dallasconundrum
New member
Last week I went down to the local gunshop that I do buisness with and ordered both a Ruger Sp101 .357 3 incher and a Taurus Model 44 (.44Mag) 4 incher. The Ruger will likely eventually be my bedside/sometimes carry gun. The Taurus I bought to carry as backup on hog hunts. But, anyway, I thought I would post a little about each of them for those interested.
Ruger Sp101: As of now, I have yet to get to take the Ruger out to the range, so I don't really have as much to say about it yet. Just some impressions I guess of fit/finish and such. I really like the look and balance of the 3 inch barrel, and the grip really fits my hand well. I have heard it stated on here a lot that the Sp101 does not have the greatest out of box trigger, and I wish I could say something against that from my experience with this gun...but that it not really the case. The DA trigger pull is fairly heavy, and the break is not very "crisp" at all. Hopefully it will improve over time. I "work" with her a little every night to hopefully smooth it out some. At any rate though, I am pleased with the gun (so far, again having not gotten the chance to shoot it yet), and if all goes well at the range and the trigger smooths out I will be very pleased with it.
Taurus Model 44: This gun is my second Taurus so far (the first is a 85 Ultralite). As stated above, it is the 4 inch model, SS, and it does have the porting. I think all of their Model 44s do now, not sure though. This gun is BIG. Now, I know it is supposed to be big, it is a 44, but it is REALLY big. The cylinder is huge on it, certainly larger than the one on my S&W Model 29. For its size, I suppose it balances well enough. As for fit and finish, they are basically good...no real complaints. But, the gun metal looks and feels (both to touch and from a weight standpoint) different from either my Rugers or Smiths. It was this way with my 85, but I thought that was because it was the Ultralite version. I don't know what this is due to, I am sure that someone on here will and would be glad for someone to explain it to me. All in all, on first impressions I liked the gun. The trigger on it is the exact opposite of my new Ruger. The DA pull is very light and breaks very clean. Single action is LIGHT, frightenly light. More on that latter.
Anyway, I did get to take the Taurus out for some informal shooting (plinking I guess if you can apply that to shooting with a .44). The porting certainly make a difference as far as felt recoil and certainly reduced "roll". Again, this was an informal session in a field using cheap ammo, so I can't attest to whether the sights really need to be adjusted yet or not but it seemed to be hitting consistently, although most of the shots were low (in case you are wondering I was using 240 grains). Hopefully I will be able to take it out soon with some higher quality ammo and do a more formal session to see how well it is hitting and whether I need to make some adjustments. As a side note, while I didn't experience this myself, when my dad shot the gun (about 4 or five times) he complained that the crease on the back of the grip "bit" the web between his thumb and index finger. Oh yes, and about the SA trigger pull...again it will frighten you. I believe that you could cock the gun, sit it down, and then blow on the trigger and it would fire. This is the first time I have had a gun where I wish the trigger pull was actually just a bit heavier (in SA only).
Conclusions:
Ruger: All in all I am happy with the gun (again having not had the chance to shoot it yet). If the trigger smooths out I think it will be a great SD gun, and if not I may have it worked over by a gunsmith. Even as it is though, it seems to be a great little gun.
Taurus: Again, I am pretty happy with the gun and I feel that it serve its backup role for hogs well. The DA trigger pull is simply fantastic on the gun, probably one of the best out of the box triggers I have gotten. Recoil was very manageable for a .44 Mag 4 incher. The only complaints would be the massive cylinder size, and (for some) the back portion of the grip...which could be changed out.
Ruger Sp101: As of now, I have yet to get to take the Ruger out to the range, so I don't really have as much to say about it yet. Just some impressions I guess of fit/finish and such. I really like the look and balance of the 3 inch barrel, and the grip really fits my hand well. I have heard it stated on here a lot that the Sp101 does not have the greatest out of box trigger, and I wish I could say something against that from my experience with this gun...but that it not really the case. The DA trigger pull is fairly heavy, and the break is not very "crisp" at all. Hopefully it will improve over time. I "work" with her a little every night to hopefully smooth it out some. At any rate though, I am pleased with the gun (so far, again having not gotten the chance to shoot it yet), and if all goes well at the range and the trigger smooths out I will be very pleased with it.
Taurus Model 44: This gun is my second Taurus so far (the first is a 85 Ultralite). As stated above, it is the 4 inch model, SS, and it does have the porting. I think all of their Model 44s do now, not sure though. This gun is BIG. Now, I know it is supposed to be big, it is a 44, but it is REALLY big. The cylinder is huge on it, certainly larger than the one on my S&W Model 29. For its size, I suppose it balances well enough. As for fit and finish, they are basically good...no real complaints. But, the gun metal looks and feels (both to touch and from a weight standpoint) different from either my Rugers or Smiths. It was this way with my 85, but I thought that was because it was the Ultralite version. I don't know what this is due to, I am sure that someone on here will and would be glad for someone to explain it to me. All in all, on first impressions I liked the gun. The trigger on it is the exact opposite of my new Ruger. The DA pull is very light and breaks very clean. Single action is LIGHT, frightenly light. More on that latter.
Anyway, I did get to take the Taurus out for some informal shooting (plinking I guess if you can apply that to shooting with a .44). The porting certainly make a difference as far as felt recoil and certainly reduced "roll". Again, this was an informal session in a field using cheap ammo, so I can't attest to whether the sights really need to be adjusted yet or not but it seemed to be hitting consistently, although most of the shots were low (in case you are wondering I was using 240 grains). Hopefully I will be able to take it out soon with some higher quality ammo and do a more formal session to see how well it is hitting and whether I need to make some adjustments. As a side note, while I didn't experience this myself, when my dad shot the gun (about 4 or five times) he complained that the crease on the back of the grip "bit" the web between his thumb and index finger. Oh yes, and about the SA trigger pull...again it will frighten you. I believe that you could cock the gun, sit it down, and then blow on the trigger and it would fire. This is the first time I have had a gun where I wish the trigger pull was actually just a bit heavier (in SA only).
Conclusions:
Ruger: All in all I am happy with the gun (again having not had the chance to shoot it yet). If the trigger smooths out I think it will be a great SD gun, and if not I may have it worked over by a gunsmith. Even as it is though, it seems to be a great little gun.
Taurus: Again, I am pretty happy with the gun and I feel that it serve its backup role for hogs well. The DA trigger pull is simply fantastic on the gun, probably one of the best out of the box triggers I have gotten. Recoil was very manageable for a .44 Mag 4 incher. The only complaints would be the massive cylinder size, and (for some) the back portion of the grip...which could be changed out.
