Accuracy. Expectations for Gp100?

[Govols46]

I pulled my 5 yr. old SS GP100 out of the safe & shot it for the first time this week. Put 50 or so rounds through it in 2 sessions after an initial internal & external clean up to remove factory lube & crud ( it was really pretty clean).
So far, I have tried 125 grain Remington UMC JSPs and 158 gr. Federal Jsps in .357 mag, and Winchester 130 gr. FMJs in .38 special.
Best I can do off hand @ 15 yards ( 2 handed grip) is to keep shots in a 6 inch circle. At 25 yards with wrists rested on a sandbag (gun not touching bag) over the hood of my Jeep, I can keep shots on an 8 1/2 X 11 paper target, but not much better. Recoil with the. 357 s does not bother me any more than the target/ range .38 specials. in fact, the 158 gr. Federals in .357 seem to group best. I do have to work to keep the front sight in focus - painted it with a little bright orange nail polish after the first session, which seemed to help a bit.
Can I expect better accuracy from this gun after break in & some more range time?

 

[ASRuger]

Revolvers don't typically get more accurate after "break in". I think more range time will help you become a better shooter with that gun. Unless there's something terribly wrong with the gun it should be able to group 6 rounds in less than 4 inches at 25 yards with most ammo and less than 2.5" with stuff it likes.

 

[gunman42782]

If the Gods are smiling and I am "in tune", I can keep all 6 shots touching at 15 yards. More typical groups are in the 2 to 3 inch range. I have even had a rew groups in the 2 to 3 inch range at 25 yards with my GP. Mine seems to favor the hotter rounds, the 125 grain JHP, but it does very well with the 158 grain SWC, and actually does the worst with .38s, but still very much acceptable.

 

[TiteGroups]

Can't keep them all touching but my best 15yrd group has been 1 1/4" offhand. Try having a friend who is a decent shot give it a try.

 

[Snake45]

Revolvers don't typically get more accurate after "break in". I think more range time will help you become a better shooter with that gun. Unless there's something terribly wrong with the gun it should be able to group 6 rounds in less than 4 inches at 25 yards with most ammo and less than 2.5" with stuff it likes.

Agree with this completely. And it shouldn't be impossible to find something that will slip inside of 2".

 

[BearStopper]

I have a Security Six that will do about 2 1/2 groups with ease at 25 yards with the first handload I put through it. I am sure with care the same load would do better but it is fine as is so I left it alone. I would guess that the GP should do the same with the right load, no reason it shouldn't.

 

[Govols46]

Thanks for the quick replies - I guess it must be me, which is kind of a surprise, because I am pretty fair with rifle, shotgun & bow, and I understand how to squeeze a trigger (factory trigger on this gun is pretty good, BTW).
I do not have much handgun experience, but have been "not terrible" with a few other handguns. After reading your responses, I looked at a few you tubes & web articles about stance, grip, & sight picture - I was doing a few things wrong, but not way off. I may also try a larger bull - I was using a 2" stick on bull, & it was pretty fuzzy with my old eyes @ 25 yards.
Maybe reloaded rounds will be more consistent - I have some dies for 38/357, and I'm getting close to having enough empty brass to start a batch or two. Thinking about AA5 powder which looks to be good for mid range loads, and will give me both 38 & 357 capabilities, and trying several charges/bullet weights & types. Any suggestions to start with?
Thanks.

 

[Snake45]

Thanks for the quick replies - I guess it must be me, which is kind of a surprise, because I am pretty fair with rifle, shotgun & bow, and I understand how to squeeze a trigger (factory trigger on this gun is pretty good, BTW).
I do not have much handgun experience, but have been "not terrible" with a few other handguns. After reading your responses, I looked at a few you tubes & web articles about stance, grip, & sight picture - I was doing a few things wrong, but not way off. I may also try a larger bull - I was using a 2" stick on bull, & it was pretty fuzzy with my old eyes @ 25 yards.
Maybe reloaded rounds will be more consistent - I have some dies for 38/357, and I'm getting close to having enough empty brass to start a batch or two. Thinking about AA5 powder which looks to be good for mid range loads, and will give me both 38 & 357 capabilities, and trying several charges/bullet weights & types. Any suggestions to start with?
Thanks.

If your target is fuzzy, that's good, or can be--means you're focusing on the front sight, as you should be.

I used to shoot at 1" target pasters at 25 yards. Discovered a few years ago I could shoot better groups (handgun) using a 4" black square at 25 yards and 6" or 8" at 50. I defintely use the 8" black square to shoot iron-sighted rifles at 100.

 

[Pal Val]

I prefer a small aiming point. I use 1" dots at 25 yds. Aim small, miss small. I associate the fuzzy little dot on top of my front sight as the dot on an "i" for a 6 o'clock hold.

My favorite revolver for bullseye is a 6" GP100 I turned into a pet project some years ago. I polished the action, put in a Wolff spring set, and put in a Williams rear sight and a Redhawk front sight with a red insert. Ir's a sweet gun to shoot and gets me consistent groups around 2" at that distance.

Funny, but my GP100 shoots best with 158 lead bullets at .357 mag loadings. The .38 special "target loads" open up my groups a bit.

 

[Snake45]

I prefer a small aiming point. I use 1" dots at 25 yds. Aim small, miss small. I associate the fuzzy little dot on top of my front sight as the dot on an "i" for a 6 o'clock hold.

