DannyB1954
New member
Anyone know why the GP100 is not offered in 44 Spl? Seems like a 3 or 4" would sell well.
Ruger GP100 in 44 spl.
- Thread starter DannyB1954
- Start date
Model12Win
Moderator
I would buy one.
While .44 special is harder to find and more expensive than some round, I think it's one of the most underrated revolver cartridges out there. Far more stopping power than .357 magnum but with much less noise and equal to or lesser than recoil.
Works for me.
While .44 special is harder to find and more expensive than some round, I think it's one of the most underrated revolver cartridges out there. Far more stopping power than .357 magnum but with much less noise and equal to or lesser than recoil.
Works for me.
Has anyone done the math?
Will a GP100 cylinder adequately (meaning wall thickness) hold 6 rounds of .44spcl, or would it have to be drilled as a 5 shooter?
If it can not hold 6 with enough meat left over, there is the answer why Ruger has not chambered the GP100 in .44spcl...
Old Bill was all about ease of manufacture, and repeatability...
Not only would you have to change the drilling to 5, but the internals now will have to be redesigned to time for 5 instead of 6...
Ruger DID make a .327 Federal GP100, but that went the way of the dodo due to...
Lack of sales...
Now...
If you want a .41 Special (not a typo), you can have one of those knocked up for yourself:
http://www.clementscustomguns.com/gp100.html
Will a GP100 cylinder adequately (meaning wall thickness) hold 6 rounds of .44spcl, or would it have to be drilled as a 5 shooter?
If it can not hold 6 with enough meat left over, there is the answer why Ruger has not chambered the GP100 in .44spcl...
Old Bill was all about ease of manufacture, and repeatability...
Not only would you have to change the drilling to 5, but the internals now will have to be redesigned to time for 5 instead of 6...
Ruger DID make a .327 Federal GP100, but that went the way of the dodo due to...
Lack of sales...
Now...
If you want a .41 Special (not a typo), you can have one of those knocked up for yourself:
http://www.clementscustomguns.com/gp100.html
A nice 3" would be great for CC.I would buy one. All the good quality .44 Specials on my list are Smiths so it would be nice to have one in a 3" barrel. There's no reason they couldn't do a limited or special edition run of them. They already have other discontinued calibers for the GP and SP, why not this?
.I agree that the GP100 should be offered in both 5 shot 44 spl and 6 shot 41 mag. Not just in "ccw" styles either. They need to offer them in 4, 5 and 6 inch barrels.
The GP frame is not ideal for concealed carry but it's an excellent outdoorsman’s gun. Possible the best made yet.
The sportsman’s and outdoorsman’s markets need to be paid more attention. We have more "cop-guns" and "Concealed Carry guns" than we can count these days, but field guns are lacking and should be brought back in my opinion.
I also think Ruger should bring out a 6 shot SP101 in a 5" 6" and 7" adjustable sighted 22, 22 mag and 327 mag.
Maybe these all should be "limited runs' but what's wrong with that?
Ruger does that kind of thing all the time with 10-/22s and #1 rifles.
If they were only to run these revolvers for a few months every 4-5 years they would still sell all they could make.
I would buy one of each.
The GP frame is not ideal for concealed carry but it's an excellent outdoorsman’s gun. Possible the best made yet.
The sportsman’s and outdoorsman’s markets need to be paid more attention. We have more "cop-guns" and "Concealed Carry guns" than we can count these days, but field guns are lacking and should be brought back in my opinion.
I also think Ruger should bring out a 6 shot SP101 in a 5" 6" and 7" adjustable sighted 22, 22 mag and 327 mag.
Maybe these all should be "limited runs' but what's wrong with that?
Ruger does that kind of thing all the time with 10-/22s and #1 rifles.
If they were only to run these revolvers for a few months every 4-5 years they would still sell all they could make.
I would buy one of each.
Jim Watson
New member
Dave Clements will also convert a GP to 5 shot .44 Special.
$1250 on your gun.
He will also convert to 10mm and somebody does a .41 Special, for which Reed's sells headstamped brass if you don't want to bother cutting off .41 Magnum.
I don't see enough of a market for Ruger to set up for a bigbore GP. It could hardly do worse than the .327.
But then their .44 Special Flattops and .45/.45 Convertible Flattops seem to be doing pretty well.
S&W is getting out the Model 69, a .44 Magnum L frame with the barrel breech diameter enlarged so the forcing cone can stand the blast.
$1250 on your gun.
He will also convert to 10mm and somebody does a .41 Special, for which Reed's sells headstamped brass if you don't want to bother cutting off .41 Magnum.
I don't see enough of a market for Ruger to set up for a bigbore GP. It could hardly do worse than the .327.
But then their .44 Special Flattops and .45/.45 Convertible Flattops seem to be doing pretty well.
