Ruger is not known for overhyping its products, so when company spokesman Ken Jorgensen stood up in front of me in the conference room at Ruger’s Newport, New Hampshire, plant and said, “we’re about to show you the most significant change in revolver design in the past century,” he had my attention. He also had to convince me he wasn’t just blowing smoke—especially considering that what he was holding appeared, at a casual glance, to be simply another small-frame snubnosed .38.
But if there’s an exception to the rule of user unfriendliness in the lightweight snubnose category, it’s the Ruger LCR series. When the original .38 special version was released a few years back, I actually wasn’t overly impressed, initially.
Despite an almost universal changeover to semi-auto pistols in police duty holsters, one category of revolvers still remains a top seller. The five-shot .38 Special caliber revolver simply refuses to die. Several manufacturers are filling the demand for these handy pocket and ankle guns, but the LCR (Lightweight Compact Revolver) from Sturm, Ruger & Co. has broken new ground.