I decided to re-shoe the GP

[Riomouse911]

I am usually a function-over-form guy; not always going for fancy wood or other materials for grips and often going for synthetics... especially on my hard kickers. The 3” GP-100 .44 Spl. comes from Ruger with Hogue grips that, to be kind, work pretty well... but look like a giant rat turd hanging off the gun.



After conversing with Chad at Chiggs Grips, he told me the Ruger factory grips for the GP 100 .357 Compact will pop right on the .44 Spl. model. As a bonus, the SP-101 grip inserts he sells will fit the GP compact perfectly. I ordered a set of walnut panels from Chiggs for the GP and went to Rugers website to buy a set of the compacts with Rosewood inserts.




These new grips did literally pop right on the GP and the compacts reduced the grip length a bit. There is still enough for all three fingers to wrap solidly around the grip and the walnut inserts make it look a whole lot better than the old ones.



The SP-101 I have (above) has Eastern European-quality grip panels; rather ugly but functional. I took those off, put in the factory Rosewood inserts that came with the GP grips and made this gun look a whole lot better as well.



I’m going to take the GP 100 out tomorrow and run some rounds through it, I’ll report on my observations afterwards.

Stay safe.

 

[Dan-O]

Nice. I really like the compacts on the 3” gp’s. If you are interested in getting rid of that pesky turd, I’ll take it off your hands.

 

[sabbfan]

Chiggs grips makes some lovely inserts, I’ve bought from him several times and have never been disappointed. Looks great!

 

[Riomouse911]

I only got to fire 25 shots through the GP today: 20 were “Skeeter Light” loads with a 200 gr RNFP over 7.3 gr Unique and 5 were 165 gr RNFP over 5.0 IMR Target.

The gun shot a tad high with the Skeeterish 200 gr loads at 15 yds and POA with the 165”s. Recoil was easy to manage and my hand fit on the grips perfectly. I think I found a good combo of looks and functionality with this grip change.

I’m sending the original grip to Dan-o, hopefully it fits his gun/hand better than it did for me .

Stay safe.

 

[Frulk]

What’s the OAL on those 200 grainers? You must be setting those pretty deep in the case to allow that GP’s cylinder to rotate.

 

[Sneakshot92]

I am usually a function-over-form guy; not always going for fancy wood or other materials for grips and often going for synthetics... especially on my hard kickers. The 3” GP-100 .44 Spl. comes from Ruger with Hogue grips that, to be kind, work pretty well... but look like a giant rat turd hanging off the gun.

View attachment 939905

After conversing with Chad at Chiggs Grips, he told me the Ruger factory grips for the GP 100 .357 Compact will pop right on the .44 Spl. model. As a bonus, the SP-101 grip inserts he sells will fit the GP compact perfectly. I ordered a set of walnut panels from Chiggs for the GP and went to Rugers website to buy a set of the compacts with Rosewood inserts.

View attachment 939903
View attachment 939904

These new grips did literally pop right on the GP and the compacts reduced the grip length a bit. There is still enough for all three fingers to wrap solidly around the grip and the walnut inserts make it look a whole lot better than the old ones.

View attachment 939906

The SP-101 I have (above) has Eastern European-quality grip panels; rather ugly but functional. I took those off, put in the factory Rosewood inserts that came with the GP grips and made this gun look a whole lot better as well.

View attachment 939907

I’m going to take the GP 100 out tomorrow and run some rounds through it, I’ll report on my observations afterwards.

Stay safe.

That little SP looks sharp!
The GP looks like she's ready to kick some arse when duty calls.. When you find a nice CCW rig for it let me know..

 

[Riomouse911]

What’s the OAL on those 200 grainers? You must be setting those pretty deep in the case to allow that GP’s cylinder to rotate.

According to the dial on the trusty old Dillon micrometer, my GP-100 has a cylinder of 1.640” stem to stern. I believe the .44 Spl cylinder is cut like the .357 Mag length cylinders, so the Special length fits easily.

The 165 grainer is in the MBC crimp groove with an OAL of 1.460”.

The 200 has no groove, but it’s at 1.485”.

The Berrys 240 gr target HP also has no groove, it’s at 1.455” over 5.1 gr IMR Target.

As you can see, there’s plenty of room at the end of the cylinder in this gun (and in my .44 Spl. Flattop as well.)



Green is the 165, red the 200, copper HP is the 240.

