SP101 2 inch or 3 inch barrel

rdg said:
The 2" fits in your pocket, the 3" doesn't. I want to be able to carry a snubby in a variety of ways and the shorter barrel is just more versatile. A snubby is pretty much and up close and personal weapon, a little shorter barrel won't hurt it's practical accuracy at all. If I were to be limited to belt carry, I would pick different gun, most likely a 1911. Just what works for me, your mileage may vary.
Bob
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as far as ease of carry i dont think it makes a lotta difference.

a ruger SP101 is a bit large for pocket carry anyway be it 2" or 3" bbl, for me anyway.
 
SIFU1A said:
as far as ease of carry i dont think it makes a lotta difference.

a ruger SP101 is a bit large for pocket carry anyway be it 2" or 3" bbl, for me anyway.
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I routinely carry my SP101 with the 3" in my jeans in a pocket holster... though it is a bit heavy. With the right pocket holster it works well.
I prefer the longer sight radius and balance of the 3", though with a CT laser attached, sight radius becomes a moot point to some extent. I also added a "Night Sighter" glow in the dark dot to the front blade on mine.
 
:thumbup: Thanks for the comments all.

Currently, I carry am carrying a HK-P2000 in .40, IWB, @ 3:00.

I am going to carry the SP101 IWB as well. I dont know if I am going to carry strong side OR i saw a unique cross-draw belly holster for IWB. I never carried a revolver before. Any insight into that would be helpful.

I like revolvers. They have more organic lines. They have a nice heft to them (though.. that could be a negative).. My first pistol was a Colt .357 6" barrel. That thing is massive and feels like a boat anchor. I dont shoot it often, its old and given to me by my father.

I am really moving to the snubbies because, the older i get, the more i noticed, I just dont go into rough areas anymore. Thank God, I have never, used a handgun for defense. I know how to stay out of trouble spots. If trouble comes to me, and the need to deploy a gun arises , my thinking is... 5 shots of .38 +p or .357 mag should detour any man or beast. Plus , I just really like snubbies. They are dual purpose, fun to shoot and small and concealable.

So I thought about S&W airweights, I never shot one. But the grip seems so tiny, I dont know if i will like it. The SP101 grip is a tad longer in the grip and they are built like mini-tanks. So I thought the SP101 would be a good fit for me.

So those are my intentions...

Thanks all
 
You'll be awfully thankful for that extra weight the minute you light off a full-house .357 load in it. Even so, get ready for a whole lot more recoil than you're used to in the Colt.

You don't have to shoot the big, hairy loads in it, but I do. If you're going to do that too, be sure to practice with the same loads so it doesn't take you by surprise if you have to use it for real.
 
If you decide to shoot those full beast .357 loads at night, put your sunglasses on first.:D
 
FlameThrower! :D lol, I plan to shoot some full house .357 mag rounds. I shot one at the range. An LEO buddy was shooting one. He let me fire it. It was a handful. Way more than my Colt., no doubt. And yes, Handcannon/Flamethrower comes to mind out of that tiny 2 inch barrel. Takes some serious discipline. But i like it.

My plan, I will start off with 38 special loads to get my trigger finger used to the trigger pull.. then move up to the full house loads.

I just hope i am not downgrading by putting in my semi-auto .40SW in the safe, for something that weighs more and has less ammo/firepower for intended protection.

I feel I should be allright with the SP101.
 
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timcsaw said:
If you decide to shoot those full beast .357 loads at night, put your sunglasses on first.:D
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You might also want to wear ear protection 24/7 in case you ever have to use it. There is a bigger difference to your ears between .38 spl and .357 then the amount of recoil you feel or the muzzle flash.
 
He said he's got a Colt in .357, so I presume he's quite familiar with the noise.

Anecdotally, I hand-load my own ammo, and the self-defense load is literally right at the limit of what the gun can safely handle. They are so much hotter than factory ammo that it's not even funny. My best friend is a former Vietnam Army Ranger, and has been around guns a lot of his life, but that's the one gun/load combination he refuses to shoot. Have to admit it's pretty bad. Even I can only shoot about four or five of those rounds through the small gun before I have to quit because my hand is hurting too badly.
 
I have a 3'' and while a nice gun---

The perfect SP101 for CCW is the 2'' WITH the regular hammer----it opens up a world of holsters that can only be dreamed of with the 3''.


I also had a DAO version a few years back---it was very limiting and I wouldn't buy another with that feature again.
 
I know how to stay out of trouble spots. - I think the students at VA Tech and the immigrants in Binghamton thought they were in a trouble free zone. Then again so did the people in Luby's or that church in Texas.



my thinking is... 5 shots of .38 +p or .357 mag should detour any man or beast. - that kind of thinking might get you killed. Always carry a reload whether its for a revolver or a high cap Glock.


Just my $0.02.
 
It wasn't much good for slow deliberate aimed shots like you can do with a cocked hammer----and many holsters out there require a hammer spur to work.

The gun is too big and heavy for pocket carry--so that means you'll be using a holster---there's little chance of snagging a hammer spur coming out of a holster.

Like I said--I'll never buy a DAO version again. There are too many reasons against it and no real benefits to the bobbed hammer.
 
I don't have any feedback on the barrel length question... I have a 2" SP101 with spur -- I've always enjoyed shooting it. Its surprisingly accurate and has a very nice heft to it. I bought some aftermarket pachmayrs for it but ended up going back to the factory grips. I live in Los Angeles so a carry permit is out of the question. If I ever move to a unincorporated area with easier rules for carry then it would be a top pick. I personally think it would be too heavy/bulky for pocket carry.

The only improvement I made to it was a spring kit -- I can't remember the brand as I did the work in 2001 or so... I think it was Wolf -- that plus a sillicon lubricant from brownells slicked up the action considerably.

I noticed that Bowen is doing some work on the sp101 -- it might be fun to check out.
 
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