Waveform

Whirlwind06, I think you are correct. At least from what little I know about it, bullet weight has a hand in causing flame cutting. For instance, 110gr in a .357. The odd thing about my experience is the Remington HD .38+P used a 125 gr BJHP, which is not a light weight bullet for a .38. Also, I shot a box of Hornady Critical Defense .38+P with a 110 gr bullet and had no problems at all. You would think the 110 gr would be more likely to cause the flame cutting but it was the 125 gr Remington.

Hard to say now. The LCR is gone and the ammo is all shot up. Very odd....

Wave

pizzapablo

OK, I got the LCR out, last night. I held it in my left hand and twisted up (simulating recoil) as far as I thought it could possibly flip. There was still a good half inch, between any part of my hand and the crane latch.
Keep in mind, that the cylinder is opening, whne firing left hand, unsupported, from retention.

Waveform

Well, it was just a thought.... I guess see what Ruger has to say. You certainly can't have that happening. Odd that it's only when shooting left hand. Good luck and report back any new developments or findings.

Rob1109

Search for IOWEGEN and his posts on flame burning. 110gr. and other light-for-caliber loads cause this. But, he explains this much better.

Waveform

Hey Rob1109 - Thanks for the thought. I actually have read some of Iowegan's comments on flame cutting and I know he said the 110 gr in a .357 is a good example of a bullet that is too light. But I don't know if that transfers the same to the smaller .38 Special only LCR. Surprisingly the flame cutting damage was from 125 gr Remington HD .38+P and not from the Hornady Critical Defense 110 gr .38+P. It shoots the lighter Hornady with no problems. The Remington HD had noticeably more recoil and an obvious ring of fire from the front of the cylinder. (A smarter guy would have stopped after one round but apparently I'm not that smart and I continued to shoot 15rounds.)

Iowegan is a great resource here, isn't he? I try to read as many of his posts as I can find or come across. I always learn something from him (and I do have a lot to learn for sure!)

Wave

Waveform

Another footnote - shot a box of 50 .38 Spec., 125 gr and 10 rounds of Hornady Critical Defense +P 110 gr. today with zero issues. Replacement LCR seems great in all respects.

Amishman44

Ruger LCR...I had one in .38+P once...and after about 100-150 rounds, I noticed the forcing cone started to have a few 'cuts' in it...I stayed with my SP101!

Waveform

I know what you're saying - the LCR is not my favorite revolver and I do like the SP101 (I have 2 now...) I got the LCR because it's light and I can carry it in the front pocket of my shorts, which is pretty much my everyday attire year-round down here. So I am trying to get better with it and shoot it every time I go to the range. I need the practice so I usually shoot it first before moving on to the fun stuff. Today the fun stuff included my 3" SP101. What a difference vs the LCR! I slicked up the trigger group and am running real low power springs (I don't carry it) - 8 lb trigger return and 9 lb main - and it's a pleasure to shoot. I've put a couple hundred rounds through it this way now and I haven't had a single light strike. The other fun gun today was a birdshead New Vaquero in .45ACP. That one really had me grinning from ear to ear!

ChrisLCR

I have read that using +P ammo is not always a good thing. Charter Arms states the following:

Charter .38's are among the smallest revolvers in this caliber. Yes they can handle +P but we do not recommend it for the following reasons:

+P ammo requires a four-inch minimum barrel to burn the extra powder. Therefore, in a two-inch barrel the extra powder is burned after the bullet leaves the barrel creating more recoil and making it harder to come back to target.

We recommend a standard velocity load and practice with round nose lead rounds which are the least expensive. When you load for protection, use a jacketed or hollow point in the same grain you practice with.

I've also heard that firing .357 in less then a 4 inch barrel may be a waste as that length is needed to achieve it's full potential, otherwise it basically turns into a .38 special once it reaches target. However, I don't know the real truth to all this.

Also, being that the LCR is a polymer and aluminum revolver, it is inevitably going to experience more wear and tear then a full steel revolver would, regardless of how well it's made. For these reasons, I don't use +P in my LCR .38 and have had no problems so far. Of course, if you have a full size, all steel revolver you can pretty much shoot anything.

BTW... I have chosen to use Hornady's "Critical Defense" standard (non+P) .38 Special 110gr FTX for self defense. But as of yet, I haven't shot a whole lot of it at the range.

roaddog28

I am no ammo expert. But Ruger claims LCR can handle 38 +P ammo. And afterall the 38 +P round is still a low pressure round. SAAMI is 20,000 psi for 38 +P. I don't think any ammo company will load any 38 special round to max specs. The hottest +P round from a ammo company is Buffalo Bores LSWCHP 158 gr +P round. And this round will not get to SAAMI max specs.
Maybe you got a bad box that was loaded to max grains of powder or maybe the powder is slow burning which will cause more flaming cutting and erosion.
Time will tell,
Good luck,
Howard

Waveform

ChrisLCR, Interesting comments and I appreciate the input. I don't shoot +P regularly but I do load it with the +P for carry purposes and try to shoot a cylinder or two when practicing at the range. For one thing, the +P Hornady Critical Defense is bit pricey!

As for subjecting the LCR to a steady diet of +P, when Denis Pris performed the torture test on an early LCR he shot 5000 rounds of Black Hills +P along with another 300 rounds of miscellaneous ammo and had no reported issues. Frame stretched slightly but accuracy actually improved and no flame cutting problems.

Your points may be valid however,and if so would suggest +P is a waste of money in a snubbie.

Howard, I have a hunch you may be correct - I got a bad box of ammo.

Wave

DPris

In a 2-inch barrel the extra powder is burned after the bullet leaves the barrel, creating more recoil?

That one totally escapes me.
Denis

BearcatShack

I've never thought about this kind of wear. Is the 357 model less likely to have frame stretching and increased barrel/cylinder gap due to the materials used? I am curious what the life expectancy is of the 357 model is, perhaps comparing it to an SP101. I am nowhere near 5000 rounds, but I could be some day.

terry_p

I bet it would be nasty if it hit something though.

ChrisLCR

They can be more then a waste of money, they can be a liability. In terms of extra recoil, flash, noise and damage as you have found out the hard way.

Looking at your original comments again, you say you only put 15 of those Remington 125gr .38+P's though it and they did that to it? You must have gotten some pretty bad, hot loaded ammo or something. I've only heard about one other flaming cutting problem with the LCR, a video on Youtube, with the same problems you had. Your not that same guy are you?


From what I gather, a flame cut barrel can be dangerous. I'd call Ruger's CS to see what can be done. That shouldn't have happened. If you can get it repaired or a new one, I'd recommend not using any +P's in a small aluminum frame revolver like that, even if it says it can handle it (yours obviously didn't). There maybe some snubbies that can handle them just fine, but I don't know how these aluminum frame ones will fair over time. There may be a compromise there with the weight advantage.

In my opinion, the Hornady "Critical Defense" standard .38SPL 110gr JHP's should be good enough for normal civilian self defense purposes at reasonable ranges. I've only shot those, and Winchester 130gr FMJ's from Wallyworld through mine with no problems so far.