# Rented and fired a Ruger SP101 w/ .357 magnum



## RobertS (Jan 7, 2016)

Never fired a revolver before. Wow. That's a lot of power. Certainly not something I could/would use for self-defense. My hand started to hurt after 20 rounds.

First round of 25 at 7 yrds.









Second round of 25 at 7 yrds.








That's all my shooting hand and shoulder could handle. I think I'll stick to 9mm and .45 ACP.


----------



## hillman (Jul 27, 2014)

Chances are, in a SD situation 12 rounds would be all you'd have time for - so you are probably OK with the SP101.


----------



## RobertS (Jan 7, 2016)

Well, it was just to try out both a revolver and a magnum.

I have two PPQs and just playing while I do the research into a compact. I think I'll always be a semi-automatic fan. Too much poundage required to pull the trigger on a revolver.


----------



## win231 (Aug 5, 2015)

By the 2nd round, you were quickly accustomed to the gun. There is no self-defense situation that would require 25 rounds & in such situations, people don't remember hearing the shots; much less feeling recoil or noticing their hand hurting. I wouldn't discount the 357; the 125 Gr. load has the highest one-shot-stop capability record of any defensive caliber.


----------



## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

The .357 SIG cartridge duplicates the ballistics of the powerful 125 grain .357 Magnum load, and puts it into the easier-and-more-comfortable-to-shoot package of the automatic pistol. With 1.5 to 3x the number of shots on-tap before you'd need to reload, a faster and less-fumble-prone reload, and a more controllable recoil impulse, the .357 SIG cartridge in the autopistol of your choice is a better option for defense than most .357 revolvers nowadays.

Bonus: many .40 caliber autopistols can be converted to .357 SIG with a simple drop-in barrel (and sometimes, a magazine). As more police departments trade-in their used .40 pistols, we may soon find ourselves swimming in a flood of cheap, lightly-used .40 autopistols, many of which could be converted to .357 with a $100 aftermarket barrel, for those who want an inexpensive way to try out this caliber/combo.


----------



## Spike12 (Dec 10, 2008)

Well, you shot a pretty powerful round in a pretty small gun. It's gunna hurt. Plus the SP is meant for self protection where you fire it maybe all 5 rounds, MAYBE a reload and the fight's over. Reliability and concealment is the SP's priorities, no comfort although a set of Hogues (or clones) helps a lot over the original hard rubber w/wood. 

One thing a self protection gun is NOT meant to be is a comfortable all day at the range gun. You should have seen how many LCP's we got back at the LGS when they first came out.


----------



## Cait43 (Apr 4, 2013)

Try a Rhino with .357 magnums and feel little if no hurt.........
Chiappa Firearms


----------



## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

Practice with low power ammo, maybe even .38 Special, until you are shooting it well. Then, try to replicate your best shooting with about 12 rounds of full power ammo. The .357 Magnum is a great self defense round - has been for 80 years - and the SP-101 is a great small revolver. I prefer semi-autos, personally, but revolvers are very cool and very effective in the hands of a good shooter.


----------



## RobertS (Jan 7, 2016)

Bisley said:


> Practice with low power ammo, maybe even .38 Special, until you are shooting it well. Then, try to replicate your best shooting with about 12 rounds of full power ammo. The .357 Magnum is a great self defense round - has been for 80 years - and the SP-101 is a great small revolver. I prefer semi-autos, personally, but revolvers are very cool and very effective in the hands of a good shooter.


Yeah, I kind of prefer semis also. I have two Walther PPQs and looking to wrap my hands around a PPS M2. I wanted to try a revolver because I've never shot one before. I'm not sure I'm a fan of the heavy poundage required to pull a revolver's trigger. But I'd call the moment a good learning experience. I may consider it at a much later time.


----------



## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

Not all revolvers have hard triggers, but many Rugers do. Spring kits will greatly improve most of them, and a gunsmith can work wonders with them. I've fired numerous semi-autos that had bad triggers, too, so that is a negative that should probably be attributed to a handgun on an individual basis.


