The .357 Mangum is a great caliber, but has taken every North American game animal from a handgun many times over is a stretch beyond anything close to reasonable. What is needed is a revolver that is well made, but is lighter than this piece or the S&W 696, which was another stainless revolver, 5-round, in .44 Spl. The double-action trigger has a long yet smooth pull, and the grip fits well into most hands. I appreciate Ruger for being nostalgic and allbut thats the only reason to ever buy it. These handles position your index finger just right for expert manipulation of the trigger. I like it. Elmer Keith blew up Colt Single Action Army revolvers in his quest to discover how hot he could handload the .44 Special. I think. I really like the 44S&W Spl cartridge and this one caught my eye. It arrives on my doorstep in a week or less. In a more common caliber, thats cheaper to shoot generally. The other big speed-assisting factor: the GP100s sights. (Hollowpoint at 950 fps). It can be loaded to be far more powerful than the stoutest .44 Magnums. Id gladly share some time with a fellow .44 fanatic over a cold drink Jeff! Revolvers are still the right gun by the bed. I scored five rounds inside an 8-inch circle at 15 yards in 3.19 seconds. Rather not ruin a gun just to shoot a hot load. But the Charter Arms are also made in the USA, appear to be smaller than the GP100 44 spcl, and are cheaper. A custom holster made just for this short 3-inch barreled revolver would make its size even more comfortable for day-long carry. I agree. The Hogue Monogrip felt good in mymedium-sized hands, and the balance on the GP100 was spot-on. Double action still kept all shots in the ten ring. In short, there s a lot of steel on the Ruger GP100 for just the .44 Spl. I need another .44 like I need a hole in the head. Ruger just keeps cranking out the .44 Special revolvers! Colts Single Action Army chambered in .44 Special was also a rare revolver to come across during Skeeters younger days. Second place went to the Federal ammunition at 1.65 inches. Back in 1986, when the .357 Mag. I agree on the .357 Magnum; has to be the most versatile center fire handgun cartridge. And besides, Ive got plenty of em, the old ones, already. The same is true with the 45 Colt. So he asked me why I was ordering a cult snake gun and I gave him the normal quality firearm investment piece something that I could wear to BBQs LOL actually it was going to be at work gun for me when I was at the store. Moose? Adjustable sighted versions of the S&W or the Colt were holy grails. \. In some matter of months, the name "Trump Links," set in paving stones in letters big enough to be seen from the Whitestone Bridge and Mar-a-Lago . Skeeter Skelton tried to talk Bill Ruger into making a .44 Special single action Blackhawk on the .357 frame, but Ruger said it didnt make business sense. Its time we filled that enormous gap between the performance of the 44 Special and the 44 magnum with a sanctioned 44 Special +P. Is this a new Smith problem, Ruger Fandom, what gives? Good - 80-90% condition (all parts/finish should be original). And thats one of things that keeps the .44 Special around. Shooting the GP100 is a pleasurable experience, as are all .44 Special revolvers. This meant that to have a round butt concealed carry version and a square butt holster or target version of the same gun usually meant having two different frame shapes. More isnt always better. However, the .44 Special is truly special for those who possess a bit more abstract way of thinking. Its a pistol made for packing around. If you could afford just one more it should also be a .357 magnum. Still Prefer the 44 mag guns as the capability of firing both magnum and Special ammo however the 44 special firearms can be had in lighter guns (Charter Arms) if one wanted to CCW since the gun is very lite weight and small. GP100. The transfer bar of the GP100 is connected directly to the trigger. Ruger is TALO's largest special edition partner. Good medicine for a variety of chores one ight want a heavy sixgun to perform. $0.00 Ruger 10/22 Lite Contractor Yellow. Give him a warm welcome! Keep Reading. Its our first review of a wheelgun chambered in something that doesnt begin with a 3. Polishing the whole gun is a lot more work but it is enjoyable if you have the time, especially when the finished product becomes a thing of beauty. Nice write up. Cant think of any reason to want one of those before a Ruger. Im getting 481 ft lbs of energy at the muzzle for these amazing .44spl loads of 240 grains at 950 fps. It matches up well with the green fiber optic front sight that was found quite useful both indoors and outside. That 240-grain LSWC bullet I cast at home on top of 7.6 grains of Unique is pushing right at 1,000fps. Keith and Skelton were also involved in the development of the 41 Magnum for law enforcement and hunting. and a mailing address? Editors Note: Sorry to butt in, but his article represents a few firsts here at RevolverGuy.com. If you want a .44 Magnum, buy one. Can take months to sell your gun privately, Trusted retailers will pay you for your gun, You don't know who you're selling to, or if they'll rip you off, I'ts totally free to get a cash offer on your gun, It costs money to place ads to sell your gun, and it takes a lot of time, Easy online paperwork and registration process for your safe and legal payout, You have to trust the buyer to pay you, and trust that you're following the law, There are no questions related to Ruger GP100, There are no problems related to Ruger GP100. What we need is a sanctioned 44 Special +P . Fired one, don't own one. The hammer spur seems precisely positioned for strong hand or off hand thumb cocking and the single action trigger pull breaks clean without any creep or overtravel at just under 5 pounds. (Bob Mundon I aint.). of a .357, but if youre