SP 101, for my better half?

[BigMike]

Is there an easy way to lighten the trigger of a SP 101, in addition to dry firing, and not spending big $ ? Me and the wife are looking for a home revolver for her, and we liked everything about it, but I and she thought the trigger was awfuly heavy in double action. Maybe dryfiring it 16 gillion times will help.????

I am partial to the DA/SA(with hammer spur), and the shop we looked had that and the DAO in 2.25 in. and 3 in. My wife has no preference. I would also carry this when we are both together, when the Beretta 92 would be just to hefty/big. Anyone partial to any specific operating system, D/A S/A, DAO?

I also held a smith with wooden boot grips. I really liked the feel of them. I have not researched it yet, but I think we would like to have these on her SP. Anyone have these on their SP?

Having the wife pick out her own handgun has been an enlightening and fun experience. She picked up a Taurus .38, 7 shot "Ultra-lite," dry fired it and said,"Hmm...doesn't seem as balanced as the Ruger." Now, this just makes me smile, 'cause 6 month's ago, she couldn't have told you what a revolver was!

Any response would be appreciated!!

Mike

 

[Sarge]

SP triggers

My best advice is to have her dry-fire or shoot it a lot; it'll slick the action up some, and her hands will get stronger in the process. As a last resort you could try a spring kit (Brownell's) but if the lady has a gun it needs to be absolutely reliable. The only way to insure that once you install aftermarket springs is to go back to 'Plan A'- have her shoot it a bunch. Do that first, and she gets a bunch of practice with a reliable gun- maybe solving the problem altogether.

BTW, my little wife loves her SP-101.

 

[prescott]

My wife grew to dislike her 101, mostly because of the weight. I recently traded in the Ruger and got her a S&W 637, 38+P. The 637 weighs much less and is a good bit smaller for better concealment. She likes the S&W alot better and carries it more often.

 

[Paladin7]

I guess the question for me is how much is big $?

I would suggest the following;

1. Ship the gun off to Teddy Jacobsen (Actions by T). I can't speak highly enough about his work. I would suggest his action job, and a recontouring of the trigger (there are a lot of sharp edges on the sp101 that do bite). He did a Smith Model 60 for me and the results were phenomenal. My ability to shoot tighter groups with 158 grain +p's was definitely enhanced and its been totally reliable. His prices are also reasonable, my guess would be < $150 for the action and recontouring work.

2. If the gun is primarily used for defense, there are a few very good arguments for DAO from a legal perspective. No one can accuse you of cocking the firearm and accidently shooting someone. I believe you can get a spurless hammer from Ruger for the gun or just get the gun with one. Besides if you do the action job, you won't need the single action. I can do precision shooting with my Jacobsen tuned DAO model 60 no problem. Also, a spurless will draw from concealment without the risk of snagging on the hammer spur.

If you want, you can read some of Mas Ayoobs arguments on the subject. He's written some well thought out stuff.

3. As to grips I definitely prefer the boot grips from uncle mike's that come on the S&W's. They fit my hands the best of what i've tried. Get whatever suits you best.

Just my humble opinion. Enjoy your purchase and great news about your wife's new enjoyment of our hobby.

 

[Brian Williams]

I have a S&W mod 60 with a 3 in barrel that seems both lighter and smaller than a sp101. It seems to be easier to my eye because it is not so blocky as the Ruger.. I have some Herret Shooting ace grips that fit my hand great and with some dry firing the action has smooth up considerably. I might get a spring kit from brownells to lighten the trigger return spring. but it is a great gun just getting greater. I paid 350 for the mod 60 that was made in 1984 and I saw a sp that was used at a shop for 270. I feel that my additional 80 bucks was well spent because I do not have to spend 150 to get an action job.

