Ruger SP101 info requests

[TexasPatriot.308]

I own several Ruger Blackhawks in calibers from .357 mag, .44 mag and .45 colt. I recently bought a SP101 and found that shooting any .357 mag load really makes it hard on my hand, I am sure this is an old subject, but cant really see why Ruger keeps putting this grip on a pistol as popular as the 101. Any recommendations on grips also info on best loads for self defense and also for a backup hunting pistol.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I hated the factory grips on mine. I had a Hogue in it for a while. It was an improvement. For the last several years, I have used a Badger boot grip. I really like it.

 

[AZAndy]

I shoot .38+P out of mine. The gun's just not heavy enough for me to shoot .357 in it. I have sissy hands.

 

[SeanSw]

We have tried a couple grips on ours and never settled on anything that struck a good balance for size and comfort. The Hogue's were comfortable but seemed too large, Butler Creek had the wrong shape and didn't quite fill out our hands. We're back to factory for now but looking at the Badger Boot grips or Pachmayr compacts next.

Have you seen this? http://rugerforum.net/handgun-accessories/16293-there-better-sp101-grip-than-factory.html

 

[beag_nut]

Hogue. 'Nuff said.

 

[curtste]

Badger or Hogue. I've had both on my 4.2" SP101. I like the look of the Badger grips. But, the Hogue handles recoil much better for me. I've settled on the Hogue. It's a field gun for me, and I don't try to conceal it. I can shoot an entire box of standard .357 magnum 158gr JSP without getting a tingly hand. I couldn't do this with the Badgers. But, I have to say, the gun doesn't look nearly as nice with the rubber grip.

 

[BearBrimstone]

I have never shot my sp101 enough to need one, but I would go with Hogue for help with recoil.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

I have a 4.2 inch with Hogue grips. On my 3 inch model I have crimson trace laser grips. Both are much better than factory grips.

 

[7mmb]

I have smooth custom wood inserts in the factory rubber. The plastic ribbed inserts that come standard feel like you are holding onto a cheese grater. OUCH! With smooth panels it is much more comfortable to shoot, for a 25 oz 357 Magnum. The SP101 isn't meant to be an easy shooting range toy. If you want that get a GP100.

For SD loads I use 125gr 357 Magnum JHPs. With a 2.25" barrel I know I am losing velocity but I refute the tired argument that in the short barrel it is little more than a 38 Special. I have chronographed my gun and a 125gr 357 JHP is still going about 1250fps. No 38 Special load in an eight inch revolver will touch that velocity, let alone a snub nose.

 

[Tallball]

I have very large hands. The original grips didn't fit me worth squat. I bought a Hogue Monogrip and it was a little bit better. Eventually I ordered a set of the exotic hardwood grips from Thailand (eBay). They give me a lot more to hang onto.

My friend who also bought an SP101 has much smaller hands. He liked the original grips just fine. But he liked the Hogue monogrip even better, so I gave it to him.

 

[bearfoot]

I replaced the grip on mine with a Pachmayr, and if I'm shooting .357's I still need to grip the piss out of it so it doesn't bash my middle finger with the back of the trigger guard.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Tried Badgers. They're ok but it seems to alter the grip angle. Not a big fan.

Bought some from Tim's Workshop but their pretty narrow.

Lately I've just been using the Crimson Trace grips o bought years ago. They got me ok.

I plan to try some Eagle Grips.

No matter the grip, I stick to 125 grain loads in 357. They beat me up less.

 

[Drail]

It's a little tiny baby revolver - but a VERY NICE little tiny baby revolver. It ain't going to be pleasant to shoot. Laws of Physics or something........ If you want to shoot thunderboomingfireball loads, buy a full size gun with some weight in it. Or just shoot reasonable loads....

