SP101 Range Report & HELP!!!

B

Bullrock

New member
Just got back from the range, and I'm a little disappointed in my SP101 .357. It is new right out of the box, so I made sure it was clean, and oiled it up last night before shooting today.

With my target at 25 Yds. I put 10 rounds of .357, shooting SA through it, and had only one hit low, and center on the paper. :( A friend of mine at the range who has won more competitions than I have been to came by. I asked him to check my gun out. I told him It was new, tight, and shooting low.

He didn't hit the paper in three SA tries. I tried two more rounds, and put one at 11 o'clock less than an inch from the bull. He fired five more times and, put three on the paper, and one close to my 11 o'clock.

After that the gun seemed to come around to the point where at least I wasn't throwing them into never, never land. I shot mostly in SA. Thumbing the hammer comes natural to me from my old SA fast draw days.

I noticed toward the end of 65 rounds (15 Rds; .357) the remainder in .38Spl. +p on the 4th round the cylinder failed to turn when I cocked the hammer, and prevented me from pulling the hammer all the way back. A 2nd try would work with heavy pull, and ditto on the 5th and last round.

I also shot 15 rounds DA, rapid fire, and the gun responded well. :)

So now it's clean up time. With a good cleaning, oiling, and hopefully some help from you good people, I can get this Ruger working the way it should.

Many thanks
 
If you are consistently low, you can file down the front sight a little at a time until you get it right. Make sure you are consistent first, and that it is not caused by shooter error. It's hard to put metal back on once you file it off. When my SP101 was new, it was a big help to put a bigger Hogue grip on it until I learned to shoot it with .357s. After that, I switched back to the factory grips with no problem.
 
did you try shooting it from the bench? put up enough fresh targets so that you can hold center and hopefully see where its hitting.
 
welcome to my world...

I have the taurus 605 357 snub which is very similar to the sp101. 357 ammo seems to be more accurate than 38spl. For some reason, either the long chamber, or the twist of the barrel, the beast is very finicky as to what it will shoot accurately in 38. Try some wwb 130gn full metal jacket 38spl thru it. It has a longer slug which almost reaches the forcing cone like a 357. This ammo shoots very straight with mine, maybe it will with yours. This way you can see if it's the gun, or the ammo. Also, when your gun got tight, did you try opening the chamber to clear, and if you did, did it work? Shells can jam back against the breach and bind until the chambers wear in. That was the case with mine, but now it's perfect. Just some ideas. :rolleyes:
 
I bought a used SP101 a coupla years ago from a guy in Alaska. The gun was beautiful, not a scratch on it. But the front sight had been "filed" way down and covered in some kinda dayglow green epoxy. The seller even told me about it beforehand. I didn't care. The price was right. When I received the piece, I checked out the front sight and thought I'd better buy a new one which I did. I installed it and took the gun to the range. Shooting .357 FMJ, all hits were way low with some off the paper. It was then I realized what the original owner had done. His experience with the stock front sight must have been the same as mine! I'm still looking for that modified front sight I removed so I can put it back on. I know it's in this dang safe somewhere....
 
i have shot my 2 1/4" sp one time too and it didnt seem to be super accurate. i blame it on the heavy recoil.
 
I had a SP101 3 inch from 1994 to 2002. It shot point of aim with 158GR bullets but was low with 110s and 125s. I corrected this with Pachmyr compact grips. However during the time I had this gun it broke two springs and the transfer bar cracked firing Hornady 125 fullpower loads. My carry load was Remington Golden Sabers. My experience with the SP101 along with others I know locally is no two are the same. Mine would not shoot 38s well but a buddys two inch would shoot two inch groups with them. He could not do the same with my gun. Another problem was the inside of the frame gouged the side of the hammer due to poor polishing. Ruger fixed all of this guns problems for free. I replaced the SP101 with a Taurus 85 and I am now looking at a GP100.
 
Thanks for the front site info Pkay & ForksLaPush. I'll give it a while before I decide to file it down as you suggested.

jkwas & spacemanspiff, Many thanks for the ammo info and bench shooting.

It's been awhile since I've fired a Ruger. I just cleaned it, and it was black! I still am not sure about the action. DA is great, easy short pull :D

SA is hard to cock. Hopefully this will loosen up down the road. I slammed this piece pretty good today starting off the first 15 rounds with .357, 157GR Winchester. Then I switched over to Winchester 125GR .38Spl. +p, JHP.

The grips are fine for now. I handle .357 recoil well. I will take a look at the Houge's later down the line.

Many thanks :D
 
Bullrock, I shoot Magnums about as well as anybody I have actually seen do it, maybe a little better and I've had plenty of practice! Now that that's out of the way, you can maybe understand my perspective. If anyone tells you they are shooting 1.5" groups at 25 yards with the SP-101, you might want to be there for an actual demonstration! First off, this is a new gun, secondly and unfortunately, SP-101's don't come with what anyone could call a great trigger. You got the 3" version, right? More appropriate range would be 15 yards or 50' and after your groups are much better, extend the range if you like. I have worked on a Ruger trigger or 2 and polishing (not grinding) all of the surfaces of the trigger group will really help. Wolf trigger and hammer springs will get you a much better trigger, or you can continue shooting and say about 500 rounds from now, you may get close to what you can do today by installing, or having them installed for you (on a scale of difficulty from 1-3, I'd give it a 2 on the SP-101).

