Diving Deeper into GP100 Shooting: The Journey Starts

[SwampDweller]

After owning two GP100s for a while and only shooting 150 rounds through one of them a year ago, I finally took them to the range along with a couple hundred rounds of .38 and .357 ammo yesterday. The experience was productive and enlightening, and exposed several things I will need to work through.

GP100 #1 is a 6 shot 4" blued model with Hogue rubber stocks that I purchased over a year ago and had put a bit over 150 rounds through when I got it. Yesterday, I shot 90 rounds through it (48rds of .357, 42rds of .38 Spl). Functionally, there were no issues. I definitely need to work on my double action trigger pulls, which using .38 while shooting for that seems to be the answer as when I really concentrated, I could put the rounds exactly where I wanted them to go. I wasn't shooting that far, just over 20 feet.

GP100 #2 is a 7 shot 4" stainless model with the traditional Ruger full size rubber stocks with rosewood inserts (I have a set of compacts on the way). I was a little more interested in how this would perform reliability-wise as I remember there being issues with earlier 7-shot models, and my brother bought a blued 7-shot earlier this year that has issues with fired casings sticking in the chambers resulting in very difficult extraction. I fired 153 rounds through it (77rds of .357 Mag, 76rds of .38 Spl) and had no functionality issues whatsoever. Extraction was smooth and easy. The trigger pull on the 7 shot feels a bit different from the 6 shot, and I'm leaning towards saying I like the trigger pull of the 6 shooter better but it's more of a practice/familiarity issue than anything else. Accuracy with .38s was good if I did my part, but I definitely need more practice. With .357, I would throw my shots more often.

Ammunition used-
.357 Mag: Through both revolvers, almost all Magnum ammo was 158gr Magtech JSP. I'm not sure where this load falls among the .357 Magnum power spectrum, but it was certainly lively. Out of the GP100 with the Hogue rubber, it was a bit more controllable than the Ruger rubber/rosewood. In the 7-shot with Ruger stocks, after 60 rounds or so of Magtech .357, the inside of my thumb began to get slightly skinned by the top edge of the grip and it became less fun to shoot. With the 6-shot with Hogues, it was never really an issue but I did become fatigued with .357 after shooting quite a bit of Magnums through both Rugers back-to-back (with short intervals of shooting my G21 Gen 5 and USP 45 in between). Between both revolvers, I also shot a 20 (or 25? can't remember) round box of Hornady 125gr Critical Defense .357 Mag, which was rather pleasant to shoot, moreso than the Magtech 158gr.

I also shot a couple of cylinders through both revolvers of Remington 125gr JSP, and boy, that stuff was both flashy and blasty. Subjectively, recoil felt a bit less, but the blast and flash was significantly more than the 158gr. I had shooters next to me, so I limited my shooting of that load.

.38 Special: My loads in this caliber were a mix of Federal American Eagle 130gr FMJ and Remington 130gr FMJ. Recoil was negligible with both loads through both revolvers, and if I did my part and controlled my trigger press properly, accuracy was good. I just need to work on consistently.

My questions:

-The inside of my thumb got a little torn up with shooting Magnum loads through the 7-shot with the Ruger rubber/rosewood thinner stocks. I could switch to Hogue, but I was hoping to eventually put the Compact Ruger grips on one or both GP100s to eventually carry. Are there any solutions to this other than not shooting 100+ rounds of Magnums at one time? I suppose gloves?

-Accuracy with .357 degraded as I continued shooting, and even at the start I was throwing my shots more, most certainly partly due to flinch. I purchased 120rds of Winchester Silvertip 140gr for carry/defense, perhaps that would result in better shooting versus the Magtech 158gr? I know dry fire practice goes a long way and I will be increasing those sessions, but at some point I need it to translate to shooting Magnums. Or maybe the answer is simply to limit the amount of Magnums at a given range session? I'm open to advice as I start down this journey.

[As an aside, I recall @Chuck Haggard saying in the Snub podcast Part 2 that Winchester ammo QC has fallen off the last couple of years. Is there a good alternative to the Silvertip load that is still .357 Magnum territory but not the full fury stuff?]

I may add to these questions as they come to my head through the day, but these are my stream-of-consciousness thoughts/questions I've had popping up since I left the range yesterday.
Thank you!

