SP101 shooting left

[Joe S.]

Today I took a firearm safety course. Took a few firearms with me but the one I wanted to use was my 3" SP101 in .357 magnum. After the classroom portion of the course we made our way to the range and set up for bench rest shooting.

The course of fire starts at 3 yards from the bench to establish groups, only shooting at cardboard with no targets so you can't tell much about accuracy. Good groups and we moved on. Next is a paper plate size target with a 1 inch x 1 inch "bullseye" in the middle. This establishes point of impact for accuracy, still at 3 yards from a bench rest position. I was using 158 gr lead semi wad cutters in 38 special. 5 shots, the group was super tight, with about 3 shots touching. Next 5 rounds was the same. Both groups were consistently about 2" left of center. This is firing in double action mode. My instructor took notice and wanted to try. He is a state (maybe national) champion pistol shooter and certified NRA instructor counselor. 3 shots left of center. He switches ammo and again, 3 shots left of center. All groups were tight and elevation is pretty good for it all. So he hands the gun off to yet another instructor who also, with 2 different types of ammo than we have tried, shot left of center. All ammo was 38 spl but 3 guys (well 2.5, as I don't rank on their level. Lol) shot this gun consistently left.

My sp101 has fixed rear sight and pinned front sight so no sight adjustment is possible. No need to change front sight height as the elevation seems to be good.

2" left is negligable at 3 yards but what's it gonna do at 15 or 25 yards. This is a hunting sidearm more than a protection weapon so I need it to be accurate to point of aim at a distance.

Any suggestions before I call Ruger and quiz them?

Love the gun btw. Could not believe the grouping she was giving me!

Thanks

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Shoot it at 25 yards and see what you got. Sometimes the POI can be moved a little on a fixed sight gun. You mentioned it shot left in double-action. How does it shoot rested and single-action?? To me hunting with a 3" SP doesn't sound like a reasonable thing to do. Maybe a scope?? 8) 8)

...Jimbo

 

[Joe S.]

Sorry I wasn't clear when I said its a hunting sidearm. Its rather a protection sidearm I wear while hunting. But want it on for that big wild dog that charges me from 25 yards, etc...

I will try it at 25 to see before I bug the ruger guys. We all shot it DA only. No single action

Thanks

 

[Joe S.]

I will shoot her at 25 in DA and SA to see how it runs before calling. If its still bad I'll call em for sure. Won't put anything into it gunsmithing wise until I get with Ruger for sure.

 

[darkwater67]

Also, it sounds like you stuck with .38 spl ammo...maybe try some .357 mag into the ballistic soup mix and see if your gun appreciates the difference. Try a variety of bullet weights, too, if possible.

 

[maxpress]

You may be able to get the barrel turned alittle counter clockwise. All of mine shot left out of the box.

 

[tek4260]

Try SA and make sure you are using the pad of your index finger rather than the joint of your finger. The more finger on the trigger, the more you will push POI to the left.

 

[Joe S.]

I am pretty sure my form was perfect. We all shot slowly, carrying the trigger thru its motion and making sure the front sight didn't move. By slowly I mean taking about 3-4 seconds (maybe longer) to pull the trigger thru its stages, watching the trigger the whole time. I do dry fire drills all the time with the gun to work on my trigger control. I feel prettu good I wasn't pushing the gun. Maybe once or twice. Not 20+ times tho. I feel the same about the other two instructors there. I'll try it SA just to rule that out.

 

[maxpress]

You can also open up the right side of the rear sight with a file.

 

[Joe S.]

You can also open up the right side of the rear sight with a file.

that is something i will leave up to a gunsmith if it gets to that point... i dont put a file on any of my guns myself.

my next post would read, my sp101 shoots to the right... lol

 

[Pal Val]

If several people have fired the gun and it consistently shoots left, you can either take it to a competent armorer, or to Ruger, to have the issue solved. Sight issues are easier to corec than function issues.

Cheap, time-proven solution: Get used to aiming a hair to the right.

 

[Joe S.]

Hey val,
I've considered that but I'd want the gun to be spot on should anyone ever need to pick it up and use it.

 

[maxpress]

Another thing to do is get the front dovetailed for a sight. Then you could buy a front sight pack and be able to drift the front and use higher or lower sights for elevation.

 

[Joe S.]

I actually did think of that last night, but would like to keep it original. I'm being difficult I know. Lol

Wonder if they make offset pinned front sight?

 

[maxpress]

What about laser grips?

 

[tek4260]

Next question, is the sight sitting at 12 o'clock? Is the rib centered looking at the topstrap?

 

[Geezer]

Yeah, make sure the barrel is straight to the frame. An offset barrel seems to be a pretty common complaint.

 

[Joe S.]

I can't tell that it is but will look at it again

 

[contender]

Opening the rear sight blade a little by a gunsmith would be the way I'd handle it. Just a few thousands, and try it. A little can make a big difference. Then, you can purchase a spare blade from Ruger to be able to keep it original if you ever need to sell it.

 

[8emem]

My SP101 9mm was shooting left. I noticed the the barrel was over-rotated at the factory very slightly, and I was able to rotate the barrel back to correct the point of aim. I put the frame in a padded vice and used a short wooden dowel rod and mallet to tap the lower half of the barrel in the direction it needed to go. It takes a firm hit to get the barrel to move, but I didn't have far to go. I would try this before cutting on your SP101 in any way.

 

[Joe S.]

thanks bemem

 

[harley]

I would just send it to Ruger. They don’t offer up their great customer service so that you can play gunsmith at home. That can get dangerous and expensive. If three shooters are having the same result then tell them that. I am sure it won’t be an issue. And in my experience you will get it back in two weeks with a token gift for your troubles. I have bought several SA and DA Rugers. Some were perfect out of the box but a few did shoot left. Of the 8 I have, 3 went back. No big deal and they all came back fixed.

Call them and they will send you a shipping sleve and prepaid shipping label.

 

[8emem]

(sigh) always one in every crowd...

 

[Joe S.]

Ok
Took it to the range yesterday. Firing DA and SA from a bench rest at 30 feet, poi moved left about another inch or so. I tried 2 different brands of 357 mag and 3 different brands than we used before of 38. Special. Gonna call Ruger tomorrow.

 

[mhg]

My SP did the same thing.
Had a local smith look at it and the barrel was just a tiny bit off.
He had to convince the barrel to rotate just a tiny bit and all is good.
When looking at the barrel really close you could see that it was just a little off in the alignment to the frame.
Mike

 

[Joe S.]

Called ruger this morning. They gonna send a shipping label. So far so good.

 

[Joe S.]

sister just called... the Ruger is home... it was delivered today.

gonna try to get to the range this weekend...

 

[Joe S.]

Got into the package when I got home. The target was included. Looks like it is 0" - 1/2" left at 15 yards. I can def live with that. Hoping I can make it to the range this weekend to see how it does with me.

Thanks Ruger

 

[e3mrk]

I had the same problem with Mine until I changed the Grips,Seems the Factory ones were a bit too small for My Hand.

 

[Joe S.]

Grip size didn't do it for me on this one. Tried the factory Hogue monogrip on it as well as my badger grips. I don't have the little panel grips for mine.