Ruger SP101 build

Blackbeard

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I'm going to look for a Ruger SP101, they are in my mind some of the best revolvers in my mind.
I think Ruger like all manufactures have some home runs and complete misses. In this case, I do believe they have a home run with these pieces.

With this revolver, I'm going to locate it, and I think I'm going to get it customized. When I say customized, I mean possibly chop off the hammer (if I get a hammer) and make it double action only.

Purpose of this piece is to become my personal carry, and go to piece for protection. I want simple, reliable, and easy to carry (IE won't get caught on anything, don't worry about cocking etc).

Can't wait to share this adventure with you all.
 

CECannonJr

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I'm going to look for a Ruger SP101, they are in my mind some of the best revolvers in my mind.
I think Ruger like all manufactures have some home runs and complete misses. In this case, I do believe they have a home run with these pieces.

With this revolver, I'm going to locate it, and I think I'm going to get it customized. When I say customized, I mean possibly chop off the hammer (if I get a hammer) and make it double action only.

Purpose of this piece is to become my personal carry, and go to piece for protection. I want simple, reliable, and easy to carry (IE won't get caught on anything, don't worry about cocking etc).

Can't wait to share this adventure with you all.
Sounds nice for a self protection carry piece. Don't forget the pics.
 

Mike A1

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I agree with you on Rugers for sure, I have 2 Security sixes 1 Speed six, in 357 magnum
then 2 Redhawks 1 in 357 mag & 1 in 44 mag. The Super Black Hawk & 3 MK1 & 2 MKIIs.
The Speed six & one security six's have bobbed hammers an easy job for DIY.



I have been looking at the Charter arms bulldogs in 44 spl & 45 LC but I have an undercover 38
Charter arm ( 1980s ) that the frame broke in half, & even though Charter replaced I still look at it as a
one shot wonder, hide out piece.

So I thought why not another Ruger & like you I want to use it for a CCW.
The Sixes don't have a nice big fat slow bullet from a .44 special. Which one does?

I chose the GP 100 because of caliber & build strength, Ruger builds strong guns that
work when you need them, so I agree that you can't go wrong with the Ruger revolvers.








Rugers are built in components like Mil spec, & are very easy to tear down & get the flash out & polish the right parts.

 

TXPlt

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Looking forward to hearing about it !

The Rugers have distinctly different triggers than the Smiths. It throws me off a little bit when I go between (the hammer on the Rugers to me continues to climb past what I consider the drop point on the Smiths and there's a noticeable stage where the cylinder locks into place--I do most of my shooting of revolvers DAO). I don't really consider one 'better' than the other only different.

Hammer or bobbed is up to you--the bobbed is nice for a snag-free package however many folks don't have snag issues with a spurred hammer in the first place.

I've always thought the SP's a bit heavy but this makes shooting them very nice. So it's the tradeoff between weight and shoot ability.

The Rugers are the proverbial block of steel -- REALLY strong.

.357 is a good choice for personal defense but there's ALOT of muzzle blast from that shorter barrel so some go with the .38+Ps. It's not as bad as the Smith J-frame .357s. Anything in sub 3" is going to have a fair bit of blast if you shoot .357s through it--the 3" seems to be the minimum for reasonable muzzle blast.

Here is mine--the major upgrade I might suggest is the big dot sight for enhanced sight visibility (or SOMETHING to make that front sight stand out more).

IMG_0030.JPGIMG_0031.JPG
 

Blackbeard

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I won't forget the pics. I'm going to make this a beautiful piece. I don't care for making guns safe queens, although some should be....this is going to be a working class revolver with class. No pearl handles that's for sure.

Going to connect with a gunsmith and see what he thinks. It's actually rare to find gunsmiths that work on revolvers anymore. Luckily my friend knows some of the best revolver smiths and connected me with some he knows.
 

TXPlt

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I won't forget the pics. I'm going to make this a beautiful piece. I don't care for making guns safe queens, although some should be....this is going to be a working class revolver with class. No pearl handles that's for sure.

Going to connect with a gunsmith and see what he thinks. It's actually rare to find gunsmiths that work on revolvers anymore. Luckily my friend knows some of the best revolver smiths and connected me with some he knows.
This was a relatively simple modification to a Smith 69 -- hammerless mod. So for me fell into the 'do it yourself' category with no real risk of screwing up the gun so long as I was careful (no more difficult than replacing a couple of springs in the innards of a 1911).

