Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Ruger SP101 vs S&W M60

Beat me to it. I shoot a couple cylinders of full power .357s once or twice a year in my 60, just to remind myself how tight you have to hold on. I suspect the gun's ability to withstand that will outlive my desire to test it.

Hmm, so those full mag loads must pack a punch in those small revolvers? Guess we stick 38specials and maybe 38+P's for awhile then

I vote for the sp101. I've owned about a halfdozen or so of the s&w jframes. I like the extra weight of the sp101. Never had a problem with fixed sights either. If the gun is for her, let her decide.

Maybe there's an advantage to being "wrong-handed" after all!

Speaking of these two revolvers, does anyone make a nice carry conceal holster for them? perhap IWB? for southpaws??? open for suggestions for CCW with these revolvers. Thanks

Lots of options for both guns, Leo! I like Alessi, Sparks, and Kramer leather. I'll bet you can get a good IWB for a lefty from any of them, as well as others.

Another option would be one of the GP100 DAO variants that pop up on the used gun market sometimes. Certain LE Depts. used these guns and they can be a bargain.

A buddy has a dainty new girlfriend that had never fired a gun before. In the quest to find her a suitable self defense gun he ran through all the autos, even the tip up barrel models due to hand strength issues with no luck.

Revolvers seemed to work. She could manipulate the cylinder latch to get most guns open. The recoil from even heavy snubs (SP101) was considered to much even with 38's.

They happened upon one of the referenced GP's and it was perfect. With 38 +P's the thing barely rocks and blast is at minimum. The cylinder latch on the GP was perfect too (something I have always appreciated) in that it takes a natural pinching action of the thumb and forefinger to pop the cylinder. Compare that to the push forward types. She shoots it without trepidation and it is her only gun.

Ruger still catalogs a 3 inch, shortened, round butt GP (hammer gun) if I recall correctly. It has fixed sights which should be no problem for its intended use.

I'm a big Ruger DA fan if you couldn't tell. GP's, SP101's and Redhawks are all welcome here. As for trigger pulls - dry or live fire it enough and they just get sweeter with age. This includes opening and closing the cylinder. I buy Rugers because of the design and because I shoot the livin crap out of my guns with any ammo I please.

If Smith proponents poo poo I'd suggest they haven't played with a properly broken in Ruger DA. No, Ruger will never line up well with the airweight smiths in weight, but if you want to shoot a lot for familiarity and proficiency,
buy a Ruger.

TM

TM45,

The 3" Ruger GP100 and 3" S&W 686plus were something I was also keeping in mind. I'm going to see if I can get her out to gunshop to try those mentioned above as well as the3" SP101 and let her make the final call. I've learned that if I try to force my likes of guns on the wife that she won't shoot it if she's not happy with the selection.

+1 on the GP100 option. You should also be on the lookout for a used Security Six or Speed Six, for all the same reasons.

leomort quote [I've learned that if I try to force my likes of guns on the wife that she won't shoot it if she's not happy with the selection.]

You are a wise man grasshopper.

Let me ask you guys a questions, what's your preference regarding sights on handguns in regards to the the "fixed sights vs adj sights" on these revolvers? Fixed or adj sights? Why your perference? Thanks for your opinions.


Leo

I have no preference between the two - so long as the adjustables aren't overly fragile - which is not a problem with Ruger or S&W revolvers (these days, anyway - however). Sometiomes it is necessary to remove the adjustable sight mounting screws and use a little blue locktite on them - but that always is a one-time fix, in my experience.

What is more important to me, is that the front sight should be black and crisp. I had a stainless Taurus revolver once that was otherwise perfect, but the stainless front sight was too reflective and sometimes hard to focus on. I blacked it out regularly with "Sight Black"(it kept wearing off), but would have preferred it to have a permanent black (or blue) finish. Gunkote wasn't available, or I wasn't aware of it then. Oh yes - with the advent of some of these new finishes, you can even file this concern under "easily fixable".

