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Hello all -
So, my Aunt up in Idaho got her carry permit about a month ago, and just picked up her first handgun today, a Ruger Sp101. Just finished writing her an email in which I attempted to impart my wealth of knowledge I've gleaned from spending way too much time on internet gun forums, and maybe a little bit of first hand experience too. How'd I do? Did I miss anything? :huh:
Howdy! Congrats again on your pistol, that's a mighty cool little gun you got yourself. Just had a couple of thoughts of some accessories you may want to acquire for it eventually, as well as some ammo suggestions for you. I'm sure you're getting plenty of suggestions/input from your brothers and other nephews as well, so I don't mean for any of this to be taken as gospel, and you can feel free to ignore any of these suggestions as you see fit.
First, even though it's a stainless gun, you definitely do still want to keep it clean, both after you shoot it and at least every now and then even if it hasn't been shot, as it will collect dust, lint, etc that can gum it up just being carried. You would be well served to acquire another bore snake like we got for your .22, but sized correctly for a .357/.38/9mm gun, Also, especially if you shoot .38 Specials through it, (which you will probably want to practice with primarily, as they're cheaper and softer recoiling), be sure and take special care to clean the rear face of the cylinder where the extractor star is, and the star itself, as .38's are slightly shorter overall length than .357's and will build up powder and residue in that area. See attached picture of the area I'm talking about.
I see in your picture it came with a nylon Uncle Mikes holster. That will get you by for now certainly, and I carried my pistol in an almost identical holster for awhile, but ultimately you're going to want to invest a little money in a higher quality holster, that will be both quite a bit more comfortable and much more secure. If you're seeing yourself only really carrying when you're camping, out in the woods, etc, then you may want to look at an Outside Waistband (OWB) holster. It will be a little more comfortable, and a little to a lot less expensive, but will not conceal as well as the alternative, an Inside Waistband (IWB) holster. For OWB options, you may well just want to get a different Uncle Mikes nylon holster, like one of their Sidekick models with a solid belt loop and a thumb-break snap securing the gun in the holster. Will probably run $15-20, and can be purchased at places like Tri-State.
<broken link removed>
That will suit you just fine for hiking/camping stuff, just won't hug terribly close to your body, and will make more of a bulge, making it harder to conceal. A step up in the OWB options is something like a Bianchi Black Widow, a "pancake" style leather holster with thumb break strap. More money, but will conceal better, be more secure to your body, and help distribute the weight of the gun a little better, making it more comfortable. That is the model I've been using, and am very happy with it. These tend to be harder to find local, and you'll likely need to order online.
Bianchi Black Widow Holsters for Ruger SP101 .375, size 08 FREE S&H 23842, 23843, 23844, 23845. Bianchi Holsters.
If you see yourself carrying around people more often, or in need of something easier to conceal, than IWB is the way to go. That is how I carry most all of my pistols on a daily basis. If you go IWB, it will need to be custom ordered online. Again, this raises the price some, and some people find them less comfortable, but for me anyway, the right holster can make way bigger guns than our Rugers disappear. Two options you might consider are the Crossbreed Mini-tuck:
<broken link removed>
and the UBG Canute:
<broken link removed> .
I have owned a couple of the Crossbreeds, and they were satisfactory, conceal very well, are the less expensive of the two, and arrive a little quicker. However, I have switched almost exclusively to using UBG Canutes for my carry pistols, as has Rick. They are in my opinion much more comfortable, look much better, and I think are a better value for the money, as it will easily last 10+ years of daily carry.
One thing I put off buying for a long time but wish I'd gotten the day I got my Ruger is a front night sight. This replaces the entire front sight unit with a little green dot that glows in the dark. Not only does it make it possible to aim in low/no light scenarios, but I found that it improved the usability of the sights drastically even in daylight. Pretty easy to install, but the gun shops can install them for you as well for a small fee. Trijicon is what I used, but the brand doesn't really matter, as long as it is a tritium-based night sight. Sometimes good deals can be found on used ones on ebay too, just keep in mind they will only glow for about 8-12 years, so you don't want to get one that's more than a few years old.
Trijicon Ruger SP101 Front Night Sight RR14F FREE S&H RR14F. Trijicon NightSights Tritium & Fiber Optic Night Sights, Trijicon Tritium & Fiber Optic Night Sights.
Speaking of things you can get on eBay (or other places online), if you ever feel so inclined to personalize your pistol a bit, the hard plastic inserts in the rubber grips are removable, and there are scads of custom grip inserts you can get, from different colors of plastic, to fancy wood grain, to rattlesnake skin, to stag, and so on. I put stag ones on mine, really like the look. Doesn't effect the function or usability of the gun at all, just something kind of fun.
Ruger sp101 grips items - Get great deals on Sporting Goods, ruger sp101 items on eBay.com!
I've never messed around with it myself, but a lot of people change out the springs in the gun to smooth and/or lighten the trigger pull, potentially making it easier to be accurate with the gun. Like I said, I've never felt the need to mess with it, but you should at least know the option is out there if you feel so inclined. Theoretically installable at home, but probably better to let a gunsmith do it if you ever did.
<broken link removed>
Continued in next post...