S&W is getting out the Model 69, a .44 Magnum L frame with the barrel breech diameter enlarged so the forcing cone can stand the blast.
I'd disagree that there is no market
The 327 Fed Mag was a looser and there were several of us that predicted it would be.
You see, it was a "small magnum" in a small revolver that did nothing better than the 38 special and had ammo that was harder to get and produced more blast.
It was a revolver that was made for the CCW market and it failed to carve out a large piece of that market because it didn't do anything in the real world that 2" 38s have not done for 80 years. The 327 mag is a good cartridge that was pitched to the wrong market. It is a great little field shell for the sportsman and freeloader, but it was ONLY offered in short barreled CCW type guns and they were not going to sell well in the face of the dozens of 38s and small autos that are currently available.
The 30-30 is still a popular rifle round. However if anyone made a dedicated bolt action rifle set it’s stock up for prone competition with a factory mounted 6X18X power target scope and a match barrel and trigger and then chambered their new rifle for the 30-30 I am doubtful it would sell well. Good shell in the wrong gun.
The Ruger 327 mag is about the same. Good shell in the wrong gun.
Ruger themselves killed the sales because they refused to pay attention to the real world.
Reloaders would love to have a shell they can reload as cheep as a 22 (maybe less considering what 22s are selling for these days) that would give them all the performance they could ask for in a small game handgun. The 2 and 3 inch fixed sighted revolvers made it less desirable than a standard 38 special. Outdoorsmen don’t want a 2 inch fixed sighted field gun and it was nothing special to the CCW market either.
But the idea of sportsman's guns is something that the handgun industry has neglected and there is a good market for a 44 in a field/belt revolver. I am sure it's never going to be a bigger seller than the "cop-guns" but it is a market that should be addressed and if Ruger were to bring out a 5 shot GP 44 or a 6 shot 41 they would own a large chunk of that market until it was filled up
That's why I'd think they would want to run these guns only every 4-5 years, but I am sure they would sell well.
The 327 Fed Mag was a looser and there were several of us that predicted it would be.
You see, it was a "small magnum" in a small revolver that did nothing better than the 38 special and had ammo that was harder to get and produced more blast.
It was a revolver that was made for the CCW market and it failed to carve out a large piece of that market because it didn't do anything in the real world that 2" 38s have not done for 80 years. The 327 mag is a good cartridge that was pitched to the wrong market. It is a great little field shell for the sportsman and freeloader, but it was ONLY offered in short barreled CCW type guns and they were not going to sell well in the face of the dozens of 38s and small autos that are currently available.
The 30-30 is still a popular rifle round. However if anyone made a dedicated bolt action rifle set it’s stock up for prone competition with a factory mounted 6X18X power target scope and a match barrel and trigger and then chambered their new rifle for the 30-30 I am doubtful it would sell well. Good shell in the wrong gun.
The Ruger 327 mag is about the same. Good shell in the wrong gun.
Ruger themselves killed the sales because they refused to pay attention to the real world.
Reloaders would love to have a shell they can reload as cheep as a 22 (maybe less considering what 22s are selling for these days) that would give them all the performance they could ask for in a small game handgun. The 2 and 3 inch fixed sighted revolvers made it less desirable than a standard 38 special. Outdoorsmen don’t want a 2 inch fixed sighted field gun and it was nothing special to the CCW market either.
But the idea of sportsman's guns is something that the handgun industry has neglected and there is a good market for a 44 in a field/belt revolver. I am sure it's never going to be a bigger seller than the "cop-guns" but it is a market that should be addressed and if Ruger were to bring out a 5 shot GP 44 or a 6 shot 41 they would own a large chunk of that market until it was filled up
That's why I'd think they would want to run these guns only every 4-5 years, but I am sure they would sell well.
lee n. field
New member
Almost certainly 5.
Other companies don't seen to have a problem doing that.
Which is kind of what I think the real reason is. It would be a risk for Ruger.
Shortened .41 Magnum, right?
Last edited:
lee n. field
New member
Of the other revolver makers, Charter Arms is the only one that puts .44 specials out consistently. For S&W and Taurus, it's a model now and then. If they sold well, they'd be making more. .44 Special is a niche market.
On paper, pretty darn close to .45 ACP ballistics. That's the reason I'm interested in one.
Last edited:
Theohazard
New member
Even if it were true that the .44 Spl had more "stopping power" than the .357 Mag, it definitely doesn't have "far more". Studies of handgun shootings have determined that there's not a whole lot of difference between calibers when it comes to how many shots it takes to end a fight.Model12Win said:
If we take "stopping power" to mean "the ability to incapacitate someone and end the fight", then statistics show that even the .357 Mag doesn't have "far more stopping power" than the lowly .380.