deputy125

lets consider these two "lightweights" here.............

for goodness sake, the lcr sure does have about one smooth trigger. it is i guess the latest in technology and design. ugly as sin, but for a pocket gun, it ain't for showing off. Ruger has even finally got around to a boot grip model for it and i hear tell that somewhere out there in the internet world, someone has actually designed a pair of wood grips for the lcr...

on the down side......it does not have the track record of the smith in proven design and its plastic..........

the smith 642...........well it has a design that is certainly proven. its tried and true. it lends itself to gunsmithing and has far more grips in different materials and sizes than the ruger has ever dreamed of....and it appears to be actually just a tad smaller especially in the trigger gard area.

on the down side....smith is cutting corners more and more. the front sight has become intergral therefore non-replaceable as far as i can tell and it has that stupid lock....

What do ya'll think?

gunman42782

I think if you are gonna compare the LCR to anything, it has to be the new Bodyguard. Both are polymer. Think it would be a more fair comparison. Personally, I will take a metal gun over plastic any day!!!!

XLCH

I like the LCR, I have two plastic autos and they have been just fine, The after market will catch up and the LCR looks to be pretty trouble free for a new design. jmho

sheepdog

...your 642 is a stainless, not a lightweight alloy, right??? I wouldn't trade my stainless Bodyguard for any other 5-shot out there...the weight makes it carry well, shoot very easily, and it's totally controllable with +P...I won't be beaten up by a lightweight when there's no problem carrying the stainless steel...and it feels like a gun in my hand...balances...

...I wouldn't buy a new Ruger...I know y'all are getting tired of hearing that but I won't...too many production problems in recent years...and definitely not a plastic one...I'm too old for Legos...ouch!!! The lock is the final spike through the heart for me....

...that being said...I hope they sell millions...may put some older SPs and Smith Js and Colt Ds out on the used market...

deputy125

i have a full stainless model 640 with a 2 1/4" barrel...........

and you are right.....soft shooting compared to an airweight. But i've about come to the conclusion this thing belongs on the belt. it pocket carries well enough since i don't have anything else to pocket carry. But she sure does tend to be a bit heavier in the pocket than what i've been accustomed to in the past.

My general line of thinking here was a 2-gun carry. moving the 640 the the waistband and going with a lighter revolver for the pocket.

The 2 front-runners are the LCR and the 642 as they both represent the lowest bid......which is a consideration.

I checked out a charter arms ""off duty"......... http://charterfirearms.com/products/Cha ... 53811.html

suprisingly the trigger was actually better than a smith but this thing had huge grips. The finish/workmanship on the outside appearance can only be described as "rough" compared to a smith. And the cylinder stop that engages the cylinder notches from the bottom of the frame appeared to be a stamped metal part and not a machined part...........but would this be an improvment over "MIM"????????

44s Rock

The smallest I have is a M64 but it fits in my pocket. Well, wifie has the 650ss Taurus but she ain't letting it out of her sight! That is as light as I would want to go. Never liked little revolvers.

sheepdog

...2gun carry's great...but I'd stay with the stainless...just my old hard head...if you go airweight on the backup...I'd stay with Smith or Taurus...Charter just ain't reliable...nor am their customer service...

deputy125

well....you know how the internet rumor mill is.........

most of what i've read about charter current service is positive.........

and most of what i've read about taurus service has been negative..........

But ruger and smith service over the net is probably around 99% happy campers.......

never had in memory ever had to send any gun fresh out of the box back to the maker for a repair.......don't really want to find out for myself if a warranty is any good but i imagine no one does..................