So, my Aunt up in Idaho got her carry permit about a month ago, and just picked up her first handgun today, a Ruger Sp101. Just finished writing her an email in which I attempted to impart my wealth of knowledge I've gleaned from spending way too much time on internet gun forums, and maybe a little bit of first hand experience too. How'd I do? Did I miss anything? :huh:
Howdy! Congrats again on your pistol, that's a mighty cool little gun you got yourself. Just had a couple of thoughts of some accessories you may want to acquire for it eventually, as well as some ammo suggestions for you. I'm sure you're getting plenty of suggestions/input from your brothers and other nephews as well, so I don't mean for any of this to be taken as gospel, and you can feel free to ignore any of these suggestions as you see fit.
First, even though it's a stainless gun, you definitely do still want to keep it clean, both after you shoot it and at least every now and then even if it hasn't been shot, as it will collect dust, lint, etc that can gum it up just being carried. You would be well served to acquire another bore snake like we got for your .22, but sized correctly for a .357/.38/9mm gun, Also, especially if you shoot .38 Specials through it, (which you will probably want to practice with primarily, as they're cheaper and softer recoiling), be sure and take special care to clean the rear face of the cylinder where the extractor star is, and the star itself, as .38's are slightly shorter overall length than .357's and will build up powder and residue in that area. See attached picture of the area I'm talking about.
I see in your picture it came with a nylon Uncle Mikes holster. That will get you by for now certainly, and I carried my pistol in an almost identical holster for awhile, but ultimately you're going to want to invest a little money in a higher quality holster, that will be both quite a bit more comfortable and much more secure. If you're seeing yourself only really carrying when you're camping, out in the woods, etc, then you may want to look at an Outside Waistband (OWB) holster. It will be a little more comfortable, and a little to a lot less expensive, but will not conceal as well as the alternative, an Inside Waistband (IWB) holster. For OWB options, you may well just want to get a different Uncle Mikes nylon holster, like one of their Sidekick models with a solid belt loop and a thumb-break snap securing the gun in the holster. Will probably run $15-20, and can be purchased at places like Tri-State.
<broken link removed>
That will suit you just fine for hiking/camping stuff, just won't hug terribly close to your body, and will make more of a bulge, making it harder to conceal. A step up in the OWB options is something like a Bianchi Black Widow, a "pancake" style leather holster with thumb break strap. More money, but will conceal better, be more secure to your body, and help distribute the weight of the gun a little better, making it more comfortable. That is the model I've been using, and am very happy with it. These tend to be harder to find local, and you'll likely need to order online.
Bianchi Black Widow Holsters for Ruger SP101 .375, size 08 FREE S&H 23842, 23843, 23844, 23845. Bianchi Holsters.
If you see yourself carrying around people more often, or in need of something easier to conceal, than IWB is the way to go. That is how I carry most all of my pistols on a daily basis. If you go IWB, it will need to be custom ordered online. Again, this raises the price some, and some people find them less comfortable, but for me anyway, the right holster can make way bigger guns than our Rugers disappear. Two options you might consider are the Crossbreed Mini-tuck:
<broken link removed>
and the UBG Canute:
<broken link removed> .
I have owned a couple of the Crossbreeds, and they were satisfactory, conceal very well, are the less expensive of the two, and arrive a little quicker. However, I have switched almost exclusively to using UBG Canutes for my carry pistols, as has Rick. They are in my opinion much more comfortable, look much better, and I think are a better value for the money, as it will easily last 10+ years of daily carry.
One thing I put off buying for a long time but wish I'd gotten the day I got my Ruger is a front night sight. This replaces the entire front sight unit with a little green dot that glows in the dark. Not only does it make it possible to aim in low/no light scenarios, but I found that it improved the usability of the sights drastically even in daylight. Pretty easy to install, but the gun shops can install them for you as well for a small fee. Trijicon is what I used, but the brand doesn't really matter, as long as it is a tritium-based night sight. Sometimes good deals can be found on used ones on ebay too, just keep in mind they will only glow for about 8-12 years, so you don't want to get one that's more than a few years old.
Trijicon Ruger SP101 Front Night Sight RR14F FREE S&H RR14F. Trijicon NightSights Tritium & Fiber Optic Night Sights, Trijicon Tritium & Fiber Optic Night Sights.
Speaking of things you can get on eBay (or other places online), if you ever feel so inclined to personalize your pistol a bit, the hard plastic inserts in the rubber grips are removable, and there are scads of custom grip inserts you can get, from different colors of plastic, to fancy wood grain, to rattlesnake skin, to stag, and so on. I put stag ones on mine, really like the look. Doesn't effect the function or usability of the gun at all, just something kind of fun.
Ruger sp101 grips items - Get great deals on Sporting Goods, ruger sp101 items on eBay.com!
I've never messed around with it myself, but a lot of people change out the springs in the gun to smooth and/or lighten the trigger pull, potentially making it easier to be accurate with the gun. Like I said, I've never felt the need to mess with it, but you should at least know the option is out there if you feel so inclined. Theoretically installable at home, but probably better to let a gunsmith do it if you ever did.
<broken link removed>
Continued in next post...