Damon555
Member
The Lipsey's 44 special that I put on layaway at the beginning of this month showed up at my FFL dealer today thanks to my holiday bonus! My initial inspection of the revolver turned up no glaring deficiencies so it was accepted and taken back to my man cave for a cursory cleaning. After a few swabs from a patch and a dab of oil it was off to the range.
I had 4 different loads to try. I was a little worried because I had put the cart before the horse and ordered a pretty good quantity of 180 and 200 grain cast bullets from MBC.....The chance of them not shooting well was in the forefront of my mind because of the cash I had already spent......I was put at ease with the very first group of five.......it shot excellent! The sights we only slightly off and it didn't take much time to get it dialed in. Once my preferred sight picture was achieved (a six-o'clock hold) it shot all 4 loads very well......one was noticeably better than the others though. Much to my relief it shot the 180 grain RNFP into an oblong hole, rested at 15 yards. Luckily, very accurate for an educated guess on what powder and charge weight to use.....7.6 grains of Unique worked like a charm......The other 3 loads used Universal as the powder and were loaded on the lighter side.....If I step them up a little I'm pretty sure that they will tighten up some.....Although not as accurate as the Unique load they still shot into the size of a quarter or so.....not too shabby.
The sights are very nice IMHO.....I love a front fiber-optic sight and this one did not disappoint. Extremely easy to see at the dimly lit range. The sight picture is perfect for my not-so-good close up eyesight too. The rear sight adjusted easily and predictably.....typical of all the Ruger revolvers that I've shot.
The trigger is one of the finest factory offerings that I've ever felt. Right up there with any of the S&W revolvers that I've handled and much nicer than any other new Ruger that has crossed my bench. It's so nice in fact, that I swear it has had some trigger work done to it.....but I don't think that Lipsey's does anything to them.....Who knows, maybe Ruger is ahead of the game when it comes to new model revolver triggers? I was within a millimeter of ordering a wolf spring kit for it even before the gun showed up....I'm glad I didn't waste my money!
I should also mention that the 5" barrel seems to be perfect for the GP100....it is very balanced as opposed to the 6" 357 version that I have which is slightly nose heavy (even more so while wearing a red dot)
The 2 other 44 special revolvers that came along with me were a Taurus 445 that I recently traded for and my Charter Arms Bulldog. The Bulldog has proven itself to be pretty accurate and easy to conceal so it gets carried more than any other gun that I own......It's a fine weapon for its intended purpose as a carry piece.....although not much fun to shoot at the range! The Taurus is quite soft shooting....the ported barrel and soft rubber grips are responsible for its "shootability". Once I get a load tailored to its fixed sights I'm sure it will be a pleasure to shoot too.....it shot pretty high with my reloads so I'll need to go back to the drawing board on that one.
I have no idea why I've fallen for the 44 special.....but the ability to go from mild to wild with my reloads really makes this a great caliber.....From powder-puff to "dead-right-there" the modern 44 special is a great option for those looking for something a little different.
I had 4 different loads to try. I was a little worried because I had put the cart before the horse and ordered a pretty good quantity of 180 and 200 grain cast bullets from MBC.....The chance of them not shooting well was in the forefront of my mind because of the cash I had already spent......I was put at ease with the very first group of five.......it shot excellent! The sights we only slightly off and it didn't take much time to get it dialed in. Once my preferred sight picture was achieved (a six-o'clock hold) it shot all 4 loads very well......one was noticeably better than the others though. Much to my relief it shot the 180 grain RNFP into an oblong hole, rested at 15 yards. Luckily, very accurate for an educated guess on what powder and charge weight to use.....7.6 grains of Unique worked like a charm......The other 3 loads used Universal as the powder and were loaded on the lighter side.....If I step them up a little I'm pretty sure that they will tighten up some.....Although not as accurate as the Unique load they still shot into the size of a quarter or so.....not too shabby.
The sights are very nice IMHO.....I love a front fiber-optic sight and this one did not disappoint. Extremely easy to see at the dimly lit range. The sight picture is perfect for my not-so-good close up eyesight too. The rear sight adjusted easily and predictably.....typical of all the Ruger revolvers that I've shot.
The trigger is one of the finest factory offerings that I've ever felt. Right up there with any of the S&W revolvers that I've handled and much nicer than any other new Ruger that has crossed my bench. It's so nice in fact, that I swear it has had some trigger work done to it.....but I don't think that Lipsey's does anything to them.....Who knows, maybe Ruger is ahead of the game when it comes to new model revolver triggers? I was within a millimeter of ordering a wolf spring kit for it even before the gun showed up....I'm glad I didn't waste my money!
I should also mention that the 5" barrel seems to be perfect for the GP100....it is very balanced as opposed to the 6" 357 version that I have which is slightly nose heavy (even more so while wearing a red dot)
The 2 other 44 special revolvers that came along with me were a Taurus 445 that I recently traded for and my Charter Arms Bulldog. The Bulldog has proven itself to be pretty accurate and easy to conceal so it gets carried more than any other gun that I own......It's a fine weapon for its intended purpose as a carry piece.....although not much fun to shoot at the range! The Taurus is quite soft shooting....the ported barrel and soft rubber grips are responsible for its "shootability". Once I get a load tailored to its fixed sights I'm sure it will be a pleasure to shoot too.....it shot pretty high with my reloads so I'll need to go back to the drawing board on that one.
I have no idea why I've fallen for the 44 special.....but the ability to go from mild to wild with my reloads really makes this a great caliber.....From powder-puff to "dead-right-there" the modern 44 special is a great option for those looking for something a little different.
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