I recently purchased a Ruger SP-101. I had a difficult time deciding what pistol I was wanting as I wanted a good all-around gun. My intended purposes included CCW, protection in the woods, target practice, and to let my wife shoot. My wife likes my CZ 75B but it is a bit heavy and she complains about that. I figured that if I get a good .357 magnum then I can load it with light .38 specials. I wanted something lighter than my CZ. This was easy because I wanted something smaller as well. I also wanted something that was going to last a long time and take quite a few full power loads. That’s where the SP-101 came in. I have wanted it for quite sometime. It has been on my list of guns I want someday since I started shooting. Well, I just happened to get a good sum of money that I could use for just that.
My only problem was convincing the wife that I needed another handgun. When I first mentioned it I was scared for my life. I just bought a shotgun not two months ago. I figured I needed to work some kind of deal for her. So, I piped up,â€If I can buy this pistol then I won’t buy another gun for the rest of this year.†As I said those frightful words I started to sweat, “Oh dear lord, what have I just done? There is still a lot of year left!†I figured she wouldn’t go for it, but I was wrong. She agreed to that and added a couple of other terms. Mainly I had to buy her a pair of $20 flip-flops and two shirts for Old Navy. I agreed. I told her that I would only buy her those things if, and only if, I was able to find a deal on the little Ruger I was looking for. She agreed and the next day I was off to the gun show.
I have an uncle that was in the hospital about a year ago for a couple months. He is still recovering and quite a ways for a full recovery. He had not been a gun show in years and had not even shot a gun since he was in the hospital. For the last couple of months I have been telling him that I would take him to the next gun show in KC. Well that was finally here and I had the money to buy something.
We got down there and looked all the tables over really good. I saw two SP-101’s, one was at a table where I had bought my SA 1911GI. I called this dealer a few days before and he told me that he was out of the little Rugers. The other table that had a SP-101 was right at the beginning by the doors. The prices were within $5 of each other so I went with the cheapest one. I didn’t haggle any either. I paid $354 plus tax. I then went to get a couple boxes of .357 magnum ammo. The best deal I found on them was on Sillier & Bellot 158 gr. Semi-Jacketed Soft-Points. I bought two boxes for $23.
I brought the pistol home and almost hid it so I didn’t have to hold up my end of the bargain. I couldn’t help it though. I wanted to show it off like I would a new puppy or some such thing. I cleaned it up and got it ready to show the wife as soon as she got home from work. Her reaction was,â€That’s kind of cute.â€. “Cuteâ€, she says. She knows better than that. My handguns are not to be referred to as, “CUTE!!!†Anyway, the next thing she says to me is, “So, are you ready to so shopping?†And she says that with this big sweet grin on her face like she is all innocent. I grumble the word, “Yes……†We got to the mall where the $20 flip-flops are only find that they store is closing and everything must go. My first thought was that they were going to be sold out of the flip-flops and I would have to stand there for 2 hours while she decides on what else I could buy her. Instead I find that not only do they have the flip-flops, but they are 60% off. Now they are only $9 flip-flops. (still too much) but I bought them and she was happy, next we go to Wal-Mart and I head straight to the Sporting Goods department. I decided that I needed some .38’s so she could shoot as well. I got a 100 round value pack of the Winchester White Box ammo for $18 after tax. After I got done paying for the ammo I met my loving wife in the crafts section where she was getting scrapbook materials and supplies. I joked asked if she was going to make me some pretty targets to go with my cute gun. Then she slugged me in the arm.
Next was Old Navy. It was pretty uneventful, we went in, I bought her the two shirts she wanted and we left. One thing though, she was wearing her new flip-flops and was incredibly impressed and kept saying thank for me buying them for her.
Now was the fun part, we were on our way home so I could get the pistol and range supplies so we could go shoot. I had to keep looking at the speedometer to make sure I wasn’t speeding because I was so excited about getting to shoot my new gun. Another 20 minutes and we were out at our own private range called ‘My Mother-in-laws house’. I went and set up the targets and she went in to talk to her mom.
I set the targets up about 7 yards from where I wanted to shoot. I loaded the little Ruger up with the .38’s to start out with. I cocked the hammer and pulled the trigger. I hit right dead center of the target. I figured it was a fluke so I tried it again and, Yup it was a fluke. J I still had some getting used to with this little guy. I am used to shooting auto-loaders so the grip angle is completely different than what I am used to. Still, all 5 shots where inside two inches. I then loaded the .357 magnum ammo. Those where noticeably more stout. Actually the stung at first. I proceeded to shoot about 30 rounds of them. I got used to the heavier recoil. I then tried a few more of the .38’s and still I got mostly 2 inch groups. (I’m still a complete amateur when it comes to shooting) I didn’t think that was bad for me since I was now shooting double action instead of cocking the hammer with my thumb. I then called to my wife to come shoot. (she is very very recoil shy) I loaded the pistol with some of the .38s I got at wal-mart and she hesitantly shot at the target. She missed the target and complained about the recoil. She didn’t want to shoot anymore. Actually this kind of excited me because now I have a reason to start reloading my empties. I will definitely have to load some extra light loads for her. After she went back inside I shot another 20 rounds of .357 mag loads and I shot until half of the box of .38s where gone. I had a lot of fun shooting. This is my first potent revolver and I am very very quickly falling in love with it.
