Riomouse911
Member
Prior to picking up the Colt Cobra in the other review, I also stepped into a GP-100 in .44 Spl., paying just over $600.00 OTD. The following is a brief range review.
Fit and finish:
The revolver is a polished stainless, and yes, it’s ALL steel. The gun looks chunky with the unfluted cylinder sitting below a wide, flat topstrap. The 3” full lug barrel gives it a very nose-heavy look, but that is a bit deceiving as it actually balanced well. The gun was well polished on the exterior, with no machine marks on the outside. Inside, there were some minor machining marks on the bottom of the cylinder window, the recoil shield, and near the forcing cone. This is purely cosmetic, but they are there and make getting powder/lead residue off of those surfaces a bit tougher.
The sideplate finish was very good, with just a hint of a fingernail-snag if I ran it over the seam between the trigger and grip. The release latch pushes in and is easy to reach and operated without issue. The barrel has a full lug to add a bit of weight, and the ejector rod pulls empties without any cases sticking in the cylinder. It’s a Ruger so it has that stupid “read instruction manual” garbage plastered on the left side of the barrel, and a big (and wholly appropriate) “Ruger GP 100” on the right.
When it first arrived, IMHO it looked unbalanced with the short (3") barrel on the opposite end of the full sized rubber grip. I felt that it needed either a ½” or so longer barrel, or a smaller grip, to “look right.” I thought about finding some smaller grips, one with a bit less length. When shooting heavier loads, the grip grew on me and they ended up being just right in the hand.
The gun came with a lockable fitted gray “Ruger” hard case with a “Ruger” padlock, instruction manuals, yellow empty-cylinder insert, and a zip-loc baggie with a copper hammer-disassembly pin inside.
Sights and trigger:
As I wrote in the Colt review; I have never liked the external appearance of “Hi-viz” style sights. To me they seem to be too big and look too fragile, and I have just never liked them. These are a bit different; the pipe is not as open and exposed, and there is a bit more “Patridge Blade” in its appearance than most of the Hi-viz sights I have seen. The green insert did glow well in broad daylight, and like the Colt sight it was very easy to pick up. The rear sight is an adjustable unit with an all-black blade set in a shallow groove in the topstrap for protection. The sight picture is a classic flat blade squared-off “U” in the rear, with the front sight having a large green dot. Up close and at arm’s length the front sight fits pretty well into the rear sight notch, and the front left just enough light on either side to make side-to-side adjustments easy to do. The front dot does sit low enough to have a tiny bit of “eclipse” when held with the “top of the front sight even with the top of the rear sight” alignment that I am used to. The front is not as friendly as the one on the Colt, but it is a good sight system none the less.
The trigger felt a bit over 9 lbs in DA, and over 4 lbs in SA modes. I don’t have a trigger pull gauge, but it seemed to fit into these weights. The trigger press is a smooth arc, with a noticeable stack in the last ¼” or so of travel. Unlike the Colt, the GP 100 is easy to “stage,” with the click of the cylinder stop hitting home in the notch clearly heard even with plugs on. Once it is staged one can align the sights with the bullseye for the final bit of travel.
Shooting observations:
As I stated the grip looked funky at first, but shooting a mix of lead 200 gr RNFP and 200 gr Berry’s plated HP’s powered by Unique, recoil with the stouter plated loads became noticeable. A smaller grip would have made the gun a bit easier to conceal, but a lot less controllable. For me, shooting a larger revolver with adjustable sights usually involves firing at least six shots, and I will say that the fifth and final shot came and went awfully fast. Luckily the shots were on-target and moving with some energy behind them, so should it be used in a defensive manner a solid hit with an appropriate bullet should show some effect.
The first 10 shots were fired at 7 yards into a 4” circle, with the shots landing a bit high and to the right of center for me. This may be a result of my tendency to occasionally flinch, or the sights being off a touch, but it is easily remedied with effort (flinch) or the turn of the screwdriver (sights off).
I then shot a 30-round qualification course with the same batch of mixed ammo consisting of 200 gr LFN and 200 gr Berrys plated hp reloads. I fired 5 shots each, starting at 15, 12 10, 7, 5 and back again to 7 yards. As I said before, I am no match-grade shooter but the DA pull was smooth enough to keep me in the scoring box for all 30 shots again.
As with any medium-framed, hammer-spur equipped revolver, draws from concealment are a bit tougher than with a bobbed, shrouded, or enclosed hammer revolver. Again I had to place my shooting-hand thumb over the hammer spur (with my trigger finger ALONGSIDE the frame) while drawing to keep it from snagging on my shirt. Again, this is a rather bulky revolver, so this may not be the best choice for concealment under summer-type clothes. Under a cool-weather jacket in a hip or a shoulder rig, this gun would carry just fine.
Closing:
This is a fun gun for those who are looking for a bomb-proof .44 Special-chambered gun. The pros are: a good trigger, 5 shots of potentially stout ammo for black bear/fishing use, it is well made, good adjustable sights, it is accurate, and good factory grips. The cons are: it is a bit heavy/bulky for only 5-shots, and with the adjustable sights offering a good sight picture I think a bit longer sight radius of ½” would make it a bit more versatile and balance the looks a bit better. As it sits the GP 100 .44 Spl. will be the perfect tool for hunting camp wear, fishing in black bear country, or for having handy around the farm to pop a coyote or dispatch injured critters.
Stay safe!
