Ruger Mountain Gun?

[EVR]

I really like the Ruger GP100 but I will never buy one as long as there is no light barrel option. The gun is a great gun. I just do not like full lug barrels.

I'd love to see Ruger bring out GP's {actually, Redhawks, too} with "S&W Mountain Gun"-type barrel, that is, similar to the old 1950 Target barrels.

Anybody else agree?

 

[DeletedMember58]

They did offer half lug barrels, similar to what you describe, but with a fatter contour rather than a tapered barrel.

These came in all barrel lengths, both fixed sight and adjustable, but sales were less than stellar so all those variations were dropped.

There is a call for that style, but not a market apparent;y.

 

[EVR]

I've seen them, just as you describe, in 4 and 6 ".

I don't understand the attraction to extra weight on a carry gun, but maybe most of them are range-used far more than field-used.

I guess I can always wish...

 

[BlkHawk73]

Use a GOOD belt and a GOOD holster and that extra weight disappears. Use lesser leather and even a lightweight gun is a burden.

 

[EVR]

Use a GOOD belt and a GOOD holster and that extra weight disappears. Use lesser leather and even a lightweight gun is a burden.

Well, those things help.

I put hundreds of miles a year under my boots, skis and snowshoes. Weight matters and more than that, bulk matters. The gun is also not the only thing I'm carrying; when trapping for example I have pliers, cable cutters, a heavy bolo and sometimes a knife or ammo carrier. The gun is a necessary evil.

Besides that, I'm not too fond of the handling of the heavy anchor-like feeling of the full lug barrels and I REALLY like the handling of the light whippy-barrel MG's or like that on my 29-9 Smith Heritage.

I think a Ruger GP would look great with a tapered barrel, too.

 

[JHRosier]

I think that the best compromise would be a Security-Six.
A nice used one should be inexpensive.
My SS is a featherweight compared to my GP.

Jack

 

[maxpress]

Any mediocer gunsmith will be able to contour a barrel and take off the extra extractor housing. Have them slabside the barrel like a Smith performance center. That would make people look twice.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

If weight is your major concern go with Titanium. Otherwise.
These make fine field/camping/woods guns. :shock:

...just my opinion Jimbo

 

[Pale Horse]

I think that the best compromise would be a Security-Six.
A nice used one should be inexpensive.
My SS is a featherweight compared to my GP.

Jack

+1 I was thinking the same thing.

I started to appreciate my 4" Security Six even more after buying my GP100. For shooting I will take my GP100 but for carry I will take my Security Six. It is a perfect balance between my 3" SP101 and my 4" GP100.

 

[EVR]

I agree about the Security Six and I own one, a 6" bbl gun. For field use the Sec Six just might be the best .357 magnum ever built IMO. The 4" guns are also an excellent handling gun.

I'd still like a GP with a 5 inch tapered barrel.

 

[contender]

For those of y'all who don't trap,, or hike miles in the brush DAILY during the winter,,, you may not understand the issues EVR is talking about. As a trapper,, especially in Idaho,, when hiking in the mountains,, running a trapline,, EVERY ounce you can shave off is welcomed.
So,, maybe the best solution is to look for a Security-Six,,,??

 

[jpickar]

Or you can have a good lathe man do the work for you and make it the way you want it.

John

 

[bigbore45colt]

EVR,

I'd find me a 3" or 4" GP-100 with a 1/2 lug and send it to Clements for a conversion to a 5-shot 44 Special. It will lighten it up a bit, from the bigger hole. While there, you can probably ask him to taper the barrel a bit.

Just my $0.02

BB45C

 

[EVR]

Thanks for the posts.

Recommendation for getting a Sec Six already taken. I've owned it for a few years and it is a good revolver. A 4" Sec Six is a possibility of course as well. Those also have a great feel to them.

GP's remind me a bit of N-frame Smiths in .357, that is, just a wee bit too bulky and heavy for the cartridge they are chambered in. Having said that, a trimmer barrel would solve the problem for me 100%. I guess that is not the feeling of most however, and this has been an interesting thread in uncovering others' interests, interests which don't seem to be in line with mine.

I just don't like carrying "6" Bulk" in a 4" gun which is in essence what a 4" GP feels like to me. If I'm going to carry the extra bulk and weight, I'd like to get something for it, as in longer barrel length for somewhat higher velocity.

I've always been impressed with the GP's ever since they were first released, tho they had a VERY hard act to follow in that the Sec Six is still what I consider one of if not the best .357 ever made.

We always want what we don't have it seems. The SP series is a great line, no two ways about it. But the mid-frame revolvers are still more desireable to me overall for my purposes. The old K frame Smiths were really too light/small a frame for shooting many full power .357's, the Security Six does well in that regard, the GP perfect.

If the GP could just go on Jenny Craig and lose a few...

 

[RonS]

After the original Flattops Ruger always seemed to make their revolvers a little bigger and heavier than necessary for the caliber.

 

[Rodfac]

EVR...I feel your pain, as one of our more undistinguished members of the political class once said...I like the 'less bulk' look as well and am willing to put up with the add'l muzzle flip etc. That said...that S&W with the slant shaped extension under the barrel is one of the ugliest hand guns I've ever encountered...I'd guess that slant really helps in speed re-holstering...and as for slab siding a revolver barrel...beauty lies in the eye of hte beholder...but slab sides belong on automatics...bottom feeders if you like!

JMHO, Rodfac

 

[VAdoublegunner]

I've always felt the 3 1/16" SP101 is the best Ruger mountain gun. A fully adjustable rear sight would improve it greatly, but it does well nonetheless. Fully capable of handling any standard 357 loads, which gives you a wide range of power levels, it will do many jobs well. Rarely do you need all 5 shots or more, but if so and a greater level of POI adjustment for specific loads is desired a Security-Six is the best improvement.

