Blackhawk vs. GP100 .357's

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Knuckles

Buckeye
Joined
Jan 8, 2007
Messages
1,229
You have already chosen the ultimate CCW Wheel-gun buy purchasing the SP101.

Now you should get one of the limited-run GP-100 5" just to have a perfect matching Hunting / Woods Gun

If you decide on getting a Bkackhawk w/adj. sights, buy one in stainless steel (it's ALL steel no aluminum) models, to me... they have a great balance when using a big fat 180gr / 200gr blaster.

The 4 5/8"bbl or the 6 1/2/" bbl Blackhawk would be an equivalent to the 5" bbl or 6" bbl GP100.

I hope my suggestions help you out in your choice... don't be afraid to go with a larger caliber either.
 

CraigC

Hawkeye
Joined
May 27, 2002
Messages
5,197
Location
West Tennessee
rhatimi":32f0lr41 said:
I always thought the .357/.44 special blackhawks were built on a medium frame design. :shock:
The regular New Model .357 is built on the large .44Mag frame. The 50th anniversary .357 Blackhawk and the new .44Spl Blackhawk are indeed built on a new mid-sized frame.

Either single action .357 is stronger than the GP but the GP is plenty strong enough for the cartridge.


roaddog28":32f0lr41 said:
The GP100 is the strongest 357 magnum double action revolver in production today.
Not really. The S&W L-frame is on par with the GP and the N-frame is stronger yet.
 

Knuckles

Buckeye
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CraigC":2v0v4fyb said:
rhatimi":2v0v4fyb said:
I always thought the .357/.44 special blackhawks were built on a medium frame design. :shock:
The regular New Model .357 is built on the large .44Mag frame. The 50th anniversary .357 Blackhawk and the new .44Spl Blackhawk are indeed built on a new mid-sized frame.

Either single action .357 is stronger than the GP but the GP is plenty strong enough for the cartridge.


roaddog28":2v0v4fyb said:
The GP100 is the strongest 357 magnum double action revolver in production today.
Not really. The S&W L-frame is on par with the GP and the N-frame is stronger yet.

OK, get a Redhawk.357Mag... that trumps the 'L' Frame and the 'N' Frame.
 

Yosemite Sam

Hunter
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CraigC":2zfmjb48 said:
rhatimi":2zfmjb48 said:
I always thought the .357/.44 special blackhawks were built on a medium frame design. :shock:
The regular New Model .357 is built on the large .44Mag frame. The 50th anniversary .357 Blackhawk and the new .44Spl Blackhawk are indeed built on a new mid-sized frame.

Either single action .357 is stronger than the GP but the GP is plenty strong enough for the cartridge.


roaddog28":2zfmjb48 said:
The GP100 is the strongest 357 magnum double action revolver in production today.
Not really. The S&W L-frame is on par with the GP and the N-frame is stronger yet.
Interesting. I know people say Ruger DAs are stronger than their SA counterparts (.44 mag Redhawk vs. Blackhawk, for instance), so I wonder: Is a .357 "mid frame" (50th Anniv) BH really stronger than a GP100? It may very well be, since we see a 6 shot .44 Special variant built on this frame, but any (custom) .44 Special GP100s we've seen have been 5 shooters. Anyone want to start shooting really heavy loads and report back? :D

-- Sam
 

roaddog28

Single-Sixer
Joined
Mar 20, 2009
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Winchester, CA
knuckles":3rsi75wf said:
CraigC":3rsi75wf said:
rhatimi":3rsi75wf said:
I always thought the .357/.44 special blackhawks were built on a medium frame design. :shock:
The regular New Model .357 is built on the large .44Mag frame. The 50th anniversary .357 Blackhawk and the new .44Spl Blackhawk are indeed built on a new mid-sized frame.

Either single action .357 is stronger than the GP but the GP is plenty strong enough for the cartridge.


roaddog28":3rsi75wf said:
The GP100 is the strongest 357 magnum double action revolver in production today.
Not really. The S&W L-frame is on par with the GP and the N-frame is stronger yet.

OK, get a Redhawk.357Mag... that trumps the 'L' Frame and the 'N' Frame.

