GP-100 Ruger

Sweet Monkey spunk on crutches! This is the finest firearm I have ever, and I mean ever, picked up and put rounds down range with.

But, before I get a little too far in to the superlatives, let me tell you something about it. It is a 6 shot revolver, 4 inch barrel, chambered in .357/.38. It has a rubber grip with a wooden inlay in to it.

As I have said on countless posts I'm a big dude, there isn't much I can't carry on me without printing...this one just might be too close to the edge to allow me to carry it, which would be sad. That is not, however, meant to be construed as I'm giving up in trying to find a way to carry it. Oh, sweet momma... I'm in very strong lust with this firearm.

Now... on to the actual review of the firearm.

Well, let's just start off with the fact that this thing is a slab of metal. Unloaded it weighs 34 ounces, so two pounds. Add in 6 shots of your favorite .38 or .357 in it and the weigh goes over 2 and a half solid pounds. To some people that would be excessive and I would tend to agree with them. For me, however, it isn't that much weight. To me it just feels solid and I think that's important.

The practical upside of the heft is that it manages recoil very, very well. I had no fatigue at all when I took it out to the range. There was no uncomfortable blast, no muzzle jump, nothing but smooth sailing, really. I was, admittedly, shooting the .38 special loads, but I can't imagine that a .357 would be that much worse. It'll still be manageable with those as well.

The barrel is 4 inches long, which makes it a little unwieldy so far as the draw is concerned and I fully admit that. Again, this is not a small person gun. You'll need to have long arms and a fairly long torso to have the room needed to clear the weapon. Although, I practiced with it and it worked fine for me.

It is a double action/single action revolver, so you can with stage the hammer and pull the trigger or just pull the trigger, either way. The trigger itself is smooth and easily actuated. I use my wife for the real test of a trigger, if she can pull it, then it is good to go. She could and it is.

The sights on this thing do not disappoint. They are easy to see and easy enough to pick up. The front sight is black, so its hard to focus on in low light.

However, the greatest thing...is the intuitive nature of how it shoots. It is, basically, point and click. I brought in the Target to about 10-15 feet, somewhere in there, and went to town. With a good (read correct) grip on the revolver you can literally, with no exaggeration, point and pull the trigger and hit what you are aiming at without having to close one eye and look down the sights. I put rounds right there I wanted them, using double action, and there wasn't one miss.

And I don't mean I was looking at the front sight, etc, I mean I was looking at the "8" on the target and I would hit within 1/2inch of the 8, if not completely remove the 8 from the paper. I would get 1 inch (or smaller) groups at 5 yards. I actually put 3 shots in the same blessed hole going double action with this puppy.

It will do its job, there is not doubt about it.

Ok, final thoughts: It is a great gun, it will hit what you point it at and it can carry the dirty-bad-nasty .357 or the cheaper and easier .38 special. The grip feels good in the hand and really softens recoil. The only down side is the weight and barrel length. However, if you are of the right size, there's no reason this wouldn't be a good carry or "truck gun".

I'm a fan.