That's another bad thing about myself..............i plan and scheme way to far ahead of time till i can rake the change together...........by then i'll probably change my mind......

sheepdog

...I personally have had crappy service from the last 2 generations of charter...trying to get a plain answer without the dance is difficult...taurus's customer service phone style has sucked more often than not when you call...their performance after the crap was fine...I'd rate Smith first in out-of-box reliability...Ruger second...Taurus is iffy but their good ones are great...
...two revolvers are an awesome plan...some keep .357 in their larger one....38 in the backup, and carry .38 backup ammo ...I like my GP 3" and Bodyguard that way...don't think I'll carry a larger revolver unless it's in a belt holster....I'd like another Bodyguard to match mine someday...but then, I'd like an SP also...saw one today where I buy my janitorial supplies...he's kept an old Radom 9mm in a drawer for years and didn't know if it would fire...his sec'y today showed me that he's replaced it with a SP stainless 3 1/4"...a lovely thing...

XLCH

I sent my Bulldog back to get the cylinder release adjusted witch they took care of ASP, had the gun back in a week. Ordered an early model hammer for it and got it in a week, seems like I got good service. The gun has been very reliable. Only thing I don’t like about is the front sight but at 20oz I will live with it.
Ruger service has been outstanding, they rebuilt my will used Security Six at no charge to me. I ordered a P94 trigger( I think it was) for my P90 and had it in three days, they have exchanged scope rings for me, sent updated parts for my P97s etc. Have had no experience with S&W or Taurus.

sheepdog

...Danny, what's the + in a P94 trigger in a P90...somethin' this ole dog should know???

XLCH

Its shaped like the P97 trigger, can post pics later if you want.

sheepdog

...I do...does it fit into the P90 without modification and did you buy the P94 'cause the P97's out of production?

XLCH

P97 is way different in the inside then the P90 but the P94 is very much alike it. No it dos not just drop in, look at ruger dot com under autos and there are some posts on it there

deputy125

a 94 trigger in a p90........do you still have the old 90 trigger? i'm trying to visualize the difference.

Sheepdog...........an sp101 is an absolute pleasure to shoot in the snubbie world......but it is also in my opinion a belt gun. I read of a few who pocket carry one but the pockets must be cargo style as i don't see how jeans would work with it.

XLCH

Yep I do have the P90 trigger and will get some pics together this weekend.

sheepdog

...yup...when I got my Bodyguard SS I'd thought to get an SP that happened to be .38 only...the extra weight sure does make it a belt gun...or heavy coat pocket...and I don't carry in a coat pocket 'cause I get hot and take it off quick...can't much beat a steel J...just my favorite snub...

sheepdog

...well, my DIL and son went to the range today to warm up on his P90 and shoot her new Taurus stainless snub...new to her...on round 40, the cylinder came partway open...gunsmith there found that the pin in the center of the cylinder wasn't moving back to lock into the frame...he supposed that it was dirty and brushed and polished it...they were out of time to shoot it...really shook her confidence in the gun...they'll need to go back and fire it a lot more to trust it...she did well on the P90, though...

deputy125

of the majority of guns that i have owned, traded into, and forced to sell or trade away, ruger by far has been the dominant best bang for the buck and most reliable out of the box weapons i have ever owned.........

they may not be the most elegant, or the smoothest triggers..........or for that matter the best particular weapon for a specific job.......but they definately come in as solid and jack of all trades that always go "bang"............kind of like a hammer........they are hard to tear up and most people don't show off and brag about their claw hammers...........

just don't know if that holds true for the newest designs using plastic......no doubt prejudice on my part along with the internet rumor-mill .........

Machinist

I would not have a Taurus revolver except as a toy. They are nicely finished on the outside but the action parts are too flimsy and poorly made to defend or feed your loved ones. I have seen several S&W revolvers be defective out of the box but the parts are good enough that when it is right you can bet your life on it. The Taurus would not be something I would trust even if a gunsmith smoothed and tuned it to perfection as the parts themselves are not robust or durable. The same applies to Charter Arms. The quality does not matter as the design is cheap and flimsy. The lock and sintered parts on the new S&W revolvers are annoyances but the parts in that Taurus are far worse.

I have no such problem with Taurus autos, I have two and trust them both. They are copies of well engineered designs made to lower standards. The revolvers are a different story.

Sorry to be strident on this.