----------



## pblanc (Mar 3, 2015)

No doubt the .357 Magnum kicks harder than 9mm or .45 ACP. I wouldn't draw any strong conclusions from your experience. You had too many firsts. First time shooting a revolver, first time shooting .357 Magnum ammo. 

If you had shot 38 Special your recoil experience would have been much more akin to shooting 9mm Luger. First time shooting .357 Magnum is best done with a full-sized revolver like a Ruger GP100 which would have absorbed recoil much better.

Many owners of smaller revolvers who use them for concealed carry choose 38 Special or 38 Special +P for better control and faster follow up shots.


----------



## RobertS (Jan 7, 2016)

pblanc said:


> If you had shot 38 Special your recoil experience would have been much more akin to shooting 9mm Luger. First time shooting .357 Magnum is best done with a full-sized revolver like a Ruger GP100 which would have absorbed recoil much better.


I've read from another that the revolver's grip plays a big part of recoil control and that the SP101 has bad stock grips. Would that be your experience?


----------



## CW (Mar 20, 2015)

I also would practice with 38 special or 38sp+p.

A LOT easier to work with as you're learning.

Also the grip advice is great. It is amazing the effect of a change of grips.


----------



## pblanc (Mar 3, 2015)

I do not have a SP101 although I have shot a few. I have a GP100 with the original Lett grip. This is a solid "rubber" (actually Santoprene, a chemically-resistant elastomer) grip that absorbs recoil very well. When Lett went out of business Ruger started putting Hogue type grips on the SP101 and GP100 which I don't care for at all. Most Ruger owners who have Lett grips seem very pleased with them.

New Rugers are again coming with the Lett style grips on the GP100 and some of the SP101s. I can't know what type of grip the revolver you shot had.

The design of the SP101 and GP100 uses a "grip stud" instead of grip side panels screwed onto a metal frame. The grip stud design allows more flexibility in what size grip you use on the revolver. Some folks use a compact grip on their GP100s for example.

Although I enjoy shooting .357 Magnum from my GP100 (feels very "authoritative") the truth is I seldom shoot more than 3 or 4 cylinders worth at a time. I have shot .357 Magnum out of a small frame revolver and although it wasn't as bad as I anticipated, I wouldn't consider it to be fun exactly.


----------



## acepilot (Dec 16, 2012)

Love my SP101 snubbie in .357. You CAN use .38 special in it for somewhat less recoil.


----------



## Spike12 (Dec 10, 2008)

Good discussion but let's not confuse bullet recoil vs. felt recoil. That's to say you can take the same ammo and shoot it in a number of different gun/grip combinations and they will all 'Feel' different. 

Personally, my GP100 is much nicer to shoot (to me) with my aftermarket Hogues than the Letts ever were. In fact, I've put Hogues on my Security Six living room gun and on my Sig P-230 (small .380 pocket gun). All of which points out how much all of this 'felt recoil' is a personal experience and something that the individual must experience for him/her self.


----------



## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

I've not fired an SP-101 with rubber Hogues, but I have fired the GP-100 and Redhawk .44 with them. While I like the size/shape/feel of the rubber Hogue grip, it does shift the hand significantly lower on the frame, which can accentuate the recoil or muzzle-flip, when compared to other grips which may not feel as cushy but allow a higher grip on the handgun. For this reason, I use Hogue rubber grips on all my S&W revolvers (they still allow a high grip on S&W revolvers), but not the Rugers. Just my experience, YMMV.


----------



## RobertS (Jan 7, 2016)

Spike12 said:


> Personally, my GP100 is much nicer to shoot (to me) with my aftermarket Hogues than the Letts ever were. In fact, I've put Hogues on my Security Six living room gun and on my Sig P-230 (small .380 pocket gun). All of which points out how much all of this 'felt recoil' is a personal experience and something that the individual must experience for him/her self.


Well, it was my first revolver and my first magnum. I knew it would have some kick, but I figured all the shots I put through 9mm and .45 would have given me some experience to not drop it or let it fly out of my hands. I was able to keep hold of it, it's just that it kept racking the knuckle on my middle shooting finger.

They don't have a larger magnum. It's pretty much snubs on their wall.

Hmmm...another LGS has a S&W 686+ in .357. I think I'll visit the range soon.


----------

