What to get.

[Rivical]

A whole lot of rubber on a 357's grip will make you feel better too!

 

[Spoolin Hooligan]

A whole lot of rubber on a 357's grip will make you feel better too!

just dont like the rubber grips look. im not gonna be firing it alot. So i think the wooed grips will be ok.

 

[Rivical]

You won't be saying that after unloading a few chambers. I don't know for sure, but I'd have to guess the sting of that 357, even with the heavy stainless frame and rubber grips, would be equal to a super lightweight .45

Maybe some other's could chime in on felt recoil.

 

[Spoolin Hooligan]

So I've made up exactly what I want. A double action stainless steel dull finish, Not shiny. Revolver that weights less than 26oz and has dark wood grips. I know I can order them but already on is prefered. Adjustable sights and fiber optic front sight perfered I really like the ruger GP 100 wiley clap edition. Because of size and and look. But its so damn heavy
I don't feel like carrying around 2lbs of gun. I hope this narrows down the search.

 

[Spoolin Hooligan]

So I've made up exactly what I want. A double action stainless steel dull finish, Not shiny. Revolver that weights less than 26oz and has dark wood grips. I know I can order them but already on is prefered. Adjustable sights and fiber optic front sight perfered I really like the ruger GP 100 wiley clap edition. Because of size and and look. But its so damn heavy
I don't feel like carrying around 2lbs of gun. I hope this narrows down the search.

Like this but lighter

 

[86brick]

I have a S&W 686 SSR .357 Magnum (4" barrel) with factory wood grips that forces high hand hold and it is a great gun to shoot at the range, but like Rivical said with the wood grips you will feel it sting more especially when shooting full power .357 Magnum. The rubber grips help reduce felt recoil and make the gun more pleasant to shoot especially with Magnum loads. I was originally planning on getting a little Smith 642 J-frame for CC, but to be honest the more I thought about it that little 15oz gun will be no fun to shoot, so I decided my next purchase will be a Ruger SP101. My only decision that I still haven't made is whether to get the Bobbed hammer DAO SP101 with the 2.25" barrel or the 3" barrel with the DA/SA exposed hammer.

 

[Rivical]

Hooligan, that's a really sweet lookin revolver! Mine doesn't have the long barrel or fiber optic and adjustable rear, that's a nice addition to a fullsize that would surely be great at the range! 2lbs of gun will be appreciated when fired. I bet you'll be happy with those grips too. Beautiful combination of engraved Walnut and black Rubber. The only thing more one could ask for would be finger grooves. DA seems a really heavy pull, but I'm gonna stick with JM's advice about not putting a lighter spring in there.

At the risk of sounding like a wuss, my lil 357 is a stinger! And I shoot .40 & .45 regularly. 38spl loads are great for target plinking. But the .357 125JHP's, and 140gr FTX's let you know you've fired em! I know I appreciate that rubber now, even though I'd thought about making Walnut surrounds for the Ruger Walnut inserts for appearances. Not after firing it!

86brick, I cut the front side and 'top' of a #4 IWB L-holster down and restitched it. Fits the SP101 Great! I also lowered the 'belt' clip so it would ride high, and it carries that pistol in my front pocket, even while driving in complete comfort. I've never had the hammer hang once. I didn't try out a bobbed DAO since I was so excited to find that Talo Ed, but mine seems super heavy on DA and a hair trigger SA. Taking it to a Cowboy Shoot next month to have some tuning performed. Then I'll take the smoothing and radiusing from there.

 

[Spoolin Hooligan]

Hooligan, that's a really sweet lookin revolver! Mine doesn't have the long barrel or fiber optic and adjustable rear, that's a nice addition to a fullsize that would surely be great at the range! 2lbs of gun will be appreciated when fired. I bet you'll be happy with those grips too. Beautiful combination of engraved Walnut and black Rubber. The only thing more one could ask for would be finger grooves. DA seems a really heavy pull, but I'm gonna stick with JM's advice about not putting a lighter spring in there.