 

[Eric Larsen]

Ive had a LS60 S&W, SP and a CIA in the last 4 months...I just sold the LS and CIA..but I cheated. My SP has a trigger job and about everyother thing known to man done to it...very reasonably priced also...Im glad I kept it and tweaked it.
The LS is really an incredible gun..probably the one you looked at with a wood grip...beautiful gun. Great trigger....but my little SP's is just a little better and I like the weight.
If you intend on running alot of full house 357 loads thru it, IMO the SP is the one to have...stronger, slightly heavier and a tad bigger...just enough you cant use a molded J frame holster for it.
But if its a 38 spec +P gun you want....the J frame is a good gun.
Shoot well

 

[Erich]

You know, I bought one of these for my wife (5'0", med. build). Being a regular guy, I thought the SP's amazingly smooth DA trigger was pretty heavy, but I didn't think that Gina would have any problem at all with the gun.

I was wrong. She just didn't like it - too heavy on the DA pull, and it felt awkward for her to hold it at arm's length (I don't know whether it was the weight or the balance or what) - and forget about carrying it!

I dry-fired the gun a gazillion times. The trigger lightened up somewhat, but not enough for Gina. Rather than risk light primer strikes from a lightened hammer spring, I sold the SP (which I thought was a heck of a gun, and still do) to a friend and bought Gina a j-22 with a 4" tube, which she's fine with. She's also liking the 4" Police Positive (Special) .38 that I bought recently, so I finally think she's okay with homefront armament.

The friend who I sold the SP-101 to, bought it for his wife. His wife is about 5'8" and . . . not heavyset, but not at all frail, either. My friend's wife didn't like the SP's (lightened thru dry-firing at this point) DA pull or the weight for carry either, although she didn't have any problem holding it in front of her for shooting. She quickly decided that she didn't want it, either.

So, my friend now carries the SP around in his truck.

Anyway, I note that I'm not the only one with this experience. I, too, would urge that you consider a different gun for your wife . . . since she's discerning enough to correctly prefer the Ruger's feel over the Taurus', perhaps a S&W j-frame or an old Colt Detective Special might be worth handling. There's nothing to fault in the triggers or the weights of those revos.

Just my thoughts . . . wish I'd known all this before I spent money on the wrong gun for my wife. YMMV.

 

[BigMike]

Many thanks to all the replies. We will look in a few more shops in the next couple of weeks, and will hope to make a decision at that time. Many SW choices around here in Southern Oregon, and she has yet to actually shoot a revolver, which we plan on doing in the next couple of week too. Thanks again.

Mike

 

[Brad Johnson]

Spring kit is an easy fix

I installed a Wolff spring kit in my 101 that resulted in a trigger pull that was 95% as good as the GP100 I had professionally tuned. The kit runs about $13 plus shipping and includes several spring options. I finally settled on the 10lb main spring (9lb spring is included, but would not reliably pop the caps on magnum ammo). Most of the "betterness" was from the reduced power trigger return spring. I had to polish the camming surface of the cylinder locking lever, but otherwise installation was a snap. If you are not comfortable totally dissasmbling your 101, a good gunsmith can install the kit in under 30 minutes.

For more info on the spring kits, visit the Wolff web site by clicking here.

Brad

 

[bad_dad_brad]

The SP101 is an excellent gun for a woman. The hefty weight is a plus as it tames recoil. If she finds the trigger pull too much, as this post has revealed, trigger jobs can be had. The grip is ideal for small hands and the rubber grips increase the purchase, and again, tame recoil.

I would go with the DAO .357 model with the snubby barrel loaded with +P .38 special.

 

[RogerC]

My wife carries one.

She likes to shoot.

You must factor in how much she will shoot, and what ammo.

Years ago, she tried a Smith Model 36. She didn't like it at all and couldn't hit a barn with it. She hated the "kick".

Then she tried my SP101. She immediately commented on how "soft" it shot. A week later she had one of her own.
The springs felt fine for her. She never said the pull was too heavy.

She likes to shoot targets with it as well as carry it daily.
Either in a handbag or a bellyband holster, under a shirt or sweater. She's almost 6ft tall and under 130 lbs. (uh-oh, she better not see this).

"Practice religiously with your carry piece" is condusive to an improved survival rate in a skirmish. For a woman to carry something that she is uncomfortable with is a bad move. Mentally, she will be worrying about the gun and not the situation.

She has the confidence to carry her SP101 because she knows what it will do when a HydraShok cuts loose. There will be no surprise. The SP101 tames recoil. It's heavy for it's size. But she likes it anyway.