It came with alternate trigger return springs and mainsprings. I couldn't get either to work properly and that (as well as a good smoothening out of the trigger) would fall under the gunsmith's purview. My solution was to use the stock springs which worked fine and the design of the hammer did smoothen up pull somewhat. Due to the relatively heavy (and necessary) trigger return spring it wasn't gonna get down to a comp weight but that was fine with me. It's a carry gun anyway.

In general, I'm REALLY reluctant to screw with any spring--especially those involved in the ignition sequence (and wouldn't do it). The trigger return spring is the other one that can be tweaked to get a lighter pull but again reliability in returning the trigger is key. I've never thought the Ruger trigger to be overly heavy so retaining stock springs might be a really good idea. Bottom line is ya gotta REALLY know what you're doing before screwing around with springs on a carry gun. I've modified the Glocks with Ghost connectors (which for me really haven't lightened the pull much but HAVE smoothened it out quite a bit as well as provided opportunity for over travel stop -- which really contributes to accuracy on the earlier Gen models--the Gen 5's actually have a decent trigger but it still has SOME over travel which ya can either fix or just deal with).

Have fun and let us know how it goes !IMG_1587.jpeg
 
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Bob Lee

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This was a relatively simple modification to a Smith 69 -- hammerless mod. So for me fell into the 'do it yourself' category with no real risk of screwing up the gun so long as I was careful (no more difficult than replacing a couple of springs in the innards of a 1911).

It came with alternate trigger return springs and mainsprings. I couldn't get either to work properly and that (as well as a good smoothening out of the trigger) would fall under the gunsmith's purview. My solution was to use the stock springs which worked fine and the design of the hammer did smoothen up pull somewhat. Due to the relatively heavy (and necessary) trigger return spring it wasn't gonna get down to a comp weight but that was fine with me. It's a carry gun anyway.

In general, I'm REALLY reluctant to screw with any spring--especially those involved in the ignition sequence (and wouldn't do it). The trigger return spring is the other one that can be tweaked to get a lighter pull but again reliability in returning the trigger is key. I've never thought the Ruger trigger to be overly heavy so retaining stock springs might be a really good idea. Bottom line is ya gotta REALLY know what you're doing before screwing around with springs on a carry gun. I've modified the Glocks with Ghost connectors (which for me really haven't lightened the pull much but HAVE smoothened it out quite a bit as well as provided opportunity for over travel stop -- which really contributes to accuracy on the earlier Gen models--the Gen 5's actually have a decent trigger but it still has SOME over travel which ya can either fix or just deal with).

Have fun and let us know how it goes !View attachment 10995
I love the Smith!
 

Big Biscuit

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The SP101 that I had was as rough as a cob. The trigger pull was almost as bad as a ratchet clicking.

The finish was pretty beat up too.

I had a lot of time on my hands so I decided that it would be a swell idea to polish the stainless steel until it was like a mirror.

The frames are cast and there isn't a flat surface anywhere on the pistol. A mirror finish is all about light reflection and that's about flat surfaces.

Sanding blocks with progressively finer grits of wet or dry sandpaper finally got me there at just about the same time my fingerprints were erased from my finger tips. Hours upon hours of elbow grease.

While the revolver was stripped down it was only a natural to put a polish on the guts. Then trigger and hammer shims.

When I started it was like an East German dump truck. All of my buffing and fluffing brought it all they up to maybe a Russian dump truck in smoothness.

In the end I realized that I've been a S&W revolver guy too long to appreciate the SP101 for what it is and what I couldn't make it, no matter how hard I tried.
 

Blackbeard

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In NC if you want to purchase a pistol you have to get a permit unless you have a CCW. I don't have a ccw at the moment due to lapsing…so applied and ready to pick up my permits (ordered the max of 5). Got approved in 1 days Vs the 5 days and more some are seeing months in wake county (Raleigh).

Wish they would do away the permit system…but one more step closer on this project.
 