I have both, obviously for precise shooting adj sights are the preferred. I like fixed sights for personal defense, where precision shooting isn't required so much. The 2 big issues are if you use or plan on using different rounds for different things and the fact that with fixed sights you have to know your gun better. Fixed sights are for limted uses and getting familiar with how one round shoots. The Adjustable sights gives you a lot more lattitude with various rounds but in this day and age many people use a different gun for different purposes. That's a real luxury. If a person leans toward being a "one gun" person I would lean toward the adjustable's. However, I've never felt vulnerable because I didn't have them when it comes to just packing for my own safety. I think you already know which gun your wife prefers.

Just as further explanation of my lack of preference...

For defensive use, either sight system is fine with little to no fiddling. At defensive ranges, I have yet to see a reasonably high-quality handgun with sights not regulated well enough to put various suitable loads where they need to go. For longer ranges, one can usually find a suitable load that is close enough to fine-tune even a fixed front sight - but it may take some work that involves a gunsmith.

If you like to fiddle with different loads - even after finding a good one that works with your gun - then adjustable sights may be better. Or if you want one gun to do multiple duty - same thing.

I just find that neither type of sight is "best" for all things, and both can be used effectively in most cases - with the right preparation.

I only have experience with one SP-101, which has the fixed sights, but offer this as something to watch out for.

With 158 grain loads it would print almost perfectly on top of the front sight at 15 yards. But when I tried some factory 125 JHP's - those famous one shot stoppers - it printed a good 14" low.

The low shooting is to be expected with a lighter bullet, but over a foot low at 15 yards surprised me. Now at powder burn distances this wouldn't matter so much, but if you tried to aim center of mass at ten yards or so you'd gut shoot someone.

Funny thing about the 158 grain loads was that they would print at near the same place whether they were Federal .357 factory ammo or my .38 Special cast loads (4.5 Unique).

That's the thing about fixed sights. IMO, They should come regulated for slow/heavy loads (like yours was, Jim). Then the user can have the front sight lowered to accommodate lighter/faster loads, if they wish. But then that's gonna be a permanent alteration - so a decision must be made...

Personally, I prefer to just find an acceptable load that the gun likes.

That's interesting.
My SP101 3" prints dead on @ 25 yards with my 180gr Black Talon loads (that I hoard) and also with plain jane 158gr lead .38 spcl loads.

I dislike shooting the 125 .357mag loads out of that rig. The muzzle blast and recoil are not pleasant. And they all shoot low!

In the woods, with it's Black Talon pay load, it's ready for any situation that I might encounter. .38's work for everything else.I may look into the Nosler 180gr partition as a replacement for the BT's or maybe Barnes 140 expanders.

The gun itself is perfect for me. Small enough that I will always be willing to carry it and big and powerful enough to be both terminaly effective and efficient to shoot. BT

Got an ammo question for you guys this time.


When shooting .38specials (+P) for self-defense do you generally use 158gr JHP and when using .357mag loads for self-defense you shoot 125gr JHP?

Thanks,

Leo

Use 158's for fixed sight guns to shoot closer to POA and 125's on adjustable sight guns. The lighter loads are tougher on the guns and are more proan to flame cutting. Depending on the quantity you are shooting it may not amount to anything though.
I just wouldn't feed these lighter, smaller guns a steady diet of the light bullets over a long period of time.

Use what you like and what the gun likes. The flame cutting problem is only related to light loads with ultra-high velocities. Winchester "white box" 110gr hollowpoints, for instance, are loaded milder than necessary and won't cause a problem. Standard 125gr loads won't be a problem, unless you are the unusual guy who does high volume through your J-frame.

You do have the option of practicing with one load and caryying another. There is at least one poster here who carries a J-frame loaded with 180gr rounds with no problems. I've carried with just about everything else - depending on which revolver and what I'm doing.