Ruger LCR 357mag: Watch this before you buy!!!

[SadistAssassin]

All you out there who are considering a Ruger LCR 357 must see this before you buy. Also, is there anyone out there who have experienced this potentially lethal flaw?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0h3tz4pAF0

Copy and paste this link in your browser bar!!!!!

[Wag]

Thanks for posting.

--Wag--

[Hook686]

He was silent on just what he was shooting in that LCR. I wonder if 110 grain .357 magnum loads could do that. S&W warns againts using the 110 grain loads in their light weight revolvers.

[bigghoss]

just to point out that was the .38 +P version of the LCR in the vid. I believe the frame on the .357 is a different metal, stainless IIR. still something to be aware of.

[Hook686]

He shot .357 nmagnum loads in a .38 +P revolver ?

[Jim March]

No. Some people were guessing that this is a 357 version.

I've heard two other credible reports along these lines with the LCR38 aluminum frame. There's speculation that a "bad batch" of frames either missed a step somewhere in the plating or heat-treat processes, or got a bad mix in the casting step. The number of guns affected appears to be very small and in all cases, when you see this stop and Ruger will deal with it appropriately (including shipping costs both ways).

[SadistAssassin]

i rewatched the vid and it is .38 special.....I dont know why I wrote 357....my mistake....That being said, this is still a serious problem....

[DPris]

Potentially lethal flaw?
Horse puckey!
Flame cutting is a relatively rare occurance in the .38 LCR, I put five thousand rounds through one & did not see it.
Not a serious problem & certainly no reason not to buy one.
Denis

[Streetking]

that guy is an idiot. he doesn't even know what his gun is made of.

[Coastal]

Potentially lethal flaw?
Horse puckey!
Flame cutting is a relatively rare occurance in the .38 LCR, I put five thousand rounds through one & did not see it.
Not a serious problem & certainly no reason not to buy one.
Denis

Your experience with one example does not make you an expert on the subject. There have been several reports of flame cutting on several forums. My LCR shows some flame cutting but not as severe as the one in the video. Flame cutting is a serious problem when the recommended ammo is used.

[DPris]

Coastal,
You didn't read what I wrote, and I don't claim to be an expert.

I acknowledged the relatively rare occurance of flamecutting in the LCR. I meant relatively rare.
I stated my experience with one, which I'd say qualifies me to comment on the guns. I ran that thing heavy, hot & hard, with +P loads. All but two of the test sessions were 500-rounders in under 90 minutes. That sample was run much harder than the guy in the video did, and I'd bet much harder than you've done. I've also talked to Ruger about the gun as part of the testing I did with one.
I mentioned my experience to illustrate that flame cutting is not an automatic problem across the LCR board. Nor is it a reason to avoid the gun.

There have been reports of flame cutting, but the ratio of problem guns to non-problem guns has been very low. Ruger's selling a boatload of the LCRs, and if the flame cutting were a widespread problem, that would not be happening.

When I said "not a serious problem", I was trying to say that it won't cause the gun to blow up in your hand. If it gets to the point of catastrophic failure, you've neglected addressing it way too long.
If you got a bad frame, talk to Ruger.

One of the exceptions I took to the original post here was what I took to be sensationalist rhetoric.
The issue is hardly "lethal". IF it develops, Ruger will replace it. In the vast majority of those guns sold, it has not been an issue.

Denis

[Fiv3]

No issue with mine. Bought it in July, 500+ rounds through it (some +p, mostly fmj) and no hint of flame cutting just yet.

Great little firearm.

[Doodlebugger45]

The video doens't really bring anything new to the table at all. He doesn't say what kind of rounds he was shooting, how many rounds were fired in it. Heck, he doesn't even know what the frame is made out of. If you shoot enough hot loads with 110 gr or even 125 gr bullets, just about any revolver in the 38/357 family will start showing flame cutting eventually. And some flame cutting isn't the end of the world by any means if it doesn't go too far. The fact is, those LCRs are good little guns but they weren't intended to shoot thousands and thousands of rounds of hot fast bullets. I believe I could take any firearm there is and make it show some alarming signs if I really put my mind to it and abused it enough.

[DMZX]

OMG, not flame cutting



That video has been around since Sept. 2009 and made it's way through several gun forums. I resulted in some minor drama, hand wringing and knee jerks regarding LCR's. As Dpris mentioned, Ruger has probably sold over one hundred thousand LCR's that proved the design is sound. Taking a couple of outliers or anomalies to support an assumption for all is hardly statistically valid. The only thing that video proves is that the guy had a bad sample of a LCR.

[redlevel42]

Should buff right out.

[MLeake]

So the flame-cut guns are statistical outliers. Ruger has a very high percentage of LCRs that have not had this problem; some theories put forward say that a batch or two somehow missed a step in the heat treating process.

But if you get one of the few guns that has the issue, it's not something to "buff out."

At least, in the case of the LCR I previously owned, and that a friend bought, it was not that minor a thing. The flame cut developed after he had the gun for a couple months (note: this is my best friend; I wouldn't rip him off or hide a defect, and in fact he "paid" for it on credit, since business is slow - I haven't actually received a dime, and am not worried about it).

He contacted Ruger. They sent him a shipping label. When he sent the gun in, they determined it was not safe to repair. They destroyed the frame, and sent him a new LCR.

So, not knocking Ruger, and in fact am impressed with their customer service, but the manufacturer doesn't think the flame cutting issue is a minor one, in those rare instances when it occurs.

[DMZX]

This was the title of this thread:

Ruger LCR 357mag: Watch this before you buy!!!

[DPris]

Nor do I, IF it develops, and IF it's allowed to continue to grow.
Maybe we're talking different definitions of minor.

In that revolver, ON THE WHOLE, relatively rare flame cutting is not a serious issue, or a design or materials defect that should prevent anybody considering one from buying one.

In the odd anomalous gun that may develop a flame cutting issue, of course it's serious enough to replace.
Ruger considers the stats low enough to treat individual variations from the norm seriously, but the numbers simply are not high enough to change the design, materials & processes, or to drop it from production.


Denis

[Delaware_Dan]

Not sure I would call minor flame cutting a "potentially lethal flaw".

[Shane Tuttle]

Old video of an ultra rare occurence with suggestings of a "potentially lethal flaw" just doesn't merit this thread from continuing. I'm closing this one down unless an assigned Staff member has a different point of view.

Closed.