New Ruger on the way!

[PaulSoCal]

Bought GP100 yesterday in 6 round, 6 inch. I have used this same model at the range I frequent having shot both 38 special and 357 magnum. My main use will be target shooting with home defense duty should the worse occur. Other than this, my home defense options started and ended with 22LR.

Paul

 

[planetcat]

Nice! You’ll love it. Congrats!

 

[Armybrat]

Pictures when you get it!
(We like pictures)

 

[thinckley]

Pictures when you get it!
(We like pictures)

I thought pictures were mandatory?

 

[ChiefTJS]

Truly a wonderful revolver. The six inch is such a joy to shoot too.

 

[contender]

Kudos on getting a fine revolver.

Decades ago,, I had a few of the original DA series (Security-Six, Speed-Six) guns,, and never saw or felt the "need" of getting a GP-100.
Well,, I handled the Match Champion and now I own one, and I also shoot a Super GP-100 in 9mm in USPSA competition. Great guns!

 

[PaulSoCal]

I am looking forward to the end of the waiting period. The weight of the 6 inch tames the recoil nicely and I found shooting the 6 inch revolver much more comfortable than shooting a light weight 9mm semi auto. I am not concerned about the capacity, especially in CA where 10 rounds is the max even on a 9mm capable of much greater capacity.

 

[vlavalle]

Bought GP100 yesterday in 6 round, 6 inch. I have used this same model at the range I frequent having shot both 38 special and 357 magnum. My main use will be target shooting with home defense duty should the worse occur. Other than this, my home defense options started and ended with 22LR.

Paul

Welcome Paul. Where do you hail from? I am in AZ. I also have a Ruger GP100 6" SS revolver, and it is my third Ruger revolver. And since a powerful handgun seems to be new to you, for self defense be careful to not use really powerful ammo that would easily go thru walls and doors. Look for ammo that opens up quickly with a low penetration factor when you are considering .357 Mag ammo. I have a ballistics file (used for ordering ammo online) that shows that the .357 is considerably more powerful than almost any pistol, baring those that are made to shoot revolver ammo. I do not consider any of my 3 powerful Ruger handguns for self defense since on the Blackhawks (Both are SA) I do not even keep the cylinders loaded or even nearby. And with the GP100, I keep it locked with a cable, and with no ammo in it. I only use my guns for target practicing.

Show us a pic of your new gun!

 

[RoninPA]

Paul,
Congratulations!! You bought a great handgun that will last you, your heirs, their heirs and probably their heirs without wearing out (if the US doesn't go down the drain it that time frame.) Can you tell I'm a Ruger DA handgun fan ;)

 

[PaulSoCal]

I am in Southern California, but lived in Texas as a child. Got my first Ruger for Xmas at 6 years old. A Bearcat. As a kid my parents took us out to the desert and shot targets. After moving to California, the guns landed in a closet in my dads home. After his death, I took them in and stored them properly. After a year in storage, I bought a Ruger MKIV, and took the Bearcat, a Single Six and the MkIV target shooting at an indoor range. I have interested my adult daughter in target shooting as well. On Friday I bought the GP100 and my daughter bought a Browning Buckmark. She doesn't like to shoot the MkIV since i put a red dot on it and wanted to buy something different although she likes the MKIV with the iron sights. Now when we to to the range, she can shoot her own gun!

I have no interest in carrying a weapon, and I live in a safe neighborhood so I think the chance of needing home protection is beyond slim. In the event I do, I hate to be presenting with a 22... I think a fire is more likely than a break-in so I won't store a round in a cylinder or chamber. I have no issues with keeping rounds in a magazine outside the gun or soon to be in a speed loader for my GP100. They are stored in a California approved gun case that would stop a .22, but not a .357. I have neighbors on each side and a discharge at ground level would have to exit my home, pass through a block wall and penetrate their home before potentially hitting anyone. There are no kids in my home. I am very trajectory aware and a round cooking off in a chamber during a fire is my biggest and easily avoidable fear.

