GP100 .44 spl

Been following the issues facing this great idea but decided to get one anyway.

For posterity the CG was .008, all throats were .432 and yes, the front site has that gap.

So, shooting the snot out of it last week I seemed to have lost the rear site pin so I called the factory to see what they'd charge for a new one. During the conversation I brought up the front sight gap and asked what that was all about, the nice CSR said she'd look into it and get back to me.

About five minutes later I get two emails, one saying the rear sight pin shipped out (excellent service by the way) and another from said CSR who responded.
I've posted here response below.

"Good Afternoon Manny,
The front sight does sit slightly above the barrel. This is to allow proper installation without marring the barrel.
Thank you.
Kris Gregory
Customer Service Representative
Newport NH 03773"

Soooooooo…..I don't whether to laugh or cry…
Oh, and now they I see they have the Old army for 1200+ change. Okay.

Quote {to allow proper installation without marring the barrel}

That is very offensive to me. To think I'd even believe that, or that, this is the best they can do. Sounds like she asked a salesman instead of a designer.

Back in May of this year, I bought one of the GP100 44 Spls w/3" barrel, stainless. Brought it home and put it in my safe without shooting it. A couple weeks ago I got the little bugger out and shot it. Shot very well....but there was one problem...it extracted hard. I had to slap the star firmly to get the shells to back out. Then I had to pull all 5 out with my fingers. Hmmmmm.......I took out my Lipsey's GP blue, 5" barrel, same caliber and shot the next row of 5 shells in the box. Empties fell out of the gun. I wiped out the chambers on the 3" gun and looked at the chambers in a good light. Circular machine marks at the front of the chambers where the mouth of the case rests. Didn't look kosher. So, I e-mailed Ruger customer service and they said that they wanted to look at it. My dealer just shipped the revolver back to Ruger. We will see what they find/do. Will post more later.

mannyCA said:

Been following the issues facing this great idea but decided to get one anyway.

For posterity the CG was .008, all throats were .432 and yes, the front site has that gap.

So, shooting the snot out of it last week I seemed to have lost the rear site pin so I called the factory to see what they'd charge for a new one. During the conversation I brought up the front sight gap and asked what that was all about, the nice CSR said she'd look into it and get back to me.

About five minutes later I get two emails, one saying the rear sight pin shipped out (excellent service by the way) and another from said CSR who responded.
I've posted here response below.

"Good Afternoon Manny,
The front sight does sit slightly above the barrel. This is to allow proper installation without marring the barrel.
Thank you.
Kris Gregory
Customer Service Representative
Newport NH 03773"

Soooooooo…..I don't whether to laugh or cry…
Oh, and now they I see they have the Old army for 1200+ change. Okay.

Click to expand...

I sent mine back for the sight thing and loose and inconsistent throats came back with new barrel (sight sits better) and a new cylinder, of interest I have the new Springfield XDE and the front and rear sight sit up off the slide as bad or worse than the Ruger so who knows

Sounds like they buy the parts and install them as made and no fitting is done. It doesnt bother me on mine. Not sure if it isnt as bad as others or i just dont have an eye for it. I love the gun tho!

It is fun to shoot, those 5 rounds sure do go fast, especially on steel.
I went through about 300 rounds last sunday before I noticed the rear site pin slipped out.
I had 200 grain plated/ 200 grain XTP and 200 grain Nosler JHP all going about 900fps.
The 240 grain KT cast were going about 870fps.
talk about a hand full, almost too punishing for one handed practice, almost.

This is a follow up to my post on 23 October. I finally contacted Ruger about the hard extraction on my 3" SS GP. They sent me a RMA and I shipped it back to them thru my local dealer (I live very rural and the logistics was a real pain). I received the revolver back yesterday. On the repair sheet the technician listed that the following was replaced: Barrel, cylinder, hammer, trigger and pawl. Quite a lot of replacement for essentially a new revolver. In any case, I ran it thru it's paces last evening. Everything works flawlessly including easy extraction of fired cases from a wide variety of loads. The action is very smooth both in single and double action. So, except for the inconvenience of shipping the revolver and the fact that the quality control folks should have caught the problem(s) initially, Ruger did make good.
Also, I did install a set of the new recoil absorbing Pachmeyr grips. These DO require some fitting to be installed. I used a square rasp file and carefully filed away the material inside the grip that the frame was binding on. Pressing the grips onto the frame firmly will leave marks inside the grips. By filing away the marks one can, after multiple raspings, have some very nicely fitting grips. By the way, they really work. As a previous poster noted, some of the stouter +P (as in 240s at 850-900fps) 44 Special loads can be a hand full. These grips take all that away. I am exceptionally pleased the way this situation turned out.