Best thing I've ever left Home Depot with/SP101

[stonebuster]

Perhaps you know of this already, but there is a way to remove the cylinder from the equation. Swing it out and use a punch (or whatever fits) to depress the pin in the recoil shield. I don't know the name of the pin, but it's the one directly effected by the cylinder latch, where the cylinder locks into the rear of the frame below the firing pin.

Anyhow, if you depress that, you can pull the trigger rearward and so cycle the action. If the hitch is still present, it's not cause by B/C friction, or the pawl/ratchet interaction.

Good advice, thanks. That narrows it down a bit as it's still present with the pin depressed and cycled. Maybe I'm spoiled because both my more well used GP 100s triggers are smooth as silk after a couple thousand rounds. The bc gap is .006-.007 pushed back and the cylinder is almost touching the forcing cone measuring .0015 when pushed forward but obviously not causing the hitch in the trigger.

 

[Sistema1927]

We followed state law to the letter. Both of us are pistol permit holders and residents of the state. We filled out the 4 copies of the DPS form. One copy to the Special licensing and firearms div.(state), one for the purchaser, seller, and my local police dept. We called special licensing and firearms division for an authorization number along with our pistol permit numbers and other personal information which is all included on the DPS forms provided to the agencies and us to be retained for twenty years. We have some of the strictest gun laws in the nation and all were followed.

That is one of the saddest things that I have ever read.

Don't get me wrong, I am glad that you were able to complete the transaction and get your SP101, but those are the types of hoops that the Founders envisioned when they wrote "shall not be infringed". Sigh.

 

[RugRev]

I wonder if the hitch in the pull is at the point where the transition occurs from the hammer dog to the double action sear in cocking? If so there are remedies. My SP is smooth throughout the pull.

 

[stonebuster]

I wonder if the hitch in the pull is at the point where the transition occurs from the hammer dog to the double action sear in cocking? If so there are remedies. My SP is smooth throughout the pull.

If you put a light behind your SP and see the B/C gap and cycle your gun does the gap narrow? When my trigger gets back 1/2 inch it hits the wall(hitch) and I have to use more force and get past the hitch at which point the cylinder comes forward narrowing B/C gap and firing.

 

[RugRev]

The gap does tend to narrow a bit. I have a hunch this is due to there being endshake and pressure from the hand/pawl pushing the cylinder a bit forward along with rotating the cylinder. Also, the front of the cylinder may not be totally true. On one of my Rugers there was a slight hitch so ordered a couple of extra hammer dogs from
Ruger and found one that solved the problem. On one of the Ruger Forums several years back there was a string on the subject and how to fix. Here is a video showing
how the double action works I found:

https://www.sp101trigger.com/trigger.html

 

[stonebuster]

Thanks RRev, I'll do a search. My "hitch" is more than slight if I pull the hammer back slowly. A quick trigger pull is less noticeable but it's enough to throw aim off. I've dry fired a lot hoping to smooth a rough edge or dislodge a burr.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Nice pickup. The SP101 is a great little revolver and a 3" was my first handgun.

 

[Godsgunman]

Love my 101, it's my go to carry option. Slap on some medium Hogue grips and even 357 will feel pretty good. These grips practically mold to my hand.

 

[Armored farmer]

You got yourself a pretty rugged and potent carry gun there.
Welcome to the club!

 

[stonebuster]

Thanks. I've got to send it to New Hampshire for a short vacation. I think I found out why the seller sold it. It's on it's journey back to the mother ship and I'm hoping the repair process will go as well as it did last time I dealt with CS. Oh well, that's what I get for buying a gun at Home Depot.

 

[FL-NC]

Wish I kept mine instead of giving it to one of my exes (before she became a x).

 

[stonebuster]

I called Ruger CS on Fri.afternoon Nov 30 and they sent me a prepaid shipping label immediately. I took my package to FedEx 12 noon Sat Dec. 1st, it was delivered to Ruger in Newport,NH at 10:20am Monday Dec. 3rd and I was notified by Ruger. On Tues. Dec 4th 5:56am I recieved an email Ruger was prepping the gun for return shipping. Assuming the gun is indeed fixed, that's pretty amazing CS.

 

[Blkhrt13]

You would think they know every gun they make in and out and excactly what they need to do to get them back to good.

 

[FLNT4EVR]

My SP101 goes with me everywhere .Absolutely reliable ,accurate,and will handle anything I feed it. My usual carry load is the 158 grn lswhp +p ,the old FBI load .Very manageable ,and plenty powerful enough for self defense.If I feel more may be necessary a 158 sjhp in 357 is my choice.

 

[tuckerdog1]

Hope Ruger got the trigger smoothed out for you. I've had an SP101 with the normal hammer for years. Every time one like yours pops up for sale on Texas Gun Trader, I'm tempted to grab it up. I just keep coming back to liking the SA/DA option. Nice looking gun though. Pretty sure you're going to really like it. I've never had issues with shooting 357 mag in mine. Wouldn't want to do it all afternoon, but a box or two not a big deal.

Sorry you have to jump through a bunch of hoops just to exercise your 2A right. Down here it's not unusual to find firearms for sale at garage sales. Plunk down your money & go home with a new gun. The last gun I sold was also sold in the parking lot of the local Home Depot.

