ruger gp100

m1978

m1978

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thinking of getting one of these. any good?

side question: who sells FN products in Canada?

thanks
 
A while back, I picked up an older 4" prohib GP 100 in .357 Mag. Seems to be a decent 'bang for the buck'.



and lucked out and got another 4" prohib to go with it. An SP 101 in .22 LR.



And, a couple more photos of the 'brothers' decked out together.



 
I hate you! :bangHead: I hate you! :bangHead: I hate you! :bangHead:

I've had one on order since Feb 2 and it will probably be another 6 months or more before I can even hope to see it G:
 
I really like mine--and I've always been more of a S&W guy. I posted my thoughts here when I picked it up a couple of years ago.

Regarding your other question, I know Questar has FN stuff in from time to time.
 
I had one and it worked just fine. For the dollar it is a good deal. If you have or have had S&W revolvers you nay not be satisfied with it. In my experience they do not work as nice as a smith does. I know people say they are stronger then a smith but I doubt this is really true. I have seen pictures of both Rugers and smiths blown up. If money is more important to you then buy the Ruger. If you want the nicer piece then buy the smith.

Just my two cents.

Graydog
 
graydog said:
I had one and it worked just fine. For the dollar it is a good deal. If you have or have had S&W revolvers you nay not be satisfied with it. In my experience they do not work as nice as a smith does. I know people say they are stronger then a smith but I doubt this is really true. I have seen pictures of both Rugers and smiths blown up. If money is more important to you then buy the Ruger. If you want the nicer piece then buy the smith.

Just my two cents.

Graydog
Click to expand...

:)Agreed. The 'Hallmark' of S&W double action revolvers is their single action trigger pull. Second to none,;) like breaking glass.
 
graydog said:
I had one and it worked just fine. For the dollar it is a good deal. If you have or have had S&W revolvers you nay not be satisfied with it. In my experience they do not work as nice as a smith does. I know people say they are stronger then a smith but I doubt this is really true. I have seen pictures of both Rugers and smiths blown up. If money is more important to you then buy the Ruger. If you want the nicer piece then buy the smith.

Just my two cents.

Graydog
Click to expand...

Fire several thousand full power magnum rounds through a GP100 and a 686 and tell me which ones gets shot loose. Here's a hint, it'll be the more expensive one.
 
09outlander said:
Fire several thousand full power magnum rounds through a GP100 and a 686 and tell me which ones gets shot loose. Here's a hint, it'll be the more expensive one.
Click to expand...

Show me the documented proof of this and then I will beleive you until then it is all BS as far as I am concerned. If you watch on the forums you will read about lots of broken and worn out Rugers and just as many stories about the smiths. The real story here is that people who own the Rugers are trying to convince themselves and others that they are a better gun but sadly that is just not true. Are they a good gun Yes they are but they are not better then a S&W because if they were they would cost more and people would pay it. Alas people will not pay more so that proves that the mases think that S&W guns are better and are worth more, case closed.

Graydoh
 
"Are they a good gun Yes they are but they are not better then a S&W because if they were they would cost more and people would pay it."

One thing about Ruger's lower prices vs the others...
1- They don't have to outsource casting to another company since they have their own (Pine Tree Castings)
2- They spend less money on the aesthetic finish - which has absolutely no impact on functionality or durability

I haven't put 100 000 rounds in a Ruger ($), S&W($$), Manurhin($$$) or a Korth($$$$$). But it's all about moving parts, stress and maintenance.
No matter how much you pay, a smaller frame used with heavy loads will weaken before a bigger frame.

Between a technically comparable Ruger and S&W - Ruger offers a better bang for the buck (I think)
GP100 vs a Stock 686 is a fair competition. But a stock Ruger doesn't stand against anything out of the SW Performance Center shop.
 
09outlander said:
Fire several thousand full power magnum rounds through a GP100 and a 686 and tell me which ones gets shot loose. Here's a hint, it'll be the more expensive one.
Click to expand...

