I have a Ruger SP101-three inch wearing old model Ruger OEM grip with checkered Ruger grip inserts. To adjust this revolver to its most effective optimized concealed carry version, what should be done? I do not refer to making it a "speedy" drawing revolver, or using any specific ammunition, or using a specific holster. I ask for guidance for the revolver, including grip, sights, tuning, et cetera, orienting the SP101 for concealment.

One peripheral question with a "yes-no" answer. Is there any difference in what need be done to the revolver were it to be worn IWB; OWB; in a shoulder holster?

Is the trigger pull heavy or gritty, get an action job but never have your springs cut. Is the trigger sharp or uncomfortable, get it polished and contoured. Is the front sight hard to see, paint it fluorescent orange of another high visibility color. Have the cylinders polished, especially if it is a .357 mag. Have the cylinder chamfered to aid reloading. Have the crown polished or recut 45 degrees and polished and polish the bore. Maybe have the hammer cut to make it DAO. Grips I find are a personal choice, whether smooth or checkered, size and with or without finger grooves.

I've been carrying a SP-101 for a number of years and can't think of much that needs to be done to it. The only change I made was to switch to a Hogue monogrip, which I find to be much better than the factory grip when actually shooting the 101. I shot it a great deal, which smoothed out the trigger. The standard fixed sights work well. I carry my 101 on my right hip, OWB, under a sport coat or jacket.

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Wheel guns are real guns.

I have an SP-101. I wouldn't change anything. The trigger is not particularly smooth, but that shouldn't matter. If yours is as reliable as mine, why mess with success?

I used a GP-100 in a class. On the skills test I got the second best score in the class. I was beaten out by a guy with a S&W revolver. This included timed shots starting from concealment. I'm sure the SP-101 would have performed the same as it came from the factory.

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Freedom isn't free.

I personalized mine to fit my once broken trigger finger. The trigger was too square and sharp. I thinned and rounded it with a dermal tool. After a couple thousand dry fires the action is smooth. I installed the XS Standard Dot front night sight and Hogue Grip. After that I took Flitz Polish and gave it a shine.

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Two Handguns every day

Believe it or not, what I do with any pistol I intend to carry is start stock, in the holster I intend to use, and shoot IDPA scenarios with it, many times. Then I see what I am having trouble with, and address those issues. Maybe I change the way I dress, maybe the holster, maybe something about the gun. I DO NOT start off by getting somebody to screw around with the action based on some preconceived ideas of what's "BEST."
Here's some things I have changed with carry guns:
1. Those nice sticky rubber grips had to go on a j frame carried iwb tucked. Too awkward to draw.
2. A KAHR was returned to the factory for an upgrade to the new slide catch after the old failed.
3. Sight paint
4. New sight insert.
5. 3-finger j frame grips to replace a boot grip
6. Grind down the grooved trigger on a model 60 3"

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Science plus Art

Sell it and buy a Glock... KIDDING!

I generally leave mine pretty much stock, but I did bob the hammer on my 360J since I found it would sometimes catch on my pocket holster.

I think the advice to not do much of anything for a while is good advice.
At least until you've shot it...a lot.
Doing that will do a few things.
Get you familiar with the gun and drawing from concealment. Does the hammer snag on clothes? Are you getting a good grip out of the holster? Etc.
It will smooth things out with regards to the trigger.
Finally, it will point out to you things that you may not like about the gun and how to improve it.
Most times with a quality gun, nothing further needs to be done.
The most common and easiest to reverse would be the sights.
If they're fixed sights, maybe just adding some color to at least the front sight.
Look hard before you leap and take baby steps when you do.
I've found that the biggest improvement I've ever made to my carry guns was to practice often with them.
And, BTW, lots of that can be done by dry firing with snap caps and get almost the same bang for a lot less bucks.

I used to own that exact revolver. I myself would convert it to double-action only and replace the hammer with one of the smooth bobbed hammers like found on the DAO SP101.

Practice.

Beyond that, it's mostly personal preference.