TXPlt

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Unless it's a range type gun I'd not suggest orange but rather plain old white. Yellow is ok but white has been the best for all kinds of light for me

The sight picture takes some getting used to particularly in where to place the dot in the vertical for exact shot placement. On the other hand for rapid shots it's way fast.

Once you figure where the dot should be in the rear gutter the guns can be shot very accurately.
 

Blackbeard

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Bob Lee

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Thanks @TXPlt I'm ordering those sights for my SP101 and LCR.


Now onto the handles. The SP101, will be getting a bit of a refinish - and will ultimately look more pewter finish. I can't decide on grips to help it match. Looking at hogue...not sure rubber makes the most sense might feel the best.
https://www.hogueinc.com/grips/ruger-grips/sp101/rubber
https://www.hogueinc.com/grips/ruger-grips/sp101/wood

I was thinking a nice wood, but still unsure. Any input is always welcome!
I love wood, however pretty much all my k frame Smiths have been changed to Pachmayr presentation grips. Given the fact I have small hands these make a lot more sense for me. I use the small size, and the seem to fit perfectly. The j frames I carry have the Uncle Mikes boot grips. my .02 cents worth
 

TXPlt

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Thanks @TXPlt I'm ordering those sights for my SP101 and LCR.


Now onto the handles. The SP101, will be getting a bit of a refinish - and will ultimately look more pewter finish. I can't decide on grips to help it match. Looking at hogue...not sure rubber makes the most sense might feel the best.
https://www.hogueinc.com/grips/ruger-grips/sp101/rubber
https://www.hogueinc.com/grips/ruger-grips/sp101/wood

I was thinking a nice wood, but still unsure. Any input is always welcome!
Glad to hear it and hope it works out well for you ! The big dot has worked out well in that the OEM ruger front sight is very hard for me to see. It takes a little bit of practice to get the dot exactly where it should be in the rear sight gutter but once you find the 'lock on' sight picture for me at least works very well.

I really like nice wood grips. BUT when shooting they have always been less comfortable than the live rubber grips. So it's a trade off. Wood tends to snag less depending on method of carry but again for me at least has been less 'good' in employing the gun. And even checkered wood grips tend to slide a bit more when my hands get sweaty. The stock SP-101 grips for me are actually very nice but this is a user preference thing.
 

Lone Gunman

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It's a good gun! I bought one for my wife to carry; and, other than the annoying message to, 'Read the instruction manual' on the barrel, I have no complaints. I had a local smith do an action job on it; and the action is smooth enough for my wife to shoot very decent groups with. Me? I shoot good groups with it too; and, while the SP101 doesn't have quite as a responsive trigger as, say, a typical S&W factory standard trigger, Ruger's trigger is NOT excessively difficult to work with.

What you have to watch with Ruger is the exact same thing you have to watch with a lot of brand new Smith & Wesson revolvers: . . . QUALITY CONTROL. I've heard rumors that Ruger has no quality control; they simply allow the customers to verify their pistols for them; and, based on samples I've handled at a local gun store, I'd say that, indeed, Ruger has no quality control; or, at least, no sophisticated quality control.

So, initial inspection of a brand new Ruger (or Smith) before you buy it really does become particularly important. At the very least I would suggest checking all 5 cylinders for proper alignment and indexing, as well as the entire cylinder, itself, for excessive end-play.

Yes, it's true! When we set out to purchase a new SP101 I found them with things like canted barrels, and excessive cylinder end-shake. In fact I was on my second brand new and factory replaced SP101 BEFORE I called Ruger's Steve Sanetti, directly, to complain. Thereafter, the third SP101 I received was perfect, and has been working like a charm, now, for more than the past 8 to 10 years!

It's not uncommon for me to do a 50 to 100 fired-round range session with this pistol. Between my wife and I we'll fire this smallish (but not little) Ruger revolver until it's, literally, way too hot to touch with bare skin! So far, with more than 1,500 (or so) fired-rounds through the gun, it's never so much as hiccuped! The SP101 we finally ended up with does shoot straight and well.

It's a 357 Magnum, and has never fired anything except hot, and mid-range 357 Magnum loads. I consider this SP101 to be an excellent 10 to 12 yard self-defense revolver—Which is especially important to me because, in a life or death CQB pistol combat situation, I train to engage sooner and at greater distance than what is usually expected. (In other words I try to prevent the other guy from stepping into his own, 'personal sphere of competence' before I do.)