 

[surveyor47]

If your shots are taken up close and personal, within 25 yards, and weight is a huge issue, the 3" SP101 ought to be just the ticket. The gun will withstand any factory loading; the question is how well you will stand up to the recoil of such a light weight gun. My experience with that gun is that recoil is stiff but not unreasonable, certainly not in the same brutal catagory of those S&W Scandium guns. If your hand can stand it, you can get a full size magnum revolver that weighs about 15 ounces with Scandium. Funny how those went out of fashion real fast. The Scandium guns have a reputation for not lasting a very long time with heavy loadings. So there you have it, Steel versus Scandium.

 

[mohavesam]

Agree if weight is a primary concern, the GP is not even in the running. Apples to grapefruit.

You're looking for a Security Six or better yet for backpacking/trapline, a Taurus Titanium 44SPL (as a backup to your 4" Woodsman trapline pistol). I have one and it has never, ever given me any problem, and thumps any target. I believe they make a 357M also?

There are also $1000 options... but Ruger will never make a tapered barrel ala S&W Mountain Guns. In case you haven't noticed, Ruger has been economizing manufacturing costs for years, and is not in the custom business. Tapered barrels require extra machine work finishing and polishing, for which Ruger sadly, is not interested. Evidence the easy-cheesy 'bar-stock' barrels they put on everything.

8)

 

[don44]

I have a lot of Ruger 44 magnum revolvers and carry them as often as I can, even on long mt. hikes. But I sure like carrying my S&W Mt. Gun if I'm really trying to save a" little" weight. I do use medium loadings in it however, but thats not bad either. JMHO

 

[EVR]

Evidence the easy-cheesy 'bar-stock' barrels they put on everything.

8)

...I didn't say it, you did...

 

[Sgt Garcia]

Seems to me the simple solution would be to buy the S&W mountain gun, at least that was my solution. I can’t think of anything better other than a custom....and that would probably start with a Smith.

JMO

Dennis.

 

[mattsbox99]

The tapered barrel is the one thing I really like about my M28. The Ruger is still a better looking gun and I don't mind the heavy barrel. When I was trapping coyotes, I checked traps with the snowmobile or ATV, so a little extra weight didn't bother me at all.

 

[deac45]

If weight is your major concern go with Titanium. Otherwise.
These make fine field/camping/woods guns. :shock:

...just my opinion Jimbo

I wish Ruger would mate those two and give us a Redhawk with the GP/Super Redhawk grip. Add a 4" tapered barrell and I would be in heaven!

deac45

 

[Hugh]

In the lower 48, I have to agree with the ones who said one of the Six series; I would go with 4" or 6" and the Buffalo Bore 180 grain LFN-GC. Also, the SP-101 3-1/16" with the same cartridge. On the SP-101 I have the Trausch grip. I do have one of each of those barrel lengths. In known grizzly country I'd go with one of my two .44 Magnums with a larger cartridge.

 

[Buckeye!]

Use a GOOD belt and a GOOD holster and that extra weight disappears. Use lesser leather and even a lightweight gun is a burden.

High and close..pancake ...a BH is a joy to carry with such a holster

 

[EVR]

Use a GOOD belt and a GOOD holster and that extra weight disappears. Use lesser leather and even a lightweight gun is a burden.

High and close..pancake ...a BH is a joy to carry with such a holster

Not always practical.

In warm or cool weather, ok.

In bitter cold, such a rig is too bulky under the coat and over the coat I haven't found a good way to carry it either, especially when skiing as I whack any high gear with my elbows from time to time. When carrying other gear on the belt and I have to shift it around the higher rigs get in the way, too, at least for me, and are a pain if they are tightly bound to the belt.

I've made a lot of holsters over the years and played with and cooked up quite a number of designs.

I've put hundreds and hundreds of miles on the trail in winter with a holster center back low enough for the pistol to be grabbed easily by either hand. I'm left handed but when I set up one of my skiing rigs I made a right hand draw holster for my 226's that allows easy access to the left hand when reaching behind, back of the hand to my back.

Overall, for warm weather use when I'm not fighting a coat or anorak and for a good blend of easy access and annoyance relief, I like a holster to be located a little lower than the pancake style, mostly using the "Dutch Luger" riveted belt loop. For field use I like the loop wide enough that it slips easily around the belt so if it needs to be shifted it can be, as when bending over snares sets, etc.

Any revolver with a barrel longer than 4 inches gets the "Forsythe"-style loop so it can be removed entirely from the belt without stripping the belt, normally.

And flaps, yes, flaps, almost always on field holsters. Revolvers are junk magnets and need as much covering as possible.

 

[EVR]

Seems to me the simple solution would be to buy the S&W mountain gun, at least that was my solution. I can’t think of anything better other than a custom....and that would probably start with a Smith.

JMO

Dennis.

I owned one, as did a good friend. We sold them.

I will never buy another Smith with a key lock. My friend's failed and tied up his .44 and he had to send it back to S&W to get "unjammed".

I hate that lock and won't every look at another Smith with it until I find some sort of aftermarket whatever to replace it with an "inert" blank of some sort.

 

[P94/GP100]

4" stainless steel Security Six with the standard barrel, a Bianchi UM 84R flap holster, or Pacific Canvas & Leather's replica of a WWII Naval Aviator shoulder holster has been my solution. I much prefer Ruger's sturdiness and ease of field-stripping to comparable Smith & Wesson alternatives.

Best, Jon

 

[2 dogs]

Yep, that Smith and Wesson key lock is CRAP!