Tuckerdog1

 

[tuckerdog1]

You got yourself a pretty rugged and potent carry gun there.
Welcome to the club!
View attachment 813891

Good looking grip inserts.

Tuckerdog1

 

[stonebuster]

Ruger says I'll get the gun back Friday sometime. I got an email Tues. at 5:36 am from Ruger saying they were having a tech look at the gun. At 5:56am I got another email saying the gun has been repaired. Hope they got it right.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Nice chunky little .357 revolvers. This one has the factory DAO only hammer.

 

[stonebuster]

C&L That's my gun alright. I like the grips your gun is sporting. Where did you get the inserts?

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Bought them off Ebay years ago. Search for SP101 Stag Grips...just checked, several sets on there.

 

[someguy2800]

Dry firing I noticed the trigger had a big hitch in the pull about the time the transfer bar was coming up over the firing pin if I pulled the trigger slowly. Hopefully that's normal and will smooth out with use.

When I bought my SP101 I went to a rental range to try one out first. Several times while shooting it double action the gun would lock up and I could not physically get it to keep going. I brought it up with the gunsmith and we fiddled with it and determined the transfer bar was hitting the firing pin and stopping rather than riding up and over it.

When I bought mine it had the same problem. If you would dry fire it while pointed down it would lock up. I disassembled it and put a small chamfer on the top of the transfer bar to give it a ramp to ride over the firing pin. No issues after that.

After he threatened to steal mine about 30 times I also bought one just like mine for my father in law. When I was checking his out and tuning it up I also noticed that the transfer bar hung up on his too, but not enough to jam the action. I took his apart and fixed it as well before giving it too him.

If you are going to address this or have someone do it for you, do yourself a favor and install a Wolff or Wilson spring kit while your in there. SP101 are very easy to take appart and put back together. There are some good instructions on the internet on how to disassemble and slick them up. It makes a massive improvement.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1004158679/wilson-combat-custom-tune-spring-kit-ruger-sp101

https://www.sp101trigger.com/

 

[WrongHanded]

Ruger says I'll get the gun back Friday sometime. I got an email Tues. at 5:36 am from Ruger saying they were having a tech look at the gun. At 5:56am I got another email saying the gun has been repaired. Hope they got it right.

If they send details of the repair work, let us know what it is. It's always nice to see a problem fixed.

 

[stonebuster]

Will do. Anxious to get it back. It's weird the gun was in Newark New Jersey this morning. It went from New Hampshire to New Jersey on it's way to Connecticut. They should have tossed it out of the plane when they flew over my house.

 

[stonebuster]

When I bought my SP101 I went to a rental range to try one out first. Several times while shooting it double action the gun would lock up and I could not physically get it to keep going. I brought it up with the gunsmith and we fiddled with it and determined the transfer bar was hitting the firing pin and stopping rather than riding up and over it.

When I bought mine it had the same problem. If you would dry fire it while pointed down it would lock up. I disassembled it and put a small chamfer on the top of the transfer bar to give it a ramp to ride over the firing pin. No issues after that.

After he threatened to steal mine about 30 times I also bought one just like mine for my father in law. When I was checking his out and tuning it up I also noticed that the transfer bar hung up on his too, but not enough to jam the action. I took his apart and fixed it as well before giving it too him.

If you are going to address this or have someone do it for you, do yourself a favor and install a Wolff or Wilson spring kit while your in there. SP101 are very easy to take appart and put back together. There are some good instructions on the internet on how to disassemble and slick them up. It makes a massive improvement.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1004158679/wilson-combat-custom-tune-spring-kit-ruger-sp101

https://www.sp101trigger.com/

Thanks for the info. The gun is on it's way back to me from Ruger. I do have 10# Wolff spring coming from Brownell's and it won't be here for a week. The gun had a replacement spring when I sent it in but Ruger probably put the 14# factory spring back in. The previous owner didn't give the the original main spring so I couldn't switch it out before I sent the gun back. Hopefully Ruger didn't notice the hammer dog shims I installed, they were a PIA to install with my big fat fingers and bad eyesight. I did think it could have been the transfer bar catching and then jumping over. That's what it felt like but I tried holding the gun in every possible angle and it hung up every time. Tomorrow I'll know if it's fixed and hopefully what was wrong which I'll post.

 

[stonebuster]

I got the SP back today fixed. They got it Monday and I got it back today, Friday, no charge. Can't beat that. They replaced the hammer dog and adjusted the end shake that I asked them to check. Pushed forward I measured the BC gap at well less than .002 before repairs. Before the repairs, when I held the gun up to the light so I could see the BC gap and pulled the trigger the cylinder came forward and nearly rubbed the forcing cone. It doesn't do that now. The trigger pull is smooth but heavy like all SPs with a 14# spring. I've got a spring set coming next week. I'd bet the seller got rid of it because of the problem but it worked out for me. I got a new last March model 5720 SP101 with a nice set of Pachmayr wood grips for $450. RugRev diagnosed the hammer dog problem in post #28. Thanks everyone for all the advice. I learn a lot here.