Lately, I have had trouble deciding if I want a 3 inch SP101 or 3 inch GP100 as a good .357 carry piece. The SP101 wins in weight and slimness, though the GP100 feels great despite being heavy. But I recently handeled a 4 inch SP101 at the LGS. Seems to me it offers the slimness and ligther weight of the standard SP101 with a full length barrel for optimal .357 performance, with the best sights I have seen in a while to boot. Anyone have one of these? The extra inch seems to make little differnce on the carry of the gun and I wonder if the full 4 inch tube makes it perform much better than the usual snub nose 2 and 3 inch models.

I own both a snub nose bobbed SP, & a 4in GP. I never carry the SP.

A 5 shot revolver should fit in a pocket, if I have to wear a gun belt and holster, I am going to carry a bigger gun. The SP is just too big for what it is IMHO.

I consider myself a Ruger guy, I only buy s&w, when the Ruger option isn't right for me. For my purposes, S&W J frames, 8 shot N frames, everything in between is a Ruger.

The SP is one of the ones that is not right for me, it is however a great gun. I have zero interest in the 4in adjustable sight model you refer to, I'd go with the GP100.

The flip side is the GP costs more, you are going to have to change the grips, is bigger and weighs more...all to gain just 1more shot.

Here are mine with the gun they both want to be when they grow up, security six.

Seeing as this is a S&W forum, I feel one of us has to ask the obvious - have you considered a new Model 66? They spilt the difference between the SP101 and GP100 size wise, and with the new two piece barrel and ball detent on the crane, they're more or less bomb proof.

I have the 4.2" SP101 in .357. It is very well balance and shoots softly. The sights are great for quick target acquisition. It's a nice all around piece and typical Ruger toughness.

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I have both a 3" SP101 (9mm) and 4.2" SP101 (357). I find that when I carry revolvers that weigh 30 oz or less empty I tend not to notice the extra weight on my belt. I think the 4.2" SP101 is a good combination as a field gun OWB. If I was using a IWB holster, I'd prefer the 3" model; I find the extra bbl length noticeable.

My opinion is of course biased by the facts that I am short with fairly small hands.

Thanks for all the replies. The 3" SP101 is the one I have been pondering for a while now, but after handeling the 4" model it felt quite right, yet still felt like a small gun. The longer tube is not a worry, however it feels much smaller than my K-frame 19, which feels much larger due to larger frame and cylinder. The GP100 3" felt great as well, but felt like a 3" N-frame in some regards. I have to say the 4" SP101 is the first .357 I have seen that has full length barrel, yet the IWB friendly slimness of a small frame gun.

I own a few Ruger revolvers. If I could only have one, I would probably go with the 3" GP100. You have a lot of choices in grips etc.

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If I were to get a 4in SP101 it would have to be in .22, as it would make a nice field gun.


How are you planning to carry it, inner or out? The extra weight up front might help some with recoil but I have no real interest in small frame .357's, hence the rimfire requirement for mine.

I would like the gun to serve two purposes, as a field gun OWB and as an IWB CC piece, which is why I was looking at the snub nose models. However the 4 incher hardly felt any bigger, yet had better sights and a decent barrel for the best speed from Magnum loads. I really liked the GP100 3 inch, but the weight and width seemed too much for IWB carry, and the smaller grip on the SP101 conceals well, no matter the barrel length.

I've had a variaty of Sp and Gp's in various barrel lengths. All good guns. All built like tanks. I found the SP's to carry well (although heavy for their size). I found my 3" Gp was just to big for carry when I had other options.
Beyond that, In my experience, it's very hard to get the triggers as smooth as a S&W K/L frame. Grip selection is also very limited if you find the factory grips unsatisfactory w 357 loads (which I did.) For those reasons, I would urge you to widen your consideration to consider a good K frame.

Here is a picture of my recent GP 100. I added the FO front sight and the Altamont grips along with extensive trigger tuning. Great shooter. Just not a top pick for me to carry.

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Dave