Ruger GP100

Sturm, Ruger & Co. has, over the years, made some of America’s finest handguns – revolvers included. In contrast to many of its competitors, Ruger has consistently improved the design quality of its product and customer service and is among the best in the industry in these categories. Lacking a longer tradition of wheel gun manufacturing from the 19th century, the company’s guns are better known for their robust construction, durability, and high quality “fit ‘n finish” than for their adherence to “traditional” design.  The GP100 is a prime example of this characterization of Ruger’s mission.

Once available only in the powerful .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum (357 mag) caliber but recently also offered in .22 Long Rifle (22lr), the GP100 is built like a tank but has a very stylish appearance. Like most other 357 mag guns, the GP will fire .38 Smith & Wesson Special (38 spl) ammo just fine. Unlike some of its competitors, however, which give up some of their accuracy when 38 spl is used, the GP manages to retain its great accuracy with the shorter 38 spl cartridge. This isn’t such a big thing for those who re-load their own cartridges and can make “downloaded” 357 mag ammo which produces the same (or even less) felt recoil as the milder 38 spl.  For those who buy “store-bought” ammo, however, the cost and felt recoil of shooting 38 spl is significantly lower and the comparable accuracy (38 spl vs. 357 mag) of the GP is a very big plus in this situation.

The GP100’s cylinder has 6 chambers in 357 mag (10 for the 22 lr) and is a double action (D/A) revolver, meaning a pull of the trigger will advance the cylinder and cock the hammer if it is not already cocked, prior to letting the hammer fall.  It can also be operated in single action (S/A) mode, where a trigger pull allows the cocked hammer to fall.  For personal defense, the D/A option provides a safe condition for carry because of a safety feature called the “transfer bar,” which prevents the hammer from igniting a primer unless the trigger is activated - even with an extreme blow to the back of the hammer, as in getting dropped directly onto the protruding hammer spur.  Inclusion of the transfer bar allows the GP100 to be carried with the hammer down on a loaded chamber without fear of unintentional discharge.

The GP100 is a bit “beefy” in comparison to similar sized revolvers -- both contemporary counterparts and historical examples of handguns in this class.  This gives it a look, feel, and reality of strength and endurance but does not endear it to those who would use it as a daily carried personal defense weapon.  With the right holster, however, as with slightly lighter revolvers of yesteryear, there’s no reason not to consider it for such duty.  Many law enforcement officers have walked around their entire career with such a “six-gun” strapped to their waist, and the GP adds the enhancement of powerful 357 firepower to that situation.  Given that 357 mag ballistic energy rivals that of the .45 ACP, deployment of the 357 mag in a defense situations gives up very little in terms of “knock-down” power or round capacity in comparison.

The GP100 comes with a fiber optic front sight and an adjustable rear sight in both 357 and 22 models.  The adjustable rear is a “must” for target shooters and allows fine tuning the gun to a shooter’s personal shooting style rather than the shooter having to adapt to the gun.  It also allows any shooter to become as accurate as possible with far less practice than guns with fixed sighting systems. Some “luddite” (tongue firmly in cheek) marksmen do not prefer the fiber optic front sight but this can be easily changed to something more traditional.

Ruger produces the GP100 in several variations, including differences in caliber, finish, and barrel length.  There are also "distributor exclusives" that add various upgrades desireable to some shooters. The Bunker Bunch has been using a stainless 357 mag 6" version for some time now and it is one of our two "go to" guns for testing 357 mag and 38 spl ammo.  We've just recently acquired a 22 lr model and will be reviewing both here.

Both of our GP100's are used exclusively at the range for target shooting. We use neither as a "self defense" (carry gun) nor a "home defense" (available around the house for intruder defense) gun. To meet our use, we've enhanced our 357 mag version to have a VERY light, crisp, and smooth single action trigger pull. This is desirable for us shooters to get as much accuracy from the gun as we are capable of imparting through the "man/machine" interface.  We would never use a gun with this kind of trigger feel in a defense situation where extra adrenaline might make for an "twitchy trigger finger."  The 22 lr version is new enough that we've not yet made that upgrade but we'll do so shortly - after a reasonable break-in period - and, after modification, we expect the trigger feel to be virtually the same on both guns.

The size and shape of the two versions of the same model are not identical. Barrel length, etc. are different, but the overall package is matched ergonomically so that the balance and general "feel" of the gun in hand are extremely close.  The "grip frame" is interchangeable and the mechanical design (if not the actual size of the parts) is the same. The 357 mag version comes in both "blued" and stainless models and is available in several barrel lengths.  The 22 lr version is, currently, available only in stainless and only with a 5.5" barrel.

Product descriptions are available at: http://www.ruger.com/products/gp100/models.html
Both of our guns came equipped with the very nice looking and moderately ergonomic rubber grip with wood insert panels as shown in the above picture.  Our preference, generally, for marksmanship exercises with revolvers is the Hogue rubber finger-groove grip and we've installed that one on our 357 mag.  The 22 lr will get that grip when we do the trigger enhancement.

Ruger revolvers have quite a reputation among wheel gun pistoliers for their robust construction (especially the Super Redhawk) and the GP100 is no exception.  We put a lot of rounds through our range guns and we have no fear of ever wearing out a Ruger.  While we don't make a habit of firing "full boat" maximum pressure loads at extended range sessions, we always drag out the Ruger when testing those kinds of loads because we’re confident the GP will not be adversely affected even if one is inadvertently slightly "overloaded."  We’d never knowingly fire a grossly overloaded cartridge but there's plenty of "beef" built into these guns, especially in the dimensions of the cylinder bore and frame dimensions, where ammunition ignition stresses are brought to bear.

Our experience with the 22 lr version is not yet extensive enough to form a solid opinion of its accuracy capability.  We are, however, favorably impressed with its performance so far and are cautiously optimistic that it will attain a ranking in this category as high as our highly prized S&W Model 17s (aka K22).

In conclusion; we’ve found the GP100 in 357 mag to be one of our most favored revolvers, and expect the 22 lr version to be a similarly valued addition to the stable.  Its inherent accuracy and ergonomics make it easier to shoot accurately than many others. With the proper ammo, this is a gun that’s just plain fun to shoot all day long.

Respectfully Submitted
The Bunker Bunch
July, 2016