Ouch. I had an ill-fitting trap gun stock wear out my cheekbone, not to the point of blistering, but sore enough to interrupt my shooting for a while.
Ouch. I had an ill-fitting trap gun stock wear out my cheekbone, not to the point of blistering, but sore enough to interrupt my shooting for a while.
Code Name: JET STREAM
Short version: Ruger Revolver Customer Service knocked it out of the ballpark with their servicing on my GP100. The technician's notes and a subsequent discussion with Ruger Customer Service show that they replaced the hammer dog, the entire hammer strut assembly (including the hammer spring), the trigger return spring, the transfer bar and adjusted the endplay. They also provided me with another disassembly pin, which was thoughtful. And the Millett sights were reinstalled after the refinishing.
And then they totally reblued it-and clearly they took the time to prepare the gun and properly blue and polish; the finish is every bit as good as the custom blueing Chris Peters had applied to the gun back in 1998. The cylinder was disassembled and any internal rust was eridicated with a brass brush; the original cylinder (hand picked by Chris Peters from Ruger as he was not satisfied with it, nor with the OEM barrel). Happily, they were also able to retain the reconfigured ejector that Chris had terraced to preclude unburnt powder particles from jamming the action as part of his original package for me.
In addition to the corrective work (and any additional work) and refinishing was done, they performed the requisite safety check, a range test and cleaning.
I suspect that they also carefully went over the action, as while now it has OEM hammer and trigger return springs (respectively 12# and 14#), the triggerpull is a bit heavy, but exceptionally smooth, with none of the previous spring binding or staginess that could be felt during triggerpull previously. While I have new Wolff 11# and 12# hammer springs and a 10# trigger return spring en route, I will run at least one match with the OEM springs, and may well simply remain with them; we'll see.
I've installed the VZ G10 Black Cherry grips; it'll be interesting to see how they perform compared to the VZ Black G10 Twister grips I used in my last match, and also compared with the Ruger/Altamont Compact rubber grips with the wood inlays.
And in keeping with 03RN's suggestion, I've applied Lucas Red "N" Tacky #2 Grease to the likely grip/frame rub points to mitigate against marring the blueing.
After some square-range zero confirmation, I'm slated to use the GP in an IDPA match later in the month.
Huge appreciative kudos to Ruger's Revolver Customer Service-they not only performed what was necessary, but clearly looked at the GP100 holistically, and then went the additional mile.
And some requisite images, of course:
How it looked before the return to the mothership:
Best, Jon
Last edited by JonInWA; 11-04-2021 at 03:48 PM.
I have the black Cherry grips on my 10mm, and man they look good
I just ordered another set for my 2" m10. I was pretty disappointed. I thought they sent me a red/black setOriginally Posted by jetfire
But turns out that's just the new black/cherry. Here's a pic they sent me to show the difference between the 2
I just asked them to exchange them for blacks
That's a nice looking GP
These are the black cherry grips on my 10mm Match Champion, and I really really like the way they look.
Here's a side-by side comparison between the VZ G10 grips; The 320 in Black Cherry and the Twisters in Black.
Best, Jon
Their reasoning is just the difference in batches. Which I understand but really didn't like how bright the red was. I did think about dying them darker.
Earlier this afternoon I square-ranged the GP100 to re-check zero and functioning. Re-zeroing was easily accomplished with no undue drama. Center-hold POA/POI achieved with 158 gr Federal SJSP and 158 gr HydraShok, and 145 gr Winchester Silver tip. I'm a happy camper.
Man, shooting full house .357 continues to irritate my inner thumb at the base. I did apply a moleskin bandage, so no blistering. I may thicken the moleskin application, or adjust my revolver hold to ameliorate against that impact/wear/rub point....
I'll be shooting it towards the end of the month in an IDPA match. We'll see how I do (or how effectively I whine).
It'll be interesting to see how my performance is with the VZ 320 Black Cherry grips, especially compared to the VZ Twisters.
Caleb/Jetfire, what are your thoughts with your Match Champion with the Twisters, and what cartridges are you using-.357 or .38 Special (and full-house, +P or downloaded)?
Best, Jon
Ok, did some grip research. I may have been my own worst enemy regarding my thumb blistering. Essentially, I was using my semi-auto grip-thumb forward, strong hand thumb above and over support hand thumb, which wedged the base of my strong hand thumb in forcible contact with the rear upper portion of the left grip corner tang; basically, where the recoil force was significantly concentrated-ergo, blood blister after about 50 rounds of full-house .357. Apparently the forces were suffciently diminished with .38 Special/.38 Special +P so that the blistering didn't occur with this grip.
My new grip will have the strong hand thumb curved down, with the pad of the support hand thumb riding on top of the strong hand thumbnail; that grip will provide both directive support and get my strong-hand inner thumb out of the way of the recoil force concentration area.
Thanks to the photos and descriptions in Grant Cunningham's "Gun Digest Book Of The Revolver" and the late Dave Arnold's "Shoot A Handgun."
Now to build up the muscle memory for the grip via dry-fire and see how things play out in my upcoming match.
Best, Jon
I've also got on hand some brand-new springs to test; a set of ISMI hammer and trigger return springs, Wolff 11# and 12# hammer springs and a Wolff 10# trigger return spring. I'm going to start with the Ruger-installed hammer and trigger return springs (which are reputedly 14# and 12# respectively) and progressively work through the various combinations over the next couple of months. The current Ruger set-up is a tad heavy, but very smooth. Optimal performance historically has been at the 12# point for hammersprings, regarding combined triggerpull weight, smoothness, and primer ignition, but for years I ran with a Wolff 11# hammer spring and a 8# TRS with no issues.
Best, Jon
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