GP100 .38 Special Half Lug question

I couldn't disagree more. I would not hesitate to ream the cylinder. Anyone who is that worried about the hypothetical law suits to follow a shooting based on barrel markings should sell their guns and rely on 911 for help. I have more than 25 yrs in Law Enforcement and the only person I've ever heard this kind of talk from is Mas Ayoob. He's never been a full time police officer and makes his money as a writer and instructor.

jjc333 said:

I couldn't disagree more. I would not hesitate to ream the cylinder. Anyone who is that worried about the hypothetical law suits to follow a shooting based on barrel markings should sell their guns and rely on 911 for help. I have more than 25 yrs in Law Enforcement and the only person I've ever heard this kind of talk from is Mas Ayoob. He's never been a full time police officer and makes his money as a writer and instructor.

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There is nothing hypothetical about it. I don't know when you where a police officer but this isn't the 40's, 50's, or 60's anymore. Times have changed drastically and attorneys are more agressive than ever. If you are still on the job and not patrolling with a desk you should know that.

I'd modify it for maximum gun enjoyment. Have it reamed, it's not as if it has much collector's value,


Is this the oldest/biggest gun myth or is there one even worse/more wrong headed? Maybe barrel break-in?

RoninPA said:

...if it were used (with the mag cylinder in place) to defend yourself, and it is examined by the shootees lawyer or a zealous DA, they are going to hammer you with questions like "why did you make this .38 into a .357 Mag? Were you looking for trouble? Etc., etc., etc. Even if you win, then the shootees family takes you to court for unlawful death where the proof does not have to be as much as a criminal case for them to win a bunch of money from you.

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P89DC said:

I'd modify it for maximum gun enjoyment. Have it reamed, it's not as if it has much collector's value,


Is this the oldest/biggest gun myth or is there one even worse/more wrong headed? Maybe barrel break-in?

RoninPA said:

...if it were used (with the mag cylinder in place) to defend yourself, and it is examined by the shootees lawyer or a zealous DA, they are going to hammer you with questions like "why did you make this .38 into a .357 Mag? Were you looking for trouble? Etc., etc., etc. Even if you win, then the shootees family takes you to court for unlawful death where the proof does not have to be as much as a criminal case for them to win a bunch of money from you.

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Wow, do you not follow any news about shootings? This line of thinking is very prevalent among aggressive liberal DA's looking to make a name for themselves (to move up the political ladder) and especially by lawyers who have prevailed upon the family of the person who got shot to try to get as much money for themselves (oops,I mean for the greaving family) in a wrongful death suit. They will try to use anything, reamed out gun, reloads, hollow point bullets, large capacity magazines, anything, ....anything they can to try to sway a jury to find for them.

And as for Massad Ayoob being a LEO or not (he has served as a part-time police officer in New Hampshire since 1972 and holds the rank of Captain in the Grantham, New Hampshire police department) doesn't matter (to me). He is one of the few expert witnesses who is used in defending people who are being raped by the court system. If I was involved in a shooting and needed an expert witness, I would gladly have him on my side.

I've nothing against Ayoob. I took a class of his way back in '89, own many of his books and have been reading his writings since the late 70's. He has talked both sides of using highly customized guns for self defense. He written about custom guns he's used on duty. The man is a gun writer and needs things to write about. I once read an article of his where the defendant was attacked because of the name Cobra on his Colt. Ayoob went on to state he should have bought an Agent. That's just plain silly. A lawyer who goes after that should be disbarred as well as a lawyer who has no answer for the factory's name for a gun. The simple fact is the GP100 was made as a .357. It was adapted by the factory to .38 for sales to customers , both private and gov't, who for what ever reason could only use .38 Special. The revolver would be much more fun to use as a .357.

DA asking questions? You don't have to testify if you don't want to, it's called the fifth amendment. I do read and follow the news, I've never seen this happen. In any case, most states indemnify the shooter if it's justified, that and castle laws make reaming a 38 to 357 a non issue. Worry away, it's still a myth....

P89DC said:

DA asking questions? You don't have to testify if you don't want to, it's called the fifth amendment.

Yes, you are absolutely correct, you don't have to testify on your behalf.

I do read and follow the news, I've never seen this happen.

