LL's revolver quest, got a WC GP100

[Totem Polar]

I can conceal a G17 AIWB with ease and comfort. I'm 5'11", 182lbs, fairly athletic build. With regards to stainless or nickel guns, is that for ease of maintenance/rust prevention?

So, I’m 5’10” and 160 (in the home gym covid world) and pretty scrawny. It’s shocking how easily a 4” K-frame conceals in a JMCK “George.” Easier than concealing a G17.

The way I see it, there are two ways to go for a “first” action revolver: classic, or new school.

Classic is a no-lock 3” round butt K-frame, period. There is a reason that the last revolver issued by the Feebs was so configured.

For new school—and, if you’ve been paying attention, you would know that I’ve literally owned then all—I’d either go with a “WC” spec Ruger GP with some compact grips, or, conversely, a 4” Kimber K6s “combat”. Get a dozen speedloaders, some ammo (if you can find or load it) and season to taste with the JMCK rig of your choice.

Done. JMO, but again, short of a Korth, you can’t name a common wheelie that I haven’t owned at one time or another.

ETA: needs pics...

[Lester Polfus]

S “WC” spec Ruger GP with some compact grips,

I was actually coming back here to suggest exactly that. I had been planning on "eventually" buying a 2.75" 66-8, but I just discovered the 3" Wiley Clapp GP100 is only a couple ounces heavier. Clearly it's a thicker cylinder, but since I already have gear for a GP100, and it doesn't have a lock, I'm leaning that way instead.

[Guerrero]

I'm going to give a newbie opinion: 3" Ruger GP100, preferably the Wiley Clapp model (S&W 66 2.75" good, too, if you can handle the lock). Both midsized, can handle a pretty steady diet of magnums, would conceal ok. Both good "general purpose" wheel guns.

[LittleLebowski]

I was actually coming back here to suggest exactly that. I had been planning on "eventually" buying a 2.75" 66-8, but I just discovered the 3" Wiley Clapp GP100 is only a couple ounces heavier. Clearly it's a thicker cylinder, but since I already have gear for a GP100, and it doesn't have a lock, I'm leaning that way instead.

I like the look of that WC GP100. A lot. Need to know more intensifies.

[45dotACP]

If you want concealment and the best option for durability (which I suspect you do, because you want to do classes which means a fairly high round count) then I'd give it little more thought than "GP100" or 586 Carry Comp.

Sure, a current production K frame might be more durable than its golden years counterparts, but I've seen the the 19 and 586 carry comps both side by side and I'd take the extra beef of the L frame every day and twice on both days of the weekend.

Or I'd take the GP100, slap some compact grips on it and wow my friends with the ability to AIWB a 4" large frame roundgun. Ruger nailed it with the grip peg. My GP100 looks oddly balanced with the Lett Compact grips, sure, so maybe a 3" barrel is better...either way, I shoot it FAR better than a K frame with a 4" barrel because the grip fits me well enough to get my distal interphalangeal joint on the trigger with no discomfort whatsoever.

And for triggers? Who cares. My GP100 has a good trigger. It's been dry fired a million times. It's gonna get some shims soon. I can keep a cylinder in the black of a B8 with it, shooting DA only. Is there something I'm missing with a S&W? Because my prelock model 57s trigger is worse in DA.

Is my GP100 as good in the trigger department as a gunsmith tuned smith? Fuuuuck no. But I'm cheap, gunsmiths for wheel guns are getting rarer by the minute, and if the Glock 17 you carry doesn't bother you, the difference between a smith and a rugers DA triggers won't be a factor.

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

[gtmtnbiker98]

No Colt love in these parts?

[Lester Polfus]

I like the look of that WC GP100. A lot. Need to know more intensifies.

Novak makes both an adjustable rear, and different height front sights so you can tune the gun to your chosen ammo in whichever fashion you desire.

Next to my Glocks and 3rd Gen Smiths, my GP100 has been the most drama free handgun I've owned. I dropped in a Wolff spring kit, dry fired the shit out of it and have put several thousand mostly magnum rounds through it. It's still tight as a tick an accurate with jacketed.

It needs the cylinders opened up for cast. The cylinder got a little gummy after a couple thousand Blue Dot reloads. The "new" load data calls for a lesser charge that doesn't encourage complete ignition.

A 3" with compact grips would conceal surprisingly well, and hold up to high round counts.

No Colt love in these parts?

I want to love their new 3" six shot guns but I'm leery.