 

[Crowman]

I changed out the factory grips on my SP101 and replaced them with soft Pachmayr Diamond Pro grips. They make magnums in this small frame revolver doable. Also put a set of Diamond Pros on my GP100 Match Champion. I like the grip profile better than Ruger factory rubber grips. Gives me a higher natural hand position closer to the barrel bore axis. The Diamond Pro grips really soak up felt recoil and are also my preference for S&W J-frames. For me, the grips fit my hand well, and cut way back on the discomfort felt from firing heavy loads.

 

[Jonesy814]

I bought a Hogue grip for mine when I first got it but found the factory grip to be more comfortable with magnum loads. Traction Grips sells 3"x4" pieces of the rubberized grip tape material. Its just like the stuff that Talon uses for their grips. I had a piece of that laying around and covered the plastic inserts on my Ruger factory grip. I have found it keeps the gun from shifting in my hand when fired and think it looks decent too.

 

[dickydalton]

I have smooth custom wood inserts in the factory rubber. The plastic ribbed inserts that come standard feel like you are holding onto a cheese grater. OUCH! With smooth panels it is much more comfortable to shoot, for a 25 oz 357 Magnum. The SP101 isn't meant to be an easy shooting range toy. If you want that get a GP100.

For SD loads I use 125gr 357 Magnum JHPs. With a 2.25" barrel I know I am losing velocity but I refute the tired argument that in the short barrel it is little more than a 38 Special. I have chronographed my gun and a 125gr 357 JHP is still going about 1250fps. No 38 Special load in an eight inch revolver will touch that velocity, let alone a snub nose.

Underwood 38+ P Special 125 hollow points average 1190 FPS out of my 2.25 SP101. I haven't chronoed their 357 Mags in it yet. They claim 1700 FPS out of them in a 4" barrel.

 

[RealGun]

I like the prettier grips on the 32 H&R and 327 Federal Magnums, but on the 357 my favorite grip by far is the nylon Hogue.

 

[wankerjake]

I have tried Hogue monogrip, Badger boot and custom wood inserts including Altamont. In my opinion the original plastic grip inserts are terrible. I have settled on custom wood grips by Chig as an all around for my SP101, affordable and they work great. I prefer full house to +P 38 or light 357. Light as in low end of the load data, not 125gr bullets. I only shoot 140gr or heavier and 2.25" barrel. They handle stout loads though fairly well and they look/feel great.

I did not care for the Badger grips, they looked great but I didn't love how they shot. Definitely better than the original inserts obviously, and they do look cool. Lot of people love them, think this is a personal preference thing and am not knocking Badger grips.

In my opinion for stout 357 loads the Hogue monogrip easily wins. They really make hot loads manageable in the SP101 in my opinion. It doesn't look terrible either, better than the plastic factory inserts. Man those things are terrible!

 

[NorthBorder]

I am comfortable with the Hogue Monogrip on my SP, even shooting 180 grainers on top of W296. And the Hogues are fine with an IWB holster. Tallball I do like those exotic wood grips.

 

[Armybrat]

Being an old school guy, these walnut grips look like they'd feel better on my SP101:

 

[Dirty Bob]

I believe that the SP101 was designed as a concealable revolver, rather than a revolver for firing heavy loads. With the factory grip it can be hidden where most revolvers could not be. A practical cartridge for CCW with this gun is the .38+P. I carry the "FBI Load" (.38+P lead SWC hollowpoint) in both the SP101 and the Ruger LCR-357. Both of these revolvers can be rapid fired with .38+P, but I can't shoot the magnums fast.

For something like bear or hog defense (we're being overrun in TX with feral hogs, and they're dangerous), the SP101 can be carried with magnums. I like the Hogue rubber grips for the heavier loads. They aren't fun, though. For CCW, I favor the nylon Hogue grip. It doesn't grab clothes and print the way rubber can, but it is great for the recoil level of +P carry loads.

I see the small-frame .357s as heavy-duty .38s that can take a steady diet of +P ammo and can be used with magnums if that's needed. For the record, I haven't shot .357s out of the LCR-357 and I have no plans to do so. For shooting full-power .357 loads, I recommend a Ruger GP100 or S&W 686. The Ruger Blackhawk and Vaquero (especially the original Vaquero) are also great for .357. The most fun I've had shooting heavy .357 Mags was in a T/C Contender. Accurate, powerful, and fun.

