Sold a Taurus......bought a Ruger. Ammo question

[Heliman]

Today, I was set up at the show. I only had one firearm to sell and a bunch of odds and ends. Before the show opened to the public, a guy I know bought my Taurus 431 44spcl revolver I had been trying to sell for awhile. I was pleased and glad I didn't have to carry that revolver around anymore. I wasn't looking to buy anything today......

THEN, the guy behind me was setting up and I noticed he had a boxed SP101 he was setting out. On further examination I noticed it was a 3" barreled "125 gr bullet only" 357 model. KSP-331. So we made a deal. Now it is in my safe..... :D





My question would be; will all 125gr 357 Mag factory ammo fit the chambers of this revolver??

Thanks, Dave

 

[GKC]

I've never heard of a revolver that was chambered for one bullet weight only. Of course, I don't know everything, not by a long shot. I'll be interested in the replies to this one!

 

[Jimbo357mag]

The problem is the rather short cylinder.
You can load almost any bullet you want if you do it yourself and are careful of the pressure but your factory ammo will be limited by it's COL.

 

[pisgah]

I've never heard of a revolver that was chambered for one bullet weight only. Of course, I don't know everything, not by a long shot. I'll be interested in the replies to this one!

The original SP-101 was chambered in .38 Special, and the cylinder was sized appropriately to chamber any .38 Special load. Folks noted right away, though, that the SP-101 was sturdy enough to handle .357 Magnum ammo. One problem -- any .357 load with a heavier-than-125 gr. bullet was too long to fit the cylinder without the bullet nose poking out. So, Ruger went ahead and re-chambered the gun for .357 with the "no bullet over 125 gr." limitation for a while, finally redesigning the gun with a slightly longer cylinder in both .38 and .357.

 

[GKC]

I've never heard of a revolver that was chambered for one bullet weight only. Of course, I don't know everything, not by a long shot. I'll be interested in the replies to this one!

The original SP-101 was chambered in .38 Special, and the cylinder was sized appropriately to chamber any .38 Special load. Folks noted right away, though, that the SP-101 was sturdy enough to handle .357 Magnum ammo. One problem -- any .357 load with a heavier-than-125 gr. bullet was too long to fit the cylinder without the bullet nose poking out. So, Ruger went ahead and re-chambered the gun for .357 with the "no bullet over 125 gr." limitation for a while, finally redesigning the gun with a slightly longer cylinder in both .38 and .357.

Thanks for the information! That's very interesting.

 

[Rumrunner]

Before Ruger decided to chamber for the 125 grain 357, many gunsmith's were already doing this.

Your title got my attention. I just bought a Ruger SRH Alaskan and the day it arrived I sold my Taurus Tracker 44.

 

[Heliman]

I tried some Hornady Critical Defense FTX 125gr and Sig Elite Performance 125gr. Both chambered perfectly. I don't handload, so these will work just fine.....

 

[rugnelli]

Cool little SP!

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

Nice Dave. Did those grips come with it? I think you will like it. 125 JHP is a very reliable load for personal defense as I'm sure you already know. Those are few and far between anymore. I prefer the 3"er myself.

 

[Heliman]

Nice Dave. Did those grips come with it? I think you will like it. 125 JHP is a very reliable load for personal defense as I'm sure you already know. Those are few and far between anymore. I prefer the 3"er myself.

Those are Eagle grips. Fits the hand well... When I get back from vacation I will try it out.....

 

[Heliman]

WAYNO and I shot this revolver today. With 125gr .357 defense loads it was accurate and with the Eagle grips surprisingly easy shooting. Muzzle blast gets your attention. I need to address double action trigger pull and that is the only negative.

All and all a good little revolver.

Dave

 

[grobin]

As for double action, when I carried one I just carried it cocked and treated it like a modern single action.

 

[Heliman]

As for double action, when I carried one I just carried it cocked and treated it like a modern single action.

Am I missing something here? Are you saying you carried it cocked over a loaded cylinder? Please clarify.... :shock:

Dave

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

I'm with you Dave. I think I missed something.

 

[WAYNO]

WAYNO and I shot this revolver today. With 125gr .357 defense loads it was accurate and with the Eagle grips surprisingly easy shooting. Muzzle blast gets your attention. I need to address double action trigger pull and that is the only negative.

All and all a good little revolver.

Dave

I've shot my share of SP101's, and although they are still the best handling small-frame .357, they are still a handful when shooting .357's. And yep, these Eagle grips made the shooting much more pleasant.

And Dave...I did look for the spring kit. I've found nothing other than the empty package.

 

[JStacy]

I like Wilson combat spring kits for the SP101 and GP100. Good choice and I have not had a FTF with them and the DA pull on my SP101 is much improved.
However I don't carry a loaded SP101 with the hammer cocked and would avoid people that do !! :-0
BTW the gold dot 357 125 are supposed to be first rate defense loads.

 

[grobin]

As for double action, when I carried one I just carried it cocked and treated it like a modern single action.


Am I missing something here? Are you saying you carried it cocked over a loaded cylinder? Please clarify.... :shock:

Dave, yes I just treat the modern DA like SA. They will not fire unless the trigger is pulled, so why not? Gets rid of the dangerous DA heavy crummy trigger problem.

 

[El Bibliotecario]

So can I assume you also carry your single actions revolvers cocked?

 

[Heliman]

As for double action, when I carried one I just carried it cocked and treated it like a modern single action.


Am I missing something here? Are you saying you carried it cocked over a loaded cylinder? Please clarify.... :shock:

Dave, yes I just treat the modern DA like SA. They will not fire unless the trigger is pulled, so why not? Gets rid of the dangerous DA heavy crummy trigger problem.

:shock: Very unsafe IMHO.... I would discourage carrying in that manner. Good luck to you...and bystanders going forward.

 

[daveg.inkc]

Who would carry a revolver with hammer cocked? No way is anyone here that careless. This is a joke, right?

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Dave, yes I just treat the modern DA like SA. They will not fire unless the trigger is pulled, so why not? Gets rid of the dangerous DA heavy crummy trigger problem.

Bump the trigger and it goes off. ....little review. The Ruger guns with a transfer bar can safety be carried with a fully loaded cylinder but not with the hammer cocked.

The double-action trigger on an SP can be improved a lot with a spring change and a little smoothing of the internals. If I can do it anyone can. The trigger will never be as good as a GP but that is because of it's small size. :D

 

[deac45]

Love the 3" SP! I have one of the early 38 Spcl only SPs. Probably my most shot gun.