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when i got my gp100, and sp101, i got a copy of iowegan's book of knowledge, or IBOK, as it is known as on the ruger forum. he wrote it, and printed it out. step by step procedures to fluff and buff the internals. he is a retired gunsmith, and hangs out on the rugerforum.net, highly respected man. i still have mine, but won;t sell, its no longer available, but if you get a chance to buy it, do it, its worth the money. pictures, and details on the trigger group, really made it simple. the only spring i changed was the trigger reset spring after i completed. one thing to remember, always dis-assemble the trigger group in a plastic bag, it helps to keep the springs from being lost, they are tiny, and they can fly.
 
I 2nd, the working on them inside a bag: That little pawl spring behind the trigger... I had one pop out that I couldn't find, and I had to call Ruger to get a replacement. I finally found it 10 years later.
 
So what did you decide?

I purchased a spring and shim kit from M*CARBO. I followed their 90 minute long youtube video on polishing the parts (there were some serious burrs in the trigger group), lubing, shim installation, and spring replacement.

I don't have a gauge but the trigger pull is easily half of what it was from the factory and now smooth as butter.

I put 200 rounds through of both Freedom Munition 38 Special and Magtech 357 mag. There were zero issues.

After replacing the springs and following the video on polishing and lubing my Ruger SP101 went from me nearly regretting the purchase to one of my favorite and enjoyable pistols to shoot.
 
... I've read a lot about people installing the Wolff Spring kits to make the trigger more enjoyable. I've also heard some people just dry-fire snap caps a couple thousand times.

For those that have the Ruger SP101 did you replace the trigger springs? Did you notice a difference?

I have an SP101. I put in the Wolf spring kit within a month of buying it. It made the DA pull much more manageable. I don't get light primer strikes.
 
I purchased a spring and shim kit from M*CARBO. I followed their 90 minute long youtube video on polishing the parts (there were some serious burrs in the trigger group), lubing, shim installation, and spring replacement.

I don't have a gauge but the trigger pull is easily half of what it was from the factory and now smooth as butter.

I put 200 rounds through of both Freedom Munition 38 Special and Magtech 357 mag. There were zero issues.

After replacing the springs and following the video on polishing and lubing my Ruger SP101 went from me nearly regretting the purchase to one of my favorite and enjoyable pistols to shoot.
Sounds great! Rugers are fun to work on and really benefit from the polish and shims.

What shims come with the M-Carbo kit?
 
Sounds great! Rugers are fun to work on and really benefit from the polish and shims.

What shims come with the M-Carbo kit?


This is the kit I bought
 

This is the kit I bought
That's a pretty complete kit, and I've seen the M*CARBO video, which is also very good.

If you have extra trigger shims from that kit it helps to shim the hammer dog as well. There is usually a ton of slop there, so the few thousands of shims you would still have will not come close to filling the gap, but it will help.

For example, I've recently measured a GP100 and a Service Six. The GP100 took .009in and the Service Six measured .008in. So there is a lot of slop. Shimming here doesn't change the pull weight, but it makes the DA pull more consistent. With the dog flopping back and forth you will get slightly different feel on each trigger pull.

A great source of all sorts of shims for all sorts of applications is:


These guys are great, answer email promptly and will even ask to phone you if for a direct conversation if you have an especially weird problem.
 
Thanks for the MCARBO link!! I ordered a kit for my SP101 that has been laying in safe for years because trigger just wasn't that great. Can't wait to install it and get her back out.
 
Did mine a few years ago. Polished, shimmed and the springs. Gave it a decent DA pull and no problem with light strikes. I believe you don't need caps to dry fire a 101.
I'm just getting back on this forum after a 3 year absence
I have one of the original SP101 from 1989 - it broke last year - trigger lockup
send it back to Ruger, but they would only return it to original specs, they would not do a "trigger job"
and the repair was at no charge
after I got it back, I polished the trigger and frame and this helped considerably with double action pull
Mcarbo puts out a video on polishing the SP101
my double action pull is down to 8 lbs from 12 lbs, with original new Ruger springs
I use snap caps because I broke the trigger after 30 years from dry firing, but it took 30 years before it broke
 
This sounds interesting but begs the question of how much striker energy remains. Primers need two things for reliable ignition, speed and energy. Reduce either you may get a failure to fire.

Just because you change springs and it feels good doesn't necessarily mean you have done yourself a good thing as ignition reliability may be affected.

Primers are not like light bulbs. Just because it fires 50 out of 50 does not mean you are good to go. Then again if you are not carrying it to protect self and family you may get by.

Just so you know the allowable misfire rate in the primer industry is one in a million.

Also just because you get 100% ignition with 38 Spec you may have problems with 357 Mag primers igniting. Also you are likely to have less energy/velocity firing one double action.
 
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How did it turn out?
I watched the entire video from Mcarbo and thought about it for a bit. I decided against going this route for 1 reason. I believe in Mcarbo's products as I have bought many many of them but that being said this gun is a carry self defense weapon. While I'm sure the end result would be a better trigger pull I also know that any weapon involved in a shooting can be used against you in court. As I'm not a gunsmith modification to the trigger could be held against me in a civil trial as it has for several others involved in self defense shootings. It's a personal choice that I make because I've read the trial docs on what others have faced and in paid defensive shooting training we've learned what are likely scenarios for legal proceedings after a shooting. I've chosen to send the gun to Gemini Custom for some trigger work and let the pro's do it. I'll continue to work on my own range noise makers that are less likely to ever see light outside of a gun range.
 
I watched the entire video from Mcarbo and thought about it for a bit. I decided against going this route for 1 reason. I believe in Mcarbo's products as I have bought many many of them but that being said this gun is a carry self defense weapon. While I'm sure the end result would be a better trigger pull I also know that any weapon involved in a shooting can be used against you in court. As I'm not a gunsmith modification to the trigger could be held against me in a civil trial as it has for several others involved in self defense shootings. It's a personal choice that I make because I've read the trial docs on what others have faced and in paid defensive shooting training we've learned what are likely scenarios for legal proceedings after a shooting. I've chosen to send the gun to Gemini Custom for some trigger work and let the pro's do it. I'll continue to work on my own range noise makers that are less likely to ever see light outside of a gun range.

I understand the reasoning. I'm not really concerned about the legal side as the revolver was essentially unusable with its factory trigger. The trigger job wasn't meant to make me Wyatt Earp, just to make the revolver not be horrendous and remove the metal burrs and shavings left in by the manufacturer.
 

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