Ruger SP101 Owners Inside Please.

[Mr. Beretta]

Recently purchased a SP101 38/357 DA only from a fellow member. Ran approx, 100 rds of 38 plus P thru it earlier this week.

Like it but wished it had a a little lighter trigger pull. Any body running one of those hammer/ trigger spring kits ? Any suggestions / recommendations would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[L-2]

https://www.gunsprings.com/Revolvers/RUGER/SP-101

I've not used these springs, but here's a link to the Wolff company site regarding SP101 springs.

[GeorgeMG]

Wolff springs are good.

[L-2]

Here's another brand, Wilson-Combat:

https://shopwilsoncombat.com/SPRING-KIT-CUSTOM-TUNE-RUGER-SP101-REVOLVER/productinfo/349/

[Squidward]

I've been using the Wolff Shooter's pack for several years and hundreds of (.38spl and .357) rounds without any issue.. And it is easy to install.

[BradleyAbrams]

Another vote for Wolff springs. I installed the Hammer spring on my GP100 and the change was very noticeable, especially in DA..

I went with the 9Lbs Spring. ( I think the factory spring is either 12 or 14 Lbs. )

BTW, no "light strikes" with over 500 rds of varied commercial ammo.

.

[ojisan]

I have played with spring kits on my SP.
Please note that I build or modify all my guns for self-defense reliability first and range fun second.
Since the hammer and trigger springs do two different things, I tried just about every combination of original and the lighter Wolff springs.

Putting in a softer trigger spring will reduce the pull weight but will also slow the speed and weaken the return of the trigger returning forward.
For SD or range rapid fire, you want the trigger to return forward as quickly as possible.
It is also beneficial for the trigger to have a strong return to help fully push your trigger finger forward all the way, so you do not short stroke the next (attempted) trigger pull.

A softer hammer spring only will reduce the trigger pull.
It will also reduce the speed and strength of the hammer drop.
The longer your lock time, the longer you have to inadvertently pull the sights off the target.
While I did not have any misfires in a limited amount of testing, the slower hammer drop was annoying.

When I combined soft trigger and soft hammer, the pull was very easy but the action was sluggish.

My final set-up:
- Polish and lube all internal parts contact surfaces.
- Original trigger return spring.
- Original hammer spring, shortened about 1/8" to reduce the amount of preload.

Preload is the amount a spring is compressed when installed and at rest.
Let's say (keeping it simple here) we have a spring 5" long that is rated at 1 pound per inch.
It would take 5 pounds to compress the spring 5" from a free, uninstalled position.
Now we put the spring in a holder and compress the spring 1" to install it so now our spring is 4" long when installed.
It has 1 pound of preload on it.
To compress the spring another inch, it takes two pounds to move it, one pound to offset the preload plus one more pound for the second inch.
So, the more the preload goes up, the higher the initial pull weight is needed to get the spring moving.
Reducing the preload will not make the spring weaker, it will reduce the initial pull weight and this reduction wil carry through the entire action operation.

Be careful reducing preload too much, most guns are designed with strong spring preload to make sure parts function and stay in place under recoil.

[FX1094]

I have installed the MCARBO kit on three different SP101s, following their youtube install video which also includes polishing some of the internals. It makes a huge difference, and is a great price. Also it's a a fun project and their videos are very thorough.

['ol shooter]

Gunsprings is Wolff, and Wolff makes the spring kits for Wilson Combat. Top quality stuff.

[hambam105]

Ruger SP101 are great revolvers. To get a SP101 to perform more akin to a S&W is easy.

Just replace the Ruger springs with S&W springs. Replace your Ruger 101 trigger, hammer,
frame, grips with S&W trigger, hammer, frame and grips. Let us know how it works out for you.

[19K]

Ruger SP101 are great revolvers. To get a SP101 to perform more akin to a S&W is easy.

Just replace the Ruger springs with S&W springs. Replace your Ruger 101 trigger, hammer,
frame, grips with S&W trigger, hammer, frame and grips. Let us know how it works out for you.

I agree! Haha.

The sp101 is good enough for the price but not super smooth.

[JTROKS]

If you’re using your revolver for defense I highly advise not to use a lighter hammer spring. If you have to utilize a decreased power hammer spring make sure your ammo is reliable. I’ve been through it with my GP100s and S&Ws. With the S&W if you have a screwdriver that fits the grip screw and spring tension screw then you can just adjust it. With the Ruger good luck replacing springs when you’re out there in the field.

[hambam105]

If you are going to buy a Ruger SP101 for homeland protection, an excellent choice by the way, for its
101 excellent reputation for reliability & life long durability, leave it stock.

When you want a recreational revolver, buy a recreational revolver.

[ShellBackItUp]

Definitely be aware of the changes in spring power and their compatibility with ammo, as others above have mentioned.

The Match Champion series by Ruger is shimmed and polished. You can do your own polish and shim work on your SP101 and make it much smoother, without having to affect your ammo compatibility with reduced power springs.

While I have mildly reduced spring power compared to stock, I've also done my own trