327 SP101

[Fowler]

I have had exactly 2 of those guns in my hands and conceptually I was really interested, perfect size for the cartridge. But both of them (different stores 6 months apart) had the absolute worst triggers I have ever handled. one was so bad I could get it to dry fire double action at all no matter how hard I gorilla gripped it! Sort of turned me off the guns a little bit.

Now that new adjustable sighted blued 3" gun might get me if the action was reasonable...

[needsmostuff]

I have no power to resist that 32 itch!
I already have more than my fair share of 32 SP goodness.



Didn't matter. I re-scratched my 32 itch with the 3"blue Lipsey's gun last week. Yup, Just as BAD as alot of the recent reports have said. If it was not a special order, if I had just walked up cold on the gun in a store I would have walked away. Very hard to cock a gritty, heavy trigger and the front sight way off to one side. YUCK!
But since I had ordered it I felt obligated, plus I am comfortable poking around under the hood of Ruger DA's.
Long story short all pretty easy to tidy up. With some polishing and a Wolff spring kit it became quite comparable to my stainless SP 32s.
Couple of troubling issues though.
Maybe working with carbon instead of stainless throws their dimension fitting off but the trigger assembly was so tight it had to be tapped out with a hammer and dowel. Took 4 hands and some pretty good smacking. No other way to get it out. Then I had to work on the trigger assembly frame with a file to get it back in the gun??? It still takes a light tap to seat in.
Whoever assembled the gun must have used a mallet to assemble it.
Second is the front sight. The dovetail is nicely cut but loose. Push the sight back and forth with your fingers loose. I put a good dose of Locktite under the blade and centered it. Seemes firm and to be holding fine now.
Quite happy with the gun now but you really should not have to do that much on a new gun.

O Yeah, It also got grip inserts and a knife to match so it is ready for a walk-about.

[AxeHandle]

The trigger that didn't feel that nasty dry firing, feels real nasty when actually shooting

[bigbore5]

Every sp101 I have bought was full of gunk and metal shavings from the factory. Everything except for BFR'S get a mandatory trigger job as part of the unboxing process here, but the sp101s take a little extra polish everytime. I've also had to set back the barrel on my 22lr to close up the .009" cylinder gap that opened up to.014" after truing the cylinder face. Not a big deal when you have a precision machine shop and want it perfect, but would be expensive to pay someone to do.

It's also necessary to get the proper shims after cleaning up the rough sides of the hammer and trigger. But a trigger that rivals any other is possible.

[AxeHandle]

I think this is the only NIB SP101 I've ever taken home. I've got a 22LR and a pair of 32 Mags that I picked up used.

[firesubie]

My new Lipsey's 3" 327 has the same issues as needmostuff's. I couldn't budge the trigger assembly to remove it. Mine has a .011 cylinder gap and spits stuff back in my face. The chambers are really rough and it takes quite a bit of force to eject even mild 32 H&R loads that just fall out of the LCR or Single Seven. I just got a RMA from Ruger to send it back. Hopefully they can fix it up because I had high hopes for this one as a easy packing trail gun.

[bigbore5]

With the funny cylinder taper, any sp101 I get from now on will be used or nos.

[AxeHandle]

Ordered the M*Carbo spring kit for this thing. It comes with trigger and hammer shims. Planning to do some quantitative before and after testing.

[AxeHandle]

Shooting Fiocchi 98 grain 32 S&W Long wadcutters in this thing today. Looking at 10 rounds fired DAO at 50 feet shows a little yaw in the bullet.
I'm thinking the primary driver is shooting 32 Long wadcutters in a 327 revolver.

[rjm52]

...as said by others, the SP101 has one of the worst DA pulls is DA handgun history...

I'm on my second original style .327 3" stainless with the little windage adjustable rear sight blade...the first one had the typical heavy DA pull but was smooth...it was sold.

A couple of years ago there was another one at a local shop for a price too good to pass up....and when I tried the action it was from another planet...like a nicely tuned K-Frame.... It was an older gentleman's gun who had "sent it out of state to be worked on" but they would not contact him to find out where the work was done...

Only problem being that it will occasionally misfire DA with reloads using Small Rifle primers... SA zero issues...

Bob

[45MAN]

I HAVE A SHORT BARRELED STAINLESS 9mm SP-101 FROM LONG AGO. IT IS "OUT OF THE BOX" AND WONDERFULLY SMOOTH (IT SLEEPS NEXT TO ME AT NIGHT). OBVIUOSLY RUGER CAN MAKE A GOOD SP-101, DO NOT KNOW WHY THAT FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW THE SP-101's HAVE BEEN LEAVING THE FACTORY WITH SUCH LOUSY ACTIONS.

[AxeHandle]

The time is close!

[needsmostuff]

I am kind of wondering why, as they now have the jig to dovetail the front sight for a SP profile barrel they don't all get the benefit of that.
All the fixed sight guns should have that option.

[needsmostuff]

I am kind of wondering why, as they now have the jig to dovetail the front sight for a SP profile barrel they don't all get the benefit of that.
All the fixed sight guns should have that option.
I was just handling a 3"fixed sight SP and thinking "how nice if".

[AxeHandle]

Thinking it is gone but.... If that 327 GP100 is still in the case I just might capture it this morning. Pictures if I do!