If I were setting it up for me, I would probably go with a DAO/bobbed hammer. Depending on how the trigger was I would consider having a good gunsmith smooth the action while retaining the factory springs. Probably try to find some decent grips (my biggest complaint about the SP101s is the lack of grips that would suit me). I like plain black sights, so I might just paint the rear sight black. Dehorning the exterior might be worth doing.

I would not consider any of that "required," though.

Except for practicing.

I've been carrying a SP101 for a number of years and really like it. But there is one modification I'm seriously considering which could conceivably be a lifesaver in certain situations: chamfering the chambers. I've been practicing reloads and have gotten steadily faster, but they consistently want to catch on the sharp edges of the chamber openings, which can slow down a reload considerably. It wouldn't take much; if anyone knows of a tool off the top of your head that a DIYer could use successfully, please let me know(I know: "Google is your friend.").

Regards,
Andy

I neither want nor feel the need of the option of SA fire in a concealed carry SD gun (I carry a Smith 640); so as others have said, I'd prefer to convert the SP101 to DAO.

All I've done to the 640 is have a smith polish (not lighten) the innards, smooth and radius the trigger face, and install an orange insert in the front sight blade. I put Pachmayr Compacs on it and have carried it that way for a good many years.

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Oh well, what the hell.

NAPHTALI:

I don't have an SP101, but here's a similar Ruger Police Service Six .357 that I modified to a Speed Six configuration, except for leaving the hammer spur intact. It started life as a square butt. I buzzed all the sharp edges and corners from the hammer spur and trigger, shaped the heel of the frame, and made the grips in my shop from black walnut. It sits well at belly/appendix carry with an IWB rig.

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This is like gold! Many thanks for your replies.

A DAO hammer - Ruger identifies hammer assemblies as factory fit only. It's the weekend so I'll ask here whether the DAO hammer is still available from Ruger for SP101? If it is, will they replace the existing hammer, or will they return the original to become a spare?

I have seen semi-DAO hammers on revolvers where there there remains sufficient metal to allow very-deliberate-only single action. Were DAO hammers unavailable from Ruger, are there any suggestions for who might be able to alter my hammer?

Regarding chamfering chambers, I load single cartridges. Would such loading profit from chamfering?

And now the puzzler. I have small hands. I find my OEM grip too long. When I do my slow and deliberate practice draw and fire at home with snap caps, and at my private range, too many times my grip is incorrect for me - that is, I don't take control of the revolver grip the same way every time. A grip closely emulating my (given to a friend) S&W 640-1's OEM boot grip would be a major improvement, I think. But who makes them for SP101s? of wood? without checkering?

My opinion, if you want a bobbed hammer make the gun DAO. If you want to retain single-action operation, keep the spur for safety reasons. A good gunsmith can either bob the hammer and convert it to DAO, or "soften" the sharp edges on the spur for carry if you want to keep the SA option.

Again, my opinion, but I consider chamber chamfering good to have, but not necessary. It makes reloading smoother, but reloading is almost never done in the middle of a self defense encounter, and on the rare occasion it does happen it almost never has an impact on the outcome. I practice reloading with my 642, which doesn't have chamfered chambers, but it's a lower priority to me than being able to draw quickly and smoothly. I don't expect to need to reload in a gunfight, but in the unlikely event I have to shoot in self defense I don't want to wait for the police with an empty gun.

If you do get the chambers chamfered, don't chamfer the extractor, as that could potentially cause it to slip off the case rim, causing the case to get stuck under the extractor star. Fixable without too much difficulty, but it's something that's best to avoid in the first place.

I remember seeing a hand tool for chamfering chamber mouths being offered by Brownells, so that may be worth looking into.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I don't care for most of the grips available for the SP101 (they almost all seem to have really deep finger grooves, which I don't like). Eagle Secret Service grips are available for the SP101, which seems to me to be the best option (shallow finger grooves = tolerable). They're based on the Spegel boot grip, which is what the S&W OEM boot grip is based on. They might be worth looking into. I have a set of the Secret Service grips for one of my 642s. I like them, but they interfere with my speedloaders so I replaced them with something else. I don't know if that's a problem with the SP101 version, but you said you load single rounds so that probably won't be an issue. Also, I've never handled the SP101 version, so I can't comment on any differences between it and the J-frame version.