I have a N frame model Smith 28-2, L frame 686-3 and a soon to be GP100. Not to mention the New Model Blackhawk 357. Throw in a Ruger Police Service Six as a "weak" 357 magnum. All stronger than my Smith 66-4. But I like the way my N frame shoots 357s and the Blackhawk compared to my 686-3. And the forcing cone on the 28-2 is larger than the L frame. My Blackhawk has the same forcing cone size as my N frame. I would agree than there is a strength advantage in favor of the N frame or Blackhawk. Afterall, they are both built of 44 mag platform. I guess I could say the GP100 is the strongest medium frame revolver because I feel it is beefier than the L frame. The Redhawk. 357 Mag is the strongest of them all but it is not made anymore. And they are hard to find used and cost a lot if you can find them.
I think we are straying off the thread. The member wanted to know would there be a advantage to having a GP100 over a Blackhawk. It boils down to what does he want to use the revolver for. My best answer is if you want the best all around revolver today I would say a GP100 or a older Smith 686. I don't like the new Smiths now because of the internal lock.
 

johnbh

Bearcat
Joined
Sep 2, 2009
Messages
63
I was looking for a gun to buy,not sure i wanted. My Dentist pretty cool and he shoots competion. He told me for my first the gp100 would be a good choice,great gun. So I go on these forums and now I'm looking into Sa. I ended up buying a 1999 Vaquero Bisley 45 long colt nice gun , fells great and has a awesome trigger. I really like both of them. The gp100 is the one to get me going,now I'm looking into the redhawk. I think you,ll disatisfied with either one. Good Luck
 

CraigC

Hawkeye
Joined
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Messages
5,197
Location
West Tennessee
Yosemite Sam":15fr4ib3 said:
Is a .357 "mid frame" (50th Anniv) BH really stronger than a GP100?
Yes, it is.

The Redhawk and Super Redhawk are both stronger than the large frame Blackhawk because their frames are larger and beefier and their cylinders are larger in diameter. The GP's frame is smaller than the mid-frame Blackhawk as well as the cylinder. However, while the big DA's might withstand more pressure, they will also shoot loose more quickly. No free lunches.
 

Knuckles

Buckeye
Joined
Jan 8, 2007
Messages
1,229
"No free lunches?".................................................................. ah man! :(



The GP100 is a heavy,... heavy,... heavy built .357mag
 

victank1

Bearcat
Joined
Mar 5, 2009
Messages
35
Location
central al
Shaffe48...Buy one of each..If you are a real Ruger person you will eventually have both..there is a need (want) for both the GP and a BH..
 

dakota1911

Buckeye
Joined
Mar 26, 2009
Messages
1,021
Having a GP100 and several Blackhawks I think anybody who likes handguns should have at least one SA.
 

johnbh

Bearcat
Joined
Sep 2, 2009
Messages
63
My first revolver was GP 100 4',I was hooked. I just recently bought a
older Vanquero Bisley 45 Long Colt. I really like shooting both guns.
I'm now looking into the Redhawks not sure which one to get. I really like the revolvers. You'll get the Blackhawk or Vaquero.
Good Luck
 

461

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jun 16, 2004
Messages
227
Location
Omaha, Ne. USA
I have both a GP-100 and a Blackhawk and I'll be darned if I could pick one to give up. Both guns are superb. Wish I could help, but it's going to come down to your preference. As others have said, eventually you'll have both!!
 

GhosT

Blackhawk
Joined
Aug 22, 2007
Messages
556
Location
North East Ohio
shaffe48,
Kudos on starting off a fun thread!

3 pages and going strong! ;)

I started with a Blackhawk .357--------6.5" barrel.{EARLY 80"s)
Now own a GP100 .357-----------------6" barrel.

As you didn't list purpose of gun...
Can safely say...loved both!

RUGER single actions...are a BLAST( no pun)
Plinking, targets,hunting game up to deer..they kick ass.

My GP100....I went double action a while back.
SP101 , GP100,Super Redhawk.
My switching to all double action...just a personal choice.
The Ruger single actions rock too!

Like I tell everbody that asks...
Look at local gunshop/ranges...they usually rent guns...
Try both...see which ya prefer.
 

JimMarch1

Blackhawk
Joined
Feb 19, 2007
Messages
525
Location
Tucson, AZ, USA
There's now two very different "357 Blackhawks" available new.

