How hard is it to switch bbls on a Ruger GP-100?

[albanian]

Can this be done at home? Is it a big job that needs a gunsmith or can anyone do it?

I have a GP-100 with the spurless bbl and if I can't find a regular hammer for it, I am thinking of buying a 2 3/4" bbl and making it into a big hammerless snubbie. I think it would make a good car gun.

 

[campergeek]

When I bought my 4" GP-100 I really wanted a 3", but the 4" was too good a deal to pass up. I asked the guy behind the counter this exact question, and his response was that it'd be cheaper and easier just to buy another gun. Now this IS the gunshop guy whom I don't know personally, so take it for what it's worth.

BTW, I also have a spurless hammer DAO. If yours is a factory DAO job, vs. a cosmetic de-spurring, then replacing just the hammer would be a dangerous thing. Somebody may thumb back the hammer expecting it to lock back and instead be surprised with a boom when they release. I read another thread recently about great service from Ruger. If asked, they may do the job (replace hammer and SA capability) for you at surprisingly reasonable cost.

 

[Jim March]

On a stainless gun, barrel swapping takes a LOT of care as the threads can easily "gall" and strip. Plus getting the original sight lined up top-most can be a horrendous pain for the home wrencher.

Chopping, re-crowning and then dovetailing for the aftermarket sight type of your choice is less risky, although possibly a bit more money.

Also: converting a standard Ruger hammer to spurless is particularly easy. Just follow the contours of the rounded back edge of the hammer. The total hammer weight reduction will be minimal plus the heat-treat is the same throughout versus a surface treatment.

 

[Majic]

Camper The single action sear (or ledge really) is the part of the hammer omitted on the DAO guns. A new spurred hammer will have this sear intact.
Ruger historically have refused to alter guns from the way they were produced. If your firearm is serial numbered to a certain configuration, they will not change it. They only put them back in factory condition. Ruger has no custom shop.

 

[Preacherman]

Talk to Clark Custom Guns. They can shorten existing barrels, install different-length barrels, replace hammers, etc. for Rugers or S&W's. They do it all the time, and have a whole lot of experience to back up the technical knowledge. One of the ways Jim Clark Jr. makes money is to buy old, worn-out revolvers from PD's and rebuild them into as-new used guns.

 

[stans]

Switching barrels on revolvers, except for Dan Wesson's with the swappable barrel system, is not a do it yourself project. It is frequently cheaper to trade for a revolver with the desired barrel length or just have the barrel cut down, re-crowned, and a new front sight installed.

 

[campergeek]

Majic, thanks for correcting me. That's good info. Any thoughts on a good place and a good price to get a spurred hammer?

 

[Majic]

Camper,
Try the Ruger forum. They are constantly reconfiguring single actions over there. Someone may have some double action parts too, or know of a lead to some.

 

[DBR]

Not too long ago I had Ruger replace the spurless hammer on my factory DAO SP101 with a standard DA/SA hammer. They even gave me the old hammer back. From what they told me at the time, they will convert from DAO to DA/SA but will only convert from DA/SA to DAO for LEO. They would not tell me why. The charge was very reasonable and turn around was about two weeks. They even paid return shipping.

 

[James Bondrock]

Can this be done at home? Is it a big job that needs a gunsmith or can anyone do it?

Only a very well-equipped gunsmith or the factory has the tools to do this. You can't just clamp the barrel in a vise, put a pry bar through the frame's cylinder window and twist it.

I have a GP-100 with the spurless bbl and if I can't find a regular hammer for it, I am thinking of buying a 2 3/4" bbl and making it into a big hammerless snubbie.

Spurless barrel? You mean spurless hammer. Ruger does not make a 2 3/4" barrel for the GP100, but they do make this gun in a three-inch. The aforementioned gunsmith could probably get a three-inch barrel and install it for you, or shorten the existing barrel and fit a new front sight. I suspect this would be more expensive than buying a new three-incher (or trading your present gun in on one) and having a gunsmith bob the hammer and convert it to DAO if you wish. And it will require a gunsmith, because Ruger will not do it.

 

[KB3PD]

I have a 4" GP100 and called Ruger to see if I could get a 3" barrel in it's place. You cannot go from 4" or 6" to 3" on a gp100 and the 4" and 6" had adj. sights and the 3" doesn't. Now if you have a 4" or 6" w/o adj. sights I don't know if they can/will change the barrels. Going from 4" to 6" or the other way should be no trouble.

 

[tomthel]

On Barrels, Hammers and such

Doing a bbl. swap as noted above requires special tools to avoid bending the frame. Once done barrel/cylinder gap will need to be set and probably the forcing cone will have to be recut meaning more tools.

As noted above the barrels on many Rugers are really in tight and
almost impossible to remove without botching the threads. I have
taken both a SP and Redhawk to try to get the barrel set back and
barrel/cylinder gap reset and the gunsmith could not do this as the
barrel was in tight.

I have had barrels swapped on S&W's I have. Basically, labor is about $110 plus the cost of the barrel (I think Ruger barrels are about $67 at e-gunparts.com if in stock). The front sight on fixed sight barrels is lower and probably will not work with the adjustable sight and vice versa. Thus the sight will need to be replaced with probably a dovetailed new one at about $60+. As noted above fixed sight barrels are 3 and 4" only, no 2 3/4 ones.

If you cut the barrel the lettering on the side will not be centered. I guess it could be buffed off and caliber restamped by the gunsmith. I don't know what the cost will be but probably is better in the case of the Ruger than trying to change the barrel.

The best solution is to wait for hammers to come into Numrich (e-gumparts). I did find a GP-100 hammer at a gunsmith in Mass. I bought. I came across this quite by accident doing a Google search on the Internet. Sometimes Jack First in South Dakota has
hammers from what I hear. E-bay sometimes has various parts, too. The hammer will run about $20-22 probably with shipping.
Someone said Ruger will sell their "Restricted parts" such as hammers to factory trained armorers so perhaps if you could find one they may have a hammer.