At the risk of sounding like a wuss, my lil 357 is a stinger! And I shoot .40 & .45 regularly. 38spl loads are great for target plinking. But the .357 125JHP's, and 140gr FTX's let you know you've fired em! I know I appreciate that rubber now, even though I'd thought about making Walnut surrounds for the Ruger Walnut inserts for appearances. Not after firing it!

86brick, I cut the front side and 'top' of a #4 IWB L-holster down and restitched it. Fits the SP101 Great! I also lowered the 'belt' clip so it would ride high, and it carries that pistol in my front pocket, even while driving in complete comfort. I've never had the hammer hang once. I didn't try out a bobbed DAO since I was so excited to find that Talo Ed, but mine seems super heavy on DA and a hair trigger SA. Taking it to a Cowboy Shoot next month to have some tuning performed. Then I'll take the smoothing and radiusing from there.

i know weight helps accuracy. and that rubber gives me the best of both worlds. look and shooting comfort. I wont be carrying alot. So to me weight is not as big of an issue. My father-in-law has been harking on me to get a lighter gun. So i guess my problem is i dont want to seem like im not listening to his advice. Because he's the one that has really gotten me into hunting and guns. I was thinking of getting the SP101 with 3" barrel and just buying the grips seperate. But then i wouldn't have the fiber optics and rear sight. Everyone i talk to on defensivecarry.com says just get the GP100 and be happy and that the gun is awesome . they say the weight doesnt really effect them much. and i guess if im not carrying everyday. it wont be that big of an issue. its my first pistol so im being really picky.

p.s. that gun is a GP100 wiely clapp edition

 

[Spoolin Hooligan]

Im even thinking about getting an extra cylinder in black to give it a two-tone look. just gotta find the correct size

 

[86brick]

86brick, I cut the front side and 'top' of a #4 IWB L-holster down and restitched it. Fits the SP101 Great! I also lowered the 'belt' clip so it would ride high, and it carries that pistol in my front pocket, even while driving in complete comfort. I've never had the hammer hang once. I didn't try out a bobbed DAO since I was so excited to find that Talo Ed, but mine seems super heavy on DA and a hair trigger SA. Taking it to a Cowboy Shoot next month to have some tuning performed. Then I'll take the smoothing and radiusing from there.

Nice, yeah the SP101 seems to be one of the best IWB revolvers from what I have been reading. I'm sure the DA is definitely on the heavier side, but most of them seem to be this way. That is why I am kinda leaning more towards a 3" barreled Sp101 with the exposed hammer so I have the option for the SA trigger pull for accuracy. Good to hear you are enjoying your SP101, I'm sure it will turn out nice when you are finished.

 

[RUQWKNF]

I can tell you from past experience, I owned a SP101 with a 3" barrel. Comparing it to a standard GP100, the grip is very small vs the easy to handle and shoot GP100. My SP101 actually hurt after about 18 rounds of .357 carry ammo. Even target FMJ round nose loads were pronounced to say the least. .38 SPL was better, but in the end, I traded it. If there would have been larger grips available for the SP101, I might have kept it, but compared to a GP100 which was a blast to shoot and did not sting at all even after 100 rounds on one range visit, the grip on the SP101 was to small for full power .357 loads.
Just my 2 cents worth.

Patrick

 

[Spoolin Hooligan]

I can tell you from past experience, I owned a SP101 with a 3" barrel. Comparing it to a standard GP100, the grip is very small vs the easy to handle and shoot GP100. My SP101 actually hurt after about 18 rounds of .357 carry ammo. Even target FMJ round nose loads were pronounced to say the least. .38 SPL was better, but in the end, I traded it. If there would have been larger grips available for the SP101, I might have kept it, but compared to a GP100 which was a blast to shoot and did not sting at all even after 100 rounds on one range visit, the grip on the SP101 was to small for full power .357 loads.
Just my 2 cents worth.