After we got home I decided to break the revolver down and clean it. I noticed a few things that I hadn’t noticed before, some of the finish (machining?) was awfully rough. Nothing that will effect function, just things noticed. Also the edge of the trigger face was pretty sharp and I noticed my trigger finger feeling kind of raw that evening. Outside of those small things, I really like this little guy and I am incredibly happy with my purchase.
Here are the pictures.
Here is a pretty average group with the S&B .357
This the with the WWB.
The next two images show some of the minor defects I was talking about.
My only problem was convincing the wife that I needed another handgun. When I first mentioned it I was scared for my life. I just bought a shotgun not two months ago. I figured I needed to work some kind of deal for her. So, I piped up,â€If I can buy this pistol then I won’t buy another gun for the rest of this year.†As I said those frightful words I started to sweat, “Oh dear lord, what have I just done? There is still a lot of year left!†I figured she wouldn’t go for it, but I was wrong. She agreed to that and added a couple of other terms. Mainly I had to buy her a pair of $20 flip-flops and two shirts for Old Navy. I agreed. I told her that I would only buy her those things if, and only if, I was able to find a deal on the little Ruger I was looking for. She agreed and the next day I was off to the gun show.
I have an uncle that was in the hospital about a year ago for a couple months. He is still recovering and quite a ways for a full recovery. He had not been a gun show in years and had not even shot a gun since he was in the hospital. For the last couple of months I have been telling him that I would take him to the next gun show in KC. Well that was finally here and I had the money to buy something.
We got down there and looked all the tables over really good. I saw two SP-101’s, one was at a table where I had bought my SA 1911GI. I called this dealer a few days before and he told me that he was out of the little Rugers. The other table that had a SP-101 was right at the beginning by the doors. The prices were within $5 of each other so I went with the cheapest one. I didn’t haggle any either. I paid $354 plus tax. I then went to get a couple boxes of .357 magnum ammo. The best deal I found on them was on Sillier & Bellot 158 gr. Semi-Jacketed Soft-Points. I bought two boxes for $23. I brought the pistol home and almost hid it so I didn’t have to hold up my end of the bargain. I couldn’t help it though. I wanted to show it off like I would a new puppy or some such thing. I cleaned it up and got it ready to show the wife as soon as she got home from work. Her reaction was,â€That’s kind of cute.â€. “Cuteâ€, she says. She knows better than that. My handguns are not to be referred to as, “CUTE!!!†Anyway, the next thing she says to me is, “So, are you ready to so shopping?†And she says that with this big sweet grin on her face like she is all innocent. I grumble the word, “Yes……†We got to the mall where the $20 flip-flops are only find that they store is closing and everything must go. My first thought was that they were going to be sold out of the flip-flops and I would have to stand there for 2 hours while she decides on what else I could buy her. Instead I find that not only do they have the flip-flops, but they are 60% off. Now they are only $9 flip-flops. (still too much) but I bought them and she was happy, next we go to Wal-Mart and I head straight to the Sporting Goods department. I decided that I needed some .38’s so she could shoot as well. I got a 100 round value pack of the Winchester White Box ammo for $18 after tax. After I got done paying for the ammo I met my loving wife in the crafts section where she was getting scrapbook materials and supplies. I joked asked if she was going to make me some pretty targets to go with my cute gun. Then she slugged me in the arm.
Next was Old Navy. It was pretty uneventful, we went in, I bought her the two shirts she wanted and we left. One thing though, she was wearing her new flip-flops and was incredibly impressed and kept saying thank for me buying them for her.
Now was the fun part, we were on our way home so I could get the pistol and range supplies so we could go shoot. I had to keep looking at the speedometer to make sure I wasn’t speeding because I was so excited about getting to shoot my new gun. Another 20 minutes and we were out at our own private range called ‘My Mother-in-laws house’. I went and set up the targets and she went in to talk to her mom.
I set the targets up about 7 yards from where I wanted to shoot. I loaded the little Ruger up with the .38’s to start out with. I cocked the hammer and pulled the trigger. I hit right dead center of the target. I figured it was a fluke so I tried it again and, Yup it was a fluke. J I still had some getting used to with this little guy. I am used to shooting auto-loaders so the grip angle is completely different than what I am used to. Still, all 5 shots where inside two inches. I then loaded the .357 magnum ammo. Those where noticeably more stout. Actually the stung at first. I proceeded to shoot about 30 rounds of them. I got used to the heavier recoil. I then tried a few more of the .38’s and still I got mostly 2 inch groups. (I’m still a complete amateur when it comes to shooting) I didn’t think that was bad for me since I was now shooting double action instead of cocking the hammer with my thumb. I then called to my wife to come shoot. (she is very very recoil shy) I loaded the pistol with some of the .38s I got at wal-mart and she hesitantly shot at the target. She missed the target and complained about the recoil. She didn’t want to shoot anymore. Actually this kind of excited me because now I have a reason to start reloading my empties. I will definitely have to load some extra light loads for her. After she went back inside I shot another 20 rounds of .357 mag loads and I shot until half of the box of .38s where gone. I had a lot of fun shooting. This is my first potent revolver and I am very very quickly falling in love with it.
After we got home I decided to break the revolver down and clean it. I noticed a few things that I hadn’t noticed before, some of the finish (machining?) was awfully rough. Nothing that will effect function, just things noticed. Also the edge of the trigger face was pretty sharp and I noticed my trigger finger feeling kind of raw that evening. Outside of those small things, I really like this little guy and I am incredibly happy with my purchase.
Here are the pictures.
Here is a pretty average group with the S&B .357
This the with the WWB.
The next two images show some of the minor defects I was talking about.