Pic of inside of my hand:

[SwampDweller]

Forgot to add: My trigger finger has a blister after shooting. I found I get better control over the trigger if I have the first joint of my trigger finger over the trigger, but it apparently squeezes the side of my trigger finger a bit upon firing (particularly magnums) resulting in a blood blister as pictured. Any advice?

[gato naranja]

The inside of my thumb got a little torn up with shooting Magnum loads through the 7-shot with the Ruger rubber/rosewood thinner stocks. I could switch to Hogue, but I was hoping to eventually put the Compact Ruger grips on one or both GP100s to eventually carry. Are there any solutions to this other than not shooting 100+ rounds of Magnums at one time? I suppose gloves?

I use the compact Ruger factory grips, and while I like them better than the full size versions from a number of standpoints, I do not like them with .357 Magnum loads. Nothing is likely to be more friendly to your hands when shooting stout loads than Hogue Tamers (not the run-of-the-mill Hogues), but they are a big grip.

[camsdaddy]

The small grip on a GP100 feels like it was made for my hand. If/when I purchase one this will be step one.

I would shoot 38's until I was familiar and felt the need to move to anything else. A hit with a 38 trumps any miss with a 357. I would think shooting 357 while trying to learn the platform may cause issues that would have to be unlearned later like flinch and such. Im interested in seeing the progression of this post.

[fatdog]

.... Is there a good alternative to the Silvertip load that is still .357 Magnum territory but not the full fury stuff?

I have dropped down to two 357 commercial defensive loads, one the Speer 135gr Gold Dot is still cataloged but I don't think they have made or shipped any of those in several years, I am very fortunate to have a stash. The other is the Remington 125gr Golden Sabre.

Both are "medium" power and not punishing like the full patch stuff which I no longer care to shoot. From my 4" barrel S&W 19-3 the Gold dot is doing about 1080 fps according to my notes and the Remington about 1220 fps. Both lots in my stash are from at least 8-10 years ago and I have no idea how either load might have changed since.

[Hizzie]

Personally I have come to really like the Hogue 80010 non finger grooved rubber for shooting. The compact Lett is still my preference for carry as the rubber isn’t as tacky.

[JonInWA]

Try using a thumb-over-thumb grip. However, in my experimentation and experience, if you're going to be shooting more than 50 rounds of full-house .357 magnum, the Hogue Tamers are your best bet for a comfortable, painless protracted .357 magnum session.

Best, Jon

[JonInWA]

As I discussed in one of my detailed (ok, excruciatingly detailed...)threads, I do not recommend Winchester Silvertip .357 magnums (in my case the 145 gr) due to repeated quality control issues with primers and non-ignition last year. I'm currently carrying and recommending Federal 158 gr HydraShoks, which have performed flawlessly for me.

Best, Jon

[gato naranja]

Through both revolvers, almost all Magnum ammo was 158gr Magtech JSP. I'm not sure where this load falls among the .357 Magnum power spectrum, but it was certainly lively.

-Accuracy with .357 degraded as I continued shooting, and even at the start I was throwing my shots more, most certainly partly due to flinch. I purchased 120rds of Winchester Silvertip 140gr for carry/defense, perhaps that would result in better shooting versus the Magtech 158gr? I know dry fire practice goes a long way and I will be increasing those sessions, but at some point I need it to translate to shooting Magnums. Or maybe the answer is simply to limit the amount of Magnums at a given range session?

I piled up that Magtech load - at very reasonable prices - from a former LGS a few years back. From a carbine it is fine; out of a 4" GP-100 it gets my attention immediately; launched through my beat-up SP101 it is just unpleasant. I backed off on using it in the revolvers and now run .38 Special through them as a general rule, though I still use the Magtech .357 in my Marlin 1894CSS. Yes, there are "softer shooting" .357 factory loads out there, but finding them around here is hit-and-miss. Mostly miss. Reloaders (alas, I am no longer one of them) are in the catbird seat, because great mild .357 loads are not hard to achieve.

When I returned to the GP-100 after a hiatus, I did so because it was overall the least objectionable .357 revolver of all the ones I had owned up to that point. I knew going in that any grip was going to be a compromise, and so it has proven.

[Flamingo]

I am carrying the 357 135gr Critical Duty in my 4 inch GP100 and 4 inch Security Six.