Trail Gun & Barrel Lengths.
- Thread starter salukijoe
- Start date
Velocity comparisons often don't mean much, between barrel lengths only 1" apart. In fact, in some which were published in the gun rags, the shorter barrels actually produced slightly higher velocities than those 2" longer.
All that said, the "rule of thumb" is a loss of 50-70 fps per inch of barrel reduction.
The 4", six-shot would be my choice for a trail gun. The SP101 is a fine rig for "urban" carry, but the extra weight of the 4" is well worth the slight hassle of packing it when you consider the extra control and 1 more round. Urban carry can involve meeting all types, but out in the woods, you've got to consider the lions and tigers and bears (Oh My!, and no, I don't want to start one of those "what should I carry for bears" threads
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All that said, the "rule of thumb" is a loss of 50-70 fps per inch of barrel reduction.
The 4", six-shot would be my choice for a trail gun. The SP101 is a fine rig for "urban" carry, but the extra weight of the 4" is well worth the slight hassle of packing it when you consider the extra control and 1 more round. Urban carry can involve meeting all types, but out in the woods, you've got to consider the lions and tigers and bears (Oh My!, and no, I don't want to start one of those "what should I carry for bears" threads
)Concealable 357 for fishing/hiking? Ruger makes the SP101 in 357 with a 3" barrel. If you can find a well made one and put a Hogue grrip on it, that would be my recommendation. The Hogue grip will give you a full hand grip. At 27 oz., the weight will be tolerable. I think if you went with anything larger/longer, you would sacrifice too much concealability and convenience.
I would not worry at all about the velocity difference between a 3" and 4" barrel with any reloads. Regarding bullet weight, my SP101 is well regulated with 158 gr. 357 reloads (16.6 gr. W296), but tends to shoot a little low with lighter bullets (110's).
I can't recall for sure if I have put 180's through mine-I think I put a few Winchester partition gold 180's through at one point just for grins, but can't remeber for sure. I just dropped a 158 in my SP, and it looks like there is a little room left for a longer bullet. I had always thought the extra weight went into the case anyway, not into OAL of the round. Anyone had any trouble shooting 180's out of an SP101?
I would not worry at all about the velocity difference between a 3" and 4" barrel with any reloads. Regarding bullet weight, my SP101 is well regulated with 158 gr. 357 reloads (16.6 gr. W296), but tends to shoot a little low with lighter bullets (110's).
I can't recall for sure if I have put 180's through mine-I think I put a few Winchester partition gold 180's through at one point just for grins, but can't remeber for sure. I just dropped a 158 in my SP, and it looks like there is a little room left for a longer bullet. I had always thought the extra weight went into the case anyway, not into OAL of the round. Anyone had any trouble shooting 180's out of an SP101?
Ben Shepherd
New member
180 gr. loads
The info provided by weshoot2 is not entirely correct. I carry a 17/8" barreled sp101 357mag daily for my ccw weapon, it shoots 180 gr. just fine. It does say in the owners manual to check the barrel for markings like "125gr. only" as some of there models will only handle the shorter bullets.
If you do reload pay very close attention to the COL with the 180gr. slugs.
I also agree with the houge grips. I have fairly small hands and even then when I would shoot the pistol withe factory grips and 357mag loads the butt of the grip would jump up and rest on top of my pinky, causing the next four shots to go high. This was not the case with lighter 38's. Put on the grip BAM!!! problem solved. It's just a little longer than stock and has finger grooves. Id doesn't cause interference with any holster I'm aware of either.
The info provided by weshoot2 is not entirely correct. I carry a 17/8" barreled sp101 357mag daily for my ccw weapon, it shoots 180 gr. just fine. It does say in the owners manual to check the barrel for markings like "125gr. only" as some of there models will only handle the shorter bullets.
If you do reload pay very close attention to the COL with the 180gr. slugs.
I also agree with the houge grips. I have fairly small hands and even then when I would shoot the pistol withe factory grips and 357mag loads the butt of the grip would jump up and rest on top of my pinky, causing the next four shots to go high. This was not the case with lighter 38's. Put on the grip BAM!!! problem solved. It's just a little longer than stock and has finger grooves. Id doesn't cause interference with any holster I'm aware of either.
Ben Shepherd
New member
180 gr. loads
One other thing, if you want a snubbie and do hand loads:
In my chronograph tests I generally gains speed up to about the middle of the load chart with my sp101 snubbie 1/7/8", after that I was just burning more powder. Not the case in a 91/2" barreled super redhawk.
One other thing, if you want a snubbie and do hand loads:
In my chronograph tests I generally gains speed up to about the middle of the load chart with my sp101 snubbie 1/7/8", after that I was just burning more powder. Not the case in a 91/2" barreled super redhawk.