[lawboy]

I just bought one. 3-inch barrel. Won't have it in hand for a couple weeks, but who has one and what thoughts have you got on this gun in this caliber? I am planning to shoot nothing but cast bullets out of it in the 110-115-grain weight class, flatpoints.
Are they accurate? Any issues or problems? Anyone make speedloaders as I might run it in IDPA just for fun and not for score (I think 380 is minimum allowed for score).
Anyway, just fishing for info/perspectives.
Regards.

[DWARREN123]

I have one with a 4" barrel. Pretty accurate but does depend on ammo and grip. It shines when using reloaded ammo. I haven't had great luck with lead but it is really good with 90-100 gr jacketed ammo running hot.
For factory ammo mine likes Federal 85 gr JHP.

[461]

I've got a 3" and have a lot of fun with it. I generally shoot 94gr lead with H110 behind it for good accuracy. I've got two 5.5" adjustable sighted Single-Sixes in .32Mag that I enjoy more, but the SP-101 is a very nice little package.

[Ratshooter]

My sp101 was not as accurate as i would have liked when i first shot it. I measured the cylinder throats and found that they were .310 which was smaller than the barrel grove. Ruger confirmed that the barrel should be .313 and mine was. I bought a .3125 reamer and enlarged the throats, the final measurement was .313 when finished. The gun shoots much better now. My shooting buddie's 101 also had undersized throats and i reamed those also. My single six vaquero also had the .310 throats. It also got reamed.

I have read other reveiws in gun mags that noted the smallish throats. Anyway it is easy to change. Until you correct the problem, if your gun has it, jacketed bullets will most likely outshoot lead bullets.

Other than that i have realy enjoyed the gun. I do wish there was a way to add adjustable open sights like the ruger catalog said that it had.

[lawboy]

ratshooter, where did you buy the reamer?

[Stainz]

+1 on that reamer source!

I have a 4" .32M SP101 - and a 4.6" SS BHG SSM. Both were 'challenges' when new, due to the excessive QC issues - mainly roughly bored holes. After a lot of clean-up - and softer Wolff springs - it is a definite keeper. The adjustable rear sight is adjustable only in windage - pretty cheesy. Fortunately, my favorite homebrew, a .32-20 115gr LRNFP .313" Oregon Trail Laser Cast or Meister bullet over 2.4-2.5 gr Titegroup in Win SP primed Starline brass, hits maybe .5" low at 12-15yd - and groups fairly well - I expected better, with the nice trigger - probably larger/consistent cylinder exit bores will help. The heftiest steel plates require a high hit to drop them - but it is still a blast on most plates. The mini GP100/SRH lockwork is easily improved, thankfully - complete instructions can be found on the Ruger forum site. The lightest springs, as I have in mine, still pop Win SP primers 100%.

I do keep a pair of HKS #32-J speedloaders loaded with the excellent and hot - but nasty - Georgia Arms 100gr JHP (XTP's) in .32 H&RM - make 1,186 fps from mine - 311 ft-lb KE. The Hogue rubber monogrips give you a little more to hold on to - not needed for recoil, of course, just a better hold - for me.

Congrats on a fun revolver!

Stainz

[Ratshooter]

I bought the reamer from the tool store. It is a 5/16 reamer. To use this you need to make it so it is piloted. Don't laugh, i used masking tape to build up the fluted area about 1/2 inch from the end. I wrapped it intil it measured the same diameter of the cylinder and was a tight fit. You need to use tapping fluid when doing the metal removal. Also the slower it is rotated the closer it cuts to size.

Brian Pierce of Handloader suggested a cut off peice of brass in the same caliber as a pilot. I tried that first and after getting it on the reamer it was too large to fit.

After i reamed the throats i used a slotted dowel rod wrapped with thin leather and buffing compound to polish the throats.

I know this sounds like a jury rigged way to do something but worked fine. I worked in my dads machine shop off and on from the time i was 10 until about age 25. Sometimes you have to make do with what you can get. Keep in mind that my guns made a good jump in accuracy with lead bullets after the reaming.

I have 2 S&W .32 longs. Both of the guns have .314 throats AND realy shoot lead bullets well. Hope this helps.

[Ratshooter]

You might want to try a Hornady 85 gr with 12 grains of Li'l Gun. IT chrono'ed 1250 fps from a 4"101 and 1306 from a 5.5 Single Six. This is a load from the Hodgen manual and is their max. Here are some other loads;

90 gr hbwc 2.5 bullseye 895 from 5.5" barrel
Same load from 1 7/8 431 S&W goes 775 fps
94 gr swc from lee mold 3.5 231 885 fps from snubby S&W
94 gr rnfp Meister 3.6 gr Red Dot 926 fps from snubby S&W
85 gr jhp Hornady 11.7 gr Li'l Gun 5.5" barrel 1225 fps

From a 4" S&W .32 long, 2.5 gr Bullseye w/ 94 gr swc Lee mold 860 fps

All primers were Winchester Small Pistol.

[P. Plainsman]

The .32 SP101 is a great little revolver. Just a hoot to shoot. I had a 3" like yours and had to sell it during a cash crunch. That was probably my biggest gun "heartbreak" yet. (I've sold some guns I don't miss at all.)

I found mine very accurate. Mostly stuck to factory jacketed rounds from Black Hills and Georgia Arms.

HKS makes speedloaders. You want the one for six-shot .32 J-frames, model 32-J; not the (rarely seen) .32 K-frame version. They work well. You will find that with the sturdy steel frame and the .32 Mag's light recoil, you can draw the SP and place its six shots on target, double action, in lickety split fashion. I actually CCW'd mine on occasion before I acquired a good snubby in .38 Spl+P.

Factory ammo is expensive. To have maximum fun with a .32 Mag one needs to reload -- glad that's your plan.

I predict you will be charmed by your new revolver.

[lawboy]

hell, my guns don't know what factory ammunition looks like! Who can afford that stuff?! Especially the way I like to shoot and the way I like to take friends shooting on MY guns and ammo. I would starve to death buying factory ammo! I sure hope you are right about the gun. I am very excited about picking it up next weekend and beginning the process of going over it, taking all the measurements, cleaning it up and getting started loading ammo for it. This is going to be my winter project to develop loads for and competence with this little gun. I will buy some of those speedloaders. I think I am going to run this gun in IDPA for S&Giggles, even if they don't let me do it for score, hehe.