Ruger SP101 in 22lr

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I picked up a Ruger SP101 yesterday, really cheap. A friend had one years ago when they first came out, and the trigger was horrible. Well, this trigger on this one isn't much better. I know I can get lighter springs and change them out, but anyone have an idea of how light I can get the trigger on this beast, or is it a lost cause and I should pass it on to a Ruger collector.

Just guessing but I'd say the double action is 12 lbs and the single action is 5 lbs. I wouldn't mind so much, but cocking the pistol is painful, the spring is so powerful.
 
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Count your blessings, I have a little 317 that has springs from hell!
Scared to go lighter as rimfires need a good strong indent on the rim.
 
I bought one from a NRA instructor two years back . He was selling it because his wife couldn't cock the hammer without a struggle. As I recall it tested 16# in DA on my fishing scale.
I dug into it and replaced the trigger return and main springs out of a Wolf spring kit. I also did some significant polishing while I was in there. In the end, the trigger was maybe as decent as a stock J frame ( going from memory.) . I never could get the gun to shoot accurately for me so I sold it off. If you search here, you'll find several threads where this was discussed in detail.

Bottom, line: It's a MUST do if you want to keep the gun.
 
At best the trigger can be made less awful but it will never be good.

The SP101s chambered in .357 can be improved greatly. Those chambered in .22LR....not so much. It is what it is.
 
Count your blessings, I have a little 317 that has springs from hell!
Scared to go lighter as rimfires need a good strong indent on the rim.

Changing the rebound/trigger return spring has no effect on reliability. THe hammer spring is the one of concern there. Changing the trigger return spring WILL have an effect on trigger pull weight.
FWIW, I don't usually touch the hammer spring on "serious purpose" guns but you can usually drop a couple of #'s there if your careful and combine the spring changes with polishing of internals.
 
Wolfe sells a "shooters pak" for the 2011 and later model SP-101 .22LR. It includes a lighter (8 lbs versus 10 lbs) trigger return spring as well as reduced power hammer springs (13, 14 and 15 pounds versus the 16 pound factory spring).

The bulk of the trigger pull reduction will come from the replacement of the trigger return spring, with very little additional benefit from a lighter hammer spring. The lighter hammer springs will potentially cause light strikes, so you'll want to try each one and go with the one that gives you 100% reliability with your ammo. Or just install the 15 pound spring and be done with it, as the improvements in the trigger pull with the 13 and 14 pound springs are not noticeable.

The hammer spring isn't hard to replace, but you need to know what you are doing to replace the trigger return spring. There's another spring in there that you'll launch across the room if you are not careful and/or don't know what you are doing. Googling Sp 101 spring replacement on Youtube should result in 1 or more videos that will get you up to speed.

The end result will be a usable trigger. Like all Ruger revolver triggers, it's much more mechanical feeling than a S&W, and the sparring replacement won't change that, but it will be lighter and easier to shoot.

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All that said, I've had two SP101 .22 LR. The first went back to Ruger twice before they replaced it. It had truly horrible leading issues and Ruger ultimately determined it was "non-repairable". I eventually got a new one to replace it, but it took 5 months start to finish as they replaced it out of their next production run, rather than having a whole saler send me one. I wasn't real impressed.

The replacement was reliable enough and didn't have any leading issues, but accuracy was marginal. I traded it on an S&W Model 17 and have never regretted it.
 
I got the SP101 in .22 for my oldest daughter who is 47 and a terrible shot. She wanted a revolver but after much trial & tribulation settled on the twenty-two. The trigger is awful but she can shoot it and actually hit the target out to 5 yards but beyond that, forget it.
 
The SP-101 in .22 LR has the worst DA trigger of any >$500 handgun I've ever fired. I don't know why Ruger doesn't fix it, if nothing else a .22 should be fun to shoot. I have never seen a J-frame that was so bad.
 
I'm curious which sp101 you got. I have an older 6 shot I like a lot.
 
My 64 year old, 5' 3", 110 lb. wife owns an SP101 .22lr. It's her favorite revolver (she owns four, all rimfire). Yes it has a heavy trigger, but so do all rimfire revolvers.
 
Dry firing a SP101 22lr helps a lot to smooth up the action. Changing the trigger return spring made a huge dofference. If you think that the SP101 is bad, try a Taurus 94 22lr some time. They are totally unacceptable.
 
Had a .22 SP101 for a short time but the trigger was terrible so I sold it and bought a gp100 22 which is superior.
 
I'm curious which sp101 you got. I have an older 6 shot I like a lot.
The newer 8-shot version. If the price hadn't have been spectacular I would not have bought it, but it was a package deal, the SP101 and a Single-ten for $550, both hardly shot. Poor guy is a Vietnam vet and has lung cancer and is liquidating his collection. I asked him a couple times if he was sure about the sale, as I told him he could get more out of them, but he knew their value and just wanted a fast sale.

I've ordered the spring kit, and have the online instructions. I have the Ruger shop manual as well. I routinely change springs on my S&Ws. Despite being rimfires, you can often get very low trigger pull rates on S&Ws, at least with the K-frames. I don't care for the J-frames as much, so don't do too much with them.
 
I have no problems with my SP101 .22. Trigger is heavier than a k frame but I have no
Problems shooting cans at 20
Yards in DA mode.
 
I bought a new SP-101 .22 several years ago, and expected the trigger would improve with use like my .357 SP-101's. Nope. I put well over 1,000 rounds thru it and it never got better. Everyone who shot it remarked on the trigger. I finally sold it off and bought a very nice Model 18ND and a 2" 63-3. No complaints with those revolvers.

I generally like Ruger revolvers, and currently own a number of GP-100's and SP-101's, plus a Vaquero. I carry a 101 for work. The 8 shot .22 SP-101 is the only Ruger I have not cared for. The old 6 shot .22 SP-101 I had a chance to shoot seemed to have a much nicer trigger, but it's owner didn't want to sell it.
 
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