Fit and finish:
The revolver is a polished stainless, and yes, it’s ALL steel. The gun looks chunky with the unfluted cylinder sitting below a wide, flat topstrap. The 3” full lug barrel gives it a very nose-heavy look, but that is a bit deceiving as it actually balanced well. The gun was well polished on the exterior, with no machine marks on the outside. Inside, there were some minor machining marks on the bottom of the cylinder window, the recoil shield, and near the forcing cone. This is purely cosmetic, but they are there and make getting powder/lead residue off of those surfaces a bit tougher.
The sideplate finish was very good, with just a hint of a fingernail-snag if I ran it over the seam between the trigger and grip. The release latch pushes in and is easy to reach and operated without issue. The barrel has a full lug to add a bit of weight, and the ejector rod pulls empties without any cases sticking in the cylinder. It’s a Ruger so it has that stupid “read instruction manual” garbage plastered on the left side of the barrel, and a big (and wholly appropriate) “Ruger GP 100” on the right.
When it first arrived, IMHO it looked unbalanced with the short (3") barrel on the opposite end of the full sized rubber grip. I felt that it needed either a ½” or so longer barrel, or a smaller grip, to “look right.” I thought about finding some smaller grips, one with a bit less length. When shooting heavier loads, the grip grew on me and they ended up being just right in the hand.
The gun came with a lockable fitted gray “Ruger” hard case with a “Ruger” padlock, instruction manuals, yellow empty-cylinder insert, and a zip-loc baggie with a copper hammer-disassembly pin inside.
Sights and trigger:
As I wrote in the Colt review; I have never liked the external appearance of “Hi-viz” style sights. To me they seem to be too big and look too fragile, and I have just never liked them. These are a bit different; the pipe is not as open and exposed, and there is a bit more “Patridge Blade” in its appearance than most of the Hi-viz sights I have seen. The green insert did glow well in broad daylight, and like the Colt sight it was very easy to pick up. The rear sight is an adjustable unit with an all-black blade set in a shallow groove in the topstrap for protection. The sight picture is a classic flat blade squared-off “U” in the rear, with the front sight having a large green dot. Up close and at arm’s length the front sight fits pretty well into the rear sight notch, and the front left just enough light on either side to make side-to-side adjustments easy to do. The front dot does sit low enough to have a tiny bit of “eclipse” when held with the “top of the front sight even with the top of the rear sight” alignment that I am used to. The front is not as friendly as the one on the Colt, but it is a good sight system none the less.
The trigger felt a bit over 9 lbs in DA, and over 4 lbs in SA modes. I don’t have a trigger pull gauge, but it seemed to fit into these weights. The trigger press is a smooth arc, with a noticeable stack in the last ¼” or so of travel. Unlike the Colt, the GP 100 is easy to “stage,” with the click of the cylinder stop hitting home in the notch clearly heard even with plugs on. Once it is staged one can align the sights with the bullseye for the final bit of travel.
Shooting observations:
As I stated the grip looked funky at first, but shooting a mix of lead 200 gr RNFP and 200 gr Berry’s plated HP’s powered by Unique, recoil with the stouter plated loads became noticeable. A smaller grip would have made the gun a bit easier to conceal, but a lot less controllable. For me, shooting a larger revolver with adjustable sights usually involves firing at least six shots, and I will say that the fifth and final shot came and went awfully fast. Luckily the shots were on-target and moving with some energy behind them, so should it be used in a defensive manner a solid hit with an appropriate bullet should show some effect.
The first 10 shots were fired at 7 yards into a 4” circle, with the shots landing a bit high and to the right of center for me. This may be a result of my tendency to occasionally flinch, or the sights being off a touch, but it is easily remedied with effort (flinch) or the turn of the screwdriver (sights off).
I then shot a 30-round qualification course with the same batch of mixed ammo consisting of 200 gr LFN and 200 gr Berrys plated hp reloads. I fired 5 shots each, starting at 15, 12 10, 7, 5 and back again to 7 yards. As I said before, I am no match-grade shooter but the DA pull was smooth enough to keep me in the scoring box for all 30 shots again.
As with any medium-framed, hammer-spur equipped revolver, draws from concealment are a bit tougher than with a bobbed, shrouded, or enclosed hammer revolver. Again I had to place my shooting-hand thumb over the hammer spur (with my trigger finger ALONGSIDE the frame) while drawing to keep it from snagging on my shirt. Again, this is a rather bulky revolver, so this may not be the best choice for concealment under summer-type clothes. Under a cool-weather jacket in a hip or a shoulder rig, this gun would carry just fine.
Closing:
This is a fun gun for those who are looking for a bomb-proof .44 Special-chambered gun. The pros are: a good trigger, 5 shots of potentially stout ammo for black bear/fishing use, it is well made, good adjustable sights, it is accurate, and good factory grips. The cons are: it is a bit heavy/bulky for only 5-shots, and with the adjustable sights offering a good sight picture I think a bit longer sight radius of ½” would make it a bit more versatile and balance the looks a bit better. As it sits the GP 100 .44 Spl. will be the perfect tool for hunting camp wear, fishing in black bear country, or for having handy around the farm to pop a coyote or dispatch injured critters.
Stay safe!
Couldn't help myself so I went ahead and added a 5-shot GP100 in .44 Special to my fall / winter carry rotation. I now have both the short barrel model 69 S&W and the 3" GP100. The " heir" has a "spare". Got a carry gun and a range toy. Looks like I need to get an El Paso Saddelry General Patton two-gun rig, or just carry one in the belt holster and the other in my Miami Classic shoulder rig... LOL 
