STOLEN 15 DECEMBER 2005 - click here for details
How I speed-reload my revolver in competition
This is an all-around utility weapon. In some states it's legal for hunting deer, though I don't consider it powerful enough, especially with only a 4" barrel. It's all original, except for the front sight, which I have exchanged for one intended for the Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum revolver, with a red insert which gives me a much better sight picture.
The GP100 is a typical medium-frame double-action revolver. For those who don't know, double-action means that it can be fired either by cocking the hammer manually, or by simply pulling through on the trigger alone.
It is chambered for the .357 Remington Magnum cartridge, which means it can also use .38 S&W Special ammunition. This is a very versatile chambering; the higher-power Magnum ammunition can be used for hunting and personal defense, while the lower-power Special ammunition, usually less expensive and with lower recoil, can be used for practice and training.
This particular revolver is Ruger's item number KGP141. The construction is stainless steel, with a 4" barrel and adjustable rear sight. It's "full size," like a police officer's duty weapon for example. It's great to strap on for hiking or fishing or camping trips 'way out in the middle of nowhere, especially since cougar-human encounters are on the rise, since cougar populations are blossoming, since cougar hunting was restricted a few years ago. I have even carried this rather large, heavy and bulky handgun concealed in public.
I will no longer buy Ruger products. Bill Ruger Sr., head of the company, supported the 1994 Federal ban on so-called "assault weapons" and "high-capacity" magazines (over 10 rounds). For selling out to the Federals and betraying the American people by undermining their freedom - in short, by becoming a Quisling - Ruger has lost my business, which is a shame, because he builds really beefy stuff that's almost impossible to break. Bill Sr.'s gone now but apparently the company is continuing his Quisling-esque policies.
Here you see my GP-100 with holster, belt and speedloaders. The ammunition is Winchester 110-grain jacketed hollowpoint personal-defense loads, which are often on sale at Bi-Mart. This is my favorite load for this piece, although on the rare occasions when I carry this big slab of steel concealed, I prefer to load it with Glaser safety slugs - but since they're $2-$3 each, I usually just carry the 110s. When I carry this one concealed, it is usually with two reloads, again of the Winchester 110s, on Bianchi Speed Strips. I have HKS speedloaders and I practice with them, but in my opinion they're too big and obvious for discretion. Sometimes I carry them in a vest pocket in addition to the speed strips. The strips are in an Uncle Mike's folding twelve-place cartrige-loop carrier, either on my belt when I use an inside-waistband (IWB) holster, or on the opposite side of a shoulder rig.
This is not a good photo; the camera is a Vivitar PS33 I found at a second-hand store for 98 cents. Film is Kodak Gold 200, which was on sale at Bi-Mart.
Here it is disassembled. Clockwise from top center, the frame/barrel; hammer; hammer pin; mainspring assembly; trigger group; wood grip panels; aluminum grip module locator; grip screw; grip module; cylinder/crane assembly. The simplicity and robustness of this design makes the boycott necessitated by Bill Ruger Sr.'s betrayal of the American people all the more regrettable.
UPDATE: Since Summer 2005 I have been using this revolver in competition, and doing rather well.
UPDATE: On 14 December 2006, a year minus a day after it was stolen and just in time for Christmas, I acquired in private sale (which is still legal in Oregon) a replacement GP100! Since it was a private sale I wouldn't otherwise speak of it, on principle, but I'm very happy to have one of my most prized possessions replaced, and I intend to win things with it in competition so I can't very well hide it.
So all that overtime pay was worth the effort after all (though I won't be buying any shrimp rings for the next couple pay periods). The replacement is, by the serial number, a couple-few years older than the other, but in fine shape - VG+, crowding Excellent. (Needed a very thorough scrubbing of course.) $400, which is more than I paid for the last one NIB, but that was ten years ago and retail prices at this writing are crowding $500. Earlier, when I knew the deal would go through, I ordered a replacement front sight; a Millett this time, of different construction (a painted strip instead of a plastic insert) and of different contour (reportedly for easier holstering) from the Ruger Redhawk sight my other GP100 has. -And yes, that other GP100 is still mine, whether it's in some gangster's crib in LA, at the bottom of a Portland-area river, or in some sticky-fingered blueshirt's closet. Now, off to the range to sight-in, then to the plate match!
UPDATE, 18 August 2007: Uh huh.
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