As far as the somewhat complicated Ruger trigger goes, I like the trigger on my wife's, older (no MIM seams!) SP101 better than I liked any of the factory-stock triggers on new Glock pistols that I've purchased; and this is especially true of the latest trigger bars that Glock is using on their more recently manufactured pistols—The trigger bars with the more severe (but safer) angles on their striker lug, 'sear tabs'.

Personally I wouldn't own a small frame revolver with a 2 1/2 inch barrel. Why not? Because such a short barrel is too difficult to shoot straight at the longer distances I prefer to engage at; and, whenever I'm not regularly and well practiced (it happens), the preceding statement includes me too. On such a modest sized revolver I, far and away, prefer to use a: longer, straighter shooting, and easier to control, 3 inch barrel.

As everybody is learning: Nowadays, the, 'mutts' tend to run in packs; and the first time you have to simultaneously engage more than one opponent you'll appreciate the practicality of using a longer rather than a shorter barrel. This is especially true whenever a second attacker has the street savvy to further disadvantage you by hanging back, or to obliquely, 'three-quarter' you while his pal gets up close and personal, 'in your face'. (This is exactly the same, 'interview technique' that many police officers use.)

A Ruger SP101 with a 3 inch barrel is somewhere between a disadvantageous small frame, and a standard frame, 'combat revolver' - Which in today's increasingly godless, increasingly violent, and increasingly confrontational world has become an obvious oxymoron. I like my wife's SP101 (Which I sometimes borrow.) enough that it's not going to be up for sale anytime soon.

An SP101 is too heavy for comfortable pocket carry; but, then again, I'm never comfortable pocket carrying anything larger than a Beretta, 'Tomcat'. What the SP101 is NOT is either too light, or too ill-proportioned to adequately and effectively TRAIN and DEFEND yourself with; and, really, when everything is finally said and done, isn't broad–based training and self-defense the whole point to carrying a pistol in the first place!






PS: Personally, I would NOT bob the hammer spur. Why? Because sometimes it becomes necessary to cock the hammer on one of the longer shots! (Not everything is going to be 'up close 'n personal'.) ;)
 

switchback

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Another in the " like wood but use something else" camp. I love the S&W magna grips with a tyler T but have pachmeyer compac grips installed on my "use" revolvers. Really liking the big dot front site
 

TXPlt

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It's a good gun! I bought one for my wife to carry; and, other than the annoying message to, 'Read the instruction manual' on the barrel, I have no complaints. I had a local smith do an action job on it; and the action is smooth enough for my wife to shoot very decent groups with. Me? I shoot good groups with it too; and, while the SP101 doesn't have quite as a responsive trigger as, say, a typical S&W factory standard trigger, Ruger's trigger is NOT excessively difficult to work with.

What you have to watch with Ruger is the exact same thing you have to watch with a lot of brand new Smith & Wesson revolvers: . . . QUALITY CONTROL. I've heard rumors that Ruger has no quality control; they simply allow the customers to verify their pistols for them; and, based on samples I've handled at a local gun store, I'd say that, indeed, Ruger has no quality control; or, at least, no sophisticated quality control.

So, initial inspection of a brand new Ruger (or Smith) before you buy it really does become particularly important. At the very least I would suggest checking all 5 cylinders for proper alignment and indexing, as well as the entire cylinder, itself, for excessive end-play.

Yes, it's true! When we set out to purchase a new SP101 I found them with things like canted barrels, and excessive cylinder end-shake. In fact I was on my second brand new and factory replaced SP101 BEFORE I called Ruger's Steve Sanetti, directly, to complain. Thereafter, the third SP101 I received was perfect, and has been working like a charm, now, for more than the past 8 to 10 years!

It's not uncommon for me to do a 50 to 100 fired-round range session with this pistol. Between my wife and I we'll fire this smallish (but not little) Ruger revolver until it's, literally, way too hot to touch with bare skin! So far, with more than 1,500 (or so) fired-rounds through the gun, it's never so much as hiccuped! The SP101 we finally ended up with does shoot straight and well.