How many thousands are we talking? I'm about 4000 deep with some pretty heavy handloads and no problems (I will occasionally shoot handgun matches with full-power .357s just for poops & giggles). Having discussed this with a gunsmith, he said the idea that the L-frame guns get shot out of tolerances isn't bogus, but is talked about way more than it actually happens and usually has other issues coinciding. I'm sure it happens, but for range shooting like most people (myself included) engage in, I think this concern is pretty negligible. The same gunsmith said it's largely the same with the idea that K-frames can't handle .357 Magnums and people treat them like they're made of glass. Model 19s and the like will shoot out of tolerance and suffer top strap damage eventually if you keep blasting Buffalo Bore loads out of them, but for the average low-volume shooter to ever do this is unlikely.

As far as the GP-100 itself goes, it is a fine gun but I prefer pretty much any Smith or even the earlier Security Six. I am very fond of those guns and they can regularly be found for good prices on the EE.
 
I have two GP100's and am very happy with them. No they are not Smith and Wessons but Smiths arent Colts either so there you go.

The first one i bought was 7 years ago, a 6 inch blued model with full underlug barrel. I also got a Wolfe spring kit for it and a set of hogue grips, I spent hours and hours and weeks dry firing it thousands of times while sitting in my chair watching TV at night. Now i have a nicely broken in revolver that is reliable and very accurate at 25 yards.
Just this year i did a swap for another GP100, a 4.2 inch stainless model with hogue grips. I am finding it just as accurate as my 6 inch model especially after i swapped all the internal parts from my older revolver. No doubt you will be very happy with one I sure am.

Now the thing ive noticed with smith and wesson and ruger is that they both feel very different when cycling and locking up.
People that are used to shooting S&W's think GP100's feel strange and Ive spent so much time shooting the GP100 that i find the 686 to feel a little odd when cycling.
Its all about what you are used to.
 
I agree with Ian, I also prefer the way the Ruger trigger "stages" in double action. I mostly shoot single action and my Rugers break like glass with no creep.
I don't mind Smiths but I prefer Rugers.
The Ruger SP101 with the 4.2" barrel is a very nice.357 if you can find one.....
 
Here is a little story for everyone, it in no way reflects what gun is stronger or which one will last longer but I think it explains why there are so many more Smith & wesson revolvers in people's hands.

One day at the range I had my Ruger GP100 in 6 inch stainless with me. There was a friend of mine who had his S&W 686 6 inch barrel gun with him. Another fellow had S&W 586 6 inch gun and another guy that was there has a 6 inch Colt Python. There were also three other guys shooting auto"s.

We had a little contest. Everyone shoot a target at 15 yards (10 shots) So there was seven people who shot every gun. The results were in the end that everyone to a man Liked the Colt the best and everyone had the best grops with the colt. No one that day shot anything better then the Colt. As to the smiths well some shot the 586 better then the 686 and some the other way around.

The real sad news, everyone including myself shot the ruger the worst. No one liked the way the ruger handled and the way it felt in your hand compared to the other guns. I think as someone before me atated that you just get used to way a gun feels and you acept that, The people who don't have either and are not worried about money like the feel of the S&W guns, as in my opinion they just feel and look better. And lets not kid ourselves here there isn't one in a thousand people who are going to wear out a gun by shooting it to much.

Just my two cents.

Graydog
 
The GP100 is usually referred to as chunky and overbuilt. It makes sense that it wouldn't feel as nice in the hand compared to other guns.
The older Security Sixes and the newer SP01's might have felt better to your group but if A guy is used to shooting an S&W or Colt he probably won't like the Ruger and another guy who has only shot or prefers Rugers might not like the S&W's or Colts. They will all do the job and most people can learn the different trigger pulls.
Some guns also need a little trigger work to make them shine.

Graydog, I'm not saying your Ruger wasn't the worst gun on the line that day.... but shooting different guns like that, one after the other, is very difficult as the shooters gun is continually changing and going from a lighter smoother pull to a heavier staged trigger and then again to something else is a hard transition for most shooters.

Were your groups with your own gun worse then they usually are that day?....or were they typical and you just shot that much better with every other gun?
 
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