Anyone Using a Ruger SP101 for Home Defense?

[kel ruger man]

besides going deaf shooting a snub 357 indoors, and the muzzle flash that will blind you, i dont recomend it for the house. nothing better then a 15 to 20 round pistol backing up a shotgun

 

[writwing]

A shotgun indoors would be pretty loud. Anyone have the stats on the number of rounds fired in home invasions?

 

[JumpmasterC]

besides going deaf shooting a snub 357 indoors, and the muzzle flash that will blind you, i dont recomend it for the house.

Big reason I stick mostly to a Glock by my bedside when possible. I shot the SP101 a few times at the range when they do that "lights out" shooting. All the .357 Magnum SD loads I have tried are pretty darn loud (even with hearing protection) & after the first shot my night vision is drastically reduced! Something about .357....they are really snappy loud. Don't get me wrong, I love my SP101, but HOPE if I ever have to fire it in SD, it is daytime & outside! :lol:

 

[kel ruger man]

A shotgun indoors would be pretty loud. Anyone have the stats on the number of rounds fired in home invasions?

yes, but remember with a long barrel its not as close to your ears like a revolver, and they are not half as loud as a revolver because of that.

 

[chup]

I carry my SP101 every day and back it up with a LCR357. The LCR357 does Night Stand Duty in the P.M. As for Home Defense, The SP101 and LCR357 are on my person all day every day. I keep a 12G. Pump in the closet ready to go and their are few other Handguns stashed around the house.

 

[CJW]

My first "my own" firearm was a 4.20" SP-101. I used .38 Special Hornady Critical Defense for the home and Buffalo Bore hardcast .357 in the woods.

My SP101 is now second fiddle to a Beretta 92 due to capacity and even then that will be replaced by a Glock 20. IMO, as long as you are loaded with a capable self defense round, capacity is paramount.

 

[rugerlovah]

I use my SP101 .32 mag for concealed carry and for my "travel" gun (take it in the car on trips, etc.) For home defense I prefer a Beretta 92f. Any way you slice it, a much more capable firearm if you're not having to conceal it.

 

[JTM47]

Robb Barnes

Would you share who it was that applied the black powder chamfer to the cylinder of your SP101?

Thanks

 

[woodsy]

If you can't stop the bad guy with five rounds, in your own house (where you are the most familiar), where are all those other rounds (from a semi-) going? The chances of a home-invasion going the route of a Hollywood movie are infinitely-small.

 

[CJW]

If you can't stop the bad guy with five rounds, in your own house (where you are the most familiar), where are all those other rounds (from a semi-) going? The chances of a home-invasion going the route of a Hollywood movie are infinitely-small.

So if I "can't stop the bad guy with five rounds" i should just give up because all the other rounds are guaranteed to miss? A revolver is not inadequate by any means and if it's what you're comfortable with go for it. Go with both if you can swing it. For me, however, 13 rounds vs 5 is far more attractive to me than .357 Mag vs .40S&W.

I'm sure this woman would have preferred more than 6 shots.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7EfiSsQW2Y

Whatever you feel gives you the best chance to get out of a bad situation is a very personal decision. All you can do is hear the arguments and make the best choice.

 

[woodsy]

"Whatever I feel"?
How about a full-auto with 50 rounds? Then I could spray everything with no worries about missing. Who cares about where the extra slugs go?
People should cut back on their movie-viewing and -believing.

 

[CJW]

I'm not certain how you immediately jumped to the conclusion that using semi-automatics only has a place in the movies, but I guess if people's opinions differ with yours there's always arrogance and condescension to fall back on.

 

[Floridaoutdoors]

I finally came to the conclusion that my GP100 was 'clunky' and 'chunky' compared to my GP101.
The 101 lends itself to both home and vehicle,briefcase applications.
I prefer not to leave a firearm behind,unattended in the house in case of theft while away,the 101 totes easily to and from vehicle and back inside the house.

The 101 is more responsive than the 100
Low flash 38+P

 

[stevemb]

Folks, you stop shooting when no threat remains.It is ok to put the gun down with ammo remaining. The absolute worst sound in the world is the click of a firing pin/striker whacking into nothing or an empty case. Ok, the absolute worst sound is hearing a loved-one take their last breath. stevemb

 

[GKC]

Anyone have the stats on the number of rounds fired in home invasions?

