If you intend to shoot 38+P rounds, suggest you buy a 357. The extra weight will be a positive. And, you’ll have the flexibility of shooting any of the 38spl or 357 rounds should you choose to do so.
I agree. The .357 feels so much better in my hands. Even my daughter liked it better than the .38 and she shot both at the range and her hands are even smaller than mine.
When I went to buy my LCR I had the intention of getting .38 but liked the .357 much better.
Waiting on the May big Ruger sale at our shop nearby to get the daughter’s “first” gun.
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.