It’s hard to believe the Ruger GP100 is 35 years old. Bill Ruger’s design was notable for several features. Its lack of sideplates made the frame stronger, which was necessary because this revolver was built from the get-go to handle a full-time diet of .357 Magnum loads. It introduced the peg-style frame that permitted the use of one-piece grips, and it featured a trigger system employing coil-wire mainsprings instead of leaf springs—the same setup used on the company’s Redhawk double action that made its debut six years prior.
Over those 35 years, the revolver has seen a number of models and chamberings, from .22 Long Rifle to .44 Special (I bought one), and now Ruger has decided to put the muscle of its relatively new Custom Shop behind the design. Last year the company introduced the Super GP100 Competition in .357 Magnum/.38 Special, and more recently it added a version in 9mm Luger.
These are competition guns, pure and simple, but any serious revolver fan will appreciate all the upgrades. Let’s start with the most obvious: the half-lug shrouded barrel with its lightening cuts.
Both versions use stainless steel for the shroud, with the 9mm version getting a satin stainless treatment while the .357/.38 has a PVD (physical vapor deposition) blue/black finish. Six lightening cuts on each side of the shroud prevent the gun from being muzzle heavy, and they’re sexy as hell to boot.
The cold-hammer-forged barrel is six inches long in the 9mm and 5.5 inches long in the .357/.38. The overall lengths of the revolvers are the same, though, because the longer barrel extends into the frame to meet up with the shorter 9mm cylinder.
The half-lug also contributes to the revolver’s excellent balance. One of the original features of the GP100 was a full underlug, which gave the gun weight out front and helped tame muzzle rise and recoil impulse from .357 Magnum loads.
The Super GP100 Competition wouldn’t benefit from a full underlug because adding that to the shroud would make the gun unwieldy, and a ton weight out front is unnecessary due to the relatively low power levels of the 9mm and .38 Special (which everyone who buys the .357 would shoot) cartridges
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