New SP101 Range Report and Questions

[Poplin]

I picked up a new Ruger 3" SP101 in .357Mag the other day. It is a handsome piece, with a very comfortable factory grip and trigger reach that fit my small hands well. It is even more comfortable with a set of rubber Hogue Monogrips.

On the range, I ran 150 rounds of Winchester .357 and .38 rounds through it. The DA trigger action was heavy and somewhat gritty. The SA action was pretty good. Recoil with the .38's were mild. I had been told that .357 recoil in a compact gun such as this would blow my mind and grow hair on my chest. This was not so--the recoil with .357 loads was stouter but manageable and completely pain-free. Accuracy was limited by myself.

There are a few things that concern me. First, there are two annoying rattles when I shake the gun. One is from someshwere inside the frame. The other rattle is the ejector rod. It fits loosely in its place on the cylinder crane and does not sit square in its groove in the barrel shroud.

Upon dissassembly, I was disappointed to find rough machine marks, very sharp edges, and some metal shavings. I cleaned these up as well as I could.

I finally noticed that the barrel is canted slightly to the left. It is not enough to notice when looking through the sights, but can easily be seen when looking at the barrel from above.

Are any of these things cause for concern?

 

[Dfariswheel]

To address your questions:
Rattling. The rattling inside is the transfer bar moving around. This and the loose ejector rod are just "nature of the beast" things. Some brands of guns have a spring on the bar and some don't. Those that don't, like the Ruger usually rattle. The rattling ejector rod is just a side effect of Rugers design. If it's too bad, return it to Ruger. they may have a fix, but it will rattle a little no mattter what.

The metal shavings and burrs are common to many guns, especially less expensive ones like the Ruger. One of the things that can be done to improve your Ruger is to have a gunsmith deburr the insides. It's not unusual to find a few loose shavings inside most any new gun. That's one reason a new gun should get a through cleaning. In order to be competetive in price, most gun makers can't spend a lot of time removing internal burrs, which don't affect reliability. For those of us with the skills necessary, one of the first things we do with a new gun is to deburr it. This is also usually a service most gunsmiths offer.

The misaligned barrel could be a factory defect, or a factory fix.
Sometimes the factory will turn the barrel in or out slightly to properly sight in the gun. If your gun shoots to the center of the target, it was probably done on purpose.
If it doesn't shoot to center, than you will need to return it to Ruger for a fix. I've seen many SP-101's with the barrel turned to the left, so I suspect it was deliberate.