That worked great for me, too, 20 or 30 years ago. :wink:

 

[Jimbo357mag]

I do think Ruger barrels especially Stainless Steel ones need breaking-in. They are notorious for being kind of rough. I think 500 jacketed rounds can get them smoothed out pretty well. I had a Redhawk that needed all of that to start shooting well. Some folks recommend lapping the barrels. I would not recommend that off the bat but don't be too quick to judge the accuracy of a revolver until you have put a lot of bullets down range. 8) 8)

...Jimbo

 

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

I do think Ruger barrels especially Stainless Steel ones need breaking-in. They are notorious for being kind of rough. I think 500 jacketed rounds can get them smoothed out pretty well. I had a Redhawk that needed all of that to start shooting well. Some folks recommend lapping the barrels. I would not recommend that off the bat but don't be too quick to judge the accuracy of a revolver until you have put a lot of bullets down range. 8) 8)

...Jimbo

I'm with Jimbo on this one. My 44 SBH groups shrunk by at least 1/2 after about 500 rounds. May a little of that was me. But I've seen a lot of chatter in stainless barrels.

 

[DPris]

Agree with AS.
Always possible it's the gun, but that's pretty dismal accuracy & my experiences with GPs has been almost always under 4, frequently under 2, at 25.

And that's with factory stuff.
Denis

 

[surveyor47]

It is not unusual for new Rugers to require a trip back to the factory regarding spitting or accuracy issues. My GP100 required 3 trips in order to correct the worst spitting I ever experienced. Once fixed, it has been consistely accurate in the 2 1/2" to 3" range. Why dont you try bench resting some 148 & 158 grain 38 Specials to eliminate flinching as an issue. If it doesnt group with either of those, I would send it back. Do you get what feels like an instantaneous almost imperceptable puff on your cheek? If so, that is spitting. Anyway, with persistance, Ruger will fix any problem the gun has.

 

[weemsf]

When I owned a GP, I found that my slow target loads were terrible in it. It much preferred a hotter load.

 

[surveyor47]

My experience with several 357s is that best accuracy is usually obtained at 2 levels: about 700-750 fps with 0.358 diameter lead bullet 148 or 158 grain and between 1000 and 1100 fps wih 140 or 158 grain jacketed 0.357 diameter bullets. The one and only exception I have found to that rule is with hard cast 0.358 diameter hard cast lead bullets at about 1100 fps with IMR4227. I have yet to see a 357 that shot best at 1200 to 1300 fps. The shooting public seems more interested in velocity and foot pounds than in accuracy. If you reload, you can taylor your loads to your gun and what it likes, not what the pubic likes. People dont seem to remember that grizzlys dont roam the neighborhoods of most places in the lower 48. If I choose to carry a 357 in an area inhabited by wild hogs, I carry a factory 357 magnum 158 grain JSP or a 180 grain JHP, which should penetrate pretty well. Other than that application, I dont see much utility for 1300 fps 357s and usually prefer +P38 Specials or 357 Short Barrel loads such as the Speer 135 grain Gold Dot Short Barrel, which is nothing but factory renditions of my 1100 fps load.

 

[weemsf]

I long ago go over the super-speed syndrome that usually afflicts new reloaders. I do have a bunch of 357's I loaded for a scoped Blackhawk and a T/C Contender that need shooting (loads are over 10 years old). Got tired of my 44 Mag kicking my behind and learned to love 44 Special level loads. Nearly all of my revolver loading today is target speed. Even my 45 ACP is usually loaded with 200 GR SWC in 750-800FPS range. My aging eyes and bones appreciate the mildness of it.

My GP would not shoot a 700 FPS 158 worth a flip. Pushed it out to about 100oFPS or so and the groups got much tighter. Your mileage may differ.

 

[surveyor47]

What cast lead bullet diameter were you using, 357 or 358? Somethmes that bullet can make all the difference for reasons known only to the gun. One such gun is a S&W 19 2.5" that would not shoot a 158 for love or money, but wold shoot a 148 HBWC like a laser gun. I struggled with that gun for a long time until I found a brand of cast bullets that its contankerous nature likes. That gun shoots that particular brand of 158 even better than the 148 HBWC. I own a couple of contankerous guns, but that one's nature seems to have mellowed over the years and in her old age seems to enjoy outperforming younger models.

 

[weemsf]

Don't remember for sure, but I would assume they were .358's. My local gun shop owner clued me in to the speed issue with the Ruger. Browning Buck Marks shoot high speed 22's better than subsonics. I had a Remington 541 that could not make a 4" group with high velocity ammo but would shoot .33" with standard or target velocity.

My GP just did not like low velocity ammo. Medium to moderately high velocity shot like a laser.

 

[surveyor47]

S&W remarked to me that the 586 was designed for jacketed bullets at magnum velocities and further remarked that they particularly enjoyed my 6" 586 on their range, terming it "one of the most accurate 357s we have ever shot at the Performance Center". Yes, mine is accurate with magnums, but is no slouch with lead bullets either. I used it for Club PPC Competition for quite some time. It did not come in first place, but always placed within the top 3. This is a gun that definately like em either hot or cold and seems most accurate with 1100 fps loads. When I want to show off, I take this gun and my 1100 fps jacketed 357s to the range. I always get remarks like, "What the hell kind of gun is that?"

From what I understand, the 586 and the GP100 have nearly identical design criteria.