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Ruger SP101

T

T_Bone

Well-known Member
Hi Guys,

Anyone have a Ruger SP101 hammerless?

How is the recoil with the stock drips when using 357mag's ?

How about using 38-P's ?

I'm looking for a throw away if it comes to that ($460). I sure don't want to loose my Colt 44mag(not replaceable) or 1911(not replaceable) just because of a paper work snag. CCW is in two weeks so that should lesson the risk of loosing any thing.

At the current prices it almost makes me want to get 12ga pump with pistol grips and a cut off barrel. I think that would be too much for the wife too handle for even one round. Big draw back is's not a CW.

I need "two" of whatever I buy.

A cheapie no name CW is just under $300eh.

T_Bone
 
Tom, The CCW means Concealed Carry Weapon. CW means Concealed Weapon. Stock drips is a term I'm not familiar with. Pete
 
I think he meant "stock grips". CCW is Concealed Carry Weapon... CW is Concealed Weapon... Something our Dem. gov. still fears too much to let us have legally here in WI.
 
I've got the hammer model - stock grips. no problem with the 38's - Keep a strong grip with the 357's for double action shooting - otherwise no problem either
 
T-Bone,

That"s s sweet little gun. I"m partial to Rugers. My father and law is looking to buy that one with laser sights in the grip. I think he shot one at the gun shop and loved it. I imagine that for practice, .38 rounds will be agreeable for you and your wife. Keep the mags in it for protection.

JBMac
 
T-bone,
I bought a nice little 9mm semi auto made by Hi-Point firearms. I have fired about 50 rounds through it, it has worked flawlessly, it seems to be balanced, fits my hand good. The main reason I bought this one is the dealer that is trust who sells firearms here in town told me it was a good little weapon. It costs me like $200.00, and for the quality that this gun feels like, I think it is a good little weapon for the price. I wish the governor in this state would get off his Chicago attitude and let the CCW law get through the government in Illinois. The neat thing about the Hi-Point is they also make a rifle and the clip in the pistol is a 9 round clip, and the clip in the rifle if a 10 round clip and it also fits the pistol.
Jim
 
Don't get me wrong, I own dozens of firearms including a couple of handguns and would never tell anybody that people shouldn't be able to legally own any firearm that they desire. But I just don't understand why people feel that they need to have a gun at the ready to defend their property and the idea of people carrying concealed handguns scares the heck out of me. Maybe I am fortunate with where I live ( Northern Wisconsin) in that home invasions are all but nonexistent. The chance of somebody I love getting accidentally hurt with "self defense" firearms just seems like much more of a possibility than my ever having the need to shoot a desperado. Are the sort of crimes where you need a firearm to defend yourself that prevelent where others who post here live? Has anybody here ever actually been in a situation where they actually used or needed a firearm to protect themselves or loved ones? I am not trying to criticize anybody for having "self defense" weapons, I just don't get it.
 
I"d take the Ruger over the Colt anyday but then again I have Redhawks, Blackhawks, mark .22s etc. "fords and chevies" I know just my opinion there.

An alternative to a hammerless is to have the hammer bobbed on a hammer model- won"t snag and easy to carry but you still can cock it for a smooth single action pull if you desire. That is what I have and I love it- gives the best of both worlds.

You won"t be disapointed with that little gun- beware the short barrel barks LOUD and shoots a pretty good flame with the hotter ammo. You would get your point across a lot more then say a .32 that is for sure.
 
Hi T_Bone,

When S&W came out with the .357 version of the 640, I read that the first people to shoot it---gun writers and S&W technical staff---unanimously described the experience as one they would make an effort to avoid thereafter. That's the problem with hot loads in light guns. I think the steel framed version of the 640 in .357 (the one that the people who were supposed to be promoting it described as very unpleasant to shoot) weighed about 28 oz. So you might use that weight as a reference point. If the SP101 weighs less than that, you probably won't enjoy it (and your wife will probably hate it) with .357 mag.

What most people do, as you know, is to practice with lighter, cheaper loads than they plan to carry in the gun, and just shoot enough of the carry loads to zero them. I disagree with that practice. To the extent that familiarizing yourself with how the gun shoots is beneficial, you should be familiarizing yourself with how it shoots whatever is going to be in it when it counts, not the loads with entirely different characteristics that you shoot at the range.

All the best, Stan
 
I carry a KEL-TEK P-40. It's small enough to carry in my pants pocket, or on a belt clip. .40SW, lots more punch than 9mm.
 
Your gun lists for $140 on their web site. I like the looks of that carbine and I'll bet the 9MM wouldn't buck much in it. Also, instead of a 12-GA, why not a 20 ga? Kicks a lot less if your wife is going to be using it.
 
