So I was admiring my Ruger SP 101 3” the other day thinking about getting a holster for it and thought it was time to wring this girl out as it had been a few years—and honestly I had forgotten how much I enjoyed shooting it.

I ran some .357 mags through it first and although they were a little snappy this Ruger despite its size really ate up the recoil nicely. The grip is quite comfortable and although my pinky rides below it I have no qualms. I was able to group decently well with 3/5 in the bullseye range at just over 10 yards. When I loaded up some 130 grain .38’s though, wow that’s when things got fun! In SA mode it was a tack driver and I was able to put all 5 shots in the bullseye at 11 yards, with 4 touching. For a smaller revolver with only a channel notch rear sight and blade front, with a decent trigger at best, I was quite happy with the results.

Though not as refined in some ways as my Smith wheel guns, the Rugers just seem to run and beg for more. I can see why this is a common woods gun as it is compact, robust, and reliable. Add to that plenty accurate, with the only downside being it’s a 5 shot gun. To add another chamber though would make it larger and thus take away some of the allure of it being compact. Might as well get a GP100 at that point.

Didn’t get a pic of the .357 group though here’s the 38 special group of the day.

100% why this gun exists. Nice shooting! Currently my 4.25" 101 is doing shelf duty in the shitter but the rest of the non frozen year it's in the camper or boat as a beat it to hell, let it get dirty and it'll still shoot anything you stuff in it .357. Great "little" guns.

Nice shooting! They certainly are great shooting little guns.

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with the only downside being it’s a 5 shot gun.

I've heard this complaint many times, but at the end of the day I think that extra round is more academic than practical...if you can't get it done with 5 do you really think one more is going to help? and if it did hold six, what if you needed 7? Or 8? Or 17? Capacity is not a priority for me in a revolver...if I need more rounds for what I'm doing, I'll carry a semi-auto.

I absolutely agree, that 5-shot cylinder makes the gun much more svelte and carry-able. I used to have your gun's twin...a 3" SP101 in .357 Mag. I also have a 2 3/4" Speed-Six in .357. the SP101 is much more comfortable to carry than the Speed-Six. I've hiked for miles with that SP101 on my belt and actually forgot it was there...the Speed-Six digs into my hip and feels like a brick in comparison. The size increase to support that extra round just isn't worth it. IMO the SP101 hits the sweet spot.

I sold my SP101 to my brother last year to fund the purchase of a 3" Model 60. It's one of the few guns that I've sold that I miss. The 60 was a good buy...it's lighter and more svelte than the 101, and it shares holsters with my other J-Frames. Accuracy is a wash between the two. But I'd polished and slicked up the action on that 101 to where it was the equivalent if not better than the Smith, and it was a reliable companion for a lot of miles on the trail. The only issue I had with it was the cylinder arbor would get gunked up really fast with fouling, and you'd have to take the whole thing apart and clean it every 50-100 rounds to keep it spinning freely. I've had to do this with Smiths, too, but with nowhere near the frequency.

Maybe someday I'll get another one. A 4.25" sounds interesting. I also have a 4" GP100, but the longer barrel and associated ballistics in the slimmer platform is intriguing.

If you want 6 rounds in a Ruger SP101, try it in 327 Federal magnum. You'll be impressed.

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Originally posted by Fredward:
If you want 6 rounds in a Ruger SP101, try it in 327 Federal magnum. You'll be impressed.

Yeah, I love my 3” .327 mag SP101. It’s a great revolver.

Also the Kimber K6s is a great option for anyone wanting a smaller framed 6 shot .357 mag. It’s very close in size to the SP101, actually in some dims it’s smaller, and it’s lighter too. All of the leather holsters I have for my SP101 or J frames easily fit the K6s.

Most small-frame revolvers are "carry much and shoot little." This is because, in my experience, they are unpleasant to shoot due to recoil and hard to hit with beyond a few feet. The SP101 is a shooter's gun. The recoil is even tolerable (but the thunderclap roar and concussive blast are not) with the fire-breathing Remington R357M1, a 125-grain magnum JHP.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: egregore,

Thanks for the write up. I really, really need to get myself a revolver.

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Originally posted by 1967Goat:
Thanks for the write up. I really, really need to get myself a revolver.

I feel that even the most die hard semi auto fans need to get at least one revolver for their collection and you could do a lot worse than the SP101. One usually leads to another and another though so watch out for the slippery slope!

The SP101's big brother, the GP100, is a very soft-shooting .357 Magnum. I love mine.

quote:

Originally posted by Fredward:
If you want 6 rounds in a Ruger SP101, try it in 327 Federal magnum. You'll be impressed.

I even bought mine a little brother lcr in .327 Fed. Gun I carry the most.

I’ve got two SP101 wheel guns, a 3” 357 mag and a 2.5” 9mm. I just recently had the 9mm out to the range and find the recoil about the same as 38 spl +p.

[IMG:left] 94E43D28-4FA0-41D1-9A15-668F902433A1 by David King, on Flickr[/IMG]

I’ve got an early SP101 snubbie .357 I’ve had since the early 90’s. This thread has got me itching to go out and shoot it along with its slightly older bigger sibling GP100. Both tame the recoil better than their comparably sized contemporaries in my experience.

quote:

Originally posted by LincolnSixEcho:
So I was admiring my Ruger SP 101 3” the other day thinking about getting a holster for it...

I went to Wright Leather Works for the Predator for my GP-100 MC (https://www.wrightleatherworks.com/collections/owb-holsters/products/predator-pancake-holster). Kicked it up a notch to the Signature collection. It came out beautiful - top quality.

I missed the part about a holster.

My preference for revolvers is the Simply Rugged line of pancake holsters. I have at least one for every frame size I own and have several other holsters and accessories from them and I can’t recommend them enough. Also I don’t think I’ve ever waited more than 3 weeks for delivery. Personally I always get the IWB straps as an option and find that the holster is extremely comfortable IWB or OWB. I even carried my Redhawk IWB around the house for a day just to see if it was okay and I was impressed.

I had some Eagle cocobolowood grips for mine
And liked them a lot.

Glad to hear your Ruger experience went well.

quote:

Originally posted by 1967Goat:
Thanks for the write up. I really, really need to get myself a revolver.

I am a child of the 80s. Wunder Nines, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon etc. etc. I learned handguns on a 1911 and cut my own teeth on DA/SA………….so obviously I LOVE REVOLVERS!!!!! .

There is something so deliberate in the handling and mechanics, the aesthetics are on point, there is a peaceful slowness at the range when you are just enjoying shooting and not TRAINING so to speak. I like the calibers, like the mechanics, I like revolvers. For me they are much like manual transmissions and spring air guns, they just bring an intrinsic joy even though other options are technically superior.

So what I am saying is……yeah you need to get a revolver.

Take care, shoot safe
Chris