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Ruger Revolver Triggers?


jkrispies

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How are stock Ruger revolver trigger feels in general?  I’ve wanted to get a 3” SP101 in .357 for a hiking gun for awhile.  I’m realizing too that all my handguns are far from stock, so I should probably have something concealable and relatively unmodified for HD, camping, etc.  I’m Just curious how a stock Ruger trigger stacks up against other similar revos?  My only other revolver is a 6” SW 686 with a polished trigger but it’s too big to carry around. Thanks, J

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I have a Ruger GP100 357 and a S&W 610. The S&W has a much better feeling trigger, even after i polished and changed springs on the Ruger. 

 

The stock trigger was probably 12lbs DA, 7lbs SA (never even measured it, as I knew I was gonna change it), was gritty and had a fair amount of creep. I don't think I could have gotten used to the trigger.

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Hmmm.  Might need to go a different route then? Any suggestions?  I want something in the .357 realm since I already load for it and there can be some decent sized critters wher I hike. Thinking 5 shot for concealment but I’m not married to any ideas right now other than wanting to keep it relatively stock.  

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You can buy springs for them, and i have the lightest springs possible in mine...but it is only 100% with Federal primers, and i wouldn't want to trust my life to it even then. The issue is the Ruger firing pin...it can't be replaced like the S&W. If I could get an extended firing pin, i feel I could go lighter on the springs. 

 

If all you are gonna do is use it to carry hiking, buy the spring pack, put the medium springs in, and polish all the surfaces up. I doubt that you will find a better gun at the price you can get the Ruger at...just gotta live with the trigger

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I like the 3” 686. It’s a little larger than the SP101 

 

you could also get a 3” J-frame 357 if you like. 

 

Small Smith .357s aren’t that hard to find. 

 

For comparison, my 6” Gp-100 has a heavier trigger pull. It is very smooth but heavy. Nothing at all like S&W. Not bad, just different. 

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1 hour ago, alecmc said:

typically , " nice trigger " and ruger dont work well in the same sentence. 

 

neither does a factory smith, but they tune up way nicer. 

 

When I was deciding between Smith and Ruger this was the advice my gunsmith gave to me and I followed his advice.

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I had the chance to handle a Ruger Match Champion a couple weeks ago. The counter guy told me it had had "extensive work" done on it. The trigger was looooong and stagey. I couldn't believe it was worked. It was also (probably) in the 8lb range (without a gauge). Give me a S&W any day!

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So there’s a $120 difference between the SP101 and a standard Smith M60 with similar specs.   Or... $170 difference between the S&W Pro Series M60 and a Ruger SP101. The Pro Series Smith has the additional upgrades (plus the adjustable rear sight) of a night sight on the front, plus a cool looking barrel cut.   All are stainless 5 shot 3” .357’s.  Sounds to me like the Smith might be worth the extra $$$ just for the trigger, regardless of which model is chosen.  I’d be curious to hear from someone who has compared a Pro series revolver to a stock one to see if they’ve had any special internal work on them from the factory.  

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The Performance Center guns are all supposed to have trigger work done, but I've never seen one that was any different than a garden variety regular model in the lockworks department. As far as I can tell, all you're getting is a special shaped barrel, and sometimes some laser engraving. I would bet that a Pro series is no different. Even if you send a gun back to S&W for their "action job" it doesn't amount to much compared to what a lot of independent smiths can do.

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The SP101 in particular is not known for a great DA trigger.  I like the GP100s quite a bit but never warmed up to the SP101. 

 

For that size of revolver I'd recommend a Kimber over the SP any day.  If a Kimber is too pricey I'd lean towards a S&W. 

Edited by Alaskan454
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I've found Rugers respond well to cleaning up. The hammer dog is sometimes a bit short from the factory and fitting a new one often smooths things up.

 

Weight of pull isn't everything.

 

J frames use coil springs the same as Rugers, I wouldn't lighten the hammer spring on either one for carry. They don't respond to tuning the same as the leaf springs in our larger Smiths.

 

The single action on Rugers is often creepy compared to a Smith and Wesson, but I don't shoot cowboy action anyway.

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14 minutes ago, PatJones said:

I've found Rugers respond well to cleaning up. The hammer dog is sometimes a bit short from the factory and fitting a new one often smooths things up.

 

 

 

Problem there though.... When was the last time you called Ruger and asked for well....anything ? They won't send out any "factory fit" parts.