It's a 357 Magnum, and has never fired anything except hot, and mid-range 357 Magnum loads. I consider this SP101 to be an excellent 10 to 12 yard self-defense revolver—Which is especially important to me because, in a life or death CQB pistol combat situation, I train to engage sooner and at greater distance than what is usually expected. (In other words I try to prevent the other guy from stepping into his own, 'personal sphere of competence' before I do.)

As far as the somewhat complicated Ruger trigger goes, I like the trigger on my wife's, older (no MIM seams!) SP101 better than I liked any of the factory-stock triggers on new Glock pistols that I've purchased; and this is especially true of the latest trigger bars that Glock is using on their more recently manufactured pistols—The trigger bars with the more severe (but safer) angles on their striker lug, 'sear tabs'.

Personally I wouldn't own a small frame revolver with a 2 1/2 inch barrel. Why not? Because such a short barrel is too difficult to shoot straight at the longer distances I prefer to engage at; and, whenever I'm not regularly and well practiced (it happens), the preceding statement includes me too. On such a modest sized revolver I, far and away, prefer to use a: longer, straighter shooting, and easier to control, 3 inch barrel.

As everybody is learning: Nowadays, the, 'mutts' tend to run in packs; and the first time you have to simultaneously engage more than one opponent you'll appreciate the practicality of using a longer rather than a shorter barrel. This is especially true whenever a second attacker has the street savvy to further disadvantage you by hanging back, or to obliquely, 'three-quarter' you while his pal gets up close and personal, 'in your face'. (This is exactly the same, 'interview technique' that many police officers use.)

A Ruger SP101 with a 3 inch barrel is somewhere between a disadvantageous small frame, and a standard frame, 'combat revolver' - Which in today's increasingly godless, increasingly violent, and increasingly confrontational world has become an obvious oxymoron. I like my wife's SP101 (Which I sometimes borrow.) enough that it's not going to be up for sale anytime soon.

An SP101 is too heavy for comfortable pocket carry; but, then again, I'm never comfortable pocket carrying anything larger than a Beretta, 'Tomcat'. What the SP101 is NOT is either too light, or too ill-proportioned to adequately and effectively TRAIN and DEFEND yourself with; and, really, when everything is finally said and done, isn't broad–based training and self-defense the whole point to carrying a pistol in the first place!






PS: Personally, I would NOT bob the hammer spur. Why? Because sometimes it becomes necessary to cock the hammer on one of the longer shots! (Not everything is going to be 'up close 'n personal'.) ;)
Agree to a point. I've 2 SP-101's and both were fine right out of the box (one is an early model .38 special before they made .357s). They are the proverbial Ruger 'block of steel'.

However, I've found that for CCW longer barrel lengths can be troublesome (and the Ruger IS a bit heavy but this also increases its shootabilty). There is great merit IMHO for a 3" barrel .357--it's long enough to partially suppress muzzle blast and also short enough for comfortable CCW. You DO lose some performance but you're kinda getting into the range of decent barrel length FOR performance. And with .38 +Ps it's fine.

But mine are both a shade over 2" and the .357 DOES bark quite a bit. I solve that by mostly shooting .38s in it which is 'enough' for most tasks. Due to the heavier weight, one CAN shoot .357s in it without undue punishment unlike the lightweight .357 J-frames which are very punishing with .357 rounds IMHO.

I'm NOT a fan of SA shots with a shorter barrel revolver and believe it unnecessary. If a person develops a decent DA trigger squeeze the lighter SA trigger is of little value IMO AND there is a noticeable change in POI when making the transition. So I more advocate training to the DA pull. YMMV--personal preference. There ARE some cases when using a DA/SA that cocking a hammer might be of value (I don't think the Ruger is one of them) -- perhaps like my Sig 220 DA/SA where it has a very long and cumbersome DA pull to it (different than most and very hard to master if one shoots many different guns--not a factor in an up close and personal situation but perhaps in taking longer hunting shots).
 

Bob Lee

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It's a good gun! I bought one for my wife to carry; and, other than the annoying message to, 'Read the instruction manual' on the barrel, I have no complaints. I had a local smith do an action job on it; and the action is smooth enough for my wife to shoot very decent groups with. Me? I shoot good groups with it too; and, while the SP101 doesn't have quite as a responsive trigger as, say, a typical S&W factory standard trigger, Ruger's trigger is NOT excessively difficult to work with.

