Hiding under the Service Six

When I picked up my GP 100 44 special I was surprised at how large it looked. I have never owned a GP (sacrilege I know) but I've always been a fan of the Six series. When I got home I had to compare it to my Service Six. They were very close compared from the side. From the top the GP shows how fat it is.

Nice guns and nice targets! Is that the original grip on the GP? If so then maybe they are getting away from those hideous finger groove things, finally.

Those are the original grips but I changed them to the compact grips. The gun fits in the lock box with them. I will try shooting it with the original Hohue grips at a future date.

Hey! Some of us prefer those ugly finger groove things. If I bought the 44 GP the first thing I would do is put a set of combats on it; Probably Hogue rubber.

Arky said:

Hey! Some of us prefer those ugly finger groove things. If I bought the 44 GP the first thing I would do is put a set of combats on it; Probably Hogue rubber.

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I agree, I happen to like the Hogue finger groove grips, they fit my hand good. I shot competition (PPC) and the finger groove grips put my fingers in the exact same place every time I drew the gun from the holster.

Grip fit is very important. Once my wife felt the little boot grip on a Smith 442 we were off to the gun show.

Mrs. Thumbcocker is ok with chubby.

I could never warm up to the GP100s after years of owning a number of Security, Speed and Service Sixes.

I had a 6 inch GP with short lug for awhile but eventually sold it a it didn't seem to do anything my 6 inch Security couldn't do except weigh down my belt a little more and with my small hands it never felt comfortable.

The guns look similar but as your photos show there is a quite a bit more bulk and a longer trigger reach on the GP. The extra bulk and weight seem unnecessary as my sixes seemed to have taken a lot of abuse and never had a single problem with any of them.

I inherited an SP101 357 with 3 inch barrel from my brother. I have carried it in bear country a few times but it is not that much lighter or smaller than my service six with 3 inch barrel and I get one more shot so the SS gets the nod more often for the task.

If Ruger gave the SP-101 a sixth round it would be the perfect carry revolver.

The top of the GP always reminds me of the Redhawk.

Huh , some interesting thoughts here. I agree with some , I like the Hogue rubber. However all my GPs ( cept the 3" ) have the Hogue tamer grip. For those that don't know ... it looks like the standard "mono" grip but has a blue insert down the back of the grip. Really makes a difference with heavy loads. I used that same tamer grip on the 454 SRH ... And I carry a SP in 3" ... with 5 rounds ... I don't feel under gunned. The SP carries better than the GP , even with the compact grips.
regards , brushunter

Can't wait for ruger to make these guns with 4.2" barrel, I will certainly have one....
I like the .44 Spl cartridge guns!

FergusonTO35 said:

If Ruger gave the SP-101 a sixth round it would be the perfect carry revolver.

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The Sp101 seems to dwarf a J frame, both 5 shots. Just doesn't seem right.

I know Colt made a six shot revolver the same size as the SP, but I think it was .38special?

I'd be happy with a six shot SP, .38 special +p, if it came with a shorter cylinder to match the shorter cartridge. You'd get a sixth shot and a longer barrel in the same size gun.

FergusonTO35 said:

If Ruger gave the SP-101 a sixth round it would be the perfect carry revolver.

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That's why I have a 32H&R 3" and a 327 4.2".

Perhaps, when designed initially there was some thought as to offering in larger calibers than the .38/.357. If this is the case perhaps this was done to allow larger diameter barrels for larger calibers. The cylinder is also larger in diameter compared to a Six Series.

As to the small Colt, Detective Specials et al, they also made a .357 Magnum entitled the Magnum Carry for a while. I had one for a while.

The Sp101 seems to dwarf a J frame, both 5 shots. Just doesn't seem right.

I know Colt made a six shot revolver the same size as the SP, but I think it was .38special?

I'd be happy with a six shot SP, .38 special +p, if it came with a shorter cylinder to match the shorter cartridge. You'd get a sixth shot and a longer barrel in the same size gun.

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Yes, the SP dwarfs my little slim and trim S&W 637. I never shoot .357's in handguns (save 'em for my Marlin 1894) so the extra strength and corresponding weight and bulk is of no use to me. You are talking about the D frame which Colt made for something like 70 years. The D is an SP-101 size six shot revolver. The snub nose .38 Special Cobra and Detective Special seem to be the most common D-guns, they also made the longer barreled Police Positive Special and other variants I can't remember right now.

Colt has a new D frame size gun in production again, the Cobra. It looks sweet and should sell for about the same cost as an SP-101. I think I want one!