New (to me) Ruger GP-100

[Dave Markowitz]

I went up to Surplus City tonight to turn my Norinco trench gun into something more practical (for me anyway). I did an even trade and came home with a used Ruger GP-100, stainless, 3" barrel. I've had the hankering for a GP-100 since shooting RON in PA's 3" blued model a little while ago.

He had a few of these GP-100s in stock, a couple with the standard size grip, and the one I got, which has a slightly shorter grip. Aside from the smaller grip, I got this one because it has the best trigger pull. DA is quite smooth and SA is good, too. The gun has definitely been shot a bit. It was actually the dirtiest of the bunch. I had to use Flitz metal polish to get black stains out of the cylinder flutes, and the bore and chambers are still soaking in Kroil. It has a few dings and the grips show some wear, but overall it's in nice shape.

I'm hoping to take it out tomorrow night and run some .38s through it. The indoor range where I'll go doesn't permit magnums, unfortunately. Based on shooting RON's similar revolver, the grips will soak up magnum recoil amazingly well.

If this gun shoots as good as I hope, it may replace my Model 28 in the lockbox as my house gun. I'd be upset if this got seized after a shooting but I'd cry if the Model 28 got taken away.

 

[PlayTheAces]

If this gun shoots as good as I hope, it may replace my Model 28 in the lockbox as my house gun. I'd be upset if this got seized after a shooting but I'd cry if the Model 28 got taken away.

Funny you should say that. For close to thirty years my HD gun has always been a S&W, first a 28, then a 547, currently a 60. I've been seriously considering retiring the 60 to the safe and using my GP100 as a house gun for the pretty much the reason you stated, besides gaining an extra round.

Has your new toy had an action job, or is the smooth DA pull the result of being broken in? The stout pull on mine is why it's one of my least fired guns - I'm considering replacement springs to see if it makes for any improvement.

 

[JohnKSa]

By picking the one with the nice trigger, you probably ended up picking the one that had been shot the most.

My first gun, a GP100 has been shot a LOT. Recently, a friend of mine had a chance to handle it and commented that the trigger was very good. Turns out he had a pro do a trigger job on his (smoothing and lighter return spring) and he thought that the trigger on my gun was as good as the one that had been reworked.

I've noticed this phenomenon with my Ruger P89DC. First time to the range, all I could think about was the horrible trigger. After years of dry-firing and a few thousand rounds, it now has a very passable trigger in both SA and DA. In fact, it's gone from being a crummy 9mm surplus disposal (I bought it to shoot cheap surplus ammo f questionable quality) to one of my more favored pistols.

 

[fallingblock]

Nice revolver, Dave....

I recently bought a similar but 4" GP-100 and it is very comfortable to shoot. The DA trigger is a bit rough, but the SA is good to go out of the box.
Mine has the short grip as well, I believe these are standard on the fixed-sight GP-100's. They are more comfortable to my hand than the larger grip.

I think the GP-100 is the most rugged revolver available today.

It must take a lot of shooting to ever wear one out.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

I doubt that it's had an action job. I forgot to mention that it's a piece that Century Arms imported from somewhere abroad. Maybe Canada, but I'm not sure. It was definitely the one with the most mileage on it, I could tell that just by looking at it. It was filthy before I cleaned it up and took the pic above.

 

[Gary A]

I got one of the Century Arms 3 inchers (just like in the Photo) a while back. Mine is superb. Curiously, it looked a little beat up with a lot of scuffing of the stainless but I don't think mine was fired that much. The trigger is a bit heavy but relatively smooth. The forcing cone looks pristine. There is no circular impression around the firing pin hole. There is absolutely no evidence of cutting or marking on the top strap above the cylinder gap. The cylinder locks up absolutely rock solid on each chamber. To be fair, he had several and I picked the tightest one, the others being not quite as well done. I looked up the serial number range and it has been around a few years but I forget now the time frame. Mine actually replaced a newer version I had bought simply because it is put together so much better. I love GP100s but have found it serves me to look them over for fit and finish sometimes. My C.A.I. GP is not as "pretty" as the one I released but, I think, it is a better gun and should last longer than I do.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Range report

Along with RON in PA (Dad) I got the GP-100 out to the range this afternoon. I am a happy camper.

We stopped at the local Dick's Sporting Goods on the way, where Dad picked up some 12 gauge ammo for the Remington 870 riot gun police trade-in that he picked up last night. He got a mix of 00 buck and slugs, all Remingtons. Dick's was running a special on Ultramax commercial reloads. I was able to pick up a 200 round box of .38 Special 158 grain LSWCs for $29.95 + tax.

Dad and I got to Lower Providence Rod & Gun Club at about a quarter to 3:00, signed in, and drove down to the 50 yard outdoors range. The way this range is setup requires that you move the firing point for different distances, rather than moving the targets. This is something of a PITA, since everyone has to shoot at the same distance. When we got there it was already occupied with another pistol shooter, and a trap shooter who wanted to pattern his shotgun at 25 yards. So, we started out there instead of a shorter range.

The Ruger shoots a few inches to the right at 25 yards. Elevation with the .38s is about dead on, while Sellier & Bellot 158 grain .357 JSPs shot a couple inches high at that range. I also put a few cylinder fulls downrange with my S&W Model 15. The 1" longer sight radius on the Smith makes it noticeably easier to shoot accurately than the 3" barreled Ruger.

Dad put several slugs downrange from 25 yards. The 870 has an 18" cylinder bore barrel with a bead sight. Once he figured out POA/POI, he was able to get a group of about 3". Not bad for a guy who's half blind in his right eye.

Mr. Trap finally wrapped things up and we were able to move up to about 7 yards. I practiced my rapid double action shooting and except when I flinched a few times, kept them all on my pie plate targets. Dad patterned the 00 buck at this range, and it's POI is right about POA, with a pattern about 6" - 8" across. Good enough for across a room, but not that much further. Different ammo may pattern better.

As noted above I ran both standard - P .38s and some full-bore .357s through the Ruger, probably about 150 rounds total. It has a good deal of muzzle flip with the .357s but it's controllable with practice. This is due in large measure to Ruger's OUTSTANDING job designing the GP-100's grip. It soaks up recoil incredibly well, better than any other revolver (DA or SA) I've ever shot. In contrast, I have a set of Uncle Mike's Boot Grips on my Model 15, and they do a terrible job handling the recoil. In fact, I'd rate the GP-100 more comfortable to shoot than my N-Frame Model 28, which wears a set of Herret's Shooting Stars.

I am very happy with the GP-100. I need to get a safed file so that I can adjust the windage, since the gun has fixed sights. Once that's taken care of, I will probably make it my home defense gun. I may also use it for CCW.

 

[Prodigalshooter]

I bought one of those police trade-ins too, same importer. Mine has been banged around a bit, but it shoots great. I did replace the grips on mine, but otherwise, it's a great buy.

 

[rage]

GP3" nice gun. I've got a 3", 4" and an SP101 2.25"...Wolf springs and lots of dry firing will improve the trigger.