[wankerjake]

Yesterday at a local shop I saw a used GP100 ss 4", looked to be in great shape. They were asking $375 which seems to be a good deal. The only problem is that it doesn't have adjustable sights. Any body have any experiences with the fixed sight model? I would eventually like to hunt with it I think so I'm thinking for that I will really need adjustable sights. What do you guys think?

[Brian Williams]

They make a great belt gun, find a load it likes and it will do very well. Most fixed sight revolvers are sighted for 158-165 grs at about 1000fps at 25 yds. That should do well for most mid sized game.

[wankerjake]

Ok, that is good. Most of the time it will be used on cans at the range, but it will probably get significant time on my hip as a defense/hunting sidearm, and I would like to be able to hit rabbits in the head at 15 yards or so. Also I would like to be able to hit a coyote at 25 yards and maybe someday a deer at a similar range.

[Japle]

There's not much chance any given fixed sight revolver will shoot exactly where you want it to.

I talked to a Ruger rep at the S.H.O.T. Show and he told me that their guns are expected to shoot within about 4" of POA at 25 yds. If your gun shoots 4" groups and the center of the group is 4" to the right, none of your shots will be closer than 2" to your POA and some will be 6" to the right.

If you're carying a gun for self defense, that's probably just fine. Personally, I wouldn't accept that kind of accuracy.

[eagleno49]

I thought the 3" gp100 had fixed sights and everything 4" or longer had adjustable sights.

[MDG1976]

4" can be had with fixed or adjustable sight, i believe.

I don't think any 4" revolver with fixed sights would make a very good hunting gun.

That price is good, I saw a used 6" blued for $450 in my area.

[RugerDoug]

I have 3 GP100s and all are fixed sights. I have a Stainless 3 inch I purchased new and a used 4 inch fixed sight from a pawn shop for $ 380. I also have a 4 inch .38 special GP100 in blue new. My 4 inch stainless fires great, I only use 158 grain rounds.

[L-Frame]

I've owned a number of fixed sight GP's, including 1 at present. They have all been very accurate for me out to 25 yards. From a rest I've never had a GP, fixed sights or otherwise, group over 2" at 25. And, most of my fixed sight guns shot pretty close to POA. Maybe I've been really lucky.

[Lone Star]

I own an adjustable - sighted one and have owned the fixed-sight one.

Both were quite accurate, but using standard bullet weight (158 grains) is often a requisite for vertical accuracy with the fixed sights.

The adjustable sights would be preferable for hunting and all-round use, but the other will often suffice, certainly on a coyote at 25 yards! A snake head at ten yards? Probably, IF the individual gun shoots to the sights and your eyes.

If your use was primarily for defense, I'd certainly consider the price to be a good one, if the gun is in NRA Excellent or better shape. But if you can find a version with adjustable sights in comparable condition or new, I'd prefer it for general use.

You may be able to use 140 grain bullets effectively, too, and that might be ideal for coyotes and the like.


Lone Star

[ArmedBear]

What do I think?

I think you will really need adjustable sights to hunt with it, or to use it for anything other than close-range defense. That includes shooting cans.

POI shifts both vertically and horizontally with different loads.

You could presumably find a load through trial and error, that shoots where the gun aims. Doing this would probably cost you more than adjustable sights, either because you had to try a bunch, or because you would have to use an expensive .357 load to shoot cans.

In my experience, .357 revolvers are sighted for .357s, not .38s.

[wankerjake]

Ok thanks for the responses so far. I'm not in any hurry so I'll look around some more. Maybe I can find a good deal on one with fixed sights. I'm trying to work out a deal on a S&W 686 4" so if that works out I won't need the ruger. Actaully my Rossi seems to be up and running again so I'm not in any hurry for either at the moment. Mostly I thought $375 was a really good price, especially if the fixed sights wouldn't be a problem, which they may or may not be. I don't feel the need to gamble though at the moment. But there is something about the GP100 that I love. It looks and feels great in my opinion, and I have good experiences with Ruger. I will eventually have one. Any other advise is still welcome though. If I could get it for $375 out the door would it just be a good deal, as long as the bore is in good shape? The rest of it looked good and the timing was fine.