Ruger sp101 in 9mm...why?

[zachomega]

Got an email that Ruger is now making an sp101 in 9mm.

Why why why?

9mm revolvers are cool. No doubt. But non adjustable sights and a snub nose 2 1/4" barrel. Why?

What is the point?

Pocket pistols cost less, hold more ammo, and have longer barrels.

So why?

Please help me understand.

-Zach

[SHEPHERD321]

You only have 1 hand, and want a 9?

[Seabee CO]

Makes absolutely no sense to me either....but someone will buy it.

It is Sad that that is the only "innovative" product offering they could come up with at this time.

Got an email that Ruger is now making an sp101 in 9mm.

Why why why?

9mm revolvers are cool. No doubt. But non adjustable sights and a snub nose 2 1/4" barrel. Why?

What is the point?

Pocket pistols cost less, hold more ammo, and have longer barrels.

So why?

Please help me understand.

-Zach

[P89]

Got me. I bet it takes some serious abuse and still functions though.

[gghbi]

Got an email that Ruger is now making an sp101 in 9mm.

Why why why?

9mm revolvers are cool. No doubt. But non adjustable sights and a snub nose 2 1/4" barrel. Why?

What is the point?

Pocket pistols cost less, hold more ammo, and have longer barrels.

So why?

Please help me understand.

-Zach

Why not? Some of the new 9mm cartridges have upped it's ability, and some folks just like the simple manual of arms of a revolver. You can use the same ammo in your revolver and your pistol if you choose to have both.

[bugout]

I personally love 9mm revolvers, I have more than you might think as I have had many of my 357mag revolvers machined to also shoot 9mm with moonclips... lets me shoot 3 calibers in one gun - 357mag, 9mm, and 38 spl.
But I also have a few revolvers specifically in 9mm and I like it, I have no idea why but I do. You can say it's because of the cheap ammo and common caliber with my semi's etc and that all sounds good - I just like it.

Now as for the sp101, I love the feel of the sp101 in hand, it just feels amazing - but I would've preferred a 3" LCRX 9mm personally, that would've been awesome.
If Ruger makes a 357mag LCRX in 3", I will absolutely have it machined just like my others, but hopefully they make one in 9mm native.

The ultimate for me is a redesign of the LCR or LCRX in 9mm that hold 6-8 rounds - snub AND 3" - I would buy BOTH, I realize it would change the dimensions but I am OK with that.

I have an 8-shot S&W 327 scandium frame with titanium cylinder that I had machined to shoot 357mag, 9mm with moonclips, and 38 spl (by TK custom) and it F'ing rocks - tough finding a good IWB holster for it though.
It carries great though with the make-shift setup I have just not ideal holster at the moment, but it fits excellent AIWB in that sweet spot curve around your stomach.
And it has as many rounds as a Shield and can be used DA/SA with very fast acquisition and very good one-handed operation/ accuracy at defensive ranges.

[Noah_Zark]

Back to the future for Ruger and the 9mm SP101. Owners tend to keep them, and used ones are unobtanium and people readily shell out 7-8-9 Benjamins to own one.

When first introduced, the 9mm SP101 was intended as a companion or backup for the owners of a Beretta 92, Glock 17/19, SIG P225/P226/P228 "wondernine." Great idea, but nobody was interested until Ruger pulled the plug, and then it was "discovered."

I have two SP101 revolvers in 9mm from the 1990s. Why two? Because I liked the first one so much.

Sure, they are heavy but the mass of stainless steel helps tame recoil.

Only five shots? Well, that's all that fits, but the full moon clips are readily concealable, and moon clips make for VERY efficient speedloaders.

SP101s are built like tanks, and handle +P loads without issue.

The plethora of 9mm defensive loads enables one who carries an SP101 so chambered to be armed with a handgun that comes darned near a 357 Magnum in performance, my choice being the 124 gr Speer Gold Dot +P. There are other higher-performance 9mm defense rounds from which to choose, but I liked the performance and accuracy, and the ease of simultaneous 5-case ejection and stocked up with 3000 rds back in the day.

Who likes revolvers besides old dinosaurs like me? Women who have difficulty racking the slides of non-locked-breach pocket pistols with beefy recoil springs. Women with arthritic hands like those of my late mother who couldn't rack a slide but had no trouble loading, firing, and dumping five 9mm empties, either DA or SA and kept one of my 9mm SP101s as her carry gun up until just two months before she passed.

It's easy to bobble loose rounds when trying to reload under stress. It can be difficult to manipulate a speed loader under the same circumstances. A full moon clip is the definition of simplicity in reloading; cartridges line up simultaneously for insertion in the cylinder's chambers, and empties vacate the cylinder surely and with a quickness.

I've been sold on auto cartridge wheelguns since buying my first S&W M1917 in 45 ACP at age 23. I bought a S&W 940 in the 90s but it had ejection issues and I shelved it to buy my first SP101 9mm which had no such trouble voiding its cylinder. The 940 got sold for $900 about 10 yrs ago after it became a cult collector gun. I bought the second SP101 and a lot more ammo with the proceeds. The 9mm SP101s I kept, and a 9mm 3" GP100 joined them.

Everytime someone asks, "Why a 9mm revolver?" I think of a modification of the familiar Jeep window sticker:

"It's a revolver thing; you wouldn't understand."

Noah

[Emptymag]

I was gonna ask "Why a revolver - period", but... ^^^

[USMC3531]

seems like they could shorten the cylinder and push the barrel into the frame more saving some weight and possibly gaining accuracy

[zachomega]

I'm not discounting the 9mm revolver. Or the revolver as a whole really. My first gun was a revolver and while I currently only have 2, I've owned a bunch of others for various lengths of time.

If this gun was a 357 magnum that also shot 9mm, I'd say nothing lost. But it isn't.

I get that 9mm is cheaper. Bonus.

But with its particular configuration, I don't understand.

If it came with a larger frame and a 4-6" barrel option, I'd be on it. But again, it doesn't.

I know that 9mm is a solid cartridge...especially over 38 special. But who is this revolver supposed to appeal to?

It is too short for competition or casual target shooting. And there are just better carry options...even in the revolver world.

I'm probably overthinking this. I want to like the concept. But the execution isn't there for me.

-Zach