The Ruger LCR is a compact

revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

built by Sturm, Ruger & Co. and announced in January 2009. LCR stands for "Lightweight Compact Revolver". It incorporates several novel features such as a polymer grip and trigger housing, monolithic receiver, and constant force trigger. At , the LCR is nearly 50% lighter than the stainless steel SP101, as only the barrel and fluted

cylinder A cylinder () has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infinite ...

are made of

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

Description

The LCR operates in double-action only (DAO), as the

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...

is concealed within the frame handle's fire control housing and cannot be cocked prior to firing. In order to create a lighter trigger pull, it features a friction-reducing

cam Cam or CAM may refer to: Science and technology * Cam (mechanism), a mechanical linkage which translates motion * Camshaft, a shaft with a cam * Camera or webcam, a device that records images or video In computing * Computer-aided manufacturin ...

. The LCR was originally released chambered in .38 Special. In June 2010, Ruger released the LCR-357 chambered for .357 Magnum. With the rising popularity of the LCR, in December 2011 Ruger announced the new Ruger LCR 22, chambered in .22 LR with an eight-round capacity. In the summer of 2013, Ruger introduced a .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (WMR) version of the LCR, with a six-round capacity. In the autumn of 2014, Ruger introduced a five-shot 9mm Luger version, and a six-shot .327 Federal Magnum version a year later. The LCR frame is aluminum alloy and synthetic glass-filled polymer finished in matte black with Synergistic Hard Coat. Per the Ruger website, the "monolithic frame is made from aerospace-grade, 7000 series aluminum in .22 LR, .22 Magnum and .38 Spl +P models and from 400 series stainless steel in the powerful .357 Magnum, 9mm Luger and .327 Federal Magnum models."

LCRx

Ruger announced the LCRx variant in December 2013, which features an external hammer, allowing it to be fired in

single-action A trigger is a mechanism that actuates the function of a ranged weapon such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow, or speargun. The word may also be used to describe a switch that initiates the operation of other non-shooting devices such as a t ...

or double-action. All the other features of the LCR are also present in the LCRx including the polymer grip, trigger housing, and fluted stainless steel cylinder. A barrel version of the LCRx in .357 Magnum and a barrel version in .22 Magnum and .22 LR became available in April 2017. The 1.87-inch barrel version became available as a five-shot 9mm Luger and a six-shot .327 Federal Magnum in the fall of 2017.

References

External links

Ruger LCR official page

Review of the Ruger LCR from ''American Rifleman''
{{.38 Caliber .357 Magnum firearms .38 Special firearms .22 LR revolvers .22 Winchester Magnum firearms 9mm Parabellum revolvers Revolvers of the United States Ruger revolvers Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2010