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GP100 v SP101 v LCR DA Revolvers

2K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  paochow 
#1 ·
I want a double action revolver for double action target shooting. I live in a place where the lgs will not permit me to dry fire any rimfire (despite the transfer bar) so I cannot tell how the trigger and action feel.

I will probably order a revolver online but it will be sight unseen. My experience with DA rimfire revolvers in the past was that the triggers were pretty bad in DA fire. I want a 4" or shorter and adjustable sights.

I could pay over a thousand and get an old K22 but I want a new gun and I want to spend less than that.

From what I can find online it seems that I am limited to the SW 317 or 617 and the Ruger GP, SP and LCR.

Which of these is more likely to have a decent trigger?

If none of them, which is more likely to be turned into a decent trigger by a gunsmith?
 
#2 ·
Out of the box, my S&W 617 and 63 had the best triggers out of the box. I haven't done a thing to them. I just shoot the revolvers, and they are great.

The GP100 and the SP101 were both heavier and grittier. They weren't the worst though. That dubious honor goes to a Taurus copy of the Model 63.


On the SP101, I had a smith polish the trigger. The GP100 I slicked up myself with the help of YouTube University. It was about a three-four hour job for a newbie and came out nicely.

An LGS not letting you test the triggers is just awful. Dick's used to have that policy and I patiently explained to them that they weren't seeing a dime of mine unless I could run the product through a basic test with a snap cap. We never saw eye to eye on that, so I didn't trouble them with my trade.
 
#3 ·
My experience is similar to flangster.

On my 617’s and 63, I ended up swapping to a lighter rebound spring on each, which lightened the trigger a bit and they have gotten better and better with use.

My Gp100 and SP101 both got a little polishing work, trigger/hammer shins, and lighter springs to get in the same neighborhood as my S&W’s. The work was easy to do with the help of youtube. The DA trigger is still a bit longer than their S&W counterparts, but doesn’t seem to affect their accuracy.
 

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#4 ·
I never tried one of the S&W's, but do have 3 of the GP100's, ,22, ,357, and 44 Special. They are all accurate, and their triggers weren't terrible out of the box. After watching the youtube videos I've polished the internals on all of them , and changed the return springs. It's not that hard to do.
 
#5 ·
Thank you guys.

I have owned 3 GP100's, still have one in .357, and several Smiths, including a 686. All turned out to be great handguns. My Smiths started out life with good triggers.

My GP's all turned into trigger pulls that I love, after a lot of use (lots and lots of use) but I wasn't sure about the rimfire versions.

I ended up placing an order for the GP 100 22LR.

I appreciate the help.
 
#8 ·
Thank you guys.

I have owned 3 GP100's, still have one in .357, and several Smiths, including a 686. All turned out to be great handguns. My Smiths started out life with good triggers.

My GP's all turned into trigger pulls that I love, after a lot of use (lots and lots of use) but I wasn't sure about the rimfire versions.

I ended up placing an order for the GP 100 22LR.

I appreciate the help.
Congratulations, I think you will like the GP100 .22LR. I picked mine up a couple months ago. Didn't really need another .22 handgun, but I had been interested in these since they came out, and my LGS had one for a fair price. Only one trip to the range so far, but I really like it.

I also have a 617-1, and a 17 no dash S&W. The Ruger trigger is/was not as light as the S&Ws, but after some stoning, the double action smoothed up pretty nice. SA was not bad to start. I just installed a lighter trigger return spring and hammer spring, which lightened up the pull. Need to get back out to the range and try it out.
 
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