At SHOT Show, it’s easy to get sidetracked by all of the novel new products that are vying for attention. A lot of the firearms and accessories that are actually practical and relevant for the average gun owner often go unnoticed.

As I mentioned in our Pre-SHOT preview post, Ruger has several new variations of existing compact handgun models this year. These new releases aren’t exactly topping the headlines, but might be worth considering for personal defense. I got a chance to try out four of these updated carry guns at the SHOT Show range day last Monday, and overall I was pretty impressed with what Ruger’s been up to.

Ruger LC9s Pro

In our single stack 9mm pistol shootout last year, we criticized the Ruger LC9 for an excessively long trigger pull and an over-abundance of unnecessary safety features. With the late 2014 release of the LC9s — a striker fired version of the double action LC9– Ruger improved the trigger dramatically.

More recently, they’ve introduced the LC9s Pro, which omits the external safety lever and magazine disconnect. Same MSRP, much better gun. So much better, in fact, Ruger has completely dropped the original LC9 from their lineup. We’ll definitely be including this one in the 2015 follow-up to our single stack nine review.

Ruger LC9s Pro Specs

Caliber	9mm
Barrel Length	3.19″
Overall Length	6.0″
Height	4.5″
Width	.90″
Weight (unloaded)	17.2 oz
Sights	white three dot
Ammo Capacity	7+1
MSRP	$449

Ruger LCP Custom

I bought one of Ruger’s itty bitty .380s back in 2009 and I couldn’t get rid of it fast enough. Like the LC9, the length of travel for the trigger was way too long, and I had a difficult time keeping my hands on the thing during recoil.

A couple of years ago, Ruger tweaked the LCP’s internals to reduce the perceived trigger weight and length of travel. At SHOT Show, they rolled out yet another improvement with the LCP Custom. It features a bright red aluminum trigger with a wide face, similar to some aftermarket triggers that have been a popular upgrade with LCP owners. They also added a decent set of sights in place of the diminutive bumps that appear on the original LCP.

At the SHOT Range, I ran a few rounds through an LCP Custom with an extended 7-round magazine. Between the extra grip length, the sights, and the improved trigger, it handles and shoots like a completely different gun. I’m not ready to give up my Glock 42, but the LCP Custom is on my radar as a backup pistol I might consider recommending in the future.

Ruger LCP Custom

Caliber	.380 ACP
Barrel Length	2.75″
Overall Length	5.16″
Height	3.8″
Width	.82″
Weight (unloaded)	9.75 oz
Sights	black rear, photoluminescent front
Ammo Capacity	6+1
MSRP	$419

Ruger LCR 9mm

I’ve been a fan of the LCR series since they rolled out the .357 magnum version a few years back. It’s over 25% heavier than the original .38 spl LCR, but for me, it’s just enough extra weight to tame the recoil to a more manageable level. And of course, the .22 LR version I reviewed last Spring was a great addition to the lineup as well.

Late last year, Ruger released a 9mm LCR, built on the larger .357 frame. 9mm can actually be quite a handful in a small revolver — more-so than a semi-auto of equal size and weight — so I was impressed that the 9mm LCR was fairly easy to control. Like most 9mm revolvers, the LCR uses moon clips, which are often the weak point with these designs.

When everything goes according to plan, the moon clips, combined with the relatively short length of the 9mm cartridge, make loading and extraction much quicker than with the longer .38 and .357 cartridges. Hopefully the 9mm LCR won’t be plagued with the reliability issues that tend to crop up when a loaded moon clip becomes slightly warped from being carried in a pocket for a few days.

Ruger LCR 9mm Specs

Caliber	9mm
Barrel Length	1.875″
Overall Length	6.5″
Height	4.5″
Width	1.28″
Weight (unloaded)	17.2 oz
Sights	fixed; pinned front, u-notch rear
Ammo Capacity	5
MSRP	$619

Ruger LCRx 3-inch

The last Ruger handgun I tried out at SHOT is the new 3-inch barreled version of the LCRx. Besides an extra 1.1 inches of barrel length, the new LCRx also has full length rubber grips and adjustable sights, but weighs in at just 15.7 ounces (2.2 oz heavier than the original LCR). Like a lot of wheel gun shooters, I’m a big fan of three inch barrels in general. They always seem to balance a little better than either a two inch snub nose or a four inch service sized revolver.

Ideally, the longer barrel on the LCR would make it a gun that’s more shootable at the range, but still light and handy for concealed carry. Some folks might find it to be just that, but it’s still a little too light for me. The recoil is not overly harsh for a self-defense gun, but not what I would consider soft enough to be excited about shooting more than one or two boxes of .38 in a single range session.

Just like the snub version, I think a couple of extra ounces on the gun would hit the sweet spot where it’s both comfortable to carry and comfortable to shoot. A rep at the Ruger booth said I could expect a 3-inch .357 LCR in the future, and I plan to be first in line for that release. Before that, however, we’ll most likely see 3-inch versions of the .22 LR and .22 WMR LCRs, which will both probably turn out to be big sellers.

Ruger LCRx 3-inch Specs

Caliber	.38 Special +P
Barrel Length	3.0″
Overall Length	7.5″
Height	5.8″
Width	1.28″
Weight (unloaded)	15.7 oz
Sights	pinned front, adjustable rear
Ammo Capacity	5
MSRP	$545

Why Ruger?

At this point, you’re probably wondering what kind of shady backroom deal I worked out with Ruger at SHOT in order to come across like such a fanboy. To the contrary, it’s doubtful anyone at Ruger knows me apart from any other bearded white guy “from the Internet”. I certainly don’t love everything they put out, but I think Ruger deserves to be recognized for actually listening and responding to customers.

There are plenty of gun companies making excellent products, many of them superior to Ruger’s offerings. But these improvements and additions to the Ruger product line are the direct result of consumer feedback, and the company made these changes fairly quickly. That’s far from the norm in the gun industry.  My takeaway from looking at Ruger’s carry guns these guns is this: if you’ve got an idea to improve a Ruger product, let them know and then wait a year. If it’s a change they can make and keep the gun at an affordable price, it’ll probably happen.