Ruger SP 101

max

max

US Veteran
Gold Supporter
Joined
Mar 4, 2001
Messages
6,241
Reaction score
7,025
Location
illinois
A friend of my wife's asked me to help her in choosing a handgun. She has shot some and has some experience with firearms, but wanted a gun of her own. Her husband is an Army vet, but drove around Germany in a tank and is not much of a firearm guy.

She wanted a revolver and I showed her my S&W and Ruger 4 inch .357's. We went to a gunshop where she had taken a class and thought they were helpful. They showed her a 586, 686 and a Ruger SP 101 in 9mm with a short barrel. I then took her to another shop I had called previously and they had a 4 inch 101 in 357. She took an immediate liking to that Ruger and said it felt really good. She bought the Ruger and a box of SD ammo. She also had the shop order her a set of rubber Pachmayer grips. She really liked the rubber grips on the 2 guns of mine I showed her.

I am going to take her shooting next week and I have some light reloads I am going to start her off with. I doubt she will ever fire a magnum load.
 
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
X2...357's are very manageable out of my 3" 101, especially 158 gr, and +P's are just fun. Good choice!
 
I’ve got the SP 101 snubby.. It’s a nice little gun, built like a tank. Good thing about it is if you run out of bullets, you can always club somebody with the thing...!
 
Those shorter barreled GP-101s are a great carry revolver. The LCRx is good too, but it's weight can make Magnum loads a pain.

Just an FYI, Ruger makes those Revolver barrels as 4.2" because of a Canadian firearms law at under 105mm are prohibited. There are older ones grandfathered. That's why so many cop shows in Canada show everyone with S&W 59xx and 40xx or Beretta 92/96 full sized pistols. Or full/mid 1911s
 
Wendy still loves and at times carries her SP101 3". Still a favorite for her especially loaded with Remington .357 Golden Saber loads, not too hot but still much peppier than .38 Special, a nice in between load.
 
SP 101; fine revolver, heavy for a snubby, totally reliable. Good choice, but why be concerned with a snub nosed .357 for a lady ??;):D
 
Got to break in a new 3" 101 bought by a friend. First one I ever shot. Trigger not as good as the Smiths I was used to, but still OK. Felt like the OEM grip made good shooting difficult. Leaving the range, I mentioned my feeling about the grip to the range officer, and he took out his personal carry 101 with aftermarket grips, unloaded it and handed it to me. It felt worlds better in the hand.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk
 
I forgot to mention the shop has a set of rubber grips on order for her.


bigwheelzip said:
Got to break in a new 3" 101 bought by a friend. First one I ever shot. Trigger not as good as the Smiths I was used to, but still OK. Felt like the OEM grip made good shooting difficult. Leaving the range, I mentioned my feeling about the grip to the range officer, and he took out his personal carry 101 with aftermarket grips, unloaded it and handed it to me. It felt worlds better in the hand.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
Ruger's are built like tanks, but boy are they ugly!:p

Give me a S&W any day - models 19, 66, 586, 686 are great, but the model 27 variations are personal favorites.

PS: None of my guns wear rubbers - that would be sacrilegious! :eek:
 
kas9412 said:
Ruger's are built like tanks, but boy are they ugly!:p :eek:
Click to expand...

They’re not all ugly........
attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • 0462EDA7-0B89-4475-B01F-37FC6E1674E0.jpg
    0462EDA7-0B89-4475-B01F-37FC6E1674E0.jpg
    86.1 KB · Views: 378
I don't like the Rugers either, but I bought a 4" SP-101 in .327 Federal, because the used Smiths in .327 FM and .32 H&R are so pricey.

The trigger was very heavy on the new SP-101. I bought a lighter spring, and easily installed it. I tried some after-market grips, but have found that the original grips are good enough, as long as I avoid the Federal 100 gr loads.

In the 3 years or so that I have had this SP-101, I still don't like it - maybe cuz its not a smith. But it is a very good gun.
 
I just purchased a 3" .327 SP101. The fit and finish are very good. However, it is a bit stiff, and the trigger pull is quite heavy. New spring kit on the way, and I have been working the cylinder crane/yoke and cylinder rod in order to loosen them up some.
 
Load her up with .38 +P for defense. Since you load, you can make cheap equivalent practice loads that mimic the +P stuff.
 
Right on, max!



I've had three of the SPs (all tanks), and the ones they're making now are just fantastic in terms of the finishing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: max
I like the SP-101 too and I’ve owned 4 of them in the past. Unfortunately when a gun comes up to the chopping block the super common 101 goes first.

My first one was a 2.5 inch 357. Owned it for 5 years or so without ever firing it, one day I decided to shoot it and much to my surprise it shot about 10 inches to the left at 25 yds. I sent it back to ruger and they sent me a brand new one. The new one shot perfect but it was right about the time I was seriously getting into S&W revolvers. I sent it down the road for some smith of some sort, I think it was my first 640-1. I definitely regret it now that I’ve discovered all fixed sight revolvers don’t necessarily shoot where they’re supposed to.

My other 2 were 327s. I want so hard to like this cartridge but it’s no niche that I can’t get past the limited support. I wish they would offer more and heavier jacketed bullets Over the years I’ve evolved into liking big bore cartridges better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

weatherby
"THE" ......Savage model 101
Replies
9
Views
414
weatherby
weatherby
Jebus35745
Pardini SP .22 lr - Amazing Gun
Replies
8
Views
986
Jebus35745
Jebus35745
J
Ruger Speed Six
2
Replies
29
Views
2K
BE Mike
BE Mike
L
Any Winchester 101 Aficionados?
Replies
2
Views
398
LittleAugieMo
L
K
Ruger pellet gun
Replies
7
Views
672
Golddollar
Golddollar

Latest posts

Back
Top