SP101

[XRe]

Kevin, given all that...

See how a 642 fits her hand, and see if she can pull the trigger - remember, you can have the trigger tuned a bit for carry, which will clean it up and make it a little bit lighter without compromising reliability (did this w/ my wife's 649). Load her up w/ good .38s and be done with it. Personally, even though I'm comfortable with the abuse the SP-101 puts out with .357s, the gun is heavy and bulky for being a 5-shot revo, and for .38s, its just overkill (though its a nice gun, no doubt).

My wife's in the same boat as yours, re: clearing vs. causing malfunctions (even with an auto she can manage). But, Duane's not the first or only trainer I've heard advising an auto over a revo, and there's some decent arguments for it... I still tend to lean revo, myself (even for my own carry)...

[Harmon]

ive never had good luck with 13 pound springs and factory striker springs in glocks.

also if a person does not have enough strength to retract the slide on an auto, they may not have enough strength to prevent the limp-wrist malfunction. When that malfunction occurs, she cannot clear it because of the lack of strength.

worst case autoloader, low strength woman cant cycle the slide on a autoloader, gun jams due to limp-wrist shooting and she cant clear it. she loses the gunfight.

worst case revolver: low strength woman cant smoothly pull the trigger on double action revolver resulting in poor hits or outright misses. the results of the gunfight cannot be determined.

I like the SP101 and dont find it hard to shoot. i would look into the .327 magnum, an extra round with less recoil is probably beneficial to the shooter.

[Duane Thomas]

ive never had good luck with 13 pound springs and factory striker springs in glocks.

Whenever I run a 13-pound recoil spring, I also run a reduced power striker spring. WAY too leery of the gun firing out of battery to run a 13-pounder with a stock striker spring.

[showmebob]

Kevin

I own a SP101 and replaced the factory grips with Trausch grips. 357's don't hurt anymore. You may want to give them a try for both you and your wife. Note that they are a little larger than factory grips but do make a world of difference in felt recoil and muzzle control.

[Flexmoney]

I like the SP101 and dont find it hard to shoot. i would look into the .327 magnum, an extra round with less recoil is probably beneficial to the shooter.

Anybody have any hands-on with the 327 Magnum?

[Chris Christian]

I have some limited hands on experience with the .327 Federal from a SP101. It does recoil less than a .357, and ballistically it's on par with a 115 9mm +P that is fired from a four inch barrel semi-auto. But, ammo is still hard to find. I would not sneer at a .357 SP101. Solid, reliable, enough weight to absorb recoil and it points well. I carried one for years. I would avoid shoving .357 Magnums into it. The Speer 135 grain Short Barrel .38 Spl +P JHP was developed at the specific request of NYPD to be used in their short barrel revolvers. They are very happy with it's performance in the field. It has noticably less recoil than any .357 Magnum. One advantage to the .357 over the .327 is that .38 Special practice ammo is much easier to find (WW White Box 130 grain standard pressure is very close to POI compared to the Speer, in the guns I have tested it in). As for revolvers having more malfunctions than semi-autos, I can only say that I've been shooting both for over 40 years in the field and competitive events and cannot agree. Semi-autos can have a number of "jams"... (some related to gun, some magazine, some ammo)... that will take the gun out of action until corrected... and jam clearing drills (rack & tap, etc) can be learned. Revolvers don't normally suffer those.. at least as long as your coil main spring(Ruger) hasn't been lightened to the point where it won't light off a primer. When a revolver does have a rare malfunction it is normally of the catastrophic type... squib load leaving bullet in barrel, or bullet "walking out of the case" under recoil to tie up the cylinder. With quality ammo and minimal maintenance those are so rare that I have never experienced one... although I have seen and heard of them. The SP101 will deliver five good rounds reliably and quickly. If you can live with five, it's a good choice. If your wife likes the gun and can hit with it, you have a great choice.

Chris Christian

[Flexmoney]

Thanks Chris.

I started a dedicated 327 Magnum thread in the Revolver forum > http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=101940&st=0&gopid=1161451entry1161451

[XRe]

Just curious - why avoid .357 in it? CorBon 125gr makes old Major out of my 3" SP-101. Yeah, it's loud, and it smacks your hand, but it's manageable, and it hits like a hammer on the other end....