shooting a 150gr cup and core bul let youll be lucky to get 15 of penetration in gel less in bear muscle. You should not. The .357 doesnt come near half that. . Thanks. and pay hazmat + shipping, and wait forever? Great work! Shoot a bear with an underpenetrating load and youre libel to just piss him off. If I could only have one gun, it would be a 357 revolver. But, for the same reason that revolvers are still made in .38 Special, even though that round will fire in a .357 Magnum, the .44 Special round carries on, even though it can be fired from a .44 Magnum as well. Now I just need to fit a silencer on it like I saw George Kennedy do in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot the other night. SOLD !!! (l.) A large, push-button cylinder-release latch is . The GP100s Hogue grip doesnt make me a believer but its a great shape, quite wide, devoid of finger grooves. Its way cheaper to order it. The first significant change was introduced with the Ruger Redhawk and that involved a new locking mechanism with a lever on the crane rather than using the end of the ejector rod to lock. has all of the reliability that Ruger revolver fans have come to expect. You went out to the car and brought in a box and it had a few different model GP100 in it and he opened up every box and set them up on the counter then he brings out this gun that is mounted to a piece of plastic as a display piece and I noticed theres a 3/8 inch Bolt stainless steel screw down into the barrel in the muzzle of the gun then he pops the cylinder out and pulls out and empty brass full load 357 Magnum charge an empty piece of brass and he says does that Barrel look messed up to you other than the bolt being screwed into the front of the muzzle? To be clear, to be super abundantly clear, just because some redneck loaded a gun well beyond the SAAMI safe specification, it doesnt mean you should. [5], In 2016, a limited edition National Rifle Association variant of the GP100 was available from the Friends of NRA through a fundraising raffle. My experience with 2 Charter Bulldogs is: Brutal to shoot with anything resembling a defensive load. I think a 28 to 30 oz .44 Special 5-shot revolver is achievable without resorting to aluminum alloys in the frame. AFAIK the Charter guns are not meant for hot loads and if you do run em hot itll decrease their service life post haste. The first thing you realize when grasping the .44 Special GP100 is that its a chunky, meaty handgun. Im late to the game here. But then you think of the ones that got away. This was a stout, sharply recoiling load. Compared to the easy shooting 200-grain factory Federal Load, the Hornady round made the GP100 feel like a different beast entirely. They just plain work. It is a gorgeous revolver, but the .44 special is not screaming past the .45 auto, they are about similar in ballistic signature and when you compare a 5 shot revolver to a double stack auto, the latter wins hands down. The other possibility, especially in brushy country is that you might not realize theres even a bear in the area until youre on the ground getting mauled. Single Action), or by merely pulling the trigger when the hammer is not cocked (a.k.a. In 2023 a new or used Ruger GP100 value varies depending on supply and demand. The .44 cylinder holes and bore were lighter than the .357 version. The GP100 is a family/line of double action five-shot (.44 Special), six-shot (.357 Magnum, .38 Special, & 10mm Auto), seven-shot (.357 Magnum & .327 Federal Magnum), or ten-shot (.22 Long Rifle) revolvers made by Sturm, Ruger & Co., manufactured in the United States. Steve, thank you! 429421 SWC's and big round holes in the target without the big flame and big recoil. The Don Hume holster kept the gun secure and out of the way until I needed it, and reholstering was easy. Address and Phone Number for Bronx Police Department - 44th Precinct, a Police Department, at East 169Th Street, Bronx NY. I just wanted to say that this was an awesome review, very well done. The stock grips are made of Santoprene, a soft, chemical resistant elastomer that helps absorb the recoil of firing. 1761. Stay tuned for the upcoming review of the 5 GP 100 .44 Special Lipseys exclusive with the half lug barrel (and walnut handles and brass bead front sight!). Ruger KGP-141 with speed loaders of .357 ammunition. For the melanoma tumor-specific antigen, see. I have a Charter Undercover and like it so much I sure wouldnt mind its bigger sibling. The Dan Wesson patent (U.S. Patent 3,683,535) was granted in 1972 and Ruger's patent (U.S. Patent 4,625,445) was granted in 1986. The five-shot GP100 in .44 Special would make a great all-around revolver for a whole lot of people. The MSRP for a 3 barrel 44 spcl from Charter Arms is $436 blued, and only $475 for a 4.2 barrel in stainless. I reload, and 44 spl is a lot more fun to reload and shoot than 44 mag. However, the police revolver was singing its swan song, as the move by the military that year to a high-capacity 9mm prompted American law enforcement agencies to re-examine their sidearm needs and start converting to wondernines.. And the gun shop just down the road just happens to have that nice GP100 in their display case. Same thing with Elmer Keef he showed a couple of these gun designers what he was getting out of the 44 special and they built him a frame and a cylinder to handle the pressure and then took it into from being a wildcat cartridge to a 44 magnum cartridge what Ruger is trying to do here is take a 44 special build it like a tank so that you can get higher pressure levels with a smaller framed package so youre not carrying around a Model 29 Smith & Wesson but youre getting very close ballistic with a hot loaded 44 special just like Elmer Keith did when he was designing the 44 magnum cartridge years and years ago. 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