Ruger LCR 22 Magnum

I am thinking of buying my mother a Ruger LCR in 22 Magnum for home defense. She is 82 and wants a gun for home defense she has shot guns all her life but arthritis is making it where she cannot hang onto a 38 pistol anymore. What do you all think about the Ruger LCR.

I think you should take her to a store that has a 22 mag and let her try the trigger. I'm guessing the trigger is harder on the 22 mag than on the 38 special. I would also have her try the 22 LR and see if that is any easier to her. Having any gun is better than no gun for sure. At her age the arthritis may get worse over the next few years. When you say she can not hang on to a a 38 pistol I assume you mean when she is shooting it. What loads and maybe you can find some lighter loads. If she is using a 158 grain load move down to a 110 grain load. Maybe if you ask around one of your friends may already have a 22 LR or 22 Mag she can try. Good luck, and thanks for looking out for her.

You might consider a LCR 327. And then shoot 32 S&W Long out of it.

A 32 long target wad cutter would be a more potent round. Or step up to the Buffalo Bore wad cutter.

Or better yet, a 32 H&R Critical Defense load.

The beauty of the 327 is it can shoot some very low recoil ammo that would still be as effective (or more) than a 22 mag.

I would recommend either the .22 L/R because it holds 8 rounds, or the .327 because it holds 6. Cal44 is on target with recoil mitigation and the other problem is reloading under stress. The trigger pull on the .22's is a bit heavier than the others. I have had no issues trimming one coil off the mainspring and then dry-firing several thousand times to reduce trigger pull weights on all my LCR's.

I agree with BPJack ..... she needs to dry fire one first.

The 22's do have a heavier trigger than the 38's do. My wife does not have a lot of strength in her arms and is ate up with arthritis. She couldn't pull the trigger on my Smith 642, but could with my LCR 38. Unfortunately she couldn't handle the recoil. She has no problem with the LCR 22. and she is 72.

brucear777 said:

I am thinking of buying my mother a Ruger LCR in 22 Magnum for home defense. She is 75 and wants a gun for home defense she has shot guns all her life but arthritis is making it where she cannot hang onto a 38 pistol anymore. What do you all think about the Ruger LCR.

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If she can handle the 10Lb+ trigger, it's a fine little pea shooter. I have one, and with Hornady 45 grn Critical Defense ammo, it comes close to the .380 in terminal performance.

See this: http://www.hornady.com/store/22-WMR-45gr-Critical-Defense/

Yeh, I think the trigger on the 22 Magnum is going to be a little too beefy for her wrist. I'd lean more towards the 38 with a lighter load. The reality is, God forbid, but should she ever need to use it, I'm sure she probably wouldn't even be phased by any potential recoil concerns. But, regardless,... she needs to be able to pull the trigger. The 22 Mag is a great revolver and a good round in the home defense ammo, but I just pulled the trigger on one myself a few days ago at a LGS, and it was really heavy. Very stout!!!

Best of luck. Keep us posted on what you/she decides.

Stay safe out there!!!

I have both, the trigger pull on the 327 is much easier than the 22 mag. With 32mag she would be better off but let her try both.

I agree that the trigger is brutal on the LCR for a rimfire revolver. The trigger is much better on the .327 and agree that light .32's would be better than the .22 mag. The round is excellent, but that trigger makes it limiting to those who can't pull it effectively. Also, as an fyi, Bud's gunshop has the S&W .22 mag scandium frame for not much more than the lcr. My buddy has one, and the trigger is good on it. Plus, you get 7 in the cylinder on the S&W.

I own an LCR .22 LR and it a great revolver, but, the trigger is much heavier than the trigger on other LCRs. I wouldn't go so far as to call it brutal, but it is heavy and she may have a hard time with it.

The suggestion of the LCR 327 federal is a very good suggestion, and it can as CAL44 stated it can be loaded down to 32 long, which is a creampuff to shoot. I would first let her dry fire the .22 if she can handle that all is good. I'm 72 yo and have arthritis but can easily handle the .22.

Thanks for all the info
My mother is 82 and worked on a farm all her life so she was able to work the trigger on the Ruger 22 Magnum LCR ok.I took her to the range and she does good with the LCR.I think this is going to be a good match for this 82 year old mother/grandmother/ great grandmother.

Your mother has great spirit to want to protect herself with a firearm. God bless her!

Well done!

brucear777,

Your mother certainly aged a lot in 5 days!

Dave

Very interesting and timely, I was just having this discussion with my dad. He is wanting a small revolver for when they take their trailer out camping. I was going to give him an SP101 but he said it is too heavy.

My question... why is the trigger pull more for 22 than 38 or 327 ? I never would have thought that. Are they very easy to find in 327 LCR or is 22/38 more common? I like the caliber of 327, probably more than 38. I would think 327 would be more effective.

The .22's are rimfire and ammunition of that type requires a harder smack for reliable ignition versus centerfire ammunition so a stronger mainspring is used which requires more force to compress with the trigger.

Thanks!