Ruger VS Smith and Wesson

04.03.15 | Big Truck

[big truck]

I'm considering the purchase of either the Ruger LCR .357 snub nose (1 7/8" barrel) or the S&W 340 M&P .357 with the same barrel length. Anyone own/carry either gun? Pros and cons? Preferences?

[Lazamataz]

And best of luck on the surgeries and consultations!

[OKSooner]

Want it is all the reason one needs in a free country.

Enjoy.

[43north]

“The trigger on the Smith & Wesson will be way better than the Ruger trigger.”

Have you tried the LCR trigger? I have fired both. The LCR DAO trigger is light years ahead of the S&W.

[OKSooner]

I feel your pain. Best handgun I ever had was a model 65, which is now gone... it pointed and aimed so naturally, I could actually hit with it.

But magnum loads were excessive, except for the Winchester white box 110gr loads, an old favorite of mine, except - you're not supposed to them in a K-frame because of the forcing cone issue.

So for now I'm just keeping it simple. A model 64, a couple of j-frames, which are a handful in their own right, and my wife has her SP101 stoked with +P's.

I find myself tempted by autos in various flavors sometimes but I can't settle on any single one, plus they throw your brass all over creation when you're at the range.

I'll just keep telling myself that my revolvers are enough, for now. Maybe someday I'll get that CZ75 compact I've been lusting over. Or maybe something else.

BTW, have you noticed how all the gun threads anymore are always about handguns, never rifles or shotguns, or handloading, or competitive shooting? Think of all the fun we're all missing out on. :)

[Carthego delenda est]

“The LCR DAO trigger is light years ahead of the S&W.”

Absolutely true.

[Daffynition]

I just love, love my .357 S&W J-Frame for CC.

Likes:
concealed hammer
out-of-the-box trigger pull
confidence in its performance
CT lasergrips

Disikes:
it's quite *heavy* to carry [for a woman]
finding a holster I like
I must own 12 different holsters for it....don't like any of them

Like others above, I practice w/ .38 special carts
I had practiced with this gun for a quite a while B4 I added CT laser grips. For carry, I use a .357 hollow-point bullet.
Once, and only once, have I had the need for drawing this gun for personal protection. When the laser was focused on the chest of the perp, he dropped to the ground and begged for his life.

The target from yesterday's practice.

Good luck with your hunt for the right gun for you. Perhaps you can find a gun shop that has different models you can try out as rentals. That's a lot easier than commiting to a gun/cal you may not like all that much.

[43north]

Erik: the first rule of gunfighting is HAVE A GUN. You can’t carry a Glock 19 or 23 in your pocket at work. You CAN carry a Ruger LCR and quite comfortably.

There are many recorded instances where the victim simply exposed his pocket handgun and the perps dispersed. Not many thugs are willing to get shot with ANY caliber so at least you have a fighting chance.

I recall an event in Soldotna a couple of years ago when a fellow was walking his dog and was attacked from behind by an old brown bear looking for an easy kill. He dispatched that beast with Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan with “only” 5 rounds of .454 Casull and lived to tell the tale.

[Lurker]

I’m rather find of my SP101 for everyday carry. Yes, it’s a bit heavy. But it shooter like a dream.

[43north]

Exactly. I once dispatched a charging black bear in my backyard in Wasilla, AK with a 7.62 x 51mm Israeli Galil with a 20 rd. magazine. Shot him 4 times. Excessive? Not at all. I still had 16 rds. left in case any of his buddies showed up...

[Georgia Girl 2]

I have a Ruger P85. Helluva weapon. Ruger makes a good gun.

[schurmann]

“I love my Taurus 605 Stainless 5 with 2” barrel and it cost a lot less than either of your choices.”

Taurus has offered some very innovative designs, but their quality control is spotty and they wear more quickly: material quality issues. Parts are much tougher to come by; Taurus says they have a lifetime warranty but getting them to honor it can involve great effort. Most of their revolvers bear a resemblance to Smith & Wesson guns, but they are different in detail; parts never interchange. And all screws are metric; if you break one or lose one, nothing available in the United States will substitute.

Cost savings won’t appeal as much, if it quits in the middle of a tight situation, or wears out so quickly that a replacement must be purchased early.

Colt’s probably had the edge in accuracy and handling, but all their DA revolvers are out of production and parts are getting scarce. They have a reputation for lower strength, and for getting out of time; once the latter happens, it can be tricky to restore timing, as many parts are multi-function, and an experienced hand with files & stones (plus plenty of imagination, patience, and mechanical ability) will be needed. Plus, they are becoming pricey collector items.

Smith & Wesson has the edge for smoothness of function, and is reasonably durable.

Ruger revolvers are tops in durability and strength; any of them will handle a steady diet of stout loads, which will soon cause the others to loosen up. The LCR is far lighter than their earlier guns but is gaining a reputation for solidity. Sights are rudimentary, but it boasts the best trigger action out of the box.

Consider the Ruger SP101. It is heavier than any of the others, but is matchless in strength and durability. The basic model does have a hammer spur, but it can be altered. Trigger pull out of the box is mediocre to terrible, but responds well to cleanup and installation of a spring kit. Never blows up, never breaks down; the weight dampens recoil.

