George,
Posted this some time ago...Got the replacement square notch blade installed and now it shoots to point of aim. Think I am going to call Ruger and ask them for a replacement hammer, because of the sharpness of the checkering. Saw one of the 4" .357's a month ago at my dealers and the hammer did not have this issue. May seem I am nitpicking (and I am), but the hammer is cheesegrater sharp and yes I could file it down in about 5 minutes, but that may hurt resale if I decide to sell it some day. I've kind'of softened on it a little and plan on keeping it, But if I had to sell one of my three kit guns for whatever reason...It would be the one to go. I actually picked this up for my 11 year old...but made the mistake of letting him try my other kit guns before I told him this and he has glommed onto my 4" barreled 'J' frame.
Comparing it to my Single-six; It weighs 30.5 ounces while my 6.5" barreled Single-Six weighs 33.6 ounces. other than the barrel length...they are very close in size and with same BBL length they would probably weigh the same.
'I bought one a couple of weeks ago. Posted this response over at rimfirecentral to someone asking about which 22 revolver; Single 10 or SP101 (and to some of the posts before mine)...Kind of off track as I don't have a Single 10 (had 3 single six's though). Got the square notch rear sight from ruger installed last nite, but haven't shot it yet (it is lower). The DA trigger not only stacks but is gritty, going to try some lighter springs and smooth it up...should b fine then. It was $509. Will add that both of my Smith 63's weigh 26 ounces and the Ruger is 31 ounces on my scale. Also it doesn't fit in the Bianchi 5BHL holster for the 4 inch S&W 63...cylinder is too long and gun is too bulky.
"I've got the SP101 22LR/8
Single action trigger is heavy, Double action trigger is horrible compared to my S&W 63 4 inch/6 shot and 3 inch/8 shot. Don't know what they call it in revolver lingo, but with a bow it's called stacking when towards the end of the draw, weight rises rapidly (beyond reason), that's how my SP 101 feels. Hammer has sharp edges and will have to be radiused for any amount of single action shooting. 15 yards it shoots 5 inches high with the rear sight at the lowest setting...think they did this so the 'V' notch wouldn't bottom out below the visible part of the rear sight. I called Ruger and they are sending me out a square notch rear blade, no charge. I am hoping it is not as high as the 'V' notch, so that I can get it to print where aimed and because the 'V' notch is so high that it may be prone to damage (if not I'll shorten it). Think the front sight is fine...usually not crazy about fiber optics; but Ruger & S&W had the common sense to make the top of the posts flat so that it can be lined up with the top of the rear sight...these fiber optics I actually like, the Smith is red and the Ruger is green (or yellow have to go look?), but the dot on the smith really draws your eye to it, just a color preference over the Rugers. While the grips on the Smith/8 are good (much better than what used to be supplied on the Smith 63) I feel the Ruger's are about the best design there is for shooting.
Barrel diameter is ridiculous for a kit gun...but so is the S&W 3 inch/8. Both are accurate, slight edge to the S&W (probably due mainly to the smoothness of the trigger), again the S&W/3 DA & SA are incredibly smooth, more so than my S&W/4 and WAAAAY more than the SP 101/8. Talk about the SP101 being less money than the S&W 63 may be moot...1.) You can pick up used S&W 63's (around here anyway) in the low $400's (no box/tools/literature), 2.) With the SP101 you're out more money, as at least mine (and the other one I looked at at the local gun store) are going to require some work on the trigger and radiusing of the hammer spur... if not by you then a smith.
I've had several single and double action Rugers and have shot them a lot, and Yes Rugers are built like a tank and last like it, but the extra weight in the barrel and the ejector housing, adds nothing to the revolver's durability, just it's weight...If the idea is to compete for so called 'kit gun' sales, then both size AND weight are important. Both the Smith and the Ruger are stainless, once the Ruger is tuned up, it wouldn't matter to me which one I took to the woods long-term with. Wear would be more a concern to me if doing a lot of target shooting/plinking.
If given a choice of only one...I'd save up for and buy the Smith 3 inch/8 over the SP101/8 if I had to have NEW or if the extra 2 shots really mattered to me, otherwise I'd probably find a used S&W 63 with the 4 inch barrel... YMMV.'
Jerry
