Ruger SP 101 .357 Magnum
2009
I was looking for a new project so I got my .357 magnum Ruger SP 101 out and wondered what I could do to make it a bit cooler looking and smooth the very difficult double action into a smooth shooting revolver. I started by replacing the black, plastic, factory grip panels with a set of new hardwood panels. Next, I tore it completely down and hand-filed & stoned every part of the trigger, cylinder, and hammer assemblies per the IBOK directions.
Next, I decided to get that double action working better, since the pistol is deadly accurate, when cocked in the single action mode. After smoothing the mechanisms described above, I purchased a “Shooter’s Pack” of lighter springs from Wolff and installed them before reassembly.
I installed the 10# mainspring as my replacement. The kit from Wolff comes with 9# & 12# springs as well, but I decided to stick with the 10# first. The trigger spring they sent with the kit is an 8#’er and too light IMHO, so I stayed with the factory 11# trigger spring after giving it all a thorough clean-up and lubrication.
When I put it back together I dry fired it a few hundred times over the course of a couple days. The SP 101 can be dry fired without any harm so I put it through the paces until it felt buttery smooth.
Finally, I went out to the woodpile in back of our barn, which serves as my pistol range. I set up a bag full of Power-Ade bottles, filled with water and fired five fast rounds at 35 ft – all “double action” and exploded them 5 for 5, 100% in rapid fire!
I found that the polishing of the internals and lighter mainspring helped tremendously in target acquisition and follow through. The front sight never moves with a strong grip and the new action – turning out to be a satisfying project with great results.
July 20th, 2009 at 9:35 am
Hey Ronin,
Nice job on fixing up your .357 magnum Ruger SP 101. May I add a special comment, that now the last thing you are now missing for your Ruger is the Crimson Trace Laser Grips Ruger SP-101, Ruger SP101
You need the LG-111. Once sighted in, The Bullet goes where the Red Dot Is.
Take Good Care & Be Safe
Barry / BLJ’s Self Defense.Com
July 20th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Thanks Barry, You offer a fine solution for pin-point accuracy. A very fine product indeed!
October 2nd, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I really want to see someone who has installed a JPOINT reflex sight on their SP101.
October 4th, 2009 at 12:05 am
Hi Duke – Checked out your site, hardcore. Funny, my pen name has always been Ronin ; ) I’ve got 36 yrs active in martial arts and still training. Not as hard though these days. I’m going to “google” those JPOINT reflex sights and see what you’re talking about. Good to hear from another martial artist!
October 25th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Looked and couldnt find IBOK what is it a joke? Looking for specific directions on polishing the action up on Ruger revolvers within combat/hunting considerstions Thanxs
October 27th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Hi Paul, Just type ” ibok ruger ” into Google for links to the information. There is an IBOK for about all Ruger models.
November 4th, 2009 at 11:13 am
just curious as to which grips did u end up getting from 41magnum? are those the bw-l’s? i’m having trouble deciding. do u have other pics you can send me?
November 5th, 2009 at 1:20 am
I got the darkest set of So. American Rosewood (I think?). They are so dark that you don’t see red in them. I don’t know what the number or I.D. is, but you can send a PM to 41 Magnum and he’ll remember them. I don’t think I have anymore pics but I’ll look and find you on the forum if I do. Cheers!
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:47 am
Hello,
Your write-up above about everything you did to your SP-101 is very impressive, clear and informative. I wish to do the same to mine, but have had difficulty finding an IBOK. But, I just read comment above to Google “ibok ruger”, and he says that will work, so I am going to try that. I was also very curious which model grip inserts you got from 41 Magnum but I just found that above too. I think he may have the Rosewoods blocked out now, because I don’t see them in his list at the top of this thread. Also, 41 Magnum seems to be unresponsive to requests now. Maybe he took a vacation or something? Hopefully he will be back, because he is the only person I have found so far who makes these inserts. Thanks for your time!
All the best,
Tom