GP100 .44 Special Decision

[oldhenry]

There has been a prior thread with the GP100 .44 spec. teething problems. I tried to tag this info onto that existing thread, but was unable to find it. Apparently it has "timed out".

About 6 month ago I bought the 3" SS steel version. Like all of the others the front sight had a gap between it & the bbl. That gap was .016 on mine. That defect was my only complaint. The cylinder to bbl. gap is .006 & it has no measurable end shake. It was extremely accurate and very smooth right out of the box. I didn't slug the bbl. or the cylinder throats........why question something good?

After installing a Wolff 12 lb. main spring & polishing a few contact points, it was super smooth: in fact, smoother than any of my S&Ws (hard to believe).

I decided that I could live with that .016 gap on the front sight. I reasoned that if I sent it back to Ruger they would change out the bbl. to correct the sight gap & I might end up with a gun that had a nice sight to bbl. fit, but may not shoot as well as it does now. I may doctor that gap with some sort of black epoxy on some rainey day when I didn't have anything else to do.

Last Thursday I bought another: the Lipsey 5" bbl. blued model. It had a smaller gap between the front sight and bbl.: .010 on front & .008 on the rear. Here are the pros & cons.

Pros:
1. .006 cylinder to bbl. gap
2. No measurable end shake
3. Promising DA (it pre-timed like a dream)
4. No thread choke
5. Cylinder throats seem OK. I didn't slug them, but used the slugs from my Lipsey flat top .44 spec. (all 6 ran .431 or marginally over). All 6 of them were tried in all 5 throats & met with some resistance. Now I now that this isn't the text book way of slugging cylinder throats, but it tells me that none are too large or too small. (mental note: get some pin gauges)

Cons:
1. Blue job is not good. There isn't any one area lacking preparation, but looked like the polishing started out properly and for some reason the technician stopped before the job was finished. It reminded me of a H&R "Topper" shotgun that I bought my son in '68 for $23.95
2. SA is horrible
3. The hammer pivot pin does not have a proper fit into the left side of the frame making the right side sit slightly proud.
4. The bbl. to sight gap mentioned above

I can solve everything except the blue job & the sight gap. The sight gap I can live with, but the blue job makes me sick.

After anguishing over it over the weekend, I called Ruger Monday & they're sending UPS to pick it up tomorrow. I plan to ask them to correct only the blue job, trigger & hammer pivot. For the same reason stated on the 3" SS model, I do not want to take a chance on them messing up the "pros".

I'll let you now what kind of blue job they produce.

Henry

[osteodoc08]

How do you like the 44 special in the GP-100 as a whole as far as useability, shootabikity, etc?

[Hickory]

Please tell me and others here what a sight gap is.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

The thread shouldn't "time out" in this section.

I could only find these two threads about the 44 spl...if the one you are looking for isn't one of these, maybe the title wasn't self-defining enough for a google search?

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?326677-GP100-44-special-problems

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?327431-GP100-44-special-strength

[rintinglen]

Please tell me and others here what a sight gap is.
A problem reported by a number of owners is that the front sight does not bottom out in the dovetail but leaves a gap underneath that many find undesirable.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

..! ;)

[Hickory]

A problem reported by a number of owners is that the front sight does not bottom out in the dovetail but leaves a gap underneath that many find undesirable.

Thank you.
Now I know what I did not know.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

[/img]

[oldhenry]

How do you like the 44 special in the GP-100 as a whole as far as useability, shootabikity, etc?

I absolutely love it. On the GP100 the relationship between the grip and trigger is perfect for me...........it don't need to stretch for the trigger & can maintain a good grip in DA mode (I shoot DA about 60% of the time).

So far I'm shooting only the #429421 over 5.5 of HP38/231 or 5.0 to 5.5 of WST. These are very manageable loads.

Henry

[oldhenry]

Please tell me and others here what a sight gap is.

On the GP100 version of the .44 spec. for some unknown reason Ruger failed to properly match depth of the front sight dovetail with the sight & as a result there is a space between the top of the bbl. & the bottom of the front sight.

Here is a photo of that gap on the 5" blued model. This unsightly (pardon the pun) gap varies in size.

Henry

[oldhenry]

The thread shouldn't "time out" in this section.

I could only find these two threads about the 44 spl...if the one you are looking for isn't one of these, maybe the title wasn't self-defining enough for a google search?

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?326677-GP100-44-special-problems

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?327431-GP100-44-special-strength

The 1st. one is what I was searching for. I'm new to the forum & merely checked all pages of "wheelguns, pistols & hand cannons" & not finding it there assumed it had timed out.

Henry

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

The 1st. one is what I was searching for. I'm new to the forum & merely checked all pages of "wheelguns, pistols & hand cannons" & not finding it there assumed it had timed out.

Henry

What can happen, for some unknown reason?
Is the default value changes for "Thread display options" and "show Threads from the..."
which can limit your ability to view older threads...it is easily changed.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?344009-Thread-display-options-Why-Can-t-I-see-older-threads

[Leadmelter]

I got a Cabella's flyer today and they had the pistol $50 off. After reading some of the posts, I think I hold off until spring. Maybe they can fix their production issues by then.
Leadmelter

[Lloyd Smale]

lesson I learned sending rugers back in is aftermarket parts will be pulled out and replaced with factory and any part they can see that you filed or stoned on will be replaced too.

