GP-100 for steady diet of "real" 357's?

B

Blue Duck357

New member
First off I don't mean off the charts unsafe handloads just full power 357 rounds. Looking for a gun that I'm not going to have to baby like my K-frames. I'd like to be able to go out and shoot 2-300 rounds of rounds on a weekend and not worry about it.

How do you think this gun would hold up over time as compared to say a L or N frame S/W?
 
Hello. From what I've read and been told by some GP shooters, they'll take the diet of full-house loads well. I suspect they'll outlast K-frames shooting full-power loads and do about like the L and N-frames, but that part's just a guess.

Best.
 
I have a 6" stainless GP-100 that gets a steady diet of hot handloads. After about 15 years, still banging away and looks almost new.
 
"RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE"

Well, I'm pretty sure I know of at least two high-performance ammo companies using GP100's as test guns (although I hear one has added a Redhawk).

My pair of KGP-141's is holding up well; neither have required any service.
 
I've got a 4" and I don't baby it. It has given me no problems at all. I swapped an L frame for it and never regretted it.
Bob
 
Stainless GP-141. Steady diet of full power .357, thousands of rounds now. Still tight. No more endshake than when it was new.
 
I just bought a 6" stainless GP-100 cause my only 357 is a pre model 27 that I baby a little bit. Based on all the info here and other places the Ruger is built to take the stout loads. Now I need to get a 44 mag SRH to carry the big loads that I don't want to feed my 29. I love my Smith's but Ruger sure builds em stout.
 
GP-100 is a tough revolver.

Had a 6" stainless version since the 1980's. It is rock solid and extremely accurate. Heavy loads will not bother it.
 
I said above.."Should hold up just fine."
I would like to add a wee caveat.

Any gun will last longer when fed moderate loads...
And fired at a reasonable rate.

Sam
 
C.R. Sam is absolutely right. I have a Smith model 19, it sees occasional Magnums, but mostly light loads now. I have a GP-100 stainless six inch, it sees the heavy stuff and that is why I bought it.
 
Ruger revolvers are probably the most robust production models available. I have the baby brother SP101 and it is rock solid and one of these days the GP100 will be added to my collection. You can't go wrong with a Ruger revolver.
 
Any commercially availble ammo (except some from WS2 labled "redhawk only ")
should be just fine in your gp.:D

You bought mag to shoot mag, not special. Enjoy it. I've got the same bug it's called "magnumitis".
 
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Among my S&W K and N frame revolvers is a single GP-161. It has never seen a .38 Spl round, .357 Magnum only, usually 158 grain. The trigger isn't as nice as S&W's but it's fair and the muzzle weight keep the gun fairly steady. Good gun.
 
The GP100 locks up at both the crane and the back of the cylinder, so in addition to good metallurgy, that helps and probably makes it stronger than the L-frame.
 
Blue,
If you see a Dan Wesson anywhere in your travels give it a good hard second and third look. The out of the box D/A trigger is a bit better than a Ruger,,still a ways away from a Smith though. Dans are one rugged piece of machinery. They were once the darlings of the silouette(sp) shooters for stock factory guns and ran right up there with the T/C Contender using heavy loads. I had a Dan in .22lr and it was a lot beefier than a K-frame. The new ones are pretty steep in price (8 bills or so). Used ones are quite a bit cheaper. I've seen them going for around 3 for a like NIB. (real low demand for them keeps the prices down). The only drawback, other than a kind of funky trigger(not bad, just different), is the resale is ka-put,,,be sure you really, really, really want it before you buy it.
 
The small frame Dan Wesson's are nice, if you get a good one. Older Dan Wesson's sometimes suffered from poor quality control, but the good ones were great. The frame and lockwork of the Dan Wesson is stronger than a K frame Smith, but the cylinder is K frame sized and uses speedloaders for the K frames. I had a Dan Wesson once, sometimes I wish I still had it.
 
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