GP100 - .357 Mag only??

[Jeff Thomas]

Just helped some good friends buy their first gun. We picked out a Ruger GP100, and it looks to have a 3 inch barrel. At the time I was surprised by the high gloss on the stainless steel, but didn't really pay it much attention - appearance wasn't their main criterion.

When we got it home and I looked through my Blue Book more carefully, I noted that this may be a specific model made only in 1996. The statement in the book that surprises me is '.357 Mag only ...'. Likewise, I note on the barrel that it only says '.357 Magnum'.

I've always believed that any revolver that will chamber .357 Mag will also handle .38 Special cartridges. Now I'm beginning to wonder, but this doesn't make sense to me. I've always heard (and noted) that a .357 Mag is the same diameter, but a longer cartridge than the .38 Special, and has an obviously heavier charge of powder.

Is it possible that this revolver will not handle .38 Special ammunition, and if not, why not? What am I missing here?

Thanks for your help. Regards from AZ

 

[sean2001]

You can shot .38 special from it, if i'm not mistaken all it is a shorter case.

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[Jeff Thomas]

sean2001, that's what I would have thought as well. But, if that's the case, why does the Blue Book of Gun Values draw a clear distinction between revolvers that shoot '.357 Mag. or .38 Spl. cal.', and others that shoot '.357 Mag. only'? (emphasis added)

 

[Oris]

I also bought similar appearance GP-161 Ruger
(6" barrel) in 1996. Bright ans shiny Stainless Steel beauty. Clerk at the gun store mentioned the this kind of finish is not common for Rugers. Anyway, I bought it because I felt like a little monkey
getting hold of something terribly exciting...initially I was looking for Ruger
in blue finish.

Of course, it shoots both .357 and 38 sp.

Your book probably states that only .357
Ruger revolvers were finished this way, and
NOT that you can shoot only 357 mag. loads in it. Sounds logical?

 

[Sisco]

If you wish to remove all doubt, call Ruger at 520 778 6555. If you didn't get a manual with it, just ask and they'll send you one.

 

[WESHOOT2]

.......because Ruger made a 38 Special model, one chambered specifically for the 38, not 357.......and published one manual for both.

 

[Jeff Thomas]

Thanks ... I'll call Ruger tomorrow, determine the exact answer, and get a manual.

Oris, actually the book states it exactly as I presented the language, and there is no room for your otherwise logical statement. I note the Blue Book does this in a few other places as well. It will be interesting to see what Ruger says. If they agree that it will fire both, then I'll send a note to the author of the Blue Book and ask him what the heck he's trying to communicate.

Regards from AZ

 

[Mal H]

Jeff, I think I've got this mystery figured out. I checked a Ruger catalog from the era of your friend's gun and a Blue Book. Ruger made GP100's in .357M and in .38 Special only. They state "revolvers chambered for the .357 Magnum cartridge also accept all factory .38 Special cartridges".

The confusion in the Blue Book wording comes from the models they describe not the cartridges they can shoot. The High Gloss Stainless Steel comes in .357 Magnum models only and not in .38 Special models. The same wording is used for adjustable sights - they come in the .357M models only. That doesn't mean the .357 can't shoot .38 Spcl.

 

[Jeff Thomas]

Mal, you hit it on the head. I called Ruger and they said that it will indeed fire .38 Special ammunition, as will any .357 Mag. revolver. I understand the nuance of the language in the Blue Book now, but it is a little confusing.

Thanks for all the help, and patience.

 

[4V50 Gary]

Shucks Jeff, you found out before I could offer you pittance for that gun.

Ruger also made some SP101s which were .38 Special only.

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Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt

 

[Ivanhoe]

I'll toss out a theory; it is lawyer-proofing. there is a well-known problem with shooting .38s in a .357 chamber; crud can build up just in front of the .38 case mouth. when .357s are shot out of that chamber, the case mouth can get "stuck" to the crud (since the .357 case extends past where the .38 case ended, and over a certain length of the crud).

the solution is to clean the chambers, obviously, but you can imagine some poor shlep getting killed while trying to clear stuck empties in his service wheelgun.