minutemen1776
Member
Just when I thought there was nothing new I wanted to get, Ruger announced before Christmas that it would be making the GP100 chambered in .44 Special. Right away, I knew I wanted one. Though I'd expected not to see one until the spring or so, I had a chance to get one much sooner and did so. I picked it up last week and I shot it for the first time today at a nearby indoor range. Here she is:
And with the cylinder open:
Before I get to the range report, I'll explain why I wanted the .44 Special GP100 so much. A dozen or so years ago, I owned a S&W 696, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I reloaded back then, but I stopped doing so after my sons were born and my free time left the building. Eventually, I sold my reloading gear and my "reload-only" guns, including the 696. I don't regret it so much, though at times I thought about getting another, at least until I learned how expensive the 696 has become.
In the meantime, I've become a fan of the GP100. I tried lots of DA revolvers (Colt, S&W, Ruger, Taurus, etc.), and I enjoy the GP100 the most. In addition to my new .44 Special GP100, I also have a 6-inch .357 GP100. When I saw the announcement for a .44 Special GP100, I was excited. It has a 3-inch barrel like the 696, as well as a sexy unfluted cylinder, which I really like. The Hogue grips are sweet and I like the front fiber-optic sight, even though I generally don't care for fiber-optic anything. Basically, there's no feature on the .44 Special GP100 I don't like; it's pretty much exactly what I wanted. Understand, too, that I don't want .44 Magnum performance. I don't enjoy shooting .44 Magnum loads even in a much larger handgun. I also don't want the .44 Special GP100 for CCW, as I have other things that are much better suited to that task. For me, this revolver will mostly be a range or hiking gun, and perhaps a great excuse to return to reloading after all these years.
For the range, I picked up several boxes of HSM 240-grain LSWC "cowboy" loads. I ordered these from Palmetto State because they were in-stock and on-sale. Besides, no one in my area seems to stock .44 Special.
First of all, let me say that the OCD side of me really enjoys 5-shot revolvers. One row of five rounds equals one cylinder, and ten cylinders equal one full box.
Initially, my new GP100 shot REALLY high. At 10 yards, I was shooting nearly a foot too high. After 10-12 elevation clicks on the adjustable sights, I was doing all right. It took a few more cylinders to get used the DA trigger pull. It was pretty good, with some stacking and a decently clean release. I think the trigger on my .357 is slightly better, but the difference isn't much. I do know it's better than any trigger pull I ever experienced on a Security or Speed Six.
Before I'd gone through a full box of rounds, I'd produced some respectable groups. This is probably the best 10-round group:
Unfortunately, you can't tell too much from my groups, because I was experiencing some major rip-tears. At first, and after seeing another THR post on the .44 Special GP100, I thought I was seeing evidence of keyholing. However, closer examination shows that this is just the result of firing slow, heavy slugs at close range into a cheap suspended paper target with no backer. When I fired a few rounds at longer range, this phenomenon disappeared, leaving me with mostly clean-cut holes.
Shooting the .44 Special GP100 was pleasant. As expected, recoil was somewhere between shooting .38s and .357s in my other GP100. The 3-inch barrel was not too forgiving as I learned how to stroke the DA trigger, leaving me with a couple of truly BAD groups. The sights were nice, and I liked the non-grooved Hogue grips. Overall, this is an enjoyable shooter, but right now I think my .357 is the better performer. Some experimentation with reloads might change that, so we'll see. I've been looking at presses, so maybe I'll get back into reloading later in the year.
Here's the .44 Special GP100 after firing 50 rounds. Those HSM loads were VERY sooty.
For lovers of the GP100 and .44 Special, I think you'll be pleased with this offering from Ruger.
As an aside, I always bring a pair of handguns when I go to the indoor range. Accompanying my new GP100 was a FEG Hi-Power I bought a few months back. I really enjoy this gun:
It shoots pretty well, too. This is 26 rounds.
And with the cylinder open:
Before I get to the range report, I'll explain why I wanted the .44 Special GP100 so much. A dozen or so years ago, I owned a S&W 696, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I reloaded back then, but I stopped doing so after my sons were born and my free time left the building. Eventually, I sold my reloading gear and my "reload-only" guns, including the 696. I don't regret it so much, though at times I thought about getting another, at least until I learned how expensive the 696 has become.
In the meantime, I've become a fan of the GP100. I tried lots of DA revolvers (Colt, S&W, Ruger, Taurus, etc.), and I enjoy the GP100 the most. In addition to my new .44 Special GP100, I also have a 6-inch .357 GP100. When I saw the announcement for a .44 Special GP100, I was excited. It has a 3-inch barrel like the 696, as well as a sexy unfluted cylinder, which I really like. The Hogue grips are sweet and I like the front fiber-optic sight, even though I generally don't care for fiber-optic anything. Basically, there's no feature on the .44 Special GP100 I don't like; it's pretty much exactly what I wanted. Understand, too, that I don't want .44 Magnum performance. I don't enjoy shooting .44 Magnum loads even in a much larger handgun. I also don't want the .44 Special GP100 for CCW, as I have other things that are much better suited to that task. For me, this revolver will mostly be a range or hiking gun, and perhaps a great excuse to return to reloading after all these years.
For the range, I picked up several boxes of HSM 240-grain LSWC "cowboy" loads. I ordered these from Palmetto State because they were in-stock and on-sale. Besides, no one in my area seems to stock .44 Special.
First of all, let me say that the OCD side of me really enjoys 5-shot revolvers. One row of five rounds equals one cylinder, and ten cylinders equal one full box.
Initially, my new GP100 shot REALLY high. At 10 yards, I was shooting nearly a foot too high. After 10-12 elevation clicks on the adjustable sights, I was doing all right. It took a few more cylinders to get used the DA trigger pull. It was pretty good, with some stacking and a decently clean release. I think the trigger on my .357 is slightly better, but the difference isn't much. I do know it's better than any trigger pull I ever experienced on a Security or Speed Six.
Before I'd gone through a full box of rounds, I'd produced some respectable groups. This is probably the best 10-round group:
Unfortunately, you can't tell too much from my groups, because I was experiencing some major rip-tears. At first, and after seeing another THR post on the .44 Special GP100, I thought I was seeing evidence of keyholing. However, closer examination shows that this is just the result of firing slow, heavy slugs at close range into a cheap suspended paper target with no backer. When I fired a few rounds at longer range, this phenomenon disappeared, leaving me with mostly clean-cut holes.
Shooting the .44 Special GP100 was pleasant. As expected, recoil was somewhere between shooting .38s and .357s in my other GP100. The 3-inch barrel was not too forgiving as I learned how to stroke the DA trigger, leaving me with a couple of truly BAD groups.
The sights were nice, and I liked the non-grooved Hogue grips. Overall, this is an enjoyable shooter, but right now I think my .357 is the better performer. Some experimentation with reloads might change that, so we'll see. I've been looking at presses, so maybe I'll get back into reloading later in the year.Here's the .44 Special GP100 after firing 50 rounds. Those HSM loads were VERY sooty.
For lovers of the GP100 and .44 Special, I think you'll be pleased with this offering from Ruger.
As an aside, I always bring a pair of handguns when I go to the indoor range. Accompanying my new GP100 was a FEG Hi-Power I bought a few months back. I really enjoy this gun:
It shoots pretty well, too. This is 26 rounds.