Stay safe.

 

[Riomouse911]

That little SP looks sharp!
The GP looks like she's ready to kick some arse when duty calls.. When you find a nice CCW rig for it let me know..

Thanks! It did dress up nicely compared to the com-bloc Bakelite look of the factory panels.

My friend made me an IWB open-top leather holster that’ll carry it, but since I have some other more ccw friendly guns they get the call a lot more often than the SP.

Stay safe.

 

[Frulk]

My mistake RioMouse911....I thought you were stuffing that 200 grain slug into a .357. Carry on.... nothing to see here... I’ll sit quietly now and let the big people talk...

 

[357 Terms]

Completely agree with you on the "rat turd" comparison.
My 3" (357) got compacts (and checkered Altamont's) on it as soon as it got home!

 

[Riomouse911]

My mistake RioMouse911....I thought you were stuffing that 200 grain slug into a .357. Carry on.... nothing to see here... I’ll sit quietly now and let the big people talk...

No worries . For a moment I thought you were referring to the SP-101 .38 Spl. that I mentioned ... that would be much tougher to wedge a 200 grain bullet into.

That’s one of the nicer things about the two Ruger .44 Spl revolvers that I have; the near magnum-length cylinder allows for some leeway in OAL when you’re trying out different bullet profiles.

Stay safe.

 

[Riomouse911]

Completely agree with you on the "rat turd" comparison.
My 3" (357) got compacts (and checkered Altamont's) on it as soon as it got home!

View attachment 940173

I like Altamont’s grips, I put some on my Single Six and Wrangler and they look much better... especially the Wrangler. I know it’s their budget-conscious rimfire offering so frills aren’t in the cards, but those black wafer-thin plastic stocks that came on it from the factory just had to go!

Stay safe.

 

[Sneakshot92]

I meant a CCW rig for the GP. Either way you got yourself a nice pair.

 

[Riomouse911]

I see, that I don’t have for the GP... yet.
It’s a chunky revolver that’ll be perfect for wearing on my hip fishing in the Sierras or around camp in case a black bear decides to wander in and get aggressive.

Stay safe.

 

[Sneakshot92]

I see, that I don’t have for the GP... yet.
It’s a chunky revolver that’ll be perfect for wearing on my hip fishing in the Sierras or around camp in case a black bear decides to wander in and get aggressive.

Stay safe.

I think a decent shoulder rig would fit the bill quite nicely.. In warm weather it can go over a shirt. In cooler weather just pull on a light button up or zippered jacket and off you go.

 

[Armored farmer]

I couldn't hack the factory inserts either.

 

[Legionnaire]

Nice. I did the same. Here's my 3-inch GP100 in .44 Special sporting Chigg inserts.

SP101 with inserts from 41 Magnum over on RugerForum.com.

 

[Mastrogiacomo]

I am usually a function-over-form guy; not always going for fancy wood or other materials for grips and often going for synthetics... especially on my hard kickers. The 3” GP-100 .44 Spl. comes from Ruger with Hogue grips that, to be kind, work pretty well... but look like a giant rat turd hanging off the gun.

View attachment 939905

After conversing with Chad at Chiggs Grips, he told me the Ruger factory grips for the GP 100 .357 Compact will pop right on the .44 Spl. model. As a bonus, the SP-101 grip inserts he sells will fit the GP compact perfectly. I ordered a set of walnut panels from Chiggs for the GP and went to Rugers website to buy a set of the compacts with Rosewood inserts.

View attachment 939903
View attachment 939904

These new grips did literally pop right on the GP and the compacts reduced the grip length a bit. There is still enough for all three fingers to wrap solidly around the grip and the walnut inserts make it look a whole lot better than the old ones.

View attachment 939906

The SP-101 I have (above) has Eastern European-quality grip panels; rather ugly but functional. I took those off, put in the factory Rosewood inserts that came with the GP grips and made this gun look a whole lot better as well.

View attachment 939907

I’m going to take the GP 100 out tomorrow and run some rounds through it, I’ll report on my observations afterwards.

Stay safe.

Very nice. I contacted Chad today and he's making me grip inserts for my SP101 in purple heart wood. Looking forward to it....

Edit to add: I'm thinking of getting these grips as well: https://www.altamontco.com/pistol-grips/ruger/sp101/

Does anyone have them? How do they feel compared to the stock grips? Do the panels fit the same?