If it lists for $140.00 on their web site, I guess that kinda shoots the honesty and integrity of the dealer that I bought it from.
Jim
 
There are a lot of places where folks are stealing money for meth and other drugs makes it dangerous even in rural areas couple that with gangs like MS13 up and down the east coast it makes it nice to have a little protection in case something comes up especially if you're older and look like a 'easy target'
 
Hi T_Bone,

The steel framed S&W hammerless .357 I talked about in my earlier post weighs only 23 oz., not the 28 oz. I estimated. Not very useful to use as a reference if the weight is overstated by more than 20%.

Another thing came to my mind about you mentioning having a Colt revolver that you like a lot; you're aware, aren't you, that the trigger system of a Colt feels completely different from a Ruger or a S&W? In DA mode---which you're restricted to with a hammerless revolver---Ruger revolvers stage a bit but let off pretty cleanly. Colts stack in DA, a very different feeling. Personally, I don't think it's a good idea to mix trigger pull characteristics between a carry gun and a non-carry favorite. After I had fired a few thousand rounds through all kinds of Glocks, I found myself shooting unintentional double taps from a Browning Hi-Power---a pistol I had owned for over thirty years and put more cartridges through than even I can believe.

All the best, Stan
 
Hi Stan,

Well I should be using another term as the Sp101 is a bobtail, not hammerless. On this Ruger model that is a blessing as you can not cock the hammer back before firing. If you let go of the hammer in the full cock position, the hammer falls home without pulling the trigger. ???

The SP101 is a 28oz weapon. That's gonna make the hand a tad sore in 357mag. There is a spring kit available for smoothing the DA. Supposed to be about 1/2 the effort of normal DA pull. I guess this is why it's a popular back-up carry weapon amoung LE's.

In defense mode, I would think the average user would have a hard time getting off more than one shot without exsessive training, ie; the common double tap defense method. I was considering a 2shot 45LC darenger for this very reason. Alot of KO power in one punch.

Last night I was looking thru Davideson's online and a Ruger 45acp M#1911 is only $650, Redhawk 4" DA 44mag, $625. I like the #1911 for a CCW but with living in Arizona and wearing shorts, it makes walking more of a PITA without wearing a belt for the CCW. A pocket model would stop this concern.

T_Bone
 
Hi djfarmer,

Well it's like, hold on a minute while I remove my trigger lock and get my ammo from another loacation other than my night stand lock box.

I don't know that many bad guys with this much patience, while knowing there fixing to get there head split open by a chunk of lead because of the bleeding heart liberals don't understand what being prepared is all about.

If you knew what time the theif was gonna show up, you would not be sleeping. Defense mode maybe a better idea???

T_Bone
 
Maine has a low crime rate but home invasions are increasing.A fellow was killed a few years ago near me when he surprised 3 burglers .He went home in mid afternoon to change his pants.Holdups are on the increase,country stores are prime targets of dope addicts.Law officers are spread pretty thin here.Secluded farm homes are easy pickings.My family grew up with guns and know how to use them.I have used a firearm to stop a house break in progress.Ill be 70 in a few days and know I need an edge in a bad situation.I call it Insured by Smith & Wesson.Shopping mall parking lots are a favorite place for robberies and kidnappings.It has happened here.Drugs are the problem and the rural areas have plenty of trouble with drug crimes.Crooks in Florida look for tourists to rob because the locals may be armed.
 
Ruger makes a nice product with a life time repair/replace warranty. Smith & Wesson warranty is for the first owner only. Taurus has a very good product line with a life time repair/replace warranty for the life of the gun no matter how many people have owned the gun.

Bobbed or hammerless a good for ccw from a legal aspect but finding a holster with retention device that disengages easily on the draw is not easy.

I am certified to teach CCW classes in Arizona and have been teaching them since the state started issuing CCWs over 12 years ago.

I also have a FFL and live in the county so no city sales tax. In Tuscon thats a 2% savings off the bat.
 
Hi djfarmer,

I'm more abundant than conservative in many of my attitudes, but gun control is an area where liberals apparently "know the truth" and are simply not interested in any information that challenges their beliefs. Murders committed with firearms, particularly mass murders, are big news, of course, but instances where armed civilians prevent or resolve such situations are seriously, and by all appearances intentionally, underreported. Not a conspiracy so much as a mindset. Then too, when a crime is prevented by the potential victim displaying a gun w/o having to use it, there is no story.

I feel that rhetoric, hyperbole, misinformation, and propaganda are the bain of our culture---if not an impediment to civilization altogether---and there's an apparently unlimited amount of those things from every side. I tend to be least impressed by so-called authorities who know they are right, and so, find ways to dismiss or ignore information that contradicts their beliefs. Next in reduced credibility are those who have something to gain by promoting their point of view. Last are the bad thinkers, the careless misinformed, the ignorant, and the stupid, i. e. most people. They always have strong opinions, and usually view the strength of an opinion as a measure of its validity. Collectively, their attitudes are a political and social reality, but there's just no objective information to be had there.

