Will the Ruger Super GP100 x 9mm ever reappear?

[testosterone]

On 1/7/2023 at 5:31 PM, Fishbreath said:

I'm a little concerned to see that Ruger has scrubbed mention of the 9mm Super GP from their website—the page for model 5066 goes to a 404.

 

I find it a little hard to believe they're ditching the 8rd/9mm revolver world entirely, so I'm holding out hope they'll announce a second generation gun at SHOT.

The best way to get more of these made is have every single person you know at SHOT go to the ruger booth and ask them when they are making more.

These guns are improbable with a microscopic market.

[matteekay]

On 11/10/2022 at 10:01 AM, Fishbreath said:

I heard from several Ruger-affiliated sources at the IRC that we should expect to see more Super GP100s this winter/next spring: they're in the process of spinning the line back up. Apparently, the bean counters didn't believe the demand would be there back during the first run.

 

I'm happy to hear that. I'll also believe it when I see them back in the wild.

[Fishbreath]

Ruger CS says the 9mm version is "discontinued for the time being", which isn't great news. Hopefully they'll find some way to honor outstanding certificates; to say nothing of the one I'm waiting on, they also just gave one out at the IRC.

 

On 1/8/2023 at 9:50 PM, testosterone said:

The best way to get more of these made is have every single person you know at SHOT go to the ruger booth and ask them when they are making more.

These guns are improbable with a microscopic market.

 

On the one hand, the "competition revolver shooter" demographic is microscopic; on the other hand, the only Super GPs I've seen in the wild have gone for well above MSRP and more than twice the street price, so there is at least some degree of unmet demand.

Edited January 10, 2023 by Fishbreath

[Toolguy]

You could get a couple of S&Ws for that kind of money.

[Fishbreath]

There was a brief time, in early 2020 when I was shopping for my first 8rd revolver, where the .357 Super GP was cheaper than a 627, but those times have passed us by for sure.

[MWP]

I’m assuming everyone who has a cert in to the factory just got an email that the 9mm is discontinued as well? 
 

That’s unfortunate. Hopefully they continue to manufacture the gun in 357 going forward. 

[Fishbreath]

I haven't gotten that email yet, but I did bug CS about it, so maybe that's what prompted someone to start sending them.

 

Maybe I can find someone to do a 9mm conversion on a .357 Super GP cylinder, at least, so I don't have to keep schlepping .38 Short Colt around for a backup gun (and making it, on the turret press).

[MWP]

44 minutes ago, Fishbreath said:

I haven't gotten that email yet, but I did bug CS about it, so maybe that's what prompted someone to start sending them.

 

Maybe I can find someone to do a 9mm conversion on a .357 Super GP cylinder, at least, so I don't have to keep schlepping .38 Short Colt around for a backup gun (and making it, on the turret press).

Could TK just ream a 357 gun to 9mm like they used to do on the 627s?

[Fishbreath]

8 minutes ago, MWP said:

Could TK just ream a 357 gun to 9mm like they used to do on the 627s?

 

They're first on my list to ask, if it comes to that.

[testosterone]

31 minutes ago, Fishbreath said:

 

They're first on my list to ask, if it comes to that.

 

Curious how this will turn out, several people that would know have told me this commonly is a -50fps vs a native 9mm cylinder on the smiths, but I don't have any first hand experience though.

[Fishbreath]

Sounds about right—at the start of this year, I worked up loads for .38 Short Colt in the .357, and 9mm in the 9mm. At 1.132" (short chambers on the 9mm Rugers), a 147gr bullet, and 3.2gr N320, the 9mm went 871fps and the .38 went 831fps. (Settled on about 3.25gr and 3.40gr, which comes to 130-135PF.)

 

My guess would be blow-by while the bullet's on the way from the case to the throat. 9mm/.38SC has a long way to go, in a .357 chamber.

Edited January 11, 2023 by Fishbreath

[testosterone]

39 minutes ago, Fishbreath said:

Sounds about right—at the start of this year, I worked up loads for .38 Short Colt in the .357, and 9mm in the 9mm. At 1.132" (short chambers on the 9mm Rugers), a 147gr bullet, and 3.2gr N320, the 9mm went 871fps and the .38 went 831fps. (Settled on about 3.25gr and 3.40gr, which comes to 130-135PF.)

 

My guess would be blow-by while the bullet's on the way from the case to the throat. 9mm/.38SC has a long way to go, in a .357 chamber.

 

The main issue for me regarding this is if you have more than 1 gun you just want one load that makes chrono, when I was looking at doing this it was just one gun so that was a deal breaker.    Mike ended up selling me a 929 cylinder years later and that gun became a 9mm after all, but I never did the conversion based on having an odd gun out on the load data.

