Locate FFL I already own and love Rugers .357 mag GP100, I definitely need/want this Special version. Gorgeous! The .44 caliber black powder pistol reigned supreme for 50 years. Quantum physics and RevolverGuy at the same time? The Hogue Monogrip felt good in mymedium-sized hands, and the balance on the GP100 was spot-on. Captain Frank Hamer of the Texas Rangers was known to carry a .44 Special Triplelock in a shoulder holster. The problem would be someone loading a cylinder of these into an aluminum airweight or 100-year-old revolver. Firearm has severe wear and tear, does not function, or is damaged. I had a mod 29 with a 6.5 bbl and it wasnt very fun to shoot 44 mag rounds after about 6, especially with the wood grips (Hogues or Pachmayrs are a must). Yeah, I think the preferred load for the Charter Arms Bulldog is a 200gr at about 750fps. What makes a blackpowder cartridge introduced in 1907 so popular that new revolvers are still being chambered for it 110 years later? .357 has a great reputation for ending gunfights. The 3-inch barrel length keeps the Ruger compact for any kind of carry. No sense of history. But Buffalo Bore, Corbon, and DoubleTap offer some very potent .44 Special loads I would not hesitate to carry for defensive use. The marriage of the GP100 with the .44 Special is a match made in gun heaven, and its been a long time coming. It took multiple shots. Following the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, gun control advocates have taken the anti-gun narrative to a fever pitch. Ruger had previously released .44 Special chambered GP100 revolvers in stainless steel with a 3-inch barrel and in blued steel with a 5-inch barrel (which was a Lipsey's Exclusive along with matching .327 Magnum and .357 Magnum versions with handsome walnut stocks). The left side is pleasingly inscribed with the Ruger GP100 name and .44 Special caliber, while the serial number and Ruger eagle logo subtlety etched into the frame. If there was an official higher pressure rating for modern guns we could have factory ammunition that meets the performance of the Skeeter Load. Hows it compare to the Charter Arms 44 spcl? Hang it in your jeep. Well, maybe plenty aint the right word, but you know what I mean. I only ran three as a test after reading that Lil Gun could have very detrimental effects on the forcing cone. Maybe its just legend, but what han dgun would you have carried in brown bear country in 1948? I have a beautiful S&W 629 V-Comp .44 magnum, it only starts to sting after a few cylinders of booms. Virgin .44 Special brass. I dont see the advantage of giving up a ro und just to shoot a weaker cart ridge either. But .44 Special aficionados always want more. Its quite pleasant to shoot, but Ill never be able to compete with it due to the trigger. If you want a .44 Magnum, buy one. This picture alone makes me want to buy an Encore / Contender. So he asked me why I was ordering a cult snake gun and I gave him the normal quality firearm investment piece something that I could wear to BBQs LOL actually it was going to be at work gun for me when I was at the store. These include past and current greats like Elmer Keith, Skeeter Skelton and John Taffin. As a reloader deciding on the caliber isnt going to be easy, but I dont think either one would be a bad pick. Typically a 240 Grain SWC (Keith Style of Course) at 1200-1250 fps. Keith and Skelton were also involved in the development of the 41 Magnum for law enforcement and hunting. Plenty of S&Ws and Colts have passed through my hands or reside in my safe. The action is not strong enough. Second place went to the Federal ammunition at 1.65 inches. Some places like Academy will ship free with a $25 order, some others like Target Sports ship free in case lots. Easily fixed with Loc-tite. Several good four-shot groups were ruined by flyersmy fault, not the guns. The .44 Special can do that quite well. And with that loading, I started stepping beyond what I really wanted this revolver to do. For those who love handloads its absolutely ideal. Stainless 3" (custom polished with Match Champion stocks), the Jeff Quinn . For the person who reloads and is willing to slightly exceed the SAAMI limits, the 44 Special is capable of both excellent accuracy and excellent terminal performance. (Bob Mundon I aint.). either way, its not an edc weapon, its for hunting and killing paper for me. The same is true with .45 Colt. In 2023 a new or used Ruger GP100 value varies depending on supply and demand. MAN, dude shoulda sold you some damn periods, instead of that line of BS. version of the Ruger GP100 came out, most American police officers. Adjustable sighted versions of the S&W or the Colt were holy grails. 