Build Thread S&W vs Ruger - The Search for the Perfect Nightstand Gun ...

[OldBroad44]

True. Even with ammo designed for short barrels, assuming the same bullet weight and type of powder but less powder in the .38 sp, the .38 sp will be less powerful. I dropped back to .38 sp not because I thought it was magical, but because I don't want to damage my hearing. The .357 mag can presumably harm your hearing if fired in a confined space whether it is from a short barrel or long, and imparts much of its power to the bullet or not. Going with a load designed for short barrels was a way of getting the most I could from the short barrel and less powerful .38 sp load.

I agree with you about the virtues of all the big fat slow bullets--.44sp, .45 ACP, and .45 Colt. Especially when it comes to penetrating rather than expanding bullet designs with flat noses. Round noses tend to slip through flesh without doing much damage. For the flat nosed bullet designs I suspect the best revolver loads in .44 sp or .45 Colt are superior to the best in .45ACP. The best flat nose revolver loads have bullets with huge meplats (the flat part) and sharp edges. semiautomatic loads with that design would not feed. So their version of the flat nose design has smaller meplats and rounded edges-- essentially a hybrid between a true flat nose and a round nose.

 

[OldBroad44]

Hello @STONER_63. You asked about my recommendations as what to carry in your 3" GP 100, and I told you my suggestion for EDC only. For outdoor use I'd go with the Buffalo Bore version of that same short barrel full wadcutter design, but in .357 mag.

In a 4 inch or longer barreled revolver, I'd use standard ammo instead of the short barrel stuff. The HSM 180 grain Bear load for SD against bears and general woods carry. And any good 158 gr JHP for deer hunting. I used to use the Winchester Silvertip for that. An advantage of a revolver is you can load 3 bear loads and 3 city or EDC loads. Then just shift the position of the cylinder when you get out of your car or return to it. Another variant I liked while hiking was to load 3 inexpensive practice loads and 3 spendy bear loads. When an area with a good backstop presented itself, I'd have a 3 round practice session. Then reload and continue hiking. My theory is that what matters most is what you can do on the first round. or two. And the other 100s of rounds in a regular practice session are largely wasted. So to get effective with a gun it helps to practice lots of first shots. Remember that 3 evenly spaced shots is a distress signal, so avoid that pattern.

For hunting deer with a 4" . 357 mag revolver, if you're carrying a JHP bullet, you should go for broadside shots and full frontal shots only. The bullet won't reliably get through the shoulder joint if the deer is half facing you. If you are carrying a flat nosed penetrating bullet such as in the HSM 180 gr Bear loads, a shot through the shoulder is very effective, but a broadside shot goes straight through and may do less damage than optimal. Maybe leaving you with an animal that runs a hundred yards or more before collapsing and a tracking problem. Of course, a head shot is always good if you are close enough and care more about meat than trophies. A .44 mag is better for deer hunting than a .357 partly because it extends the practical range a little, but mostly because a flat nosed bullet like the .44 mag 310 gr HSM bear load can take the animal from nearly any angle, going clean through and making a large hole the whole way.

 

[STONER_63]

Hello @STONER_63. You asked about my recommendations as what to carry in your 3" GP 100, and I told you my suggestion for EDC only. For outdoor use I'd go with the Buffalo Bore version of that same short barrel full wadcutter design, but in .357 mag.

In a 4 inch or longer barreled revolver, I'd use standard ammo instead of the short barrel stuff. The HSM 180 grain Bear load for SD against bears and general woods carry. And any good 158 gr JHP for deer hunting. I used to use the Winchester Silvertip for that. An advantage of a revolver is you can load 3 bear loads and 3 city or EDC loads. Then just shift the position of the cylinder when you get out of your car or return to it. Another variant I liked while hiking was to load 3 inexpensive practice loads and 3 spendy bear loads. When an area with a good backstop presented itself, I'd have a 3 round practice session. Then reload and continue hiking. My theory is that what matters most is what you can do on the first round. or two. And the other 100s of rounds in a regular practice session are largely wasted. So to get effective with a gun it helps to practice lots of first shots. Remember that 3 evenly spaced shots is a distress signal, so avoid that pattern.

For hunting deer with a 4" . 357 mag revolver, if you're carrying a JHP bullet, you should go for broadside shots and full frontal shots only. The bullet won't reliably get through the shoulder joint if the deer is half facing you. If you are carrying a flat nosed penetrating bullet such as in the HSM 180 gr Bear loads, a shot through the shoulder is very effective, but a broadside shot goes straight through and may do less damage than optimal. Maybe leaving you with an animal that runs a hundred yards or more before collapsing and a tracking problem. Of course, a head shot is always good if you are close enough and care more about meat than trophies. A .44 mag is better for deer hunting than a .357 partly because it extends the practical range a little, but mostly because a flat nosed bullet like the .44 mag 310 gr HSM bear load can take the animal from nearly any angle, going clean through and making a large hole the whole way.

Once again, thank you very much! I am taking notes on your recommendations. Need to re-organize (and label) my ammo for the .357, too. Need to decide how important the takedown aspect on that .357 carbine really is, especially given the price difference between Taylor and the others (Marlin, Henry, etc.). Take care and be safe!

 

[Dirty Cary]

P320RX 22 rounds of 9mm should work.

I was a die hard revolver guy and one night I heard a lot of car doors and looked outside
and there was 10 sedans and 20+ thugs walking to a party down the street.
12am not normal in this neighborhood, was like 5 rounds is not enough.
I switched to carrying a semiautomatic for more capacity and easier reloads.