Autoloaders do offer one or two more shots than revolvers of equivalent size, but load choice is far more limited; shot for shot, revolver cartridges are always more effective. Feed reliability has made great strides in the last 25 years, but they still malfunction at rates 100 times greater than revolvers. Clearing a malfunction inside a reasonable time limit demands a lot of practice.

But at the end of the day, nothing counts as much as the user’s ability to achieve hits and work all the controls suitably. Only if the gun feels “right” to the user, will sufficient training be done to assure confidence and attain results.

[Big Red Badger]

P85,
that’s a flash back.
old man Rugers attempt to get military contracts.
The pistol works well for You?

[tumblindice]

A .357 wheel gun? So you want bulk, weight, recoil AND muzzle blast?
Do you want to shoot wad-cutters or some exotic bullet? Why not a good 9mm? Or a .45.
I’ve got a .357 SS Rossi w/ 6” barrel boat anchor presiding over my gun safe, until my daughter wants it for her night stand.

[oldsalt]

Everybody has an opinion when it comes to which gun is good for this or that...here’s mine.
My favorite snubby is my Taurus Total Titanium .357 with a 2” ported barrel
and a seven shot capacity.
Yes the recoil is little stout but I find it manageable,but then I’m 6’1” and 275
lbs.
I can shoot 2-3” groups at 25 feet ...but I’ll concede it’s even better with .38Spec loads

[lavaroise]

Yep. rugers are well built and will last. S&W do not do well with hot loads, is the usual wisdom. (Except maybe for the big bores like 460, 500 or Governor).

[trebb]

I’m not real interested if the perp likes the way it looks or not. I’ll go with “function”. One vote for Ruger. Thanks!

I choose Ruger too. As noted by others, .38 Specials would be my main choice for ammo in a snubby. I have a Ruger Stainless revolver with the 6.5" barrel. The extra weight is nice for a .357 round and I can hit a 5 gal bucket at 100 yards with it. I keep it loaded with 38 Special hollow points and have 2 speed loaders of .357 and 2 speed loaders of 38 Special ready for use. Don't care if I never shoot another .357 with it, but it does give one the option of really reaching out and touching someone if the extra oomph is needed. Of course, at 62 (still work out so in decent condition) the extra "bang from the buck" ain't as neat as it once was.

[ought-six]

I understand your point, but in my opinion shooting .357 mag out of any LCR does not make a lot of sense, because the recoil is such that making effective follow-up shots (i.e., recovering from recoil to get on target again) is seriously compromised. Shooting .38+P out of an LCR is for all intents and purposes the same as shooting .357 mag out of an LCR, but without the pain. A 1.7” barrel is too short for the high-pressure .357 to do what it was intended to do, and the muzzle stats of the .38+P and the >357 mag are so close as to have no meaningful difference. A .357 mag was intended to perform best out of a 4” or longer barrel.

[niteowl77]

So for now I'm just keeping it simple. A model 64, a couple of j-frames, which are a handful in their own right, and my wife has her SP101 stoked with +P's.

I'm getting more comfortable with the whole simplicity thing. Once in a while I run across something like this: www.hensleygibbs.com/edharris/articles/theversatile38special.htm and realize that I have taken a long trip to get back to a familiar place. Hey, if it worked for my older relatives, it'll work for me.

I find myself tempted by autos in various flavors sometimes but I can't settle on any single one, plus they throw your brass all over creation when you're at the range

I ended up with two very different Beretta semi autos that I would have dismissed outright not that many years ago, but which I've come to like very much. Sort of like the cats we've had, I didn't pick them out, but they won me over anyway!

BTW, have you noticed how all the gun threads anymore are always about handguns, never rifles or shotguns, or handloading, or competitive shooting? Think of all the fun we're all missing out on. :)

That is something I mentioned to a friend just the other day. In my case, a couple of things have caused this.

Our last major move took me away from the places I had permission to shoot at, and this state has since then changed so much in rural land usage that my use of rifles has been almost given up. The local ranges aren't much of a substitute and increasingly don't want centerfire longarms (after the yahoos began tearing up the backstops with various steel-bulleted ammo). The Great .22LR Hoardfest of the past couple of years caused me to get rid of all but one .22LR, and I've always been one of those "I only own one shotgun" types.

Then to add insult to injury, my eyes finally got to where a set of iron sights on a rifle aren't sufficient for "minute of squirrel" even if I had a place to bag one. So here I sit/stand, shooting- and talking - handguns WAY more than I did back in the good old days.

The one "silver lining" to this - if one can call it that - is that nowadays, I am more likely to actually use a handgun to defend myself than any time in my life. It's a sad commentary on the state of this community, but I'm more likely to need the pistol in my pocket than any longarm I have left.

Mr. niteowl77

[Georgia Girl 2]

Helluva a weapon. Its a hand cannon. I’ve had it for years. A few years back there was a recall on the safety so I sent it in to the factory and they installed a new firing pin and safety and reconditioned the whole gun. Sent it back to me with a free mag. Only cost me $27 for shipping. Mr. GG2 uses it for a backup as its a lot of gun for me. I’ve got a Keltec PMR30. Not as much punch but then you do get 30 rounds per mag. :-)

[Big Red Badger]

I remember the recall as well,haven’t shot it since,bought it more as an investment .
Then , the tragic handball court accident .