Only a very small percentage of court cases actually make it to the news

In any case, most states indemnify the shooter if it's justified, that and castle laws make reaming a 38 to 357 a non issue.

Yes, the shooter may be exonerated crminally, but there is still the civil aspect of a case. Remember O.J. Simpson? He was acquitted criminally but he was sued civilly and lost at the tune of 33.5 million or so.

Worry away, it's still a myth..

Yes it is....if you are living in Never Never Land

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Ream away, but just don't use the gun for self defense.

Velvet said:

P89DC said:

DA asking questions? You don't have to testify if you don't want to, it's called the fifth amendment.

Yes, you are absolutely correct, you don't have to testify on your behalf.

I do read and follow the news, I've never seen this happen.

Only a very small percentage of court cases actually make it to the news

In any case, most states indemnify the shooter if it's justified, that and castle laws make reaming a 38 to 357 a non issue.

Yes, the shooter may be exonerated crminally, but there is still the civil aspect of a case. Remember O.J. Simpson? He was acquitted criminally but he was sued civilly and lost at the tune of 33.5 million or so.

Worry away, it's still a myth..

Yes it is....if you are living in Never Never Land

..

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Ream away, but just don't use the gun for self defense.

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Indemnify means they can't sue you, you might be confused with exonerate...OJ never claimed self defense, he claimed he didn't do it. Big difference but why let facts get in the way of an urban myth. Give me a link if you have one....

I know what you are saying and I know the difference between the two. I'm not an attorney but in 25 years of law enforcement I have seen that the law isn't as clear cut as one would think. The legal system in the United States has become very complicated, though I'm sure that it varies from state to state. I have seen a change in the demeanor of attorneys who have largely become very aggressive.

I don't have a link for you to reference on any particular case and you most likely don't have one to prove your "Urban Myth" theory. Don't believe everything you think.

The bottom line is that, if you give an attorney something to run with, no matter how trivial, he/she will take advantage of it, and it wouldn't be hard to paint a person as a killer because he rechambered a gun to a hotter cartridge. Juries are relatively gullible at times.

We can continue to go round and round on this but I have better things to do, so you're going to get the last word as I really don't care and I'm not going to further respond to your wishful thinking.

I did google it, its very clear, if you have a clean shoot, and you are not convicted, most states including Colorado and Illinois (the two states I've lived for the past 20 years) specifically indemnify you against civil cases. The only scenario that is an issue with modified guns is lightning the trigger pull. If you injure or kill someone accidentally with a lightened trigger it's likely to be part of the state's legal case and victim's civil case. Again, if the shoot is clean, you only shot a criminal in the act of self defense, then it's not an issue.

I am not aware of any state that doesn't indemnity a clean shoot but perhaps you do?

Ayoob himself has been challenged to produce a case where a reload or modded gun made a difference and has been unable to produce such case. Absolute urban myth. I won't throw around how long I've been in the legal profession but its long enough to have researched this almost as long as Ayoob has been writing books.
Cylinders are available on e-bay cheap from time to time. I have swapped several and unlike the single actions I have yet to find a Gp Sp or Security six cylinder that didn't fit fine.Id swap them out and change the gun back if traded or sold just for collector value.

I've decided to leave it as it came from the factory...I guess I'm a purist when it comes to Ruger's...plus I just bought a Ruger Redhawk circa 1985 in .44 mag...now I have a Ruger to match my license plate: "Ruger44". I have a couple different .44's...Hawes Western Marshall and a S&W 629 classic...because I love Dirty Harry...I know the Redhawk will handle a lot higher loads than the smith. And Ruger customer service is #1...

Oh NO

roboink said:

I've decided to leave it as it came from the factory...I guess I'm a purist when it comes to Ruger's...plus I just bought a Ruger Redhawk circa 1985 in .44 mag...now I have a Ruger to match my license plate: "Ruger44". I have a couple different .44's...Hawes Western Marshall and a S&W 629 classic...because I love Dirty Harry...I know the Redhawk will handle a lot higher loads than the smith. And Ruger customer service is #1...

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You are now on record as stating that you love a rogue cop that takes the law into is own hands because the justice system fails. You even bought a firearm in his preferred caliber. :shock:

[/url][/img]Decided to leave it alone...keep it original...yep love the Dirty Harry...