Ruger SP101 Frustrations

O

oxnam

New member
Just got my brand new Ruger SP101 357 mag 3" barrel. Should be a great size for packing and enough umph for local bears and wolves. Took it out immediately to shoot it.

First impression: Seems very solid and comes up well for me. Internals however seems very rough and/or gritty. Hammer was a little difficult to cock and almost seemed to catch. Squeezing it double action it stalls nicely before the hammer drops.

Shooting it: Picked up a box of Magtech in 38 Special and it was very pleasant to shoot recoil wise but then the trouble started. Multiple times, I could not pull the trigger hard enough to even shoot it. A couple other times, I absolutely could not cock the hammer with two hands. It felt like it is catching. The cylinder wasn't even starting to rotate when some of this was happening. The cylinder lock, or whatever it is called, was dropping down out of the way. So that was not impeding it at all.

I have never experinced anything like this before with any revolver. On my way home, I kept cycling it, and it quit locking up but I am now concerned it is a piece of junk. I am going to pull it apart tonight to go through it.

Anyone run into this before or have any suggestions?
 
Ruger will take care of the problem! Rugers revolvers are anything but junk. They might not be as refined as a smith, but they are built to last 3 lifetimes of use. We are taking a conceal carry class next month at the gun club i attend. The pistol you have is on the top of my list for a conceal carry piece. I might look at the new 327 though. Lee
 
"Squeezing it double action it stalls nicely before the hammer drops."

As it should the rest of your problem Ruger will undoubtedly fix

I Twice sent a M77 MkII in 300 win back as it wouldn't go BOOM every-time

they repaired it and didn't charge me a dime

their customer service IMO is second too none
 
rugers are IMO one of the finest revolvers on the market, there semi centerfire pistols have alot to be desired ruger will make it right regaurdless of problem Ron
 
I would send it back to ruger, they will take care of it. It is anything but junk.

I have the 3" .357 mag (and the 4" 32mag) Both are extraordinarily accurate guns.

This is one handgun that I will never be without. I sold my first one years back, the minute I walked out the door I had the feeling I had made a mistake, so a few months later when I could afford it I got another one and will not make that same mistake.

I carried mine for almost 10years when I was doing bail recovery, I had autos as well, but this is the one gun Id bet my life on.

good luck

Dave
 
Quote:
rugers are IMO one of the finest revolvers on the market, there semi centerfire pistols have alot to be desired ruger will make it right regaurdless of problem Ron



I'll second this - I have a GP101, that I bought as a backpacking sidearm about ten years ago. Man, can that thing shoot. It's the only pistol I have, and I can shoot tight groups with it, rapid fire, all day long. Sure, it's a little unrefined, and the trigger has these horrible scrape marks all over the sides, but I'd trust my life to it any day of the week.

You must have just gotten a lemon, as others have posted, just send it back in and have Ruger take a look.
 
I would send your gun to Ruger and let them make it "right" .....

I would not say that they will turn it into an extraordinary revolver ......

But while your gun is away ....... you need to go to "Ruger Camp" ...... LOL!

Try this web sight:

http://www.rugerforum.net/

After you make the requisite number of posts ....... I believe it's "ten" ......... you can access Iowegan's IBOK for SP 101 revolvers.

It's well written and has pictures and line drawings .....

VIVA Ruger DA revolvers!!

Three 44s
 
That sure sounds like the problem I had with my Ruger Security-Six (357). I found out it was a pressure problem with my hand loads. I had gotten off a line in my loading manual and was loading a half grain over max. What does you primer look like on the fired rounds? Any flatting of the primer? I am not familiar with the Magtech brand, but try some Remingtons or Winchesters and see if the problem is still there.
 
Thanks for putting my mind at ease. I ordered it because it had a lot of good things said about it which I still believe. I'll have to send it in. I was getting optomistic that it might be fine tonight as I worked the action while watching TV. But now the trigger is not resetting after the hammer comes down. Bummer when you can't play with the new toys.
 
Kioti Driver - Primers aren't flattened at all and the cases all fall right out. So it doesn't seem like a pressure issue. It was doing it even when it wasn't loaded.
At the gun shop, the owner also thought the action seemed surprisingly rough when he cycled it so it must be a lemon.
 
Quote:
Yep, sounds like someone was having a bad day at the Ruger factory. It wouldn't surprise me if they send you a new gun.


If you plan on useing for a carry gun i would request a new gun. That malfunction will allways be in the back of your mind with that one. And You bought a NEW gun not one that had problems from the factory. Request they replace it. I did that to a smith i had problems with right off the bat but after a few heated words between me and smith they replaced it. Hope everything pans out all right for ya. Keep us posted on what they do im kinda of wondering how ruger will take care of it. I have never had a problem with ruger guns but havent owned many pistols of theres neither.
 
Had the same thing happen to me with a new Blackhawk. I opened it up and there was a nice big ribbon of steel left over from the machining process floating around inside.
 
I pulled it apart tonight to see if there was junk left over from the manufacturing process. I couldn't find anything that stood out to my untrained eye.
 
Ruger will make it right.

3-4 years ago I had a Vaquero 3"Birdshead in .45 Colt that did the same thing out of the box..back to Ruger, back to me..still shoots fine.

I bought the SP101 in .327 Fed Magnum..it's all good. I did swap out the grips for Hogue's compact laminated rosewood and carry in a Simply Rugged pancake..seldom leave home w/out it.

You may from time to time hear some disparaging remarks about the accuracy of some Ruger rifles but seldom on their service, IMHO.
 
I just returned from the gun store where I went to purchase a new Ruger Wiley Clapp inspired SP101 (#5774) 3" in .357. I was ready to buy and first wanted to see how bad the trigger pull was. The cylinder was tight but cycled in double action but when I pulled the trigger slowly to see how it would act in firing for accuracy, THE TRIGGER LOCKED UP! Opened/closed cylinder double action OK but again slow trigger pull locked tight as a drum. The opening of the cyl was also hard. The store guy put some lube in it and no change.

By this time, I had decided to have nothing with that gun. Its a carry piece, thus cant have something I cant count on.

Just thought you guys would like to know.

Dennis
 


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