Review of the Ruger GP100 .357

Well I have finally made it to the review of the GP100 in .357 caliber stainless. The specs. on my gun are as follows: 4.20" barrel length; Hogue rubber grip; with the addition of the HiViz front sight for easier target acquisition.

Initial impressions of the revolver from the box was typical response if you know Ruger's. That being a sturdy well made piece that is economically priced to boot. I paid $515.00 for mine which was a LE rate from a local gun dealer who works from his home. His name is John Parker and a fine gentleman to work with people, so if you need a firearm I suggest you go and talk to John who owns and operates Heritage Classic Guns in Mills River, NC. His link can be viewed at the bottom of my page here under favorites.

The revolver was not excessively oiled and the finish typical of what one has come to expect from Ruger. Rugers if you know are not show pieces necessarily, but are true working guns that will take any punishment you give them. But who buys guns to keep in a box to look at it.......that is like pissing in the face of a hurricane folks! Guns are like cars, drive them or watch them degrade!

Upon getting the gun out of the box I cycled it and worked both the DA and SA trigger as well as looked over the cylinder and how it locked into the frame. No surprises there. The gun as expected would be a great range/home defense gun.

I did have one small burr inside the cylinder pivot arm that I filed down with a rat tail fine file that made her perfect.

Now to the range..............

I have the luxury of shooting at many ranges throughout the state both in-door and out-door. But the GP was headed for it's initial break in to On-Target In-door range located off Sweeten Creek Rd. in Asheville, NC. A favorite haunt of mine to test fire weapons when the weather is rather cool or I just want the luxury of being inside. Also to add, I use Safariland Comp 2 speed loaders with my GP100 which are all plastic and work like a charm. Easy to load even in no light situations!

I keep meticulous re-load data since I load my own ammunition so there are no factory rounds to date through the GP other than some Speer .38 Special.

-First rounds were .38 Special 125 grain Hornady XTP hollow points loaded on a Lee Classic Turret press to the following:

6.3 grains of Vihtavuori 3N37 powder

These loads were rather light in the GP with very light recoil which kept 2" groupings at 10 yards with both DA & SA mode. Date shot: 12-29-09

-Second rounds were .38 Special 125 grain Rainier Copper Plated flat nose loaded as stated above to the following:

5.9 grains of Vihtavuori 3N37 powder

These loads were also very light with very minimum recoil. Date shot: 12-29-09

* It should be noted I loaded all rounds above to Lee manual minimum load specs. which would produce very light recoil. Don't worry.....I hopped it up a bit later for some better more powerful loads!*

So on to .38 Special +P loads!

For these loads I loaded 125 grain Rainier Copper Plated flat nose with the following specs.:

6.6 grains of Vihtavuori 3N37 powder

These loads still felt undercharged in the well built GP100 but there was a noticeable increase in some recoil and fire out the end of the barrel. * Just a note on this batch......the NEL (Never Exceed Load) is 6.9 grains, so I had some more room to hop this load up a bit but chose not to.*

On to the venerable .357 Magnum loads and what a smile these put on my face for sure, not to mention the guy beside me on the range wondering what in the hell I was shooting! I love America and a .357 Magnum!

The load data was 125 grain Rainier Copper Plated flat nose with the following specs.:

12.4 grains of Accurate # 9 powder with a CCI550 primer (magnum primer)

What can I say about these loads???? They were definitely the power one expects from a .357 Magnum and recoil was much more but yet no where near out of control. Reason being the Ruger GP100 being a full underlug barrel gun with the extra weight can handle some punishing loads yet be manageable for both men and women.

You will notice I did not care to share groupings since I was still attempting to sight in the GP100 and was really of no consequence for this review.

I did have one case swell in the cylinder which had to be tapped out with a hammer and punch. Loader error on my part and no fault of the gun. The 125 grain with these powder loads can at times be too light of a bullet and I surmise may be the issue with these loads.

So that is the end of my range report. The GP100 whether in 3"; 4.2"; or 6" barrel would make a great range gun as well as one heck of a home defense weapon for sure.

Also to note, the cylinder cycled perfectly in both SA & DA mode. This gun in every respect is a nice piece of steel. Hard to find anything at all wrong with it even if you tried.

The fit of the gun with the Hogue rubber grip was to my liking since I do not have large hands. I may could even use a slightly wider grip and may opt for custom wood grips in the future. The gun like I stated may not be a show piece like a Colt or S&W but the Ruger is made for working and not looking at like a fine painting! In fact, given price and fact the Ruger is a work horse far outweighs any reason I would buy any other brand. I like shooting guns and not watching them collect dust, that is just ludicrous to do so. The GP100 is kept in a black leather Galco Summer Concealment Holster which fits nicely depending on right or left hand model over the kidney area. As you know Galco holsters are second to none and the SCH to me at $65 was a bargain! I also have a Bianchi 5BHL holster which is a great side holster in tan leather finish if concealment is not needed.

* Breaking down the revolver *

Just read the manual and it is self explanatory. Also know that Ruger as well as people that have bought this weapon have great videos showing how you break down this gun for cleaning. I was able to do this and so should you!

So if your looking for a .357 to shoot rather than stare at; go and pick up a GP100 and never mind with the extra "C" notes you would have to lay down to get a Colt or S&W!



Thank you & hope you enjoyed the write up-