SP101 with or without bobbed hammer

garp007":1d43unzs said:

Can I do it myself, just to cut off the "useless" part of the hammer to make hammerless? Is it possible to do it at home with just a rasper?
What shall I be careful about?Is it difficult?


Or shall I let a gun smith to do his job?

Click to expand...

garp007, I did mine and it was pretty easy. Pick the profile you want, disassemble the gun and take the hammer out. Disassemble the hammer dog from the hammer, too. I took a bench grinder to mine, ground it to roughly the profile I wanted. When the metal started getting uncomfortably hot to hold, I dipped it into a bowl of cold water to cool it down, making it easier to hold and it should also protect the temper (if it doesn't get too hot to hold, it shouldn't effect the temper/heat treat of the metal). After grinding, go at it with emery cloth/sandpaper to get rid of the grind marks and polish to your satisfaction. Just remember to clean the hammer REAL WELL before reassembly to get all the metal particles out of it. Nothing like doing the mod and reassembling your gun, only to find that your trigger is now real gritty because you didn't clean it well before reassembly.

Here's a pic of mine. As you can see, I left a rounded "hump" on the hammer to allow more metal for durability. The hammer seemed to me to not have enough metal for durability to grind the hammer to the profile of the frame and allow it to sit perfectly flush, but Ruger does their DAO SPs flush with the frame, so maybe it does.



Bub

Well, I'm not with the "majority" on this one. I carry my SP and it has the stock spurred hammer. I like having the SA/DA option and have never had a snagging issue. Maybe like Contender said, it has something to do with the holster. This goes for my GP's as well, I just don't like a spurless, bobbed hammer regardless of what it's on.

I think I would like a spurless hammer on mine. I have the 3" SP and carry it while hiking and for CCW. I only use single action at the range and it wouldn't bother me much to be without it. I shoot the same in DA or SA.

The problem for me with a spurless hammer is that I like retention on my holsters. I don't want to own a holster without a thumb break or similar retention. I just see no reason to limit my physical activity because of my holster. I might run, trip and fall, bushwack across a mountain side, or even climb a tree and I want to know that my gun will stay in my holster. I haven't seen a good solution like a thumb break for spurless guns.

I agree with wildturk. I have been carrying and practicing with my un-bobbed SP101 and GP100 for quite a few years now and like that fact that I have a choice. I practice regularly with all types of clothes and in many different situations and haven't had any issues with the hammer sticking on anything. That's obviously not to say that if a real situation came up where I needed my piece, that I might not snag on something, but my practice should let me react to it. And, although this means absolutely nothing, I don't like the looks of a bobbed revolver - but that's just me.

I would be really interested in a hammered revolver with a skeletonized no-snag hammer.

Here is my sad attempt with Microsoft Paint.




Charlie

I have Hammered SP101's in 357 w/ 2-1/4" barrel, 327 w/ 3-1/16" barrel, and 22LR with 4" barrel. It would not hurt to have an DAO model.

I have carried my SP101 357 for years, and have not snagged on anything yet though.


Charlie

If concealed means in your pocket, then definitely go hammerless.

But if concealed means a belt holster (IWB or OWB), then see no problem with a hammer.

Unless you're a LEO with department rules against SA fire, then a SA/DA option is a good thing. Think of the legitimate self-defense situations where it is not you being the immediate target of the perp, but you being the Good Samaritan needing to take a precision shot.


Not advising anyone to be Clint Eastwood, but the bad guy in a crowded situation is becoming more common.

See the recent Richmond store robbery where the perp entered the store, shot the storekeeper inside the first two seconds, and then turned his attention to the eight customers inside the store. The good guy with his single-action 45 revolver put three rounds into the perp stopping a would-be massacre. This is not an example of precision shooting, per se, but of the crowded Good Samaritan situation.


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It really is a shame that I can not get a spurless hammer from ruger for my 357, and still keep my standard hammer. I think that I would like that very much.


Charlie

I have a DA only SP101 .357 and really like it. Mine has a good smooth trigger and for CCW I like not having to worry about the hammer snagging.

Groo here
I have an sp101 da for sd carry . the no snag properties are worth the cost of a good smith's triger job.
That said on a 3in I would keep the spur to take advantage of the
longer barrel..