[oldhenry]

lesson I learned sending rugers back in is aftermarket parts will be pulled out and replaced with factory and any part they can see that you filed or stoned on will be replaced too.

I was aware of this practice and for this reason I was careful to leave the Lipsey Special unaltered in any way. I removed the hammer, trigger group & cylinder assembly for inspection only (I was curious about what might be causing the horrible SA, but allow a decent DA).

Regards,
Henry

[Texas by God]

Pardon my English but that sight looks like ****

[oldhenry]

Pardon my English but that sight looks like ****.....

No argument here.

Check out the one on my 3" SS model.

Henry

[shorty500]

Stuck one in layaway last month based on everything I had heard/read since they were announced I was afraid Ruger had really dropped the ball. While I naturally haven’t shot it yet was so impressed by correctly cut dovetail, .431 chamber throats and the best factory issue GP trigger have ever pulled duh I bit! Will be my luck that when get it paid out that none of the chambers correctly align with barrel and it won’t hit the barn from the inside with all the doors shut but at least it looks promising

[oldhenry]

Shorty.
I'm glad to hear yours has a correctly cut dovetail & looks promising. I hope it shoots as well as my 3" SS one (sight gap or not, it shoots where I point & that's the most important trait to me).

Let us know how it works out for you.

Henry

[TCLouis]

Some real QA/QC going in there in the ruger production facility.

You would think the would be embarrassed and Apologetic.

[Lloyd Smale]

been that way forever.
Some real QA/QC going in there in the ruger production facility.

You would think the would be embarrassed and Apologetic.

[6bg6ga]

Not trying to be nasty but I didn't purchase a Ruger for a long time simply because of some of these issues. A while back I purchased a USED Ruger Red Hawk 44 magnum and went used simply because the quality was present on the one I bought but not the new ones.

[Groo]

Groo here
I suggest this fix, Sell e ruger- get an SW M-69 2 3/4 in .
Shoot 44 spec as needed

[oldhenry]

UPS delivered it Friday so I must give them good marks for 1 week turnaround (I don't see how UPS could have made the 2 trips that quick)

1. Blue job: Better.......not quite as good as my Lipsey flat top, but OK.

2. Trigger: No better than when I sent it: in fact, the DA isn't as good as the original. They say that they replaced cylinder lock, hammer & hammer pin. I installed a Wolff kit today & did some polishing which improved things, but the SA needs more work. I ordered a kit from Trigger Shims (the one I have are .005 for the hammer & I need .003).

3. Hammer Pin: I was able to remove it with a hardwood dowel sharpened like a pencil & a flat point added with my belt sander. It didn't require any extra effort: however, further checking turned up something that I consider unusual.

Being OCD I checked the fit from the left side & found the hole in the frame to have no resistance whatsoever. In fact, it was looser than I'd prefer. Introducing the pin from the right side was about the same, but fully installing the pin met with resistance the last 1/16" or so.

Close examination show light punch marks (2 close together)on the right side about 1/16" from the right end lug. I didn't find this before doing extensive polishing. Does anyone know if this is a standard practice with Ruger?

Henry

[Pistolero49]

My GP-100 3" stainless, .44 Special was sent to Ruger shortly after I bought it about two years ago. I ordered it online and it was shipped to my LGS. It looked pretty rough when we opened the box and removed it from the plastic bag. It had the infamous poorly fitted front sight, tool marks and sharp edges on the frame and it had what appeared to be dried blood one the cylinder and frame. The clerk remarked that the gun looked as if it was used to "pistol whip" someone. I cleaned it up placed it back in the box and placed a call to Ruger. I was emailed a shipping label and away it went by UPS. I received the gun about 3 weeks later and it arrived in beautiful shape. I was informed that a new barrel and cylinder was installed. The front sight was correctly installed and the tool marks and sharp edges corrected. I added a Warren One Hole rear sight and an orange front fiber optic rod. I added the smaller grips with Sack Peterson stag inserts. With a 240 grain .431 diameter Penn TC cast bullet over a modest charge of Unique. I have experienced minimal leading with this load.

I am shooting one to two inch groups shooting double action at 10 yards offhand, and two inch groups, shooting single action with a rest at 25 yards. Not too bad for a three inch gun and 68 year old eyes ( no photos taken sorry). I credit a lifetime of shooting revolvers along with a great single/double action trigger and the One Hole rear sight for the decent groups. I carry this gun in a Simply Rugged left hand cross draw Cattleman Holster. It has become my favorite home defense, truck travel and RV handgun.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1619/13751217/24759046/413428234.jpghttp://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1619/13751217/24759046/413428233.jpg

[oldhenry]

Nice looking gun & an interesting rear sight.

I'm satisfied with my 3" SS model. The gap under the front sight seems less important when I shoot it......it's smooth & accurate. So far I've had good results with #429421 & 5.0-5.5 gr. of WST.

The 5" was returned to Ruger 10/15 to correct a poor fit of the hammer pivot pin to the frame (too loose). I hated to see it go because the re-blue job looked so good. It shot fine, but the hammer pivot pin kept working it's way out.

Mark in customer service has been great.

Henry