I am aware of how powerful the 357 magnum is but found the 6 inch GP100 and 686 easy to control on the range. My daughter who has become quite the shot also did very well with these guns. My choice between the two boiled down to simple things. I prefer the finish of the SS on the Ruger., I have a handful of Rugers ( all .22 ), the local dealer had the GP100 in 6 round, while the 686 was the plus with a 7 round cylinder. All my revolvers are 6 shot and wanted to stay with the program, and the DA action on both that I tried out were comparable and they both felt good in my hand.

 

[PaulSoCal]

Paul,
Congratulations!! You bought a great handgun that will last you, your heirs, their heirs and probably their heirs without wearing out (if the US doesn't go down the drain it that time frame.) Can you tell I'm a Ruger DA handgun fan ;)

At my age, my daughter who is target shooter will get these fairly soon....

The only thing I can take a picture of at this point is the receipt...

Paul

 

[fuzzyedge]

a 6 inch barrel GP100 is a must have ! congrats! i since put the no groove grip on mine

edited to add my new Red Hawk

 

[PaulSoCal]

In the above picture, 4 of the 5 revolvers have a yellow disk at the rear of the cylinder. What is that?

Paul

 

[fuzzyedge]

they are the safety disc that come from the factory to indicate an unloaded revolver.

 

[PaulSoCal]

they are the safety disc that come from the factory to indicate an unloaded revolver.

Interesting. My SingleSix and Bearcat from the 1960's don't seem to have one any more... Not that you could easily put on in on that style of revolver!


Thanks for the reply.

Paul

 

[thinckley]

Interesting. My SingleSix and Bearcat from the 1960's don't seem to have one any more... Not that you could easily put on in on that style of revolver!


Thanks for the reply.

Paul

Those are newish, I do not have an revolvers with them, but every new gun I have bought from Ruger has come with an "empty chamber indicator". Since every gun in my house is loaded, even when it isn't, I toss them.

 

[contender]

As noted,, those yellow plastic rings are used when guns were shipped new. And there's also a yellow, 2-pronged insert that has been used in revolvers in the front of a cylinder to prevent turning it.

Instead of throwing such stuff away,, others may appreciate them for their guns to be used as a visual aid to see the gun is unloaded,, or the pronged ones to prevent "uneducated" types from spinning the cylinder or cocking a minty collectable gun.

I'd like to find a bunch of the loose 2-pronged types to prevent the uneducated from trying to cock my revolvers.

 

[vlavalle]

I am in Southern California, but lived in Texas as a child. Got my first Ruger for Xmas at 6 years old. A Bearcat. As a kid my parents took us out to the desert and shot targets. After moving to California, the guns landed in a closet in my dads home. After his death, I took them in and stored them properly. After a year in storage, I bought a Ruger MKIV, and took the Bearcat, a Single Six and the MkIV target shooting at an indoor range. I have interested my adult daughter in target shooting as well. On Friday I bought the GP100 and my daughter bought a Browning Buckmark. She doesn't like to shoot the MkIV since i put a red dot on it and wanted to buy something different although she likes the MKIV with the iron sights. Now when we to to the range, she can shoot her own gun!

I have no interest in carrying a weapon, and I live in a safe neighborhood so I think the chance of needing home protection is beyond slim. In the event I do, I hate to be presenting with a 22... I think a fire is more likely than a break-in so I won't store a round in a cylinder or chamber. I have no issues with keeping rounds in a magazine outside the gun or soon to be in a speed loader for my GP100. They are stored in a California approved gun case that would stop a .22, but not a .357. I have neighbors on each side and a discharge at ground level would have to exit my home, pass through a block wall and penetrate their home before potentially hitting anyone. There are no kids in my home. I am very trajectory aware and a round cooking off in a chamber during a fire is my biggest and easily avoidable fear.

I am aware of how powerful the 357 magnum is but found the 6 inch GP100 and 686 easy to control on the range. My daughter who has become quite the shot also did very well with these guns. My choice between the two boiled down to simple things. I prefer the finish of the SS on the Ruger., I have a handful of Rugers ( all .22 ), the local dealer had the GP100 in 6 round, while the 686 was the plus with a 7 round cylinder. All my revolvers are 6 shot and wanted to stay with the program, and the DA action on both that I tried out were comparable and they both felt good in my hand.

