My Old Ruger GP100/I'm Losing Interest

Stick with what you love. Different people have different tastes but I'm sure there's plenty of folks out there who will see you shooting your revolvers and immediately take an interest.

I have the good fortune of liking just about everything that goes bang so I can talk with friends that are into the "tactical" stuff (which I am as well) but also turn around and talk revolvers to someone else or milsurp to another buddy or muzzle loading, etc.

Whenever I get started on WW2 era stuff with someone plenty of my friends groan and walk away. You'll always have those people that think only the latest and greatest tacticool stuff is cool but still plenty of people out there who appreciate revolvers.

I feel like everyone wonders if I can afford some newer weapons.

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We're actually wondering if you can afford newer clothes or newer shoes or a newer car or a newer house or a newer wife or a newer hair style. Nobody pays any attention to what you're shooting.

I never even think about what others may think of what im shooting at the range . I bring what i want based on how williing i am ro clean it and how much ammo i have.

Swing said:

I had to kind of chuckle at this. For a million years I've been an auto guy and only dabbled with the wheel guns. The last 2-3 months I've gone positively revolver gonzo and have bought several. Will it last? Maybe, maybe not. But who cares, the ride is what matters.

Unless you really need the cash, just hang on to it until your tastes change, because, well, they will. If you need the dough now, sure, sell it off like any other item of value. No need to overthink it.

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We are similar in more than just screen names i was a die hard semi auto guy until a few years ago. I never saw the point of revolvers as they were "old" technology and obsolete.

I was essentially browbeat into buyinga gp100 a few years ago. A shooting buddy kept hounding me. I bought it fired it and have not purchased a semi auto since that wasn't a gift for someone else.

There will soon come a day when you are too old to rack the slide on your semi-autos, and be to stiff to bend over and police up your empty brass off the ground.

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I see that time coming someday. Even now I already I can say that my 50 year old hands and fingers get dry and cracked all the time. Loading magazines and racking slides isn't as easy as it used to be.

OldnTired said:

I feel like everyone wonders if I can afford some newer weapons.

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Good revolvers tend to be more expensive than the polymer autos.

I used to have stainless GP100 with the rosewood grips. I had to sell it during a financial rough patch. I miss it.

My favorite handguns, though, are single action revolvers for no other reason than the fact they feel the most right in my hand. I don't care that they're old school tech or that capacity is limited and tactical reloads are difficult to impossible. I also really don't care what others think of my choice in firearms. Life is way too short for such worries.

From what I read here, do you think it would be ok to break out my S&W 686 and see if it still shoots straight? I bought it new about 1985.

I feel like everyone wonders if I can afford some newer weapons.

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You shouldn't worry about what other people think it's ok to be self absorbed when picking what toy you want to play with.

FWIW I could sell just one of my "old revolvers" and buy a half dozen or more modern plastic guns with the money.

jmorris said:

You shouldn't worry about what other people think it's ok to be self absorbed when picking what toy you want to play with.

FWIW I could sell just one of my "old revolvers" and buy a half dozen or more modern plastic guns with the money.

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Well, IF that is what a person worries about, a GP100 isn't something people will look at and think "man that must be worth over $3,000"

True, but they are strong and make a better hammer than a plastic pistol.

Ok, the last part was a joke

My GP100 was stainless with a 4" barrel. I didn't care for it. It was accurate and easy to load for but too big to carry and too short to be fun. I sold it after owning it for about 5 years and have never missed it.

Most of my handguns are semi-automatic but I do own one revolver. It is an old Dan Wesson model 15-2. I don't take it out & shoot it as much as I do the semi's but I still like it & enjoy shooting it from time to time. I wouldn't sell the GP-100. I would hang on to it & take it out from time to time. I believe if you get rid of your revolver you will wind up missing it.

When I lose interest in one of my guns, I put it away and won't see it until I do my annual cleaning session. It feels good to pull an old friend out of the safe and handle it. I get a renewed appreciation for it, and start taking it to the range again. And then I'm glad I kept it.

OldnTired said:

maybe what I'm looking for is some revolver support, before I sell them off

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I'm late to the party, but let me add this: Not many have seen a good revolver shooter do their thing, and when they do, their tune isn't often one of disrespect.

That said, "good" revolver shooting isn't just slow firing at your favorite target while standing at a static firing line. In addition to good marksmanship (single and double action), it involves the draw, dynamic shooting on multiple targets, and, importantly, a speedy and efficient reload. I'm not talking about "Miculek good", either. Just check out the IPDA classifier, and even practice it, and/or the skills within it. If you can shoot the IDPA classifier with your GP100 at the Expert/Master level, you won't likely feel looked down upon.

OldnTired said:

I feel like everyone wonders if I can afford some newer weapons. I used to think my Ruger and S&W Revolvers were the coolest guns to own. So just to fit in I only pull out the semi-autos to go shoot now.

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Seems to me, like so many others folks, that you shoot to please/impress your peers and not to please/impress yourself. Only "cool" guns are to be shot. You feel you need to shoot pistols to "fit in" with others. It's not a bad thing. Just why you shoot.

