.22 Rimfire Revolver Musings

Fishinfool

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This past weekend, I traveled out to CT. to visit a fellow gun nut buddy. He had picked up a couple new toys in the past several days, and it would be a chance for both of us to try them out.

First up was a NIB Ruger GP-100 in .22 with a 6 inch barrel. The gun looked good, the grips felt fine in my big hands, and it balanced well. Now for the not so good - Machining, especially around the chamber holes and star / ratchet were fresh off the CNC, with no smoothing or polishing, as in sharp enough edges to cut your hand. This might explain why the gun couldn't go thru a full 10 round cylinder.

Tried several brands of good .22 lr ammo, and inevitably, it would become impossible to rotate the cylinder, DA or SA, to fire the last two, sometimes one cartridge. It did not "jam up" consistently on any one or two chambers. Fired cartridge rims seem distorted, which may have contributed to the cycling issues, as well as the difficult extraction. And the SA hammer pull was about the worst I have experienced on a revolver. DA and SA trigger pull seemed just "OK", as was accuracy. Sights were adjustable rear with a fiber optic front and worked well. This gun clearly needs work, and is the first Ruger in my experience that should have never left the factory.

Gun two was a NIB Colt King Cobra, 6 inch, also in .22 rimfire. Very nicely fit and finished, with none of the rough & sharp machining of the Ruger. SA and DA trigger were both very nice, and the difference between the Colt's SA cocking feel / weight and the Rugers were frankly like night and day.

Grips were comfortable, but a little small for my hands. Also a 10 shot gun, the Colt is much thinner and overall smaller than the Ruger, or a model 17 for that matter - It's a petite 6 inch revolver. Balance was good, as was accuracy at 25 yards. No malfunctions or misfires. Ejection was smooth. I really liked it, and may change my mind about getting a 4 inch version.

Beare in mind that the above is just my opinions about two guns I have never shot before, with a sample of only one each.

Oh, and my Smith 18-3 that I brought along was more accurate than either of the above, about as nicely fit and finished as the Colt, with about an equally good DA trigger. The Smiths SA was by far the best feeling. My only complaint with the 18 is it has those tight chambers, which can make loading a pain, especially when dirty.

The above are just some observations I thought I would post while they were fresh in my mind. And this aint a Ruger bashing thing - I own quite a few Rugers, and have been well pleased with them.

Comments and experiences welcome.

Larry
 
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Nice reviews! I too, have found the Colt 10 shot to be my favorite .22 of late. Mine's the 4.25" model and it really feels even smaller. Decent trigger, plenty accurate, 10 shots onboard and it's a great looking and feeling gun.
 
I have a 4" Model 18 as well, and enjoy shooting it. Had my gunsmith chamfer the cylinder chambers which lessened the spent cartridges sticking in the chamber to a considerable degree. Makes it more fun to shoot a bunch at the range.
 
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Finally put the first brick through my new GP100. So far, so good. I didn’t notice any machining anomalies. During inspection, it actually looked very refined.

Mine also came with a typical Ruger DA pull that was pretty heavy, but without any grit. My Colt KC trigger was noticeably smoother, and the smaller frame lightened up the overall feel. Never warmed up to my 17 due to timing problems, but the 4” model 18 felt just about perfect in my hands.
 
This past weekend, I traveled out to CT. to visit a fellow gun nut buddy. He had picked up a couple new toys in the past several days, and it would be a chance for both of us to try them out.

First up was a NIB Ruger GP-100 in .22 with a 6 inch barrel. The gun looked good, the grips felt fine in my big hands, and it balanced well. Now for the not so good - Machining, especially around the chamber holes and star / ratchet were fresh off the CNC, with no smoothing or polishing, as in sharp enough edges to cut your hand. This might explain why the gun couldn't go thru a full 10 round cylinder.

Tried several brands of good .22 lr ammo, and inevitably, it would become impossible to rotate the cylinder, DA or SA, to fire the last two, sometimes one cartridge. It did not "jam up" consistently on any one or two chambers. Fired cartridge rims seem distorted, which may have contributed to the cycling issues, as well as the difficult extraction. And the SA hammer pull was about the worst I have experienced on a revolver. DA and SA trigger pull seemed just "OK", as was accuracy. Sights were adjustable rear with a fiber optic front and worked well. This gun clearly needs work, and is the first Ruger in my experience that should have never left the factory.

Gun two was a NIB Colt King Cobra, 6 inch, also in .22 rimfire. Very nicely fit and finished, with none of the rough & sharp machining of the Ruger. SA and DA trigger were both very nice, and the difference between the Colt's SA cocking feel / weight and the Rugers were frankly like night and day.

Grips were comfortable, but a little small for my hands. Also a 10 shot gun, the Colt is much thinner and overall smaller than the Ruger, or a model 17 for that matter - It's a petite 6 inch revolver. Balance was good, as was accuracy at 25 yards. No malfunctions or misfires. Ejection was smooth. I really liked it, and may change my mind about getting a 4 inch version.

Beare in mind that the above is just my opinions about two guns I have never shot before, with a sample of only one each.

Oh, and my Smith 18-3 that I brought along was more accurate than either of the above, about as nicely fit and finished as the Colt, with about an equally good DA trigger. The Smiths SA was by far the best feeling. My only complaint with the 18 is it has those tight chambers, which can make loading a pain, especially when dirty.

The above are just some observations I thought I would post while they were fresh in my mind. And this aint a Ruger bashing thing - I own quite a few Rugers, and have been well pleased with them.

Comments and experiences welcome.

Larry

You sir..........Had the best .22 revolver there.
 
MarkAlt - I am glad your GP-100 is working out for you. I have a feeling my friends' gun somehow missed a final fitting stage. Too much was off, and not at all my normal experience with Ruger.

And yea, I really like that model 18. Keep wanting to finish ream those chambers, but you know how that goes.. And I do appreciate those modern fiber optic front sights sometimes.

Larry
 
I also agree that the 18 was the best gun there. Mine spits empties out almost by turning it muzzle up, so I'm guessing a previous caretaker finish reamed it. Accuracy is all one hole if you take me out of the equation. I am considering a new K C though, 10 shots is 66% more fun than 6.
 
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