amazing how fast and accurately you can dump 8 rounds from the LCR out to normal SD range.

I would have to disagree. The 22 WMR with good self-defense ammo is powerful even out of a 2" or 4" barrell.

https://www.americanrifleman.o...er&utm_campaign=1016

My 82 year old father was able to handle the 3” .38 LCRX quite well. I highly recommend it.