The standard catalog version is based on a 44Magnum-class frame and is wildly overbuilt for the 357. In my view, the ONLY reasons to go with that is because you're into reloading and want a gun that will be damned hard to kill with a silly mistake, or because you want the convertible version with a second cylinder in 9mm, a factory option on the large-frame. (You can then send the 9mm cylinder off to be converted into something cooler for handloaders, like the 356GNR (41Mag shell necked down to 357) or 357-44Bain&Davis (44Mag shell as a starting point).)

There's also the 50th Anniversary 357 Blackhawk Flattop. A damned good gun, basically an adjustable sight version of the New Vaquero. These "mid frame" guns have shown good quality control and often better out-of-the-box accuracy than their bigger cousins. They're about the same size as a Colt SAA and fit in SAA holsters. The cylinder is still noticeably beefier than a GP100 so while they're small by "Blackhawk" standards they're not at all weak and can cope with large diets of very hot 357s. Best of all, CDNNInvestments has some of the last new 50th 357s for less than $400 brand new. With shipping, taxes, etc. it's still going to be less than $450 out the door which is likely less than a new GP100 for a gun that's stronger and likely to be more accurate.

Upshot: if you're at all interested in a 357 SA, the 50th is a kick-butt deal. You have to call CDNN to confirm prices by phone:

http://www.cdnninvestments.com/

For the record: my Ruger 357 is carried daily as my CCW piece. It's a heavily modified New Vaquero 357. When I bought it in 2005 the 50th 357 was hard to get and more expensive; if I was doing it over I'd use the 50th 357 as a starting point.

In response to this question:

---
Interesting. I know people say Ruger DAs are stronger than their SA counterparts (.44 mag Redhawk vs. Blackhawk, for instance), so I wonder: Is a .357 "mid frame" (50th Anniv) BH really stronger than a GP100?
---

The answer is "yes".

There's two different aspects to "strength" - "action strength" is the ability to make the gun work properly, keep it's timing intact, stop the cylinder bores at the right point right behind the barrel, etc. The Ruger SAs all have stronger action strength than their DA counterparts - they'll run longer without needing a tune-up.

The Ruger large-frame DAs (Redhawk, SuperRedhawk) have beefier and longer cylinders than the large-frame SAs, so they can cope with hotter ammo and hence have better "blowup resistance" strength (the other kind of strength). The GP100 does NOT have a stronger cylinder than either class of Ruger SA 357 - both the medium and large frame Ruger SAs have beefier cylinders than the GP100.

So both sizes of Ruger factory 357 SAs beat the GP100 in both categories, the medium frame by a little, the large frame SA by one hell of a lot.

Action strength and blowup resistance strength don't always appear in the same gun. A classic example is the S&W 27 and 28 large N-frame 357s. These strongly resist blowing up, however if you load them with light ammo and do a lot of rapid fire, the action parts come unglued. The gun can't handle stopping and starting that heavy cylinder quickly. That's why PPC and other fast-shoot competitions using light loads usually used smaller S&W K-frames as a starting point and then added barrel weights to bring them up to N-frame heft. The smaller Ks were lasting longer than the larger Ns. The Ns could resist blowup, but had weak actions.

Compared to a Ruger SA, *everything* has a weak action, more or less :).
 

Rclark

Hunter
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
3,533
Location
Butte, MT
No question. The choice is very clear. It has to be a single action. No ifs ands or buts. So BH it is. Or the 50th Anniversary model will do too. Or the New Vaquero :) . Why? Because I prefer single actions :D .
 

Checkman

Bearcat
Joined
Nov 6, 2009
Messages
4
Location
Idaho
No good reason. Pick what you like. I prefer double action revolvers and I don't shoot atomic strength loads. So the GP100 is plenty of revolver for me.
 

Yosemite Sam

Hunter
Joined
Mar 18, 2002
Messages
2,113
Location
Cape Cod, MA, USA
Jim MarchThank you, once again, for a very detailed and informative post. (It was me that asked the 'strength' question.)

For those that might not know, Jim published a very comprehensive "used revolver checkout guide" that has been going around the net for years (Google it).

This is another very nice contribution.

-- Sam
 

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