A selection of 'chow' for the Ruger LCRx 357, from 38 Special "Lite" to .357 Magnums. Shooting Magnum rounds wasn't lots of fun, but not painful either. The blast was exhilarating and perceived split times long. Federal Premium 38 +P "Micro" HST 130 grain ammo averaged just over 800 fps out of the 2" Ruger barrel. Hornady Critical Defense 125 grain .357 yielded over 1,200 fps in the short revolver. The Federal Premium HST Micro +P "hit to the Dot" on the Novak front sight at 10 yards.

If you've been keeping up with our trials, a Novak front sight with tritium vial – from ShopRuger.com -- was installed on the Ruger LCRx 357 Magnum revolver. I found my favorite carry load, the 148 grain lead wadcutter as loaded by Black Hills Ammunition, hit disastrously low at 10 yards. I was likewise going low with Hornady American Gunner 125 grain XTP. I covered the central scoring rings of the target with the white circle surrounding the tritium center, and found the XTP to hit just over the bull at the same distance. I was going to try other loads through the fly-weight cannon, but had been waiting on ammo deliveries. Some of that ammo has arrived and, anxious to see what was going on, I loaded it all up along with a chronograph and targets and headed to the range. There are 12 loads: 9 in .38 Special and .38 Special +P and three in 357 Magnum. I set the Shooting Chrony Beta up and got to shooting. Look at the table to get a sense of the data. The chronograph was 10 feet from the muzzle. The targets reflect shooting results at thirty feet, standing double action. The new Federal Premium +P 130 grain HST Micro load is featured. Called "Micro" because it's loaded for "micro-size concealed carry revolvers," according to Federal, it's not a flush seated wadcutter with a hollow nose. It's a jacketed hollow point that is deeply seated to keep the powder charge together to minimize air space in the case. I noticed that it's easier to load into the cylinder than blunt wadcutter loads. The case is nicely crimped, making it a little easier to load. This round wasn't profoundly hot but exhibited firm recoil. The velocity for the mid-weight projectile was just over 800 feet-per-second. Others have found an average of 820 fps or so, but variation based on elevations and climate conditions make a difference. Remarkably, the load "hit at the dot" at 30 feet. I covered the bullseye with the top half of the dot with the front blade buried in the rear notch – and it hit about where it was supposed to. This was encouraging. The low recoil "Personal Defense" 110 grain Hydra-Shok by Federal felt mild. Giving a muzzle velocity of just over 840 fps, it hit right in the center of the bull in a tight cluster. Stunning. The Speer 135 grain Gold Dot for Short Barrels posted nearly the same velocity, had a very firm recoil impulse and struck about 1 ½" high. The Hornady Critical Defense 110 grain FTX +P hit 879 fps on the chronograph and was centered on the target. The Ruger/PolyCase 77 grain ARX felt light, gave a velocity in excess of 1,020 fps and hit only about ½" low – though a bit left on target. Hornady Critical Defense 125 grain FTX 357 Magnum was clearly magnum class. The muzzle velocity was over 1,220 fps and the load hit only about ½" low at 10 yards. That load, the Cor-Bon 125 grain Magnum and the American Gunner 125 grain XTP all took some time to put five hits on target. The 17 ounce weight of the Ruger LCRx prevents quick follow-up shots. Should you need follow up shots with a "Magnum" round? The history of armed confrontation tells us not to believe in stopping power fairy tales. I'll carry something lighter and make the effort to get good hits. Table: Velocity/Point of Impact: Various loads in Ruger LCRx 357 with Novak front sight Velocity at 10 feet from muzzle, target at 30 feet. All rounds fired double action.

Load	Velocity	Notes	POI – 30', DA
38 130 HST +P	807	Firm	Hits at dot
38 129 HSHP +P	807		Hits at dot
38 110 HydraShok HP	843	Light	Zero, tight gp
38 135 Gold Dot +P SB	837	Very Firm, hot load	1 ½" high
38 125 XTP Am.Gun	700
38 125 JHP +P Blazer	819
38 110 FTX +P Crit. Def	879	Firm	Hits at dot
38 125 JHP +P Cor-Bon	613
38 90 FTX Lite Crit. Def	902
38 77 ARX	1024	Light	½" low
38 158 RNL Am.Eagle	654
357 125 FTX Crit.Def	1222	Magnum class	½" low
357 125 XTP Amer. Gun	1085		Left, frac. high
357 125 JHP Cor-Bon	1138		Left, 1" low.

The little Ruger LCRx has more rounds to shoot as we continue the examination with the new sight. It was good to go as issued and I carried it that way. After a bit of a clean-up, it'll be going back on duty. -- Rich Grassi