Range Report, Ruger SP101

[JoeWilliams]

It was a tad damp Sunday afternoon, but a trip to Cabelas allowed enough time for the rain to pass. It ended up being a decent day, but windy as all get out. Put another 250 rounds through the little Ruger, bringing the total round count up to 750 trouble free rounds through it. Each time I shoot it, I just like it more and more.

Mostly straight target shooting, with some practice drawing from under a t-shirt. Nearly all my practice drawing from cover has been from under a jacket. It was awkward, and I need more practice. I hadn't fired the gun at 25 yards yet, so I popped 50 rounds at that range, half single action and half double action. Need more practice there, too! At my usual 10 yard range fired 25 rounds two handed strong hand, 25 more two handed weak hand, all double action. Fired a bunch more, a mix of single and double action, .357s and .38s.

Fired some .357 125gr Speer Gold Dot hollowpoints, and that was an experience in pain and "never again." I say 135gr on the video, but I was just brain farting. I do want to try some of Speer's 135gr low recoil .357s made for snubbies, but I'll never shoot the 125s again, I don't think. Wasn't just the recoil. The muzzle blast was just disgusting. Each shot felt like I was being slapped. I can't adequately control them in any defensive scenario I can think of. 110 grain .357s are easy to control, and the Ruger's grip makes them comfortable enough to shoot. I haven't tried any 158s, yet, and probably won't until I buy some jacketed bullets and load them to as hot as I can adequately handle. I intend to do the same thing with the 125gr Hornady XTP/JHP bullets I just bought. The cast .357s I load are really more "heavy" .38 +Ps, 158gr LRNFPs loaded to about 950 fps. For defensive use, I'll just stick with .38 +Ps until/unless I find a more powerful round I like. These are a total pussycat out of the SP101, easy for me to put lots of rounds on target quickly and easily. I'm going to be carrying the Winchester Supreme 130gr SXT +Ps for the simple reason they are the only lightweight .38s I've shot that shoot exactly to point of aim, instead of a couple inches low. The little gun is a BLAST to shoot with regular .38 handloads, and it seems to like them. The best group I shot (actually, the best I've shot yet with this gun) was fired double action with .38s.

All in all, this little gun, 5 round limitation and all, is quickly gaining a place as one of the favorite guns I've ever owned. It's ease of carry, ability to handle as much power as I can, versatility, reliability, and strong construction just make this a real winner for me. Can't quit gushing over it

Enjoy the pics and videos, if you choose to check them out!

My best group yet with this gun:


Shooting the Speer .357 Magnum 125gr Gold Dots (if you look at where my trigger finger is after reloading, you'll see one reason why we video a lot of our shooting, so I can catch myself being stupid and make sure I don't do that again!):


Kick or not, I did get the rounds on target, though I sure did pull that last one well off.
Speer Gold Dot target


Shooting the Winchester Supreme 130gr SXT .38 Special +Ps. Obviously, not as much power on target, except for the fact that I'm a lot more likely to actually hit the target with these


Drawing from under a t-shirt... sorry about the belly


And the target after a number tries to get my draw right:


Shooting at 25 yards:


25 rounds strong hand, two handed, double action:


25 rounds weak hand, two handed, double action:

[soberbyker]

Fired some .357 125gr Speer Gold Dot hollowpoints, and that was an experience in pain and "never again."

Thanks for the range report.

FWIW, I have the SP101 with a Hogue Monogrip that absorbs most of that pain. The ammo with the biggest bite that I've shot is Remington 125gr JSP and the monogrip definitely softens the blow. The trade off is the grip makes the gun a tad bulkier. I like to shoot my guns a lot so the trade off is worth it to me, no more raw hands after a good days shooting. (have one on my Speed Six .357 too)

Bill

[JSPA]

very cool!
i have shot mine with similar results.
the little sp101 is one hell of a revolver; carry mine every day!
i also have the factory grips but thinking of swapping out for some badger ones or maybe crimson trace.
all in all cant say anything bad about it.
thanks for the post to remind me how sweet that little thing is!

[timbrfrmr25]

every time i see a post on this little revolver i start kicking myself again for selling mine!! oh well the rifle that came from selling and saving was well worth it, though i think went times are better i'll get another one! nice review!!