Patrick

Well good thing I'm getting the Weily clapp GP100

 

[86brick]

I can tell you from past experience, I owned a SP101 with a 3" barrel. Comparing it to a standard GP100, the grip is very small vs the easy to handle and shoot GP100. My SP101 actually hurt after about 18 rounds of .357 carry ammo. Even target FMJ round nose loads were pronounced to say the least. .38 SPL was better, but in the end, I traded it. If there would have been larger grips available for the SP101, I might have kept it, but compared to a GP100 which was a blast to shoot and did not sting at all even after 100 rounds on one range visit, the grip on the SP101 was to small for full power .357 loads.
Just my 2 cents worth.

Patrick

Patrick, I have no doubt that the GP100 is more comfortable to shoot .357 Magnum for any extended period of time considering it is heavier and comes with the bigger Hogue grips. The nice thing I like about the SP101 is it is a little lighter than the GP100, but not too light and too small like the smaller Smith J-frames and the LCR which are way too light IMO. The SP101 is kinda right in the middle and to be honest if I buy one I will most likely shoot more .38 spl out of it than .357 Magnum. I would even probably carry it loaded with a nice .38 spl +P JHP instead of the .357 Magnum. Also, I would likely get a bigger set of Hogue grips for it if I decided to go to the range and shoot some full power .357 loads.

 

[RUQWKNF]

Patrick, I have no doubt that the GP100 is more comfortable to shoot .357 Magnum for any extended period of time considering it is heavier and comes with the bigger Hogue grips. The nice thing I like about the SP101 is it is a little lighter than the GP100, but not too light and too small like the smaller Smith J-frames and the LCR which are way too light IMO. The SP101 is kinda right in the middle and to be honest if I buy one I will most likely shoot more .38 spl out of it than .357 Magnum. I would even probably carry it loaded with a nice .38 spl +P JHP instead of the .357 Magnum. Also, I would likely get a bigger set of Hogue grips for it if I decided to go to the range and shoot some full power .357 loads.

Oh trust me, I'm not knocking it, heck I actually miss my old one sometimes. I just wish Hogue would have had this grip, back when I owned mine.

http://www.hoguestore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=27_61_398&products_id=3512

I probably would have never sold it had this existed 5 years ago. The SP101 is definitely the best concealed carry revolver, when compared to other CCW entries. I also like this recently added new model Sp101 as well.

http://www.ruger.com/products/sp101/specSheets/5771.html

We had just received one at the store and I got to mess with it a bit. It only lasted about 3 days as it was sold on my day off.

 

[86brick]

Yeah the new SP101 4.20" model with the fiber optic front sight is very nice.

 

[Rivical]

Now I'm looking to get a GP100 too! I did hold a few before I found the Talo SP101 but was saving for that possibility at the time.

It'd be nice to have a bigger brother model in the same caliber. The KGP-161 looks like my ticket.
Not a huge fan of the sights. Probly go with the triangle sight.

I'm shooting my SP101 with sub-4" groups @ 20ft. on full power 357's, and keeping it tight with 38spl's out at 25yds.
The 38's sure are more comfortable for practice shooting that small grip, like you guys have said. But I don't think I'll be downgrading my carry loads or putting a bigger grip on it. Since any need for it is concealment until forced into close range protection with plenty of adrennalin mixed in, I'd rather have the stopping power to allow me to stop before emptying it.

 

[Spoolin Hooligan]

Now I'm looking to get a GP100 too! I did hold a few before I found the Talo SP101 but was saving for that possibility at the time.

It'd be nice to have a bigger brother model in the same caliber. The KGP-161 looks like my ticket.
Not a huge fan of the sights. Probly go with the triangle sight.

I'm shooting my SP101 with sub-4" groups @ 20ft. on full power 357's, and keeping it tight with 38spl's out at 25yds.
The 38's sure are more comfortable for practice shooting that small grip, like you guys have said. But I don't think I'll be downgrading my carry loads or putting a bigger grip on it. Since any need for it is concealment until forced into close range protection with plenty of adrennalin mixed in, I'd rather have the stopping power to allow me to stop before emptying it.

The KGP-161 looks awesome. i dont know the word to describe it. but i like the simplisity of it.