I get dissed at the range and on gun forums both by others for some of the firearms I shoot. I could care less. I enjoy shooting what I always have. That does not mean I do not find new interests and do not enjoy shooting new and different firearms, I do. But I do it because I enjoy them or they impress me, not because others at the range think they are cool.

It do not matter to me why folks shoot, so don't take this as a dis. It only matters to me that folks DO shoot and they do it safely and responsibly. There are many folks like you. One reason we see so many pictures of guns on gun forums. Folks are trying to impress others. Why have Pythons prices gone thru the roof lately? Folks feel they need them because they are the new "cool"....similar to Harley-Davidson's back in 2003. Like many of those Harley's, those Pythons will sit unused and sold after the fad wears off. Again, not a bad thing, just how it is.

Part of the problem with revolvers, especially those like a GP100, is they are like the girl in high school with the plain face, good grades and dynamite body. She's the last one asked to the dance, one of those with no steady boyfriend. It's not till the five year reunion rolls around and she's learned how to dress and put on make-up that folks realize the potential she has.

revolvers, especially single actions, may politically outlast semiauto pistols in unfree states. if i were a semiauto guy i would be adding a couple of revolvers to my stash.


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jstert said:

revolvers, especially single actions, may politically outlast semiauto pistols in unfree states. if i were a semiauto guy i would be adding a couple of revolvers to my stash.

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If you are reduced to single action revolvers that probably means you need semi auto rifles

jstert said:

revolvers, especially single actions, may politically outlast semiauto pistols in unfree states. if i were a semiauto guy i would be adding a couple of revolvers to my stash.


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+1

And don't forget cap and ball percussion revolvers as well. Still plenty lethal and effective defense guns, and would be very hard to find since there are no (as of yet) Government mandates citing the applicability of law towards reproduction and authentic muzzle loading black powder handguns as pertains to ability to circumvent the traditional FFL system in this country.

If you're concerned about what others think, I'd like to offer this counter-proposal.

Shooting a revolver requires dedication and a willingness to think for one's self. Any yahoo can walk into an Academy Sports, ask for the "best defense gun," and walk out with a Glock 19.

However, someone at the range firing a GP100, or a 686, or the like, represents an individual who's done his homework. In spite of the fact the rest of the world has gone plastic fantastic, this individual has chosen to acquire a gun that's heavier, more difficult to learn to shoot, for which ammo (at least 357 mag ammo) costs more. This is someone who sees a purpose in the wheelgun that others missed.

What that purpose is doesn't matter. Might be nostalgia, might be reliability, might be versatility of caliber, might be more powerful caliber, etc. The point is, this is a person who's thinking for themselves. An individual. And if he/she is shooting magnum ammo, I'll go so far as to say this is a rugged individual.

To the extent that the opinions or impressions of others at the range matter (they don't), I will always smile and nod in approval at a person who's pulling out a service size revolver, as opposed to someone who's pulling out, yet another, polymer semi-auto, which is usually combined with the plastic Wal-Mart bags of cheap ammo they just bought on the way to the range.

It's kind of like seeing someone shooting an M1 Garand vs an AR.

Disclaimer, I shoot revolvers AND semi-autos, an M1 Garand AND an AR. I love them all. My point is simply, the impression you're making at the range might be significantly different than you think. Further, if you get good shooting that GP100 with really loud magnum ammo, your impression will be strong, and you might even find some people respecting your choices.

If that matters (it doesn't).

44 years ago I applied for my foid card, then bought my Ruger Security Six. Its still my go
to gun. My stable runneth over now but my Ruger is still my favorite.

Different strokes for different folks.

I find my wheel guns much more enjoyable to shoot. They're more accurate in my hands too.

Once I started reloading for my wheel guns, it opened another world of options too.

I enjoy my semi auto's, but my revolvers aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

If you truly feel that revolvers don't have a place in your collection, then get rid of them. I doubt you'll have trouble unloading them. BUT, I suspect you'll regret getting rid of them sooner or later.

I love my wheel guns

You just need to change your approach to how you live your life. Who gives a crap what other people do or think of you. I sure as hell don't. I love my semi autos but I have plenty of wheel guns also. Heck, it's quite fun to go into the range with my Smith & Wesson 629 44 mag and touch off six rounds of buffalo bore. Makes their tactical 9mm's look like kiddy toys. And at some point, you'll realize that all these other folks are not nearly as cool as you.[emoji6]

Actually I shoot revolvers more then I shoot semi autos. Seems a more elegant mechanism to me. I do shoot both on every range trip.

Let me guess: you live in SOUTHERN California?

When I was in my mid-20s, I did a couple of seasons of bike racing. I had a cheap bike I bought new, and another slightly better bike I bought used, also cheap. I wasn't good enough to win, but I could finish in the top 25% and enjoyed beating guys who'd spent four times as much money on their bikes.

Maybe worry about outshooting the guy in the next lane, rather than outspending him.