Consider your intended purpose for the gun! If you will mainly shoot it single action, put the lightest trigger spring in with factory hammer spring or the equivelant of heavier Wolf. This will keep locktime fast. If it's going to be a carry gun, try the middleweight trigger spring from the pack of 3 and do the same with the hammer spring and be absolutely (250 rds. worth anyway) sure that you have 101% reliable primer ignition. Use a hammer spring too light and it could drop as low as....who knows. It's got to be at least 100%.
I shoot one of these quite often, with the changes I mentioned. It doesn't feel like the action has been tuned by a Smith and it never will. It is about 100% better than when it came from the factory and it is fired at 15 yards on targets, since it's one of my partners carry guns! ;)
 
another thought occured to me (stop laughing! my brain still werks from time to time!).

how much exposure do you have with revolvers? me, i'm a real nuuby nuub nuubian nuubette. it doesnt feel 'quite right' in my hands, but thats mainly because i am used to pistols like 1911's.
manipulating the trigger on my ruger blackhawk feels like a whole new dynamic to my hands. i was really disappointed when i saw i was barely hitting paper at 25 yards, all the way down to 10 yards. as soon as i sat down and shot it rested off sandbags, i was finally able to get some groups (nothing to write home about though, i still need some practice).

a habit i've gotten into is that when i want to see where my shots are hitting, i'll tack up four targets, printed on regular sized paper (8 1/2 x 11), in a square so that the edges of each line up with one another.
then i get a six oclock hold dead center of them at 10 or 15 or 25 yards, depending if i'm shooting pistols or rifles.
just take one shot, and see where it hit.
 
Nothing will let you know how bad a technique you got better than a snubby.

On top of that Ruger has the trigger from hades on the sp101's and it probably needs work. there are a few threads that mention trigger work on rugers here, but a good smith can make it like butter, and is a worthwhile thing to do. IT don't need to be light, just smooth.

On the sight, it is a fixed sight, so it is more or less something to give you a point of reference than an actual "put 'er there" device. It should be close, but considering the variety of ammo available, and ruger's "each gun is a pretty little snowflake" policy, it is kind of a crap shoot.

I ain't bashing Ruger, I like them alot, however I ain't about to sugercoat the truth.

Get a case of .38 and go have fun with it shooting anything but paper. Shoot at clays on the range berms, soda cans, etc. You can see where the bullet hits and adjust accordingly. vary the ranges, but start remember to try some up close and personal. With a little practice you'd be amazed what you can tag at 50 yards or more. Do the same with whatever SD load you are going to use, though, hopefully you won't have to go through as steep a learning curve. Voila! You will be a snubmaster.
 
My advice I always give on guns is find a load the weapon shoots good with and stick with it.My Taurus 85 loves Winchester 125GR+Ps but hates Winchester 130GRFMJs.This thread reminds me of LEO I met on the range.He was shooting a SW auto and his gun kept jamming every 4TH round.I let him try my Glock and I tried his with my own bullets.I had no jams with my rounds and when I tried his the gun jammed.When I politley suggested he switch with a different round,he became annoyed and said I love shooting silvertips.I wonder if he is still alive as this was his duty weapon and load.I would also suggest a trigger tuneup.Good luck with the gun and keep us posted as I am buying a GP-100 in the next two months.
 
Spaceman!!!

how much exposure do you have with revolvers? me, i'm a real nuuby nuub nuubian nuubette.
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I can honestly proclaim that I have never exposed my self to a revolver!!! :cool:

I've had wheelguns all my life. LEO carry (4"), competition in fast draw(4"), sand pit hip shooting (4"). I will admit snubs are new to me. A year ago I bought a SW66, and I actually was more accurate with it in .357 then in .38Spl.

Two months ago I bought a Taurus 85-Ultra-Lite .38Spl. +p. 2" It is accurate with good trigger action in SA & DA. Fun to shoot. :)

As far as my SP101 goes, I think it is heading for modification!!! :mad:
 
yekimak

On top of that Ruger has the trigger from hades on the sp101's and it probably needs work.
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I may be heading there. Thanks for the distance info, I'll try it next week. This weekend is a washout!!! :mad:
 
Sturm

SP-101's don't come with what anyone could call a great trigger. You got the 3" version, right? More appropriate range would be 15 yards or 50' and after your groups are much better, extend the range if you like.
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Yup I have the 3", and I will try @15 yards next time. I have never been a paper shooter, and have always found it boring. I'd rather pop beer cans from the hip in a sand pit, then shoot paper on a range. :D But times do change! :(

I guess I've come to a point in time where I want to know how accurate all of my guns are. So I just started my paper shooting a couple of weeks ago. SP101, very frustrating. My eye likes the gun, and I did my due dilligence. A week before I ordered my SP101, I had an opportunity to shoot one. The SA pull was light, and the DA pull was heavy.

Mine is just the opposite! My double action (rapid fire) pull is fine. Defending myself at close range will be no problem. The SA for poping beer cans as it currently stands will probably need professional help. :eek:

Thanks for the help...
 
I hate shooting paper. There is nothing more fustrating in the world than to be able to hit what you want to hit without thinking then goto paper to find that the gun shoots awful groups. (or that you shoot awful groups).

I traded off my sp101 a year ago, but I think I might get another for ccw.
 
Out of our shooting group of about 7 sp101,s every one of them as been different. I have yet to see one that doesnt shoot low with 38,s under 158 gr. Ruger does a terrible job at finishing their internal parts in fact I have cut myself on metal edges while taking these guns apart. Our experence is like Sturm said earlier, springs and rds is only inexpensive cure.
 
My SP101 shot everthing 38's & 357's low at 25 yards. I had to file the front sight down to get it to point of aim. It's now dead on with most 125 gr 357 mag. loads.
 
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