So a few months ago I set my buddy to find me a 3” SP101 in 357. Unfortunately the shop he works part time hasn’t been able to get me the one with Novak sights (TALO) because they just dropped Gun Broker and are using a different supplier.

So I went down to Austin today and stopped at GT Distributors (it’s a cop shop-they got uniforms, spray, lights, guns, etc).

They had 2 of the bare bones SP101s (trench sight), so I picked one and it came home with me.

I already have the Mcarbo spring set and an Altamonte wood grip (hate when my pinkie falls off the regular grip) so guess what I did today.

I’ve had an SP101 before but sold it for something that seemed right at the time, when I tore this one apart I find that Ruger has really stepped up their game. There were shims on the hammer, the interior was free of chips or straggling burrs, I’ve had to deburr and polish everything in the past, today it was just a light polish to things like the pawl. Their QC is doing good things.

Changed out the main spring and trigger latch spring(doubles as a trigger return) vastly reducing the factory trigger!!

Had to fit the Grips, but it’s worth it.

Tomorrow I’m going to go shoot till my hand hurts

Congrats. Ruger makes a great gun and one that is easy to work on in that sense. They are kind of like the Glock of the revolver world. I have a couple Ruger revolvers, one older Service Six and a couple new guns and really prefer them, especially for the cylinder release. I think they have the best design when it comes to that.

The SP101 is hands down the toughest .357 snubbie you can get. It might not have the leaned down lines of a comparable S&W and seem a little more of a chonk but the extra robustness is a boon when trying to control full house magnums. Personally, I find you can shoot it all day whereas a J-frame takes a bit of the fun out of the whole experience.

How many rounds did it take until your hand started hurting?

quote:

Originally posted by gjgalligan:
How many rounds did it take until your hand started hurting?

I swapped out the grips on my SP101 early on.

For These.

All the difference in the world.

The altamonte grip is very similar Biker Dude.

quote:

How many rounds did it take until your hand started hurting?

I had a S&W scandium I used to ankle carry when I was a cop. We had to qual with every gun we carried at work. 50 rnds day, 50 rnds night. I found out right around the 5 yard line that I needed my bike gloves. By the end of that qual my arm felt like I had been running a chainsaw all day. During the night shoot I wore the bike gloves and it mitigated the magnum a little. I did cheat the next time and shot 38s

I had a 3" SP101 for a while in .357. Not the fancy Novak-sited version, just the regular one, but it was a nice gun. It's a small-framed revolver that you can actually comfortably shoot magnums out of in volume, and it was accurate, reliable, and with a little work on my part had a great trigger.

The only problem I had with it is that it would foul really bad inside the cylinder arbor and you had to take it apart and clean it every 100 rounds or so (less if you were shooting lead) otherwise the cylinder would gum up so bad that you could barely pull the trigger in DA. As long as you kept it clean, though, it was great. I'm not sure why that gun was so susceptible to that...none of my other revolvers, even the other Rugers, were like that.

I carried that gun on several backcountry backpacking trips and found it to be a pretty competent trail gun. The extra inch of sight radius was helpful over my J-Frame snubs and I felt confident enough that I could get the job done with it if I needed to. It carried pretty well, too.

I ultimately ended up selling it to my brother to finance a 3" S&W Model 60 that I found. I don't regret the trade...the 60 is a bit trimmer and lighter and has adjustable sights, and it standardizes better with the rest of my small-frame revolvers (all J-Frames now). It also doesn't gum up like that 101 did. But that thing is still one of the few guns I've sold that I kinda miss, and every time I go shooting with my brother I make sure he brings it.

One of my favorites. But, mine are the short barrels. One I have carried to death. Sweated on enough to have pitting under the grips. It’s a little beast. It is absolutely the smallest and lightest revolver I will shoot magnums in. And, I still don’t like it.

Out in the wilderness, it’s loaded with Hard Cast 158 gr. One speedloader full of 158 HP. One with snake shot. I’m covered for anything that moves on two legs, four legs or, on its belly.

My other is, technically, not an SP101. It’s an SPNY. .38 Special. Old short frame, DA only. Brand new in the box.

One of my favorite revolvers.

Gratuitous pic


Put 100 magnums thru it and played with 30 wadcutters. Those grips and the steel make shooting it a dream.

Only revolver I have these days. Two of them actually, one for me and one for my wife.

Mine are in 9mm though.

quote:

I swapped out the grips on my SP101 early on.

For These.

I have the same grips on mine….also put them on other gun as well

quote:

Tomorrow I’m going to go shoot till my hand hurts

from the op post about the sp101.


I was asking how many rounds it took until your hand hurt>

My biggest SP101 regret is not not that I sold my early one in 9mm (would not hit to POA because factory installed .38 Special front sights on them), but rather that I failed to buy one of the US State Dept overruns that CDNN had for sale cheap many years ago. They all had a factory commander style hammer and were .38 Special, anybody remember those?

The SP101 is a nice gun. I only own two, and original 3” in .327 abd an original 4” 6 shot in .22lr but love them both. I know the lines of the S&W are sexier to most but I personally prefer the beefy look and feel of the Ruger.

Though I have only owned one SP101, I am a fan. Mine is an earlier 3" 9mm. Mine is stock, but handles any and all 9mm ammunition I've tried, even the very warm stuff, without issue. Stock springs make for a heavy trigger pull, but thankfully the factory DA trigger is very smooth. One of the last revolvers I'd ever want to sell or trade. It just works...

I had a 2¼" one in .357 Magnum for a time. Like with every small-frame revolver I've tried, I couldn't hit the proverbial side of a barn, but the thunderclap roar/flamethrower blast Remington R357M1 (125-grain JHP) kicked surprisingly little.