Very timely topic for me, as I have recently caught the snub nose revolver bug. Many years ago, when they first came out, I grabbed a Ruger SP101 3 1/16" barrel. These were Ruger's test to see if there was a market for an SP101 in 357. Basically, these were repackaged SP101 .38 Special revolvers, with a barrel stamped "125 Grain Only". Great revolver. The most natural pointing revolver I've ever had, recoil straight back, with quick follow ups. Still, I never practiced much in DA.

So, a while back I picked up a Charter Arms .38. Extremely clean, in the box. Bang! To much snap, I'll pass.

Fast forward a few more years, on an impulse, I bought a Colt Detective Special. It's a slightly later model, with full barrel shroud. Darn accurate at SD distances and recoil is almost pleasant. What really shocked me was my DA shots were smooth and as accurate. Friend had his earlier Colt, without the barrel shroud, and it, too, treated me very well. So, I found an earlier model Colt without the barrel shroud, but with a hammer shroud and I grabbed it. Haven't shot it yet.

I did some reading, Pros/Cons, and all that. The Miami Shootout offered some lessons on the topic of revolvers. Perhaps partial reloads would have helped one of the agents. I can see it being hard to only reload a couple rounds in a firefight, but 2 rounds might have ended that battle sooner. There were no speed loaders in use either, which is a head scratcher, of course no FBI rifles on scene either, and we could go on and on. Oversights were made and it's a shame.

I started to think that DA revolvers were my future and I realized something. I have DA revolvers, DAO 3953, TDA 3913, 1911s, Glock, etc. There really isn't one of them that I can't shoot well. I really don't have to pick a "best" gun for me, jsut need plennty of holsters ; ) Gun to my head, if I had to pick, i think the 1911 wins, but only because of the trigger. Who doesn't love a 1911 SA trigger??? Glock would probably be the last gun I'd grab for.

Regarding the GP100 failure in the OP. If I recall, Ruger had a 7 shot revolver, which would not function with certain types of ammo. The rims on certain ammo brands "crowd" the cylinder and cause issues. Some Ruger fans were quite upset, some said, just stay away from certain ammo brands. Perhaps a testimony to the attention paid to the manufacturing of modern revolvers. Anyway, Google it, you can read plenty.