[Fishbreath]

Now that you remind me that I'd need two loads anyway, maybe I save the money for another case or two of .38 Short brass and suck it up, until such time as I can wave enough money at someone with a 9mm Super GP to entice them to part with it.

[pskys2]

5 hours ago, Fishbreath said:

Sounds about right—at the start of this year, I worked up loads for .38 Short Colt in the .357, and 9mm in the 9mm. At 1.132" (short chambers on the 9mm Rugers), a 147gr bullet, and 3.2gr N320, the 9mm went 871fps and the .38 went 831fps. (Settled on about 3.25gr and 3.40gr, which comes to 130-135PF.)

 

My guess would be blow-by while the bullet's on the way from the case to the throat. 9mm/.38SC has a long way to go, in a .357 chamber.

The 9mm has about 10% less case capacity than the 38 short colt, so the velocity is higher for the 9mm.

[Fishbreath]

I guess I should chrono a few .38s out of the 9mm gun, to get an accurate comparison, then.

[revoman]

Well if Ruger is not going to make anymore Super GP100’s in .357 also. It looks like mine just doubled in price. What a start to 2023 ✌

[pskys2]

2 hours ago, Fishbreath said:

I guess I should chrono a few .38s out of the 9mm gun, to get an accurate comparison, then.

It took .3 grains less of clay dot to make same velocity in a 9mm stock g34 with same bullet, powder and at similar loa.

Kind of peaches and nectarines comparison.

[Fishbreath]

.38SC and 9mm out of the 9mm revolver will control for variations in the gun—the test would be to isolate the part of the difference in .38SC-from-.357 and 9mm-from-9mm that comes from the difference in case capacities. The rest is plausibly the gun.

[testosterone]

13 hours ago, Fishbreath said:

The rest is plausibly the gun.

cylinder gap mainly and specifically in case of a revolver...

[Fishbreath]

I just got notified that Ruger shipped my certificate gun. If you're looking for a .357, keep an eye out.

[MikeyScuba]

I asked Dave O a while back about this and he told me Ruger just removed it from the catalog temporarily so people would stop asking why it’s not available.

[IHAVEGAS]

My Ruger as delivered had a timing issue that scarred the slot on one or two cylinders and would occasionally cause the cylinder to bind up. Ruger fixed that by replacing the pawl, the gun would no longer lock up but whatever caused the two cylinders to be engaged differently (star or cylinder slot geometry tolerance?) was not fixed. 
 

After running the Ruger against my 929 my thought process ended with.

1. The smith is more fragile.

2. I can shoot the smith better (trigger). 
3. No one anywhere seems able to get the Ruger trigger close to a well tuned 929

4. I still prefer a gun I can buy parts for or my revolver smith can buy parts for, advantage 929. 
5. I prefer working with Ruger on warranty issues, much more responsive than s and w. 
6. My personal opinion is that Ruger may be pushing the limits of their design and manufacturing tolerances by chasing that 8th shot. 
 

I kept the smith. The deciding factor was just that I end up with a better match score due to the trigger. 

 

[Fishbreath]

2 hours ago, IHAVEGAS said:

(star or cylinder slot geometry tolerance?)

 

Star would be my guess. They're sensitive to dimensions and angles beyond any other part on the gun, in my experience, and the 8rd star is more so. (Lots of things to fit into a small space.) They're also the only timing part you can't get from somewhere or another—pawls/cylinder latches/trigger plungers/etc. can be had in factory, ready-to-fit form from Numrich. I do wish Ruger would sell more parts, though, even if they didn't advertise it. Warranty service is fast and responsive, but they return guns to factory configuration in maximally aggressive fashion—last time I had a gun in, I got my Rough Country sights back in a baggie, with a stock rear unit on the gun.

 

Smooth 6lb-7lb seems to be about the limit on the Rugers. The best ones I've held give some up in pull weight compared to a nice 929, but not much in feel.

[Vic]

What motivates you fellas to pursue platforms outside of the S&W,   which has been the gold standard in revolver shooting sports.

 The next best platforms require so much more modification and tinkering  and tuning  just to get close to a Smith.

  I understand wanting to be different and push envelopes, just curious as to motives?

 I use my old 6 shot S&W M14 Glenn Custom to shoot Steel Challenge , not to see how I stack up to other revolver shooters, usually I'm the lone revolver shooter anyway, but to see how I can place against the autos.  So I understand being different in approach. 

  Enlighten me on your goal. 

[IHAVEGAS]

44 minutes ago, Vic said:

What motivates you fellas to pursue platforms outside of the S&W,   which has been the gold standard in revolver shooting sports.

 

There is a lot of reading to be done on 929 quality control issues and poor/slow warranty service. Haven't paid attention to the other recent production models. 

The crane retention design on modern smith's is fragile and a particular worry for weak hand reloads. 

 

I agree about the old s & w guns and have a couple that I will never let go of.