 

[Howard1955]

A 5" GP100 with a tritium front sight would be my choice for a bedside revolver. Crimson Trace grips, too.

XS Sight Systems, Inc. - DXW Big Dot - Ruger Redhawk.44, Super Redhawk.44 & GP 100

www.xssights.com

 

[OldBroad44]

View attachment 861545

P320RX 22 rounds of 9mm should work.

I was a die hard revolver guy and one night I heard a lot of car doors and looked outside
and there was 10 sedans and 20+ thugs walking to a party down the street.
12am not normal in this neighborhood, was like 5 rounds is not enough.
I switched to carrying a semiautomatic for more capacity and easier reloads.

Twenty people obviously going to a party. What made them 'thugs'?

Corvallis has occasional football games, or at least did before covid. Before games, there are many hundreds of cars filled with people streaming toward the stadium, clogging all the roads, thousands of people. Does that mean I need a machine gun?

 

[Dirty Cary]

Was a big party cops arrived shortly after.
They had 40s and a giant bong .
Yelling down the block to his friends get the stuff lol

 

[solv3nt]

1. S&W 586/686 4" barrel.
2. S&W 19 or 66 with a 2.5" barrel.
3. S&W 13, 4" barrel or Colt Police Positive 4".
4. Ruger GP100, 4" barrel
5. Heavy barrel S&W model 10, 4"

I'll throw the Colt Trooper in the mix. Also, I'm not a fan on night sights, if you can't see the sights well enough, you probably can't properly ID the target. My $0.02.

 

[Scout 38S]

Thanks for your post! Please provide the details on that FO FRONT sight on your GP 3". I feel like I have hit a dead end for sight upgrades on my GP100 w/ 3" bbl. I can hit what I aim at with the trench/blade setup in daylight/range conditions, but in low light? Not so much ...

Good Morning, The front sight is a HIViz . I don't know if they make a front FO or Night sight for the front sight on a standard GP 3". Good luck, I know a guy that is searching fo a FO sight for a Ruger SPeed Six.

 

[Scout 38S]

Speed Six looking for FO front sight.

 

[OldBroad44]

I've seen people say they don't get the best accuracy when a Hi-vis front sight that basically has a round profile is combined with a back sight with a square cutout. I haven't owned one. But it seems that from first principles any front sight that is round might give less ability to line up sights with a rectangular back sight under optimal conditions. That might include most night sights too. However, under lighting conditions where it was hard to see an ordinary front sight at all, presumably a hi-vis or night sight would be easier to see. If this is right, hi-vis or night sights might enhance performance under low light conditions, but at the cost of harming performance under ordinary conditions. Of course, this would matter only if ability to see sights is accuracy limiting for the shooter--which would probably be true only for better shooters. (If someone is jerking the gun off target during trigger pull or flinching and pulling gun way off target, nuances in the sight picture arent going to matter. But for a good shooter hunting with the gun in daylight it might really matter.) But I'm just speculating. Any thoughts from those with experience with hi-vis and night sights?

 

[Scout 38S]

Have used night sights and Hi Viz and Dawson FOs. The FOs extend one's ability to low light to a certain point when ambient light sources disappear. Night sights for me, degrade precision while FO sights increase precision. My Avatar has an FO by HiViz on it and it is dialed in for accuracy. I do not use the Hi Viz or other FOs on the rear sight. Concentrate on the front sight. FOs are great for working in low light, if there is ambient light source nearby the FO will show up.

 

[titsonritz]

Twenty people obviously going to a party. What made them 'thugs'?

Corvallis has occasional football games, or at least did before covid. Before games, there are many hundreds of cars filled with people streaming toward the stadium, clogging all the roads, thousands of people. Does that mean I need a machine gun?

Absolutely, not because of the tail-gate partiers but because everyone needs a machine gun.

 

[titsonritz]

I've bought both (have a nickel plated 586 and a 681 which is a fixed sight 686), and while the Smiths' triggers are smoother, the Ruger wins in my book.

I'm jealous, I could scrounge up a Ruger and trade for that 681.

 

[po18guy]

The road less traveled: Dan Wesson Model 15.
Not as affordable as they used to be, but you can swap grips from round to square butt, and barrels from 2 1/2" to 16", light, heavy, or heavy-vented. EWK Arms even makes a slick compensator. As to sights you can get luminescent front. As to the rear, well, not aware of any tritium.

 

[s1xty7]

Speed Six looking for FO front sight.

View attachment 875107

My older GP100s have the same kind of sight mount. I used the sight for an SP101. I'd recommend checking those out. It would need to have the hole drilled in the new sight to accept the cross pin and maybe some light filing. I had a gunsmith do it for $20 as I didn't have the appropriate tools and didn't want to mess up the pin hole in the revolver.

A quick check around the interwebz turned up this thread from a different forum where they used a sight meant for a J-frame S&W revolver or an SP101 and they were able to make it work. https://www.rugerforum.net/threads/i-think-im-done-with-my-speed-six.34149/ Something like this HiViz sight should do the trick: https://www.hivizsights.com/product/rgplw01/

 

[Ura-Ki]

Need to find a Trit front sight for a Ruger Black Hawk/Old Army. Added a Kersk cylinder conversion to allow .45 Colt loads, and because it's a Ruger, it can take the big boy stuff with ease!