[Pat Cannon]

Duane's advice about renting a gun is excellent.

Kevin, as far as the latter discussion goes, that's gonna happen whenever the words 'revolver' and 'reliability' is used. (I'm new here but not new to gun forums.)

Anyway I've carried an SP101 the last couple years and highly recommend it. Are the CT grips you're looking at the newer, softer ones? The original CT grip was a fairly hard plastic. I have the rubber Hogue Monogrip on mine and I love it. The stock grip is more concealable but I can hide the Hogue just fine; I'm a sloppy dresser. With the Hogue, and probably the CT, you can fire the most scary-fun fire-breathing .357 ammo in comfort.

[jasond]

I bought my wife a 642 so we wouldn't have to share the sp101, and because it's lighter. She prefers the ruger, as do I.

[GSCSRet]

Uh, excuse me guys. May I interrupt for a minute. My Original question has been answered as far as I am concerned. Things have drifted somewhat but for what it is worth I have some input to the drift as well. In another thread I noted that my M&P went tits up and would not extract worth a damn. I got it fixed. I compete with it but I would never carry it because I simply don't trust it. I am just waiting for it to start acting up again.

My wife is the lady you guys are all wound up over. She is like alot of women I know, and argue over this as well if you choose, that can make a gun go bang and hit what she aims at usually. But if it fails to function properly she might as well throw it at them. She is not a gun enthusiast like me or you all. She is going to practice often enough to be able to hit a man if need be but she is never going to be a "shooter". In a panic she is going to keep pulling the trigger until the gun goes bang which will NEVER happen with an auto.

I know without any doubt that my wife can not clear a malfunction in an automatic pistol. But I know she can cause one. When she shot my M&P for CCW she limp wristed it so bad that it had to be cleared twice out of 100 shots. I don't care if she ever learns because she will not be carrying one and she has no interest in joining me for a match.

I respect the opinions of everybody here but that does not mean I agree with them. Duane is a highly respected person but he is the only guy I have ever heard make such an argument for an auto over a revolver. EVERY instructor or law enforcement individual I have ever spoken with has said to use a revolver for CCW if you are not fluent in auto pistol malfunctions.

As far as .357 mag goes I only mentioned that because I might prefer to carry it that way. If it is going to be with her for any extended period of time it will be loaded with .38's. Hell, maybe I will run some .357's through it and say, "screw this", and load 38's myself.

When I fired a 642 I was not impressed with the trigger nor did the gun fit my hand at all. Hence, the question regarding the 101. I simply wanted to know if it has a good track record and was it recommended. I got my answers. Thanks to all who replied with useful info regarding my questions.

OK, you all go ahead and play some more.

Very similar to the situation with my wife when we got her her first pistol. She opted for the SP 101 spurless hammer, 2" barrel since it felt good and I knew it was heavy enough to counter some of the recoil. She really liked it until Ruger came out with the LCP, that had a light enough slide spring for her to handle. All this said she still does not carry much but can use either for home defense and I can carry either depending on the situation.

[LoneRider]

Love my Sp-101 3 1/6"

[overdriv]

My wife is in the same boat. She loves the S&W Shield 9MM but struggles to operate the slide. She has arthritis in both hands and not a lot of strength in her arms.

We are retired now and really enjoy shooting together. We both have our CCW license. I bought her a SP101 3" just to see if the .357Mags could be tolerated. I loaded some 125Gr SWC and 158Gr SWC to about mid power for 357mag. She can shoot them but they sting her hand and the gun moves enough to cause a blister between her thumb and fore finger. I have the Ruger optional rubber grips on the SP101. I think I will load some 38S power loads in .357Mag cases and give it another go. I would never let my wife carry the shield until she learns to better operate the slide, she's working on it. But I think with the proper loads the SP101 might work out.

She has no problem pulling the trigger but she can't hold it on target, DA trigger pull is bad in my opinion. I have a set of Wolf springs coming, maybe they will help.

The SP101 is a robust mid-sized revolver. The factory sights suck as does Ruger Customer Service, but that's totally off topic.

My 2 cents, good luck.