Is there a such thing as a perfect pocket pistol? I don’t believe there’s a such thing as one perfect weapon to fit everyone’s needs but for me, there is a perfect one, and in my case it’s the Ruger LCR chambered in 357 magnum.

A friend and fellow police officer bought a Ruger LCR chambered in 38 special when they first came out. He let me shoot it and I was immediately taken back by how light it was, how smooth the trigger was, and well it controlled the felt recoil with the Hogue grip. I was sold! But I didn’t buy one right away, I decided to wait until they came out with it in 357 magnum. My thought was I’d rather have one that can shoot both calibers instead of limited myself to just one. Now, if you look at the ballistics of the 357 magnum out of a snub nose you’ll see it offers little extra compared to a 38 special outside of much more recoil and blast. Because of this I carry 38 +P in mine and not 357 magnum.

This revolver took the role as my backup gun while on duty as a police officer. I’m right handed and kept this in my left cargo pants pocket with a speed loader kept in my right cargo pocket for worse case scenarios. I choose a revolver over a semiauto because I wanted something where nothing could go wrong and if for any reason it didn’t work, all I had to do was pull the trigger again.

I’ve convinced a lot of other officers to carry one while on duty as well and with my squad at least, it’s what the vast majority of use as a backup.

I teach CCW and it’s one of the guns that I always bring to my class to show examples of pistols people can carry and without fail there’s always a handful of students who really love it. I always have a handful of different semiautos so they can get a chance to see and feel what’s available and can make the best decision for themselves.

I do laugh because of it’s short barrel, even with 38 special rounds, it has quite a bit of muzzle blast and to date, I have not been able to get my wife to shoot it. She see’s the muzzle blast and immediately makes it clear that she has no desire to fire it. She carries a GLOCK 26 as her CCW.

Stay safe, be kind, and help those in need.