My wife's new SD

[oldpink]

Well, I finally went to Rural King in Muncie yesterday afternoon and walked out with a brand new Ruger LCR-X .38 Special for my wife.

The obligatory photos:

I will (of course) be spending my next days I have off busy at my press churning out practice ammo for this so that we can take a trip to the range.
I'm still amazed at just how light this little revolver is, and what really surprises me is just how clean and crisp the trigger pull is, even in double action mode.
Ruger really put a lot of R&D into these, and it shows, and all at a really good price, just $460.09 total, tax included.
I'll put my wife through her paces practicing over the coming months, not to mention getting her a Larry and decent carry rig, maybe a Kramer horsehide, a worthy investment.

 

[Smith& W]

Looks like a great choice. Enjoy

 

[wizardfitz]

you're right about the trigger its very nice. i have 1 in 357.

 

[Snapdragon]

Nice. I like my .357.

 

[dsol]

Got one of those with the 3 inch barrel. It is my EDC now. I swapped out the larger grip for the shorter two finger one like yours, conceals on my belt under a jacket much better. Good shooting little gun, I can hit what I aim at with it out to a distance further than I should ever shoot for self defense. I was breaking clay pigeons on the 50 yard berm, not with every shot but two or three every cylinder works for me. It is a Ruger, so it should handle the hottest +P loads your hand will stand. I keep the Buffalo Bore 158 grain LHP +P nasties in mine. They hurt my hand... but should do a number on anything they hit.

 

[Drail]

Yeah, be sure to load it with the hottest +P loads you can find. Women just love to shoot a flyweight plastic revolver with +P loads.

 

[Birds Away]

Excellent purchase, sir.

 

[Jarhead77]

Great purchase. My wife loves hers!

 

[oldpink]

Thanks for the nice comments, folks.
I'll definitely start out with standard pressure lead semi-wadcutters to start her out with, then once she's comfortable with those, I'll have some more loads just a bit warmer for more practice, then so on until we get up to the power for the best SD loads.
It'll probably be Underwood for the final SD load.

 

[Drail]

There is really no reason to "get up to the power for the best SD loads." The best SD load for her is the one she can obtain good hits quickly and with that don't induce flinching and jerking the trigger. People have been successfully killing each other for a hundred years with standard .38 Spl. ammo (and nothing works faster than a .22 LR placed into the skull). The only reason loads beyond that level were developed was so law enforcement personnel could shoot through car bodies during Prohibition. Even before that people were successfully killing each other with black powder cap and ball revolvers. There is no reason to go beyond "warm" with a lightweight snub. Any gains in "power" are offset by having to deal with increased difficulty in getting hits and wear and tear on a gun that was not designed for it.

 

[brianhoostal]

Very nice! Congrats! Enjoy!

 

[oldpink]

There is really no reason to "get up to the power for the best SD loads." The best SD load for her is the one she can obtain good hits quickly and with that don't induce flinching and jerking the trigger. People have been successfully killing each other for a hundred years with standard .38 Spl. ammo (and nothing works faster than a .22 LR placed into the skull). The only reason loads beyond that level were developed was so law enforcement personnel could shoot through car bodies during Prohibition. Even before that people were successfully killing each other with black powder cap and ball revolvers. There is no reason to go beyond "warm" with a lightweight snub. Any gains in "power" are offset by having to deal with increased difficulty in getting hits and wear and tear on a gun that was not designed for it.

That was my point.
Take up the power level to where she still hits reliably and doesn't tie herself up in knots in fear of pulling the trigger.
That's why I didn't invest the bit extra in getting a .357 Magnum version.

 

[Bennettjh]

Nice. Can't go wrong with a Ruger, IMHO.

 

[IndyDave1776]

I'll put my wife through her paces practicing over the coming months, not to mention getting her a Larry and decent carry rig, maybe a Kramer horsehide, a worthy investment.

Who is this Larry and why are you sharing your wife with him?

 

[Gluemanz28]

I had considered getting my wife a 642 several times but haven't pulled the trigger on the purchase yet. I was considering getting the Hornady Critical Defense 90 Gr pink insert ammo for it if I did for more controllable recoil. After watching this youtube Video I have reconsidered that choice.

[video=youtube;98FYy29WGlA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98FYy29WGlA[/video]

 

[oldpink]

Who is this Larry and why are you sharing your wife with him?

Ssssssssssssssssssh!

 

[danbailey24]

I'm looking for a first gun for my wife. Do you like the revolver vs. something like a lc9 or walther PPQ?

 

[oldpink]

I'm looking for a first gun for my wife. Do you like the revolver vs. something like a lc9 or walther PPQ?

I went with a revolver because a) my wife instinctively gravitated toward it, even after I showed her a Glock 19, a Beretta PX4, and a S&W M&P, b) because of the simplicity and inherent reliability.
I personally carry a S&W 1006 (third generation 10mm) auto, but that's a very good sized gun (hard for my petite 5'4" ~125lbs) wife to carry something similar, even though it's as reliable (thousands of rounds fired and not a single failure of any sort), and she spent an afternoon shooting a friend's Taurus .357 Magnum firing .38 Special, and she actually enjoyed that quite a lot.
There are other points in favor of a revolver, particularly for small and less powerful people, namely that the learning curve is not nearly as steep, no need to go through a gun clearing drill in case of misfire (simply pull the trigger a second time and the next round will go off), and there's no magazine to worry about losing.
I carry a top quality auto, but I wouldn't feel outclassed in the least with a revolver, particularly with the likes of a S&W 586/686, S&W 19/66, Ruger GP100, Ruger SP101, or (yes) this brand new little LCR-X.

The LC9 and especially the PPQ are just about uniformly praised for their quality and reliability, but it's really up to your and your better half about whether she would prefer those over a revolver, and the only way to do that is to allow her to hand them (good) or have a range session with your candidates (better).

 

[Snapdragon]

I had considered getting my wife a 642 several times but haven't pulled the trigger on the purchase yet. I was considering getting the Hornady Critical Defense 90 Gr pink insert ammo for it if I did for more controllable recoil. After watching this youtube Video I have reconsidered that choice.

[video=youtube;98FYy29WGlA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98FYy29WGlA[/video]

I'm so glad you posted this, Glue. I have my "house guns" loaded with this round in case my elderly mom would need to pick up a gun and shoot. I'm sure it falls into the "better than nothing" category, but I am going to look for a more effective alternative.