Info on sp101 .38

P

Polglock

New member
Does anyone have any good knowledge on the .38 only sp101. I'm only asking because I've heard they're older and not made in .38 only any more. I do have .357's but wanted a ".38" snub only and got a good deal on it. Any info would be great.
 
IIRC, very early runs of the SP101 had a shorter frame and cylinder than the current SP101, and were thus a bit lighter and shorter than current SP101s.
When the first SP101 .357s were brought out on that same frame, they were marked "For 125gr bullets only", as the length of the cylinder precluded use of heavier .357 bullet loads.

If you plan to shoot .38s only, I'd suspect that it's theoretically a better choice than a current SP101 chambered for .38Spec only.
 
Poodleshooter pretty much covered it, some of the earliest guns had green grip inserts as well... now considered "rare".

Here's mine:

RSP10138.jpg
 
And if that's not confoosing enough, there are more recent production "long cylinder" specimens in 38 that are otherwise identical in every dimension to recent-production 357s.

But wait! It gets worse!

The very first 357 variants were "short cylinder" and hence limited to 125gr or less due to length issues.

Here's what's going on. Think of the SP101 as being "three eras":

1) Very early pure 38s.

2) Early 357 125-or-under.

3) Long-cylinder variants, mostly 357, some STILL made in 38 for one reason only: sales to security guard companies and overseas sales to nations (mostly central and south America) that ban the 357 but tolerate 38 for limited purposes. Brazil is like this, many others. These "long cylinder 38s" can be safely reamed deeper to 357 with no problems.
 
Did the early .22 sp101's have the shorter cylinder? How much lighter were they? Lots of variants for the collector. My .357 is polished and is a great pocket gun. I love this gun .in 357. For .22 or .38 I'd personally look for something lighter like a pre-lock Smith.
 
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