The Ruger LCR Model 5401 38 Special +P
By MARJ LAW
Last week, Joe and I visited Panama City to watch over grandchildren. As we were leaving their house, the car just happens to notice a gun shop. And, all by itself (of course), the car’s nose turns into the parking lot.
Since the car is now in the lot anyway, we have to go into the shop and view the inventory. Right. Wouldn’t you?
At the end of a long glass-topped case, I spy something pink. And not just any pink. This gun sports an aggressively pink grip. Neon pink. Glow in the dark pink? Well, probably not. But the grip is pink enough to make anyone look in horror. (Ha!)
“What is… that?” I ask Joe.
“It’s a Ruger .38,” he replies. “It will take +P ammunition.”
“Oh great,” I say in a voice the salesperson can’t hear. “Some guy is going to buy his wife a .38. And not just a .38, but one with the most violent pink grip anyone can possibly find.”
Joe knows that I’m not a fan of .38s anyway. He knows I feel that men buy .38s for their spouses because .38s are simple to use and will never jam. While I agree that they are indeed simple to use and will probably never jam, I have strong feelings against .38 revolvers.
I’ve met many women over the last 16 years at the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office range. And many of them come with… you guessed it… a .38 revolver. Something they were told by their spouse that the .38 is the best gun for a newbie because all they have to do to defend themselves is to point and shoot.
Loading? It’s a breeze. All you have to do is drop the rounds into each of the five holes in the cylinder. How easy is that?
I recall a day when I met Evelyn.
While the range was “hot,” Evelyn took her gun out of its pouch.
“This is my new gun,” she told me proudly. “It’s a .38. I even have ammunition!”
I look at frail white-haired Evelyn. She’s 75 if she’s a day. “My nephew went with me to a gun shop. He said this is the gun I should have for protection. He even bought it for me! He’s a fine nephew.”
Of course, I agree that she has a fine nephew. We discuss safety rules of the range. We talk about grip and stance. “I know how to load it!” Evelyn said proudly. “James taught me. I can do it by myself!”
So, while keeping the muzzle of her gun pointing downrange, Evelyn loaded her new .38.
“Your gun will have quite a bit of recoil,” I warn her. “Hold your grip tightly.”
“James showed me how to push with my right and pull back with my left,” she said confidently. “See? This gives me strong arms!”
She aimed. She pointed. She pulled the trigger. Blam!
Evelyn’s hands flew in the air and she dropped her gun in surprise.
She turned to me. “That thing kicked hard. Is it always like this?”
Joe answered: “Well, you can find ammunition called Wadcutters. They have a lot less powder in them, so the recoil is less. Would you like to try them?” He happened to have some .38 Wadcutters in his bag.
“Yes. Especially if they don’t kick so much.”
We loaded her gun with Wadcutters. She looked at Joe. “Can I watch you shoot?”
Of course, Joe was happy to shoot. He aimed and fired. Blam! The bullet hit the target.
“Okay. I’ll shoot now,” said Evelyn. She aimed and fired. Again, her hands flew in the air.
“Let’s try again,” suggested Joe.
“Oh, no,” Evelyn sat down on the bench. “I think I’ll just watch you shoot.”
Needless to say, Evelyn didn’t shoot again. The .38 had far too much recoil for her, even with Wadcutters.
So, today I’m looking at that .38 in the gun store. The model 5401 is quite small. It is 4.5 inches tall with an overall length of 6.5 inches. It weighs 13.5 ounces. That’s light! And the barrel is only 1.87 inches. The rubberized pink Hogue grip looks to be half of the overall length.
There’s a reason for the big pink grip. Matthew Maruster, writing “Ruger LCR Review, Why I still Love this .38 Special Revolver” suggests a reason:
“Of course, the downside to very light guns, especially revolvers, is greater felt recoil. Ruger addressed this well by adding a rubber, Hogue ‘Tamer Monogrip’ that makes the gun easier to grip and control. Also, the area high on the back strap, where the webbing of your hand would meet, has an added rubber insert that helps lessen the felt recoil.”
Recoil is subjective. Where felt recoil can be light for a large man, it can be a lot harder for a woman.
Matthew continues: “Ruger says the trigger pull weight should be around 7 lbs, 8 ounces. I would put it closer to 10-11 pounds, as it maxed out my 8 lb trigger pull gauge and had quite a bit more to go.”
So, on top of sporting a large rubberized grip to help reduce recoil, trigger pull is also difficult. I prefer a trigger pull of 4-5 pounds, and this LCR’s is a whole lot more. Why would a mature woman choose a handgun with a hard trigger pull and a harsh recoil?
Usually, with the greater mass of the gun, you have less felt recoil because the greater mass absorbs some of it. However, due to customers wanting small and easily-concealable guns, they end up purchasing lighter handguns that have greater “felt recoil.” Ruger lightened the LCR with a polymer frame and fluting on the stainless-steel cylinder.
While the LCR already has a great recoil, as a defensive gun it can take the +P ammunition. This would give it even more “felt recoil.”
Evelyn would have had an awful time with this gun. It has the hard trigger pull and a hard felt recoil. On top of that, the sights are difficult. The rear sight is a groove notched integrated to the metal, and the front sight is a dark metal pinned ramp nib that’s hard to see. I’ve read that the front pinned ramp sight can be replaced with a fiber optic sight. This just means to me that Ruger is aware that the front sight should be more obtainable.
The bottom line for me is that I feel 38 lightweight revolvers tend to have a hard trigger pull and a lot of recoil. Since this particular handgun will take the higher +P rounds, it will have even a higher perceived recoil and trigger pull.
Yes, a small snub-nose revolver is a “point and shoot” gun made for defense. The problem is: will Evelyn practice with it?
Will you?
Marj Law is the former director of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful who has become an avid shooter in retirement.