New ruger sp 101 22 lr

[rintinglen]

Has anyone actually bought one of these? They have been taking deposits hereabouts, but I have yet to actually hold one in my withered pinkies. I find the concept of a stainless kit gun very intriguing, and the price seems to well below what a similar S&W goes for. How do they shoot? How do they feel? Heavy triggers or reasonable ones? Inquiring minds want to know.

[hporter]

I picked one up a few months ago. The trigger was very heavy, the action was gritty, and it shot OK. I put a set of Wolff springs in it and that made the trigger much more manageable. I tried cleaning the fire control group up a little and that improved the gritty feeling a little. I took it out again last week after replacing the springs and it shot much better, but the action is a still a little gritty.

When I say gritty, I mean that when cocking in single action, or shooting double action, the lock work hangs a bit like there is still a burr or something in there. I have a 357 SP101 and a GP100 in 327 mag, and they are both buttery smooth. I am somewhat disappointed so far in this one. I have also noticed a bit of lead spray coming from the front of the cylinder in one of the chambers.

As far as accuracy, I have been trying to get it to shoot with the bulk pack Federal target rounds that I buy at the local walmart. They shoot exceptionally well in my Ruger 1911 with the Kimber 22lr conversion kit, but not so much in this one. I tried my buddies 36 grain Mini-mags last week and the groups shrank quite a bit. I still need to play around with different brands of ammo to see what it likes.

I like the size and the weight of the revolver very much. I don't like the fluorescent green front sight at all, but the lady that I spoke to in the Ruger accessory shop assured me that the plain black ones would be available soon. I shoot mostly paper targets and for me, the green dot is a distraction and not an aid to accurate shooting.

If I can get the action cleaned up, I will be very happy with it. By all means, lay your hands on one before you buy. I have always wanted a S&W 63, and when this one came along I thought that I could save a few bucks and have a nice revolver. So far the jury is still out for me.

[rintinglen]

Thanks, Tex, that is exactly the kind of info I am looking for. I don't mind doing a bit of action work, but the timing issue is a concern. Like you, I've wanted a M-63 for some years now, but money and gun never quite came together. I had hopes that this might be a viable substitute. It still may, but I think I'll be looking closely before buying--my gun budget is tighter this year.