Just Joined the Wheel Gun Club

[DanTheFarmer]

Hi Guys,

I'm just home from the gun store with my first revolver. I bought a Ruger GP100 6" blue. I handled one over the summer and thought the big chunk of metal would be unbalanced. Instead it felt great. The thought of plinking with one simmered in my brain for a few months and today completed the process.

Some 158 gr LSWC bullets and some brass showed up in the mail today too. The dies will arrive tomorrow (weather permitting!) so I'll be having a grand time working up some loads.

I plan on plinking with 38 spl primarily and shooting the occasional full house 357 Magnum for fun or possibly hunting.

I've got experience with rifles, shotguns, auto's and I'll let ya' know how this old fashioned wheel gun experiment turns out.

Dan

 

[MrBorland]

Just Joined the Wheel Gun Club

Well, Dan - It's my honor to be the first here to welcome you to The Club.

You picked a mighty fine first revolver, and we'll look forward to your range report. Don't be shy if you have questions. IME, wheelgunners are a friendly bunch.

 

[LAH]

You made a great choice.

 

[BYJO4]

Congrats on your new revolver. I use all 357 brass and load them from target to hot depending on what they are used for. Just easier to keep one type of brass.

 

[rchery59]

Fine first choice. You may end up with Rugeritis. It's a wonderful illness. I've been sick for a few years, there is no known cure.

 

[bannockburn]

DanTheFarmer

Super choice for your first of what we're sure will be many more revolvers to come.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Hey congrats and welcome to the tribe! Great choice for a first revolver too. That baby will some up lots of recoil. Let the magnums fly!

 

[SlayerOfBunnies]

But... but... but... no pics? Wheel guns are pretty and we like to oogle them.

 

[kvtcomdo]

Agree, need pics or it didn't happen.

Welcome to the club.

It won't be your last.

GP 100: indestructable.

 

[Shimitup]

You're gonna like it, for one thing picking up your brass is a lot more fun.

 

[jeepnik]

I'm officially old. When I read the thread title, my first though was "I remember when folks used to say they had just bought their first semi-auto". Darned near everyone, unless your first experience was in the military, started with a wheel gun. Most of us with .22's.

 

[sappyg]

How did I miss this? Congratulations on the GP 100!

I'm popping some popcorn in anticipation of a range report.

 

[WestKentucky]

Welcome the the other side of the handgun world. 357 and 38 are super easy to load for, and brass is pretty common so your in for a lot of fun.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Awesome choice! I bought a 6" GP100 a couple years ago and fell in love, but it was a bit large and front heavy for me, so I bought a 4" half lug GP100 to compliment it:



It's an awesome gun! Hard to beat a Ruger double action for a first revolver.

 

[short barrel]

A great decision. I grew up on .38's and later graduated to .357. The magnum is an awesome round. It will do whatever you ask of it with power to spare. My particular use in the old days were groundhogs with a .357. The original 158's hold up a lot better than the big bores at distance. A groundhog 100 yards distance is much easier to take with the flat shooting .357 than the .44M. Although the .44 shines when you go after big game, the .357 is the perfect small and medium species hunting handgun. Your Ruger will prove to be accurate beyond amazing. Good choice, and good shooting.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Welcome to the wheel gun club, it's a good group to be part of... Most of my handguns are revolvers as is my daily carry. Just a warning, revolvers are much more addictive than semi-autos so make room in your safe!

 

[FLNT4EVR]

My first wheelgun was a GP100 4in. I absolutely love that gun. 357's are very comfortable to shoot . 38's you won't even notice the recoil.

 

[BullRunBear]

Welcome to the revolver world and you chose a great way to get started with the GP100. Aside from being an excellent gun, you'll love the reloading versatility of 38s and 357s.

Don't be surprised if you start looking at other revolvers in the near future. A Blackhawk in 45 Colt is loads of fun. And they often come with an extra 45 ACP cylinder. You may already load for 45ACP if you use semi-autos.

Jeff

 

[HexHead]

It may be your first, but unlikely to be your last. Just wait until you stumble on how much fun a single action in .45 Colt is!

 

[il.bill]

You made a great choice for your first revolver. Keep in mind that the .357 cases do not always need to be loaded to full magnum strength. ".357 magnum plinking load" is not really an oxymoron. You can run lighter loads for paper punching fun in the magnum cases if you want and avoid the annoying carbon buildup in the chambers from the shorter .38 special brass.

Two other things come to mind: 1) still no picture(s); and 2) how can a guy named DanTheFarmer not have already owned a revolver?