9mm LCR range report

Well I got my new LCR 9mm to the range last night. Having had prior experience with a .38 LCR, I knew recoil might be an issue for my arthritic hands. With that in mind I switched out the small Hogue grips for the new ones that come on the 3 inch LCR. My loads were Federal EFMJ, Hornady Critical Defense , Swiss military ball (124 gr) and PMC 124 gr FMJ. Well the gun still huts to shoot. All told I shot about 50 rounds through the gun. While that doesn't sound like much remember one has to load those little moon clips. The Critical Defense was the worst of the loads for recoil. The loaded moon clips were very difficult to eject. I did not have any ejection issues with the other brands. The other area I was very interested to explore was the claim that the rounds would fire without the moon clips. All of the rounds used did fire without issue when used loose in the cylinder. Yes, I needed to use a small rod to poke the empties out and again the Critical Defense was hard to eject. Funny I never had a problem with them in a .38. I was surprised to find the Federal EFMJ to be the easiest round to shoot despite it being the only +P rated round I used. I fear as I get older I won't be able to shoot a revolver of a medium caliber in a gun that weighs less than 30 oz.

Thanks for the report.

I appreciate the confirmation on firing without moon clips.

I great as moon clips are for most people, I don't want them for my purposes. However, I may go ahead and try to find a S&W 929, because like you imply, there are benefits to large heavy guns. The 929 is widely reported to be unreliable or even unusable without moon clips, so I may have to give up and use them. Or get the LCR...

I own a Speed Six in 9mm and had a S&W 940; neither gun would function with out the moon clip. I don't see the 929 being any different.

I had two 940 S&W's and both had ejection probs.. The 9mm is slightly tapered and I think that enters into the issue. Both guns were sent to S&W to have the chambers polished which alleviated some of the problem. Only with using nickel plated cases was ejection close to 100%. I'm 68 with arthritis in both hands. Shooting my .38 LCR is about the same/painful as shooting a steel frame J Frame with standard wood grips. I'm actively still searching for a S&W 432 or 431 (they're chambered in .32 H&R mag.). I had a couple in the past but foolishly sold them.

Bluto said:

...I'm actively still searching for a S&W 432 or 431 (they're chambered in .32 H&R mag.). I had a couple in the past but foolishly sold them.

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Maybe the SP101 since it's being offered in .327 mag again? You could always shoot .32 H&R and it's got enough heft that the H&R should be really pleasant to shoot.

Bluto said:

I'm actively still searching for a S&W 432 or 431 (they're chambered in .32 H&R mag.). I had a couple in the past but foolishly sold them.

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I have a Smith 31-1 J frame.

It's a 32 S&W long 6 shooter.

While 32 H&R mag is more powerful, I use the buffalo bore 32 S&W long ammo for carry.

BB has a 100 gr wadcutter which I carry in the gun, and a 115 gr round nose flat point for reloads.

This might be another low recoil option.

Can the 9mm fire .380 rounds in the moon clips?
Has anyone tried it?
Geoff
Who is curious.

Geoff Timm said:

Can the 9mm fire .380 rounds in the moon clips?

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The 380 is a bit slimmer than the 9. I'd think it would be a bit of a loose fit, but I'm no eggspurt on moonclips. If they would go bang I doubt accuracy would be much to brag about.