 

I dislike having to restort to getting lucky on eBay for parts.

 

Though, hopefully this changes in the future. 

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12 hours ago, Toolguy said:

The Performance Center guns are all supposed to have trigger work done, but I've never seen one that was any different than a garden variety regular model in the lockworks department. As far as I can tell, all you're getting is a special shaped barrel, and sometimes some laser engraving. I would bet that a Pro series is no different. Even if you send a gun back to S&W for their "action job" it doesn't amount to much compared to what a lot of independent smiths can do.

This. 100% this.

9 hours ago, alecmc said:

 

Problem there though.... When was the last time you called Ruger and asked for well....anything ? They won't send out any "factory fit" parts.

 

I dislike having to restort to getting lucky on eBay for parts.

 

Though, hopefully this changes in the future. 

They sent me a recoil spring for my LCP once. :P

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13 hours ago, Toolguy said:

The Performance Center guns are all supposed to have trigger work done, but I've never seen one that was any different than a garden variety regular model in the lockworks department. As far as I can tell, all you're getting is a special shaped barrel, and sometimes some laser engraving. I would bet that a Pro series is no different. Even if you send a gun back to S&W for their "action job" it doesn't amount to much compared to what a lot of independent smiths can do.

 

Even the great Jerry M. tunes a gun named after him after a "Performance Center set-up." In the introductory video for the 929, he first says it's ready to go from the factory. At the end of the video he talks about how he's going to spend the night, "getting it just how I want it."

 

 

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On 4/9/2018 at 7:26 AM, jkrispies said:

Hmmm.  Might need to go a different route then? Any suggestions?  I want something in the .357 realm since I already load for it and there can be some decent sized critters wher I hike. Thinking 5 shot for concealment but I’m not married to any ideas right now other than wanting to keep it relatively stock.  

If your interested in a 5 shot the LCR triggers are very smooth. They are small and light but handle recoil surprisingly well, my wife's .38 is not unpleasant to shoot with +p ammo with full 357 ammo they may sting a bit but its not like you take them out for extended range sessions.

 

   

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Agreed, the LCR is a nice trigger. It has a long but smooth pull and handles recoil nicely. A full .357 mag has some snort. Ive had 2 or 3 instances were a .357 mag bullet has come dislodged on the 4th round and hung things up. I also have a GP100 and am very impressed with it. Replaced two springs and did some light sanding and polishing and it has a 1lb 14oz no creep single action. The double action is 7 1/2lbs and is so smooth it feels like maybe 4lbs. Winchester primers and 250-300 rounds with no light primer strikes.

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On 4/10/2018 at 10:10 AM, Mcfoto said:

 

Even the great Jerry M. tunes a gun named after him after a "Performance Center set-up." In the introductory video for the 929, he first says it's ready to go from the factory. At the end of the video he talks about how he's going to spend the night, "getting it just how I want it."

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing that.


Can you imagine what the S&W guys thought when they heard him say he was going to spend time tuning it!!

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Understand that when S&W sells a revolver, it goes to an unknown customer who may put whatever commercial ammunition into the gun that he happens to have.  So, factory new, the gun should be expected to light off just about any small pistol primer.  The trigger will be correspondingly heavier than it may need to be, for assurance.  Ruger apparently wants extra, extra assurance if the springs they put in their guns are an indicator.

 

Jerry controls his ammunition carefully and will prefer to tune his gun accordingly.  He knows that with the trigger re-worked, he should not be too surprised if it won't pop a CCI primer.  He won't send it back to Smith on that basis, whereas Joe-average-shooter might be highly dissatisfied if the case of 'whatever' ammo doesn't work in his new gun.

A response that "well it only works with -this- load" probably would not be too well received.

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On 4/11/2018 at 10:29 AM, 124gr9mm said:

Can you imagine what the S&W guys thought when they heard him say he was going to spend time tuning it!!

 

A few years ago S&W actually sent me a new 627 to tune for one of their team members!  True story.   

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On 4/9/2018 at 5:33 PM, Alaskan454 said:

For that size of revolver I'd recommend a Kimber over the SP any day.  If a Kimber is too pricey I'd lean towards a S&W. 

After this post I started looking at these little revolvers a bit, youtube reviews and such.  I'm kinda liking them.  If they came with a 3" barrel, they'd come pretty doggone close to what I'm looking for.

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