Anybody "unhappy" with their GP100? ..and sold it?

[AStone]

Millcreek and falling block.

Ah, right, right. Thanks.

Now, can you help me find my truck keys?

 

[Delmar]

jlh26oo, I can see why you might have issues shooting 38 Specials out of this particular revolver-the chambers are tight, to the point that when I resize the brass, you can barely tell that they have been through the resizing die. Not much wiggle room for shorter cases in this one. But, being a reloader, I can make up loads in 357 cases which approximate 38 Special pressures, so its all good.

For me, I will continue to run full strength loads through it and if I want something less powerful, I have a 9MM Beretta, which I also load for. I know a lot of people do not care to reload for the 9, but for me, reloading is an enjoyable hobby, and as with all of my rifles and pistols, I can tailor the load for best accuracy and do not care about the cost. I have proven to myself that my loads for my particular weapons are at least as accurate as any premium loads I can buy. Sure, I can get the cheap stuff and save all the bother, but the way I have it figured, I can roll my own for the same cost as the discount brands, and have premium accuracy and performance.

I wil be checking the trades!

 

[sendtoscott]

Besides, you should really question changing springs on a SD gun. Not the best thing to do unless you are prepared to massage the internals to reduce friction losses.

I just didn't want the gun I'd grab when something went bump in the night to be the only gun I don't take to the range because the trigger was uncomfortably heavy.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

My son sold me his GP100....and wants to buy it back.

 

[twoblink]

My son sold me his GP100....and wants to buy it back.

Sell it back to him for the price you paid... PLUS tuition

I thought Wolff springs got rid of the heavy trigger.. no?

 

[Stainz]

I bought a .454 SRH as my first-ever DA revolver. I wanted something DA to launch .45 Colts. I also liked the high tech materials and ergonomics. Over the years, I shot over four hundred hot .454 Casull rounds - and thousands of .45 Colts. I even tried lighter springs - for a day... hearing a click when you expect a boom is not fun. The trigger broke in to a decent level of smoothness and effort. The lockwork and grip, of course, were from the GP-100.

I'll digress re the 'short case' problem. When a longer round is shoved in a chamber that has discharged several shorter cased rounds, the crud ring can do more than make you shove it in harder... it can slow down the opening of the case's crimp, causing a pressure spike that could be harmful to your revolver. Proper cleaning here includes the use of plain old Hoppes, a properly sized CHAMBER brush (Longer and larger in OD than the same caliber bore brush - try Brownell's, etc.), and time (ie, allow some time for the solvent to 'work'.). This is important here for the .44 Russians and Specials in .44 Magnum chambers as well as the .38 in .357 Magnum chambers... and the .45 in .454 chambers.

Being analytical - and frugal - isn't always fun. I decided a GP-100 would be my next DA revolver - S&W's were too high - and many dealers quite frankly weren't as fond of them for a while. The much heralded heft of the GP-100 meant it was more stout - even felt 'nose heavy' - I liked the grips. Sadly, I compared it to a 6-shot 686. The shrouded full lug of the GP-100 looked heavier - but it, and the other main parts, are cast - the S&W is forged and heat-treated... everyone knows that a smaller forged/heat treated piece is stronger than a more massive cast piece. Ah, but check their respective catalogs and compare the 4" SS - Ruger KGP-141 41 oz vs S&W SKU 164222 40 oz - hardly more massive. The deal breaker for both, at least in my eye, was the full lug or shroud - I love the traditional look - the S&W 'Mountain Gun' is perfect in my eyes. Neither were suitable - I bought a new 66 - with the lock - and shot homebrew .38's... until last fall, when I found the S&W 'Stocking Dealer Exclusive' - a 5" 7-shot 686 with a half lug and Hi-Viz/V-notch sights - perfection! Nope - no GP-100's here.

The final straw was the poor QC exhibited by my last SA purchases - and that .45 Redhawk I ordered 3/04. Since every KGP-141 I handled at local stores had tool marks/flaws evident, I wouldn't take the chance... sorry, Ruger.

Stainz

 

[jlh26oo]

Proper cleaning here includes the use of plain old Hoppes, a properly sized CHAMBER brush (Longer and larger in OD than the same caliber bore brush

Yeah, you can't just use a .357 brush in the chambers, too small. I went with a .40 brush, and found copper/lead solvent (little more potent if you can take the smell) made a much quicker job of it.

While I'll disagree with you on the whole "strength" debate, it might be a factor if you were talking about rupturing the frame itself (forged vs cast that is). But the problems that will most likely arise from a lifetime of hot loads are more in the way of timing being off, lockup eventually not being as tight, etc- These type of things are more dependent the construction of the parts (as opposed to the frame itself), the overall design, and the integrity of the mechanisms working and fitting together under abuse (like how the cylinder locks up at three points). And further I have heard that some ammo companies use GP's to test their hot loads (not first hand knowledge btw, and let me know if some of them us a SW for testing ).

Anyways, you might have a point regarding ruger QC. I had to look at quite a few GP's before I found a perfect one. When I discovered the following "flaw" (if you can call it that) in more than half of the gp's I looked at in three houston shops, I decided I would not roll the dice and buy it online: There is a tiny screw on the exterior of the revolver, behind the cylinder on the left side, in an upside-down recess. On over HALF of the specific models I looked at, this screw was badly mangled. NOt sure if it's a big deal or not, I don't think anyone would ever need to get to it. Probably not many people notice it's even there. But it bothered me, and I considered it a qc issue. Kind of annoyed some shop clerks, my demanding to inspect every last one they had in the back (of course the shop that humored my request w/the least douchery got my business).

I'm sure all brands have their little issues like this, but it is just something SUPER minor I would alert potential GP buyers to check out, if that sort of thing bothers them (don't worry delmar- that particular screw on yours is perfect )

 

[bearmgc]

Any gunsmith worth his salt can do a trigger and action job on a GP100 to make it run like silk. It cost $75.00 on mine and its a beauty to shoot. If comparing price of the gunsmithed Ruger to the 686, it may be cheaper, if talking new gun. I've never had any light primer strikes or problems with mine.

 

[HighVelocity]

I had a blued 4" GP100 and it was the least accurate revolver I'd ever seen. Traded it for a 4" 686 and never looked back.

 

[mitchshrader]

GP100s are strong pistols, but..

smiths might be a little smoother and MAYBE more accurate (or at least, easier to Shoot accurately) out of the box..

and if you shoot either one enough to wear it much you'll be older when it happens..

i'd suggest that shooting lightweight uberfast .357s full time in a smith isn't as smart as it might be.. and yeah, it WILL knock em outa time, eventually, as will cowboying around.. (which of course NO ONE ever does, right?)..

shooting a smith won't wear it out nearly as fast as abusing it will.

but if i WAS gonna see a gun abused, i'd rather it was a ruger anyway.