Editor's Note: Today, Rich Grassi offers you a First Look at Ruger's new GP100 7-Shot .357 Magnum Revolver.
![]() http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/image_archive/2368327.jpeg> The new Ruger 7-shot GP100 .357 Magnum is a handsome revolver and works as well as the six-shot versions. Shown here with HKS speed-loader, belt loop slides from Bianchi (left) and Don Hume. |
I was contacted a few weeks ago about a new product line extension based on the Ruger GP100 357 Magnum: a seven-shot version. Issued with a 4.2" barrel, it was new enough that the shipping information was marked in such a way that it appeared to be a pre-production gun.
Asking about it, I was told that this was a production piece and that the paperwork was wrong.
What's new about it? The seven-shot cylinder and the lock work to make it function.
What's not? It has the smooth double action pull that the GP100 and similar Rugers of that bloodline are known for. I was quite impressed with it: firm enough, it's no 7 pound DA pull. It's very smooth though and that's important in this era of mass-produced firearms.
Likewise, it has the Ruger revolver adjustable rear sight. I haven't even fiddled with that yet. The green fiber-optic front sight is a more recent development.
A forty-ounce revolver, it is of a more-or-less standard revolver format such that the
https://www.safariland.com/>Safariland 568 Custom Fit holster worked as a carry rig. Made with SafariLaminate and lined in suede, it's light and thin. I've used it for years for my annual LEOSA qualification with revolvers as well as for occasional carry of a revolver.
I carried the Ruger Seven-Shot GP in the Safariland 568 on the day I took it to the range.
As it was a quick range trip, I took a small selection of ammunition. This included Hornady LeverEvolution 357, Ruger-branded ARX 38 Special, Cor-Bon 125 grain JHP Magnum and ARX Inceptor in 357. All the shooting was from 25 yards – some one-handed – and at fifty yards on the steel IPSC-style target.
The green fiber optic front sight didn't appear very bright indoors – even on a bright day. At the range, even under the canopy on the bullseye range it was bright enough to be easily seen. I fired some five-shot groups, just to get an idea of whether the gun was on paper and where it hit with various loads. The champ in this event was the Cor-Bon 125 grain 357 Magnum load. Decently powerful, the first round was centered on the target. The other four went into just over 1 ½" in a vertical string on the left side of the target.
The ARX Inceptor 357 yielded a similar size group – one flier and four in a cluster – that was centered for windage and about two inches above point of aim at 25 yards.
I have a three-inch GP100 with fixed sights that's just a joy. I'd have loved to put the new 2.5" 7-shot 357 GP100 next to it. Still, the "middle Magnum" is the four-inch barrel and that's the one they sent. The guns are furnished with the one-piece rubber stock fitted with hardwood inserts. I imagine these will be every bit the equal of the six-shot 357s in the line in terms of durability.
To say I'm a fan of the Ruger GP100 is an understatement; one of my favorite versions of the gun is the one featured
http://www.shootingwire.com/features/231845/>here. – And Ruger corrected the minor issue referred to there.
There's nothing not to like in the new
http://ruger.com/>Ruger GP100. I'm looking forward to trying the short version of this cannon.
- - Rich Grassi