The reason I went on at such length (besides the fact that I always do) about whose information is valid is because I have been intensely interested in getting closer to the truth of this issue of guns in America for about forty years now. Here's what I believe to be true about the issue of self-defence with a gun. Several sources who I consider to be reliable, and who are trying to be objective (a researcher whose previous actions and writings reveal a bias, but whose research forces him to acknowledge that a different condition appears to be true, strikes me as far more reliable than a researcher whose research supports what he already believed) have reported that the best research suggests that between 600,000 and 1.2 million crimes per year in America are prevented by the potential victim or a bystander having a gun. In all but a fraction of a percent of these events, the gun is not fired.

Let me finish with something I think is funny, as well as revealing. I read about a local firearms advocacy group whose members would sometimes make a "put up or shut up" offer to individuals at gun control rallies: if they didn't believe that the presence of a gun, or the possible presence of a gun, served as any kind of a deterrent to crime, would they be willing to post a sign in their front yard? The sign read "There is NO GUN in this house". I'd love to hear some of the reasons anti-gun people offered for not agreeing to post such a sign.

All the best, Stan
 
Hi T_Bone,

The trade off between a carry weapon in a serious caliber and one that you can carry w/o feeling that you're gearing up for combat has always been the big problem, hasn't it? If .380 auto is considered marginal, what does that make .32ACP? Yet there was never any significant size benefit between the smallest .380's and the smallest .38's, so your only option used to be to look for a Seecamp .32ACP (and plan on spending a lot of money) or get even deeper into the "better than nothing" mode with a .22LR or .25ACP handgun.

The S&W J-frame revolvers and the heavier but not larger Glock sub-compacts might work for people in parts of the country where they have to wear a lot of clothes, but they're too much gun for light summer clothing. Either one will make the pocket of a pair of shorts sag noticeably, and it really takes a particular mindset to be comfortable wearing light clothing and a gun in what amounts to a harness. Mainly, nowadays you don't want people to be able to tell that you're packing.

The Kel-Tec autos solved the problem to a great extent, in my opinion, but with a couple of reservations. Foremost, I'd say, is reliability. I bought a Kel-Tec .32 a year or two after they first came out. At 9.6 oz fully loaded you could literally carry it in the pocket of a heavy shirt, if you were so inclined. It really is a carry pistol. Additionally, it's DAO, which I prefer. But---even though I haven't had any feeding problems with it after the 100-200 round break-in period, I can't honestly say that I'm 100% certain of its mechanical ability to get off more than one shot when fired under stressful conditions. Most autos can fail to feed due to being held too weakly; stress, and the Kel-Tec's small size make a less than perfect grip seem more than just possible under emergency conditions.

The other problem with Kel-Tecs is the unpleasantness of the recoil in that small a handgun. The .32ACP is slightly painful to shoot; I imagine that the .380 and the 40S&W must be terrible and horrible, in that order. Not that you really need to be too concerned about getting off more than one shot, if that. Statistically, just having a gun is all it takes to resolve the situation in all but a tiny percentage of cases. But if a gun is unpleasant to shoot, it's just human nature that you'll practice with it less than than if it were pleasant. If you don't practice with a gun you'll never get comfortable with it. If you're not comfortable with a gun you can't know with any degree of certainty what you'll do with it in an emergency. Shooting when you shouldn't and not shooting when you should are just about equally bad possibilities.

All the best, Stan
 
T-Bone, just get yourself a Sig 9mm in the compact size if you want to pocket carry. Much higher quality firearm, and plenty of shots. Comes in variety of DA only, DA/SA, etc. With your life on the line, the little extra money for the Sig Arms quality will be worth it. Tom
 
Take a look at Mark's site. He gets PD trade in's that are shot little but carried a lot. He is a VERY good guy to do business with; great reputation on the Smith & Wesson collectors forum.
Summit Gun Broker
 
Lots of opinions here, some are very educated too. I like that.