Paul, Nice response! I used to live in both Southern CA and Northern CA, but moved to the Phoenix area in 2000. I also got my adult daughter to shoot my guns, and she loved it, but has done it only once. She lives in Southern CA. We will be going to southern CA to visit her and stay at the beach ib Oceanside in June. Then we will go up to Newport Beach, the Crab Cooker, and a whale watching boat ride as well! I have two Ruger Blackhawks (SA), one a .3578 mag 6 1/2 " barrel, and the other is a .45 5 1/2" SS Convertible. I picked up a used g" SS GP100 (new like condition) about 5 years ago. Whenever my son comes out to visit me, we go out shooting all my guns. We go to an outdoor range.

 

[dobegrant.45]

Good choice of revolvers

 

[PaulSoCal]

Picked it up today. Looks just like everyone else's

GP100 6", but this one is mine. In the event someone enters the house, much happier to have this than the Ruger MKV in my hand.

 

[CharlieSW]

My GP100 is a great shooter, with a surprisingly nice trigger. Hope your runs and shoots well -- Enjoy!

 

[PaulSoCal]

Thanks, going to give it a test run this Friday. Am anxious to see how it handles. I bought a speed loader for it and practiced with that last night. It drops 6 rounds fast and easy, but then you have to load the loader... I don't think it will save any time at the range but will be nice if I have to greet an uninvited guest...

 

[PaulSoCal]

Put 100 rounds through it yesterday. Front sight is TERRIBLE... Ordered Ruger sight with red ramp. Hopefully it will work out better. Also, the rear sight needed a bunch of adjustment. Up/Down was not bad, but the Right./Left was off by a mile. I adjusted a bit on the range and then came home and but a bore laser on it and tuned it up a little better. Am upset I didn't put the laser on it before I shot it. My first new Ruger was pretty spot on so I figured they were better than mine actually was from the factory.

My daughter bought a Buckmark .22 and I was expecting it to be less of a gun than my Ruger MKIV but it was DAMN nice. The trigger was much smoother than the MK IV, but I am not looking forward to giving it a deep cleaning, which is brainless on the MKIV. She didn't want a MKIV because when we go to the range, she uses mine but doesn't like the red dot I have mounted on it. In any case, between the two of us, we have both at our hands.

Paul

 

[contender]

When Ruger (or any of the big makers) mass produce a firearm,, they now use a machine to test fire for function each gun before shipping. They do not "adjust sights, or zero" them. Too many variables for them to take the TIME (read money) to do that.

As for the differences in the Browning & the Ruger when it comes to cleaning. Each one has it's differences, and from the few Browning's I've taken down,, I much prefer the Rugers.

As for the front sight on the GP,, why was it "terrible?"

 

[PaulSoCal]

I have currently purchased two Rugers. The MkIV had its sights set pretty close to spot on. I put a red dot on it and my daughter wanted her own gun with iron sights and liked the MK IV, but not the red dot. We shoot together and thought it was good to buy something other than a MKIV for reasons of not duplicating the MKIV. I chose the Ruger after reading how easy it was to take down and clean - and I have other Ruger pistols and a rifle. The Browning Buckmark is actually very nice to shoot. Had I not known about the ease of breakdown of the MK IV, I might have chosen the Buckmark.

As far as the front sight on the GP100, The black front sight against the black rear sight ( with small white border) is not easy for me to get a good sight picture. I ordered the Ruger replacement front sight and will give it a try. Terrible may not be the best word for the front sight, but lacking in contrast where easily otherwise manufactured is too many words for how I felt!

When the new sight comes in, I will see if it helps out with my tired old eyes. Maybe it is my eyes that suck... hope not...

 

[PaulSoCal]

Not my gun, not my photo. When shooting I focus on the front sight so the area of focus is usually reversed from this image, but I couldn't find an image where it was focused that way. Will see how it looks with a red front sight.

 

[gnappi]

Like this? A few secs with an image editor on a PC.

 

[JAYDAWG]

You will love it.....

 

[contender]

Black on black for sights is a common type. Sadly,, as we age,, our eyes find that it may not be the easiest to see or adjust to. I used to enjoy black on black iron sights,, but in recent years,, a good fiber optic seems to really give me a good contrast. Everybody's eyes are a little different.

 

[PaulSoCal]

Like this? A few secs with an image editor on a PC.

I snagged your JPG and did it in red. Like it even better that way!