150 large pistol primers and a 240-grain, cast-lead, semi-wadcutter (SWC) bullet backed by 7.5 grains of Alliant Unique smokeless powder. Shooting and discussing the new Ruger GP100 in .44 Special. Breaking out my old Brown and Sharpe calipers, I discovered that the S&W cylinder on the Magnum was 1.69 inches wide, while the Ruger GP100s was 1.59. There would need to be some magical quality to convince me to spend twice the money for a Ruger GP, were I in the market for a 44 spcl. Still, it was annoying. Now if they were to find a way to stuff 5 rou nds of .41 magnum in a GP 100 Id start counting the nickels in my change jar. The same is true with the 45 Colt. A rifle. The guns were all stainless, chambered in .357 Magnum, had 4 inch barrels, serial numbers with "NRA" prefixes, and rosewood grip inserts engraved with "NRA". But there are plenty of long barreled .44s available and Lipseys has already come forth with a blued steel 5-inch version. The GP100 is manufactured in .327 Federal Magnum, .357 Magnum, .38 Special, .22 Long Rifle, .44 Special, and 10mm Auto calibers. Only 1,145 were produced. Thats what you get when working a quantum physics problem and blogging at the same time. Both of these numbers give totally reliable primer ignition. I loaded as needed from the loops and speed strip, but this time I used a tree trunk for cover while reloading. https://www.friendsofnra.org/hp-slides/merchandise/2016StandardPackageCatalog.pdf, "Ruger Releases Jeff Quinn Memorial GP100 Revolver", "Greece Ministry of Public Order Press Office: Special Anti-Terrorist Unit", "Specijalne-jedinice.com | Special Anti-terrorist Unit-SAU", Rugers .357 GP-100 Revolver Considered a Modern Classic, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ruger_GP100&oldid=1141671248, Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1985, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from March 2022, Articles with PDF format bare URLs for citations, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Weight: Variable, dependent on barrel and shroud length. Nice write up! Feb 5, 2017. I suffer from the same illness as mine was ordered as soon as they were announced. AFAIK the Charter guns are not meant for hot loads and if you do run em hot itll decrease their service life post haste. That looks like a nice gun. Its comfortable to shoot, not too big and provides plenty of punch with a variety of loads. From old guns (he has fired the 300+ year-old Blunderbuss that hangs above his fireplace) to the latest wondergun handguns, rifles, and shotguns he likes them all. 20 grains and about 100fps more then a standard .45 auto load isnt that impressive. MFG: Ruger. Thats excellent for a short barreled revolvers brief sight radius. If you could afford just one more it should also be a .357 magnum. Some shooters opt for a .44 Magnum knowing full well that theyre more likely to fire .44 Specials most of the time. Transfer bar mechanism provides an unparalleled measure of security against accidental discharge. With its shortest 2 inch barrel, the gun measures just over 7 inches long while the height remains constant at about 6 inches tall. The first thing you realize when grasping the .44 Special GP100 is that its a chunky, meaty handgun. Seemed like it was outdated after the .44 magnum was developed. This load also provided the best group average at 1.71 inches. In fact, these hot .44s of Skeltons are only marginally more powerful than relatively common commercial defensive loads for .45acp. But why are some experts convinced 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme. Just couldnt pass the deal up for this brand new Revolver. Most of the time, they tend to stand in for bolt guns that do the job a whole lot better. Maximum effective range: 55110 yards (50101m), depending on barrel length, cartridge load, and additional optical sights, 6-Shot: .357 Magnum, .38 Special, and 10mm Auto, 7-Shot: .357 Magnum and .327 Federal Magnum, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 06:01. well, they stink compared to a decent S&W. It can be loaded to be far more powerful than the stoutest .44 Magnums. View all posts by Steven Tracy, The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated. The GP100 disassembles into three major modules with only limited use of tools. Also will be changing the fiber optic for a standard GP sight; the fiber optic is actually a little too bright for my taste. As I scrolled through the models I make it to the bottom of the page and there is a video there about this very model. A soft lead 240-250 grain, 44 caliber SWC travelling at 900-1000 fps will do 95% of what a 44 caliber handgun is asked to do. There are some ammunition manufacturers that squeeze the highest possible performance out of the 44 Special while staying within the SAAMI limits but for the most part, even the best 44 Special loadings fall short of the cartridges tremendous performance potential in modern, strong guns. I really like the 44S&W Spl cartridge and this one caught my eye. It warms my heart to see Skeeter and Elmers names here in the pages of RevolverGuy. We find the dealer that offers you the most money. It was hard enough to settle on a GP100 over a Dan Wesson (among other revolvers). As Hannibal said the trigger fix is easy. Between the six-inch Model 29, the four-inch Mountain Gun, and the brace of Ruger Redhawks what possible big bore shooting scenario have I left uncovered? Its our first review of a wheelgun chambered in something that doesnt begin with a 3. I put 20 of those through the gun with no ill effects. Though my rear sight pin also kept coming out. I would not buy another Smith & Wesson revolver with that crime-against-nature, POS, internal lock. Ruger GP100 44 Special Guns.com (See Price) Specs Model: 1767 Caliber: 44 Special Capacity: 5 Action: Double Barrel Length: 3" Overall Length: 8.5" Finish: Satin Stainless Grips: Hogue Walnut Weight: 36 oz. Ruger reasoned that his customers could just shoot Specials out of his big Magnum gun. 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