I read that in the average self-defense shooting, the number of rounds fired is less than three. However, stats and averages won't help you if you are armed with a 5 shot revolver and there are 6 invaders...unless you can get two of them to stand one in front of the other, and shoot two at once Hollywood-style! :lol:

How many home invasions have 6 invaders? I'm sure there are some, but I would imagine the the majority are one or two bad guys. What really matters, though, is the weapon you are proficient with. A Glock with a 33 round magazine won't do you any good if you can't hit the broad side of the barn from the inside with it...however, if you are deadly accurate and proficient with a revolver, then it is your best choice.

I will be 62 next month, and I've never needed to fire a gun in self-defense. I hope and pray it stays that way. As of now, I don't have high capacity guns for home defense...I have 7 or 8 round 1911s, an 8 round S&W Shield 9mm, and a 5 round SP101 .357, any of which I might have on the night stand on any given night.

 

[tdubb]

An SP101 2.25 with crimsontrace grips is my full time defensive weapon. There are two spare speed loaders on the nightstand with a flashlight and my phone. It's loaded with .357 Remington Golden Sabers at the moment. It shoot it a lot, I practice reloading often and I compete with it.

Practice is the key factor with any gun.

My wife is my back up with her M&P 9mm. There are also two dobermans at the foot of the bed that will wake us up if a mouse farts.

 

[Kyhunt]

I finally came to the conclusion that my GP100 was 'clunky' and 'chunky' compared to my GP101.
The 101 lends itself to both home and vehicle,briefcase applications.
I prefer not to leave a firearm behind,unattended in the house in case of theft while away,the 101 totes easily to and from vehicle and back inside the house.

The 101 is more responsive than the 100
Low flash 38+P

Sacrilege, Gp100 clunky and chunky??? Maybe a little on the chunky side but clunky? I love my gp100 as much as my sp101. I believe both the sp101 and the gp100 to be fine home defense weapons.Floridaoutdoors I'm just giving you a hard time. :mrgreen:

 

[FlyingPancreas]

Thanks again - still more very interesting and thought-provoking responses!

Ultimately, I will probably stick with the G23 for the nightstand. For round capacity more than anything else, and because I have more trigger time on that model than my others. The appeal of revolvers is that I find I shoot them better - more accurately and comfortably - than I do semi-autos. Not sure why, but there it is. So I feel an elevated sense of confidence with revolvers, and I still absolutely plan to purchase an SP101 and perhaps a GP100 or S&W 686. But capacity is important for me for home defense, on further consideration.

I tend to reject the argument that "If you can't get the job done with X number of rounds," etc. I reject it not because I plan to pepper my home with wild shots, but simply because there are far too many variables involved in any potential home invasion, and I feel I'd be making a mistake to assume I can predict how things *should* play out. Including the matter of how many shots should/will be required to end things safely (for my family, that is). There might be more than one assailant, for example. They might be armed themselves. Perhaps they are wearing protective gear of some kind, and I might not know this, groggy and in the dark and scared out of my mind, until a perp I think I've put down gets up and starts firing back. The list of horrible but plausible possibilities is endless. I read an article by Massad Ayoob in which, at the time, his nightstand pistol was a large-capacity 9mm (cannot recall the model). Mr. Ayoob is hardly a man I would suspect of planning to spray bullets randomly about his home during an invasion in a fit of Hollywood madness.

I own a shotgun, but in my case using it for home defense has never presented itself as a practical option. Until late December when I escaped the People's Republic of New York and lit out for PA, I'd always lived in apartments on the working class order. So a long gun just wasn't very practical for me with all the narrow hallways and tight corners. A handgun is just much more maneuverable. Now that I'm in a house, the same problem exists - smallish house, lots of tight corners. Some day, maybe I'll win the lottery and get a much bigger house where I can swing a shotgun around. Talk about confidence...

 

[tjtoolbox]

I alyways use my SP 101 as a self defense and home defense,my choioce I do not have a 12 ga shotgun but the SP 101 is a .357 that i am well fimilar with. If you break in you will eat .357 no exceptions!!

 

[writwing]

I'm not certain how you immediately jumped to the conclusion that using semi-automatics only has a place in the movies, but I guess if people's opinions differ with yours there's always arrogance and condescension to fall back on.

There is a "spray and pray" mentality the goes along with a hi-cap. Jeff Cooper talks of this extensively.