I carry the Match Champion GP100 in the same context. For CCW it rides IWB in a Galco Summer Comfort holster. In the brush I put it in a Bianchi Cyclone. I think a 4" 357 is in the "sweet spot" for my needs. It just checks a lot of boxes for me from protection to recreation. As far as the Match Champion vs the standard, I went with the MC because my LGS had it marked up like $30-40 over a stainless GP100. The trigger is smoother on the MC but not a deal breaker to me. Also, the Hogue hardwood grips are nice and look good, but they blistered my hands running through a box of magnum loads without gloves. But I was busting pie plates at 100 yds If you can, find a shop with both in stock and see if that sways you one way or the other. Post pics when you get one and good luck with your shopping.
That is a nice looking gun, and I agree on a 4 inch barrel being the sweet spot, while still being easy to carry.
I am definitely settled on the 4in, just haven't decided if the extra round in the gp100 is worth it. The 4in sp101s just seem so handy, I played with a sp101 match champion .357 and a 4in 22lr sp101. So far I haven't tracked down a standard 4in sp101 .357 but I think that's what I will order in the next week or so.
I was on the fence and ended up going with the sp101 3 inch 357 after spending some time shooting both. The 3inch was more funner to shoot IMO You could always get one of these for the cool factor sorry for the bad pictures.
I've had 3 6" GP100 revolvers over the years. All have been half-lug because I find they balance better for me. I sold my last one to a friend last year because I find them heavy for field use and ended up using them for range sessions only. A few years back I picked up an SP101 3" and sent it off to Marc at Gemini Customs. He did a beautiful job on the action, dehorned it, chamfered all the straight edges, recessed the crown, and added his gold dot front sight. I've tried every after-market grip on it and the ugliest one proved to be the best at handling heavy loads. That is the Pachmayer Diamond Pro. It has additional padding where it meets the web of my hand which really helps with heavy loads, even up to 180 gr. Hard Cast. This is a revolver that's easy to carry and I've even rolled a few grouse with it using 38 wadcutters. I won't be letting this one go.
Well I'm gonna swing by my LGS this afternoon and see what they have for sp101s in the case. I'm going to hold out for the 4.2in barrel unless they have a 3in for a very good deal.
I'm crap for camera work but here's my 3" SP101. I've got good kydex for it but I found a little suede Galco pancake holster that I really like. Goes from glove box to belt in a jiffy.
That's awesome. I was just looking at some of his work the other day. He's in a league of his own when it comes to wheel guns. I have to agree with you on the grips too. Pachmayer won't ever win a beauty pageant but they do what they're supposed to do and they do it well. I've got two GP100's with Hogue wood grips. They're sharp looking but I prefer rubber or rubber/wood insert grips for performance. That's just my 2¢.
Yeah, Marc's work is amazing. I'm thinking about picking up a 4" SP101 in .327 and sending it off to him. I'd love to get a 3" SP101 Wiley Clapp in stainless if such a critter exists.
I guess nobody noticed that in the still of this video, before you hit the play button, Jerry has two bullets captured in the frame, about 6 inches apart, and I'm sure one already in the tube. That's friggen Fast!
I like the looks and reviews of the Wiley Clapps but don't own any Rugers. My revolvers are all S&W but I have a hankering for this 10mm.
I have shot the 10mm super redhawk, that was an awesome revolver, the SRH soaked the 10mm recoil right up.
Well I went and ordered something alittle different, Ruger Redhawk .45acp/.45colt 4.2 inch. I already have a P220 in .45acp so I have plenty of .45acp around and as a close range unexpected opportunity deer and hog gun (I know 4in is a little short for that) .45lc makes alot more sense IMO. Lastly it's just a beautiful gun, I saw one with aftermarket ivory grips and that sold me haha! Picture credit is eagle grips.
Picked up the Redhawk .45acp/.45colt today and took it to the indoor range. No pics from the range since we got cut short by a club pistol match I had forgotten about. Overall I'm happy with it, shooting .45acp it is just a dream recoil wise. The winchester 255 grain "cowboy target" round nose lead .45 colt was equally easy to handle but felt like it had a little more power than Winchester white box .45 acp jhps. There are a few "rugeresque" bugs but I'll work them out easily enough, the extractor has a burr that catches the brass on extraction and doesn't let brass fall free so I have to grab the moon clip to physically pull it out. Also the trigger group to frame fit could be better (another known redhawk issue). At 50 feet unsupported shooting moderately quickly I was keeping both .45 colt and acp in a fist sized group in single action and about a 6 to 8 inch group in double action. I have practically no double action revolver experience so I was happy with that and I look forward to using its ability to chamber the relatively cheap .45acp round to get lots of practice in. Also something to be aware of for other potential purchasers is ruger has changed the front sight from the super redhawk's springloaded plunger arrangement to a standard dovetail sight (harder to swap but likely more options) and with that they went to the shroud and sleeve barrel arrangement on these 4.2 inch redhawks.
Backwoods Runner, wait till you start loading for the 45 Colt. That's where the fun begins, and the groups get tighter.