All my best,
Dirty Bob

 

[RealGun]

I believe that the SP101 was designed as a concealable revolver, rather than a revolver for firing heavy loads. With the factory grip it can be hidden where most revolvers could not be. A practical cartridge for CCW with this gun is the .38+P. I carry the "FBI Load" (.38+P lead SWC hollowpoint) in both the SP101 and the Ruger LCR-357. Both of these revolvers can be rapid fired with .38+P, but I can't shoot the magnums fast.

For something like bear or hog defense (we're being overrun in TX with feral hogs, and they're dangerous), the SP101 can be carried with magnums. I like the Hogue rubber grips for the heavier loads. They aren't fun, though. For CCW, I favor the nylon Hogue grip. It doesn't grab clothes and print the way rubber can, but it is great for the recoil level of +P carry loads.

I see the small-frame .357s as heavy-duty .38s that can take a steady diet of +P ammo and can be used with magnums if that's needed. For the record, I haven't shot .357s out of the LCR-357 and I have no plans to do so. For shooting full-power .357 loads, I recommend a Ruger GP100 or S&W 686. The Ruger Blackhawk and Vaquero (especially the original Vaquero) are also great for .357. The most fun I've had shooting heavy .357 Mags was in a T/C Contender. Accurate, powerful, and fun.

All my best,
Dirty Bob

I agree, except Ruger doesn't offer all the SP101 model variations in 38 Special, so I have to load my own in magnum cases. I don't shoot 38 in a 357 chamber, and don't buy a 357 if I intend to shoot only 38. I also rarely carry reloads for SD, so am somewhat limited by commercial offerings. I carry Speer Short Barrel .357 Magnum and hope I don't have to use it.

 

[AZAndy]

I agree, except Ruger doesn't offer all the SP101 model variations in 38 Special, so I have to load my own in magnum cases. I don't shoot 38 in a 357 chamber, and don't but a 357 if I intend to shoot only 38.

Same here. I mostly use a high-end .38+P load in a .357 case, because .357 in a snubnose is ridiculous. Maybe if it weighed four pounds, it'd be different. I am cursed with narrow wrists and bony hands.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

I am cursed with narrow wrists and bony hands.

Me too.

If you really want to have some fun, try shooting Speer's 158 gr Gold Dot load. I've always been curious how a 180 or 200 grain 357 would feel out of the SP101..................... but not that curious.

Since my SP101 was the first handgun I ever bought, I remember shooting it with real 357 loads the first time. I wasn't using a proper or firm enough grip and somehow, when I touched off the first 140 grain Leverevolution round the cylinder release gouged a chunk of flesh out of my right thumb. I looked down and saw blood on my revolver, realized what happened, and just thought "Well, it has my blood on it. I guess it's a keeper."

 

[Confederate]

I got the Pachmayr Compac grips and they've been great. I don't know what it is about Ruger and grips, but they've screwed up their revolver grips to this day. The Security-Six grips were originally the wrong angle and were too small. The second generation grips also were far too small, but they could be fixed by third party grips. The Speed-Six round grips were small, too, but with Pachmayrs they were perfect! The GP-100s are probably the worst. Ruger put the weight up front with those accursed underlugs, then turned the grip into a stump. This threw the balance off, making the pointing characteristics of the pistol very poor.



The SP-101 looks like the grip might work, but the gun seems to want to leap out of them during firing magnums. And the finger guard can rap one's hand just under the knuckle...ouch! At least one could use the earlier original grips to start a fire.

The smaller magnum is designed to deliver the devastating .357 rounds in defensive situations, effectively, but not necessarily comfortably. If you want comfort, buy something else. I can get off five rounds in the SP-101, but it won't be pleasant. If you want to shoot, consider a 6-shot Ruger Speed-Six (if you can find one). For camping or cross country, that would be the one for me.