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Used, they're a good deal. New, I don't think they're a bargain at all, and if you've done any trigger work to your SP101, you've got a better .357, albeit with one less round.

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...and it's a bit ugly IMHO.

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Originally posted by monoblok:

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...and it's a bit ugly IMHO.

Actually its aesthetics is one reason why I like it as much as I do. It's not traditional that's for sure, but call it a take on how a 21st century revolver could be designed, especially from a company who has not an ounce of prior history in making anything in this genotype.

Full disclosure: I don't own either gun. Came close to buying one on more than a couple of occasions, while the other is considerably higher up on my wantlist. I've shot both, each on several occasions now, enough so that I've formed enough of an opinion as to prefer one a lot more than the other. Also, I come at this from the perspective that I won't shoot .357MAG out of either anymore; that experience is just NOT a tolerable one for me with revolvers of this size, so my op/ed is qualified in this regard.

The Ruger: straight off I've never cared for how mediocre the factory SP101 trigger is. So unlike how Ruger does the GP100, which itself has at best an okay trigger action. But the GP's is at least significantly easier to work with. Nor is the SP's as good as the triggers on the hybrid LCRs, which I find is shocking that the company hasn't rectified this by now. I think Ruger did do well with the SP101's form factor; great size, heft and feel. But at least for me it's not anywhere close to being a pleasant shooting gun when 357MAG is involved, despite its added heft over lighter revolvers. So unlike my 3" GP100, and in dire need of some gunsmithing work for that rather foul trigger. However the SP101 handles well in hand; its grip area is relatively large for a revolver in this size group though the amount of rubber padding across the backstrap could use some thickening if I had my way. Small hands or not, a little more front-to-back depth would be appreciated, plus it might make shooting .357s more tolerable. As is, I have no issues with the recoil of .38SPL, either in standard or +P loads.

The Kimber: the K6S is also not a particularly pleasant gun for me and .357, but I kinda already knew that would be the case before I fired the first shot a couple of years back based upon my past experiences with .357MAG revolvers of this sort of size (including the SP101). Curse of small, weakish hands I suppose, but conversely I find it a breeze with .38s despite its usually smallish grip configuration. It has a very smooth and fluid double action pull that a factory SP101 has no hope of matching. Its sights are decent and perhaps a tad more usable than the Ruger's. The grip is small even with my baby hands but I don't generally use my pinkie anyways. But like the SP101 I would like a bit more dimension to the length of pull. Despite that, with .38SPL it for me is still a pleasant thing to shoot. And as I said before, I do like the look of the gun. It may not be for the traditionalists in the room but it speaks volumes to me with how it puts a modern bent on a centuries old type.

Head-to-head: the price difference between the SP101 and K6S may matter for many folks, but I find that I can look past that given how much I enjoyed shooting the K6S, at least with .38SPL and its +P loads. Similarly I find the SP101 is easy to handle with the smaller cartridge, but without some trigger work I find that I have more of a problem with consistent accuracy with the Ruger; curse of those weak finger muscles again but also a symptom of the jerky stacking in the trigger's take-up before it lights off. Sighting with either is about the same for me, though if I had to pick a "winner" in this area I'd give the slight edge to the Kimber. Add in the reality that the SP101 is down one round in capacity and at least for me the Kimber ticks all the right boxes and the Ruger comes up second in this particular two-horse race. Which is why the Kimber is on my wantlist.

Just as long as I don't have to shoot .357MAG out of it. Then I would own neither and just trudge along with my big ol' GP100s and 686.

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Originally posted by pm9:
After owning my K6s for well over a year, I have sold or passed on a number of now unused Ruger and S&W
J-frame revolvers.

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Originally posted by Ken @ Hogue Inc:
Hogue also offer a rubber grip for the K6s that fits both DASA & DAO models

Look here for ALL colors available

SPECS:
• Color: Black
• Material: Soft Overmolded® Rubber
• Texture: Cobblestone™
• Includes finger grooves

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Originally posted by Ken @ Hogue Inc:



Also, does this, Rubber only cover the backstrap? Yes

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Originally posted by VictorLouis:
I just obtained a used one, but I haven't wrung it out yet. First thing I checked was my Safariland CompII's, and they work just fine with the OEM rubber boot-grips. With any other grip/s, YMMV. Second thing I did was to see if my favorite Taurus rubber boot-grips could be made to fit. Nope, nor anything else from what I can tell. They really have a scrawny grip-frame under there. I'd like a bit more reach to the trigger.

Anyhoo, I was going to post a thanks to az478**** for alerting me to the OEM's that cover the backstrap...then...this awesome news from Ken....

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Originally posted by Ken @ Hogue Inc:



Also, does this, Rubber only cover the backstrap? Yes

I'll be placing my order soon.

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Originally posted by cslinger:
I’ve never shot a K6. That said the ones that I have handled, while having a very good trigger, had an ODD feeling trigger. It just didn’t feel like the trigger my brain was prepared for. I can’t describe it. They just had “different” triggers. They were good but noticeably different.

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Originally posted by cslinger:
I’ve never shot a K6. That said the ones that I have handled, while having a very good trigger, had an ODD feeling trigger. It just didn’t feel like the trigger my brain was prepared for. I can’t describe it. They just had “different” triggers. They were good but noticeably different.

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The trigger on my kimber revolver feels like a light striker fired pistol.