It’s Official – The Ruger LCR-22 Is Released

Ruger just posted this on their website which makes the LCR-22 official:

Ruger Introduces the LCR in .22 LR

December 16, 2011

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) is proud to announce the new Ruger® LCR-22, an eight-shot revolver that offers all the features of the award-winning LCR®, chambered in the popular and economical .22 Long Rifle cartridge.

“The LCR has proven its worth since its introduction in 2009, and has become an extremely popular compact revolver for concealed carry,” said Chris Killoy, Ruger Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Our customers asked for a rimfire LCR for low cost practice at the range, and the LCR-22 fills that need. Furthermore, this gun disputes the notion that small-frame, rimfire revolvers come with heavy trigger pulls; the LCR-22’s non-stacking trigger pull is highly manageable. In fact, we believe the LCR has the best trigger pull of any factory double-action revolver on the market, and we urge our customers to visit their retailer and try it out for themselves,” he concluded.

The newest LCR maintains all the features of the critically acclaimed original LCR. The 1-7/8″ barrel and eight-shot cylinder are constructed of stainless steel, and the cylinder is highly fluted to reduce weight. The frame is machined from an aerospace-grade aluminum forging, and the fire control housing is molded from rugged and durable glass-filled nylon. The fire control system utilizes Ruger’s patented friction reducing cam that provides a uniquely smooth, non-stacking trigger pull.

For more information on the new LCR-22 revolver, or to learn more about the extensive line of award-winning Ruger firearms, visit Ruger.com or Facebook.com/Ruger. To find accessories for the LCR-22 and other Ruger firearms, visit ShopRuger.com.

The spec sheet is below:

UPDATE: Weer’d Beard pointed out this review video by Jeff Quinn over at Gunblast.com.

UPDATE II: Mark Keefe, editor of the American Rifleman, has a review up on his blog The Keefe Report. He has some good pictures of this new revolver especially of the cylinder. He says regarding the trigger:

Ruger put a lot of time and engineering effort into making the LCR suitable for mass production, as well as improving the double-action-only trigger pull by making several of the action’s engagement surfaces round-on-round contact points to allow for a smooth trigger pull. The other thing about the LCR is you can stack, or stage, the trigger repeatably. With practice, you can get a precise shot off almost as if it were a single-action. That is quite a trick with a rimfire version of the LCR in .22, which requires more firing pin energy. This means you must have either a heavier hammer or stiffer springs than a center-fire, but my preliminary shooting and handling of the new LCR indicate that Ruger pulled it off admirably.

UPDATE III: Michael Bane’s take on the new Ruger LCR-22. He thinks it would be a great addition to a bug-out bag.