This is wandering far from the LCR, I'll make one more post on the steel issue.
There's nothing wrong with wanting your pistol to function with a wide range of ammunition. That's not the point. The point is a very specific "It's GOTTA work with steel, or I can't trust it." And, a failure to understand a matter of degree.
I think there IS something wrong with stating it HAS to be recommended for regular use with steel, or somehow it endangers your life.
I'm not aware of any pistol that will blow up on the first round with a steel-cased cartridge. Or the second, or the third.
It's my perception that a maker recommends against extended use (not occasional or emergency use) of steel because it's hard on extractors & CAN potentially wear chambers, over a period of time. MOST of the major military & commercial designs around the world, outside of Com Bloc nations & allies, are & have been designed for use with brass cases because its characteristics are superior to steel. The use of steel in those Com Bloc applications has traditionally not been because it's superior to brass.
The extensive use of steel works in guns such as the AK that were built around it & have beefier extractors to deal with it.
Kalashnikov did not build his AK to use steel cases because it was the best way to go, it was the ONLY way to go, for him in his military environment.
I was unable to get any specific examples of individual pistols that are automatically excluded from consideration because they're not recommended for regular or extensive use with steel cases.
I am unaware of any mainstream pistols that may not be recommended for EXTENSIVE steel use that can't handle emergency use of it if necessary.
My point that generations of pistol users in all categories (military, police, recreational, hunters, etc.) have used pistols successfully with brass for a hundred years without ever applying the "gotta shoot steel or it's a no-go" selection criteria was blown off.
My point that for those of us who don't need to practice regularly with steel because we can afford other alternatives & therefor a steel requirement was not an absolute, was pretty much ignored. For those who don't need cheap steel, and whose pistol runs perfectly well with brass, steel simply does not have to be any part of the selection process.
And finally, I just don't equate a design that'll run nearly forever with brass, but won't tolerate thousands of steel cases well, with "delicate".
I have no doubts whatever that my primary carry pistols over the years would all run with steel in a pinch, if they had to.
For me, they never had to.
If the world ended tomorrow, in MY case & that of hundreds of thousands of other pistol users who just don't use steel & are unlikely to run across much of it on an emergency basis, I can & do cheerfully bet my life on designs built around brass & do not consider them delicate. :
And, that's it for that.
Back to Rugers.
Denis
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