What you have to watch with Ruger is the exact same thing you have to watch with a lot of brand new Smith & Wesson revolvers: . . . QUALITY CONTROL. I've heard rumors that Ruger has no quality control; they simply allow the customers to verify their pistols for them; and, based on samples I've handled at a local gun store, I'd say that, indeed, Ruger has no quality control; or, at least, no sophisticated quality control.

So, initial inspection of a brand new Ruger (or Smith) before you buy it really does become particularly important. At the very least I would suggest checking all 5 cylinders for proper alignment and indexing, as well as the entire cylinder, itself, for excessive end-play.

Yes, it's true! When we set out to purchase a new SP101 I found them with things like canted barrels, and excessive cylinder end-shake. In fact I was on my second brand new and factory replaced SP101 BEFORE I called Ruger's Steve Sanetti, directly, to complain. Thereafter, the third SP101 I received was perfect, and has been working like a charm, now, for more than the past 8 to 10 years!

It's not uncommon for me to do a 50 to 100 fired-round range session with this pistol. Between my wife and I we'll fire this smallish (but not little) Ruger revolver until it's, literally, way too hot to touch with bare skin! So far, with more than 1,500 (or so) fired-rounds through the gun, it's never so much as hiccuped! The SP101 we finally ended up with does shoot straight and well.

It's a 357 Magnum, and has never fired anything except hot, and mid-range 357 Magnum loads. I consider this SP101 to be an excellent 10 to 12 yard self-defense revolver—Which is especially important to me because, in a life or death CQB pistol combat situation, I train to engage sooner and at greater distance than what is usually expected. (In other words I try to prevent the other guy from stepping into his own, 'personal sphere of competence' before I do.)

As far as the somewhat complicated Ruger trigger goes, I like the trigger on my wife's, older (no MIM seams!) SP101 better than I liked any of the factory-stock triggers on new Glock pistols that I've purchased; and this is especially true of the latest trigger bars that Glock is using on their more recently manufactured pistols—The trigger bars with the more severe (but safer) angles on their striker lug, 'sear tabs'.

Personally I wouldn't own a small frame revolver with a 2 1/2 inch barrel. Why not? Because such a short barrel is too difficult to shoot straight at the longer distances I prefer to engage at; and, whenever I'm not regularly and well practiced (it happens), the preceding statement includes me too. On such a modest sized revolver I, far and away, prefer to use a: longer, straighter shooting, and easier to control, 3 inch barrel.

As everybody is learning: Nowadays, the, 'mutts' tend to run in packs; and the first time you have to simultaneously engage more than one opponent you'll appreciate the practicality of using a longer rather than a shorter barrel. This is especially true whenever a second attacker has the street savvy to further disadvantage you by hanging back, or to obliquely, 'three-quarter' you while his pal gets up close and personal, 'in your face'. (This is exactly the same, 'interview technique' that many police officers use.)

A Ruger SP101 with a 3 inch barrel is somewhere between a disadvantageous small frame, and a standard frame, 'combat revolver' - Which in today's increasingly godless, increasingly violent, and increasingly confrontational world has become an obvious oxymoron. I like my wife's SP101 (Which I sometimes borrow.) enough that it's not going to be up for sale anytime soon.

An SP101 is too heavy for comfortable pocket carry; but, then again, I'm never comfortable pocket carrying anything larger than a Beretta, 'Tomcat'. What the SP101 is NOT is either too light, or too ill-proportioned to adequately and effectively TRAIN and DEFEND yourself with; and, really, when everything is finally said and done, isn't broad–based training and self-defense the whole point to carrying a pistol in the first place!






PS: Personally, I would NOT bob the hammer spur. Why? Because sometimes it becomes necessary to cock the hammer on one of the longer shots! (Not everything is going to be 'up close 'n personal'.) ;)
Wow! Very well thought out and very well written. You make very valid points across the board. Thank you very much for taking the time to write this. I found it very informative. I would have no problem carrying a 4" k-frame 38/357. I in fact have great pancake holsters to do so. Small frame and all, with the proper clothing I can pull this off. By the way that Ruger is beautiful. Thank you again.
 
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