GP100 7rnd 357 (1771) chambers too close?

wild cat mccane

New member
Hello,

Was thinking about getting the GP100 7rnd 357, but noticed a review on grabagun.com where someone dinged the gun a star because the chambers were so close that (they said) some makes of ammunition touched rims making loading extremely hard and rounds not really fit well.

Anyone with a 1771 know if this is true?

Thanks!
 
I heard that too and seen it on YouTube. I think lot of that was due to reloads that people made up. That is why I went with the 6 rounds GP100 and love it.
 
How does reloading affect the size of the rims? I can see the remote possibility of oversize rims but has Ruger responded to this issue?
 
It's true ... ish. Some stuff - primarily brands that don't hold very tight tolerances - had/have issues.

Ruger, at one time, released a list of what they used for testing and what was verified to typically be within SAAMI spec.
I also know that they took in at least half a dozen revolvers to test, and claimed to have no issues with the ammunition on their test list.

The problem isn't that the chambers are too close. It's that the cartridge rims on some low quality ammo* are over SAAMI spec.
*(This includes some big name brands. Just because it's popular doesn't mean it's good.)
 
It’s a known issue addressed by ruger although they don’t mention exact time frame. Make sure serial is a 2019 build, end of 2018 runs are still affected. While ruger recommends American ammo to lessen the issue, they still did “something” on their end to address it
 
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Well crud.

Considering lower 357 boxes are $17, who has the ability to test this out? Fiocchi seems stock the largest line of 357 and isn't American.

That's stupid.
 
Looked around more. Speer and Federal rounds also cause this problem.

Since both are US owned by Vista Outdoors and good ammo, it's not a "use American" rounds only problem.
 
If Ruger is using their 6 round cylinder for the 7rnd GP100 and cannot fit a larger cylinder...the Ruger just proved the S&W 686 L frame is larger...
 
From what I have found the Smith cylinder is .012 larger in diameter.
I found a listing for the Smith cylinder of 1.557 dia., my GP100
cylinder measures 1.545 dia., a six shot.
The Smith frame may be larger, but not stronger. It has the deep machining cuts for the lock work on the right side.
On the Ruger every thing is held in the trigger group that snaps into the bottom of the frame. The hammer cut is in back of the frame cylinder opening. There is solid steel on all four sides of the cylinder opening.
And if you don't know Ruger uses investment casting with alloy steel. Not forgings that
could have bad grain flow or folds when forged.

One other thing Ruger uses different alloy's for the cylinders, the Redhawk
454 and 480 use a stronger steel than the 44 magnum.
 
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Let's not get into it, but this does document a fact that otherwise goes unnoticed in 686 vs GP100 conversations, the S&W L frame is larger than the GP100 frame.


I mean, I've never heard of this in the comparison threads out there.
 
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