[gtmtnbiker98]

Novak makes both an adjustable rear, and different height front sights so you can tune the gun to your chosen ammo in whichever fashion you desire.

Next to my Glocks and 3rd Gen Smiths, my GP100 has been the most drama free handgun I've owned. I dropped in a Wolff spring kit, dry fired the shit out of it and have put several thousand mostly magnum rounds through it. It's still tight as a tick an accurate with jacketed.

It needs the cylinders opened up for cast. The cylinder got a little gummy after a couple thousand Blue Dot reloads. The "new" load data calls for a lesser charge that doesn't encourage complete ignition.

A 3" with compact grips would conceal surprisingly well, and hold up to high round counts.



I want to love their new 3" six shot guns but I'm leery.

I have a 2” Cobra that has several hundred rounds, love the gun.

[Half Moon]

Some general thoughts:

In .38 or .357 you really need a three inch or longer barrel to start tapping performance.

AIWB can be comfortable with barrels up to at least four inches so the medium length barrels are not a huge obstacle. Cylinder width and weight are bigger factors for comfort. Sweet spot for many folks is the mid frame size (Smith K)

Smaller frames (Smith J) are extremely easy to conceal and open up the possibility of pocket carry but have various downsides. Larger frames (Smith N) make great field guns but are larger and heavier than most folks are comfortable carrying concealed.

More weight equals less recoil but harder to carry comfortably. Every shooter's sweet spot will vary.

Hammers can be problematic. Without a hammer shield on the holster they can dig in or rub. Since you are probably shooting DA anyways, bobbing or hammerless are probably the way to go. A shrouded hammer, like a 638, or bobbed does leave the option to ride the hammer when holstering which is somewhat comforting.

While I'm pretty much a committed Smith man, Ruger may be well worth a look. Reputation says they are less likely to have production issues than Smith these days and they have always had a reputation for being slightly more rugged than Smith. There are other options like Colt or Kimber. There are pros and cons there as well.

Fixed sights are probably better in a combat revolver. Adjustable sights can and do shift or break. Ruger adjustables are particularly known for this. Trade off is fixed sights will be regulated for one load. Then again this is more an issue with snubs having spectacular deviations in POA versus POI than in longer barreled revolvers.

Speedloader options are broadest with Smiths. If you go with Smith, JetLoaders, or other spring assisted loaders, are the way to go. Others revolver brands are more limited in selection but speed loaders > strips > loose rounds is still relatively true.

That's about enough data dump from me for now :-)

[Totem Polar]

I like the look of that WC GP100. A lot. Need to know more intensifies.

I had a chance to think about this more on the drive time home tonight. Honestly, the WC GP is really hard to beat for what you describe.

Some things to know about the GP, and consider:

First off, on the whole 6 v 7 v 8 round thing: the classic load out is 6 rounds. Speedloaders abound for the 6 round wheelies. Moreover, many—though not all—classes and revolver-centric events hew to the old-school capacity, and center around six-round strings. DB and his ilk (Haggard, Cecil, et al.) can say more, but you really don’t want to be the one guy with a sportbike, when all your friends are riding Harleys for the poker run, even if the Japanese sport bike delivers objective advantages on paper. Nobody cares.

The zen of the wheelie is the smooth, hypnotic press and the management of “six fer sure.” If you want to grab an 8-round, moonclipped 9mm super GP or something for a *second* wheelie, I doubt you’d get any argument. But for the first serious revolver? Learn to embrace old-school. Plus, these things are about the zen and joy of nostalgia. Any sitch that has you looking at a GP and going “man, 6 isn’t very much...” will have you just reaching for a G17/19/45 anyways.

Second, you strike me as the kind of guy who will saw his own trees and plumb his own bidets, so you will be doing your own trigger work, and any fool can learn to do a good trigger job on a GP—they’re designed to be easy to take apart. I’ve done smoothing on all the Rugers I’ve owned, and I’m no mechanic. One can learn to work with an S&W too, but you need to take more care in the learning. If you can change a connector in a Glock, you can stone the surfaces and swap wolff springs in a GP—it’s the Glock/AR barbie doll of the wheel gun world.

Third, it’ll last forever, and is currently supported with support that’s actually worth having, JMO.

Fourth, real sights, and good options if you still want something else in your sight picture.

5th, if it’s a commercially available load, the GP will shoot it without any drama for either gun and shooter.

WC GP, JMCK, and go shoot. You reload, yes?