Trigger job for SP101-worth it?

A few hundred pulls is worn parts not a trigger job. The grip has nothing whatever to do with how the trigger works.
All factory triggers require work due to frivolous law suits. You really have to shoot a revolver with a really good trigger to immediately get why trigger jobs are necessary. And worth every cent.
"...they are very simple to work on..." Yep. Nice SS parts that polish easily with no special tools required either. Easy to disassemble and reassemble as well.
 
TruthTellers said:
I'd like to get some input from others here who have had an SP101 that had the stock trigger, tried it, then had a trigger job done. How big of a before/after difference was it? Totally different revolver or was it just a slight improvement?
Click to expand...

The real answer to this question is "it depends." I have shot a bunch of different SP101 revolvers that were manufactured over a period of several decades, and I have found them to have greatly varied double action trigger pulls. I don't think they were especially better in a certain era, I think there is just a wide variance of factory tolerance in Ruger double action revolvers. I don't mean this statement as a criticism of Ruger, all of the revolvers were functional, so the differences were all acceptable.

With that said, the important part is that some SP101 revolvers have quite decent double action triggers. A good SP101 can be as good or better than a stock S&W. When I handle an SP101 with a mediocre trigger, I feel confident that gunsmith could easily make it a least as good as the best stock SP101, and that would be quite acceptable. And really, with careful stoning, it should end up better than the best SP101, because no factory gun can match what careful hand tuning can achieve.

So overall, if I wanted an SP101, I would try to handle a few, pick the best one, and then let someone who knows what they are doing make it even better. It will end up pretty good.
 
straightshooterjake said:
The real answer to this question is "it depends." I have shot a bunch of different SP101 revolvers that were manufactured over a period of several decades, and I have found them to have greatly varied double action trigger pulls. I don't think they were especially better in a certain era, I think there is just a wide variance of factory tolerance in Ruger double action revolvers. I don't mean this statement as a criticism of Ruger, all of the revolvers were functional, so the differences were all acceptable.

With that said, the important part is that some SP101 revolvers have quite decent double action triggers. A good SP101 can be as good or better than a stock S&W. When I handle an SP101 with a mediocre trigger, I feel confident that gunsmith could easily make it a least as good as the best stock SP101, and that would be quite acceptable. And really, with careful stoning, it should end up better than the best SP101, because no factory gun can match what careful hand tuning can achieve.

So overall, if I wanted an SP101, I would try to handle a few, pick the best one, and then let someone who knows what they are doing make it even better. It will end up pretty good.
Click to expand...
You know, everybody says this and I agree with it, the issue for me is no gun store near me carries a .327 revolver; I have to have to order it thru them or online, online being a lot cheaper.

Were I looking for a .357, I'd be spending every weekend of the month going to different gun stores, gun shows, etc. looking at revolvers, doing exactly this. I pretty much stuck with a factory new Sp101 and I'll get what I get. That's why my focus is on what improvements a trigger job will do for an average SP101.
 
I maybe should have left that last part out. The point I wanted to make was that a good gunsmith will make any SP101 better than the best stock SP101. And the best stock SP101 revolvers are really pretty good, so a well tuned one will be more than satisfactory. So the real question is, do you have a gunsmith who will do a quality job?
 
straightshooterjake said:
I maybe should have left that last part out. The point I wanted to make was that a good gunsmith will make any SP101 better than the best stock SP101. And the best stock SP101 revolvers are really pretty good, so a well tuned one will be more than satisfactory. So the real question is, do you have a gunsmith who will do a quality job?
Click to expand...
My uncle has done all his Smiths and they're phenomenal. He's encouraged me to do my own.

That question depends on where/when I am. I'm not in a rush to have the work done, I just want to know if when they get done by someone who's good if the difference is substantial.
 
I have an SP101 DAO and the trigger was brutal. I changed out both the hammer and trigger spring. The action is now glass smooth. I can readily stage it and finish the shot with minimal effort. Have over 2000 rounds since the change and no misfires. Highly recommend it.
 
I have the 4" SP101 in 327 Federal. I bought a spring kit and found that the 12 pound, relatively stiff but lighter than stock, was the lowest that would still allow reliable primer ignition. The action overall is not something of your dreams but can be very smooth with wear or an action job. I find my Rugers simply require more skill in trigger pull, staying on target, than some that fire just thinking about pulling the trigger and too soft to have a stage and a break.
 
I bought one of the first ones that came out and after shooting it I had a trigger job and springs replaced.

It is silky smooth now and I find myself shooting it in double action now and don't use the single action at all.

I shoot my.327 3 1/8 at 25yd with no problems. I love that thing other than the noice.
 
unless the gun is for target shooting or hunting, I've found that reputable brands stock triggers are plenty fine for self defensive work at reasonable ranges.
 
My SP101 had one of the worst triggers I've ever experienced out of the box. In fact, it was so bad that during extended dry fire the hammer would lock in the cocked position- I have no proof of this besides my observation, but I would pull the trigger and the hammer would go backwards and stick there!

After repetition and observation to identify what part of the trigger mechanism was locking it, I determined it to be a friction lock (if I tapped the hammer when it was "locked" back it would deploy and strike). I simply lubed my gun and dry fired it several thousand times, in addition to the one thousand rounds of factory Prvi Partisan ammunition I fired. Needless to say the gun is now quite smooth.

In future I might try smoothing things with a stone or some 3M abrasive pad, but CLP and dry fire worked for me in this case. I am very hesitant to try to gunsmith my own guns using abrasive pads and I would caution anyone who is not a mechanical expert against doing so.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top