I have owned lots of guns in my life, not so many handguns...sorta like Quigly....never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use one. No need in publishing a list of what I have and all their specs. Bottom line is this:

In most cases, when the shooting starts, it ends nearly as fast. The first bang tends to get attention moi pronto. Aim for the center of mass..like the middle of the chest....doesn't make much difference what caliber you are shooting then. Badass gets sick real quick when a hole gets punched in there. It isn't necessary for you to have a 12 shooter or one that punches donut holes. Get something you can handle well. I like the PPK in .380....a fine design that is 60+ years old....works like a Timex. Up in size is any of the smith J frames. The 38 special will suffice, thank you. I'd like to have a kit gun in 22 magnum for a pocket gun. I have a friend who has used both the .45 acp and 9 mm in real scenarios and he told me there is very little real difference when it comes to shooting a man with either. His choice is the Browning Hi-Power for military use. He was a Ranger and they chose whatever they wanted to carry His favorite gun for overall use was a Czech smg in .32 acp! It was controllable and made lots of holes quickly on several targets in tight situations. Point is...control of your gun is extremely important..more so than shooting big diameter slugs that recoil harder. The Ruger is a reliable revolver, so are the J frames. 5 shots is plenty...4 more than you will likely ever need.
 
T-bone.
I bought an SP101 2 years ago. My wife liked it so much she got 1. It's a great conceal and carry. I've shot some 357 mags through it, but wound up using self defence .38+ P. It's a great little shooter. Some guys prefer autoloaders, to each his own. Remember in a self defence situation revolvers never jam. Enjoy. People ask why do I carry? Because I can. Thank God for the 2nd amendment and the NRA.
 
A friend and I go to a small shopping mall once in a while.The town has a police dept close to the mall.One man was stabbed there while trying to defend his wife from a hostage taker who had just tried to hold up a drug store with a knife.Another man was beaten by two men with baseball bats at the mall.This is a small town where no none expects this to happen.I always carry when my friend wants to go there.People can be very stupid in these matters until it happens to them.The bank I use in a town of 2000 has been held up.Things are changing fast in rural areas.
 
Sorry about getting in on this a little late. This is one of the first times I"ve read a long thread like this all the way through.

I"ve been a very very staunch supporter of the Second Amendment ever since I was 15 or so (a long time back). Have been an NRA member since 16, and have had CCW permits in CT and PA. I"ve carried: a Ruger Security Six (DA, 357, 4"bbl), 1911A1 (Springfield, .45ACP, standard issue), a Glock 27 (.40S&W), and a Beretta Tomcat(tip-up bbl, .32). I have one of every holster ever made (it seems). I, too have had a lot of trouble carying in summer clothes....

The 45, and 357 Ruger all had a tendency to pull my pants down and were next to impossible to carry in the summer unless you used one of them "fanny packs" with a concealed holster built in. Tried it and hated it. What I found that works for me is to use a "pocket sleeve" for my Glock or my Tomcat. The gun goes into the sleeve, the sleeve goes into my front pants pocket. The sleeve has a friction material on the outside and a friction-less material on the inside. It looks like you"re carying a wallet in stead of a pistol. It"s prety easy to draw....especially when you"re held up and say..... "uhhh, "scuse me while I get my wallet from my front pocket".

Mostly I carry the Tomcat. It"s a good everyday gun and really disappears in my pocket. The Glock is a little heavier, but doable. I like the size of the Tomcat, it has a tip-up barrel so you don"t have to rack the slide before you let one rip, it"s real reliable, and has minimal recoil. Its about as small of a caliber as I"d feel comfortable in using..... .25 and .22 are just too dam_ light.

The Glock goes with me when I hike. Sometimes I take the .45 instead (just really like that gun). If I"m out of state hiking and can"t CCW a pistol, I carry a single barrel, break-breech, 20ga shotgun with an 18.5" bbl and a chopped stock. It is legal in all states (by 1" in overall length). It"s a factory made gun called the "lil pardner". Can"t remember the mfg. If I really need to cut weight while hiking and not pi-- anyone off, I take an Olin Flare gun with 12ga willy-pete shells.....that usually gets the attention of any bears (but the forestry service really hates "em and will hassle you a lot in the western states).

sorry for the long post but this is something I fell really strongly about.....
 
I briefly owned a Kel Tec .32. What a peice of crapp. Recoil stings your fingers, and it is one of the most inaccurate pistols I've ever fired. I have an old Iver Johnson .32 long 6 shot break open that functions flawlessly and even though it's double action only, I can reliably hit a soda can (12 oz.) at 20-25 feet with no difficulty. This gun will also fire the low powered .32 S&W short loads with minimal noise and good accuracy. It cost me 50 bucks from a casual acquaintence and I wouldn't trade it for a bushel basket full of Kel Tecs.
If I desire to carry a .32 auto, I use my Colt model 1903 first issue pistol. Flat, easy to conceal, accurate, reliable, holds 8 rds in mag.
 
Hi JT,

Well according to Ruger the SP101 with a hammer can NOT be shot as a single shot. If you cock the hammer it will fall home.

I now know why they make the bobtail version and why Davidson'e has 120 hammer type and 0 bobtail in stock.

What a shock it must be to find out that there's no single action available the very first time.

T_Bone
 
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