SP 101 good bones

Just picked up a new SP101 2.25"357 and like the title says , it has "good bones". The basic frame to cylinder fit is very tight with "0" end shake .0015-.002 BCG and tight lock up on each cylinder notch. Now the good part ends there !! SA pull is 8-9#'s and DA is 12#s"+. Dry firing the gun feels like weight lifting exercise for your trigger finger !! So a spring kit will get installed after a range trip , hopefully this coming week, and a hundred or so full throttle 357's fired through it to take off any uneven spots on the star.
In theory the gun should shoot well and after the spring kit it should be ready for carry duty. Note all potential carry ammo will be test fired at the range before it becomes defense fodder.

dry fire ... a lot .... repeat

It will smooth up


jd

When I got mine I took the trigger out degreased it then heated some 10W40 synthetic motor oil dipped the trigger group in it and hung it from a wire for over night,wiped the excess off then dry fired it every night for a week. I would dry fire until my right hand got tired the switch to left hand. It now has a great trigger. The sp101 is the DAO model and the trigger is very good now.

I got misfires with anything lighter than the 11# main spring, so make sure you do plenty of range time before duty carry if you change your springs.

I have a GP100 I tried some lighter springs in but had troubles.

I also have two SP101's, a 38 and a 327. You ain't kidding about the heavy trigger. Man oh Man. Both have been fired and dry fired and then shot some more. They are a little better, still on the heavy side though.

However, they are both extremely accurate and have NOT had ANY misfires. One squib in the 327 however, but that's not the guns fault.

I have found the Wilson combat spring kit to work better than any other I have tried, available from Brownell's , and have found that the 10# mainspring works fine in my 32 mag and 327 but I am going to put the 12# spring in this one and the lighter trigger return spring. Yep has to be 100% if you bet your life on it !! I oil my trigger groups with black moly in 10W Mobil 1 and some Teflon solution added for extra slickness. Dry firing ! Yes ! I wish I could make myself a motor driven actuator arm to dry fire this thing, easier on old arthritic hands.

My SP101 is my most accurate revolver---the trigger doesn't bother me at all(bone stock)---but then again, the SD9--Mini-14 etc.. triggers don't bother me either. Its been dry fired and shot quite a bit--also I've left it cocked(empty) for several days at a time.

I would also suggest you try strengthening your grip using the cheap spring loaded grip trainers available almost everywhere--have been using these since I was a kid--no, not all the time----but my hands are much stronger than my younger co-workers in a factory setting.

Get strong and seemingly heavy triggers are no big deal.

Ruger the horse is out of the barn on much grip strength improvement. @ 73 with significant arthritis in my hands I am not sure the strength from many years ago would come back. You are correct , a strong grip helps with revolver shooting. I have dry fired the thing with both hands until both hurt and it has smoothed up a little . I will put in the new springs and polish it some and should improve some more.
All of my revolvers have been smoothed up to give a smooth even pull with out outrageous stacking and this one will get the same treatment.

SP 101 3" barrel was bear to pull the new out of the box trigger, but went bang every time with factory and handloads. So I tried all three springs and the revolver became unreliable. There was another issue and off to the factory it went. That gave me time to reflect on the 14 lb. trigger pull. The one thing I had not tried was the trigger return spring. Upon return I check the revolver and found it to be reliable with the ammo that I started the test with. Off came the grips, the mainspring, etc. until I removed the trigger return spring. I cleaned up the mainspring hole, lubed the replacement spring and reassembled the revolver. With the factory hammer spring in place the trigger pull is just below 4 pounds. Now for the range test with the ammo that I have used to test the gun. Range report after the trip. Sure it is easier to change the hammer spring, but the first spring to be compressed is the trigger return spring.

Dixon I have a 3" SP101 and it had a pretty good trigger out of the box, never can predict what you will get when you buy a new one. My 3" shot everything I tried in it low. I talked to Ruger CSR and he sent me an extra front sight and suggested I take a file to my current front sight , but I would have an extra if I over did it ! My favorite load is the old Keith load with the 358429CHP / 2400. My 3"shoots that load well but about 6" low at 25 yards. So, per the formula on Brownell's web site, I need to take .007 off the front sight , which will be accomplished the next range trip ! My previous 2.25 101 shot 15.0/2400/146 Speer JHP point of aim at 25 yards and was soda can accurate.
So range time are a must for me after Thanksgiving week !!

Well , put in light trigger return spring and 12# hammer spring and did a small amount of 1000 grit stone polishing and the trigger is lighter and significantly smoother. The 12# hammer spring did not lighten the DA much but smoothness makes up for still slightly heavy DA pull. Now to the reloading bench to whip up some 38 spl +p+ rounds for some soft cast 140 HP's and JHP 140 grain bullets.
I will probably shoot the 3" SP101 more at the range but I want some good loads that will shoot POA at 15-20 yards for the 2.25" gun.

Range report. At 15 yards the 327 fed mag SP 101 is printing 1 7/8 inch groups with it's favorite load. The good news is, it fires every time I pull the trigger with a live round in the chamber. The Wolf 8# trigger return spring and the Ruger hammer spring is the most reliable combination. The double action pull is 8# 13 oz. and the single action is 3# 8 oz. Now with that out the way, time to polish and shim the hammer. All trigger release readings are done with a Lyman Tigger Pull Gauge.

This is the first revolver that I have ever experienced a displayed shift in point of impact with identical powder charges and different bullets. The powder was 2400 and the shift was two inches up from the 100 grain to the 115 grain. As for the powder, 2400 has been my go to powder for Magnum loads. May need to rethink that with the SP101 as the muzzle flash and cylinder gap flash were impressive or maybe better worded is extremely noticeable. The bullet shift for that round was less than a 1/2 inch from the 7.5 Bisley. So does barrel length affect shift that much?

Yep! I have an .357 Mag SP-101 with 3 inch barrel. I use 158 gr lswc over 13.5 gr 2400. Shoots to POA up to 25 yds. Good luck!
gramps

Gramps thank you for your load. With my larger framed guns I use 14.0/2400/158csw and the shoot well. I will try your load .

Again asking for any other loads that have been successful in your 2.25/357/SP101's . I tried some 158 grain 38 spl +p loads in my 2.25 101 yesterday and accuracy was pretty bad and POI was 12" low and 6" left . Gramps gave me a good load , have not loaded yet due to health problems. I am asking if you have any other loads that shoot POA or close and are accurate at 15 yards or further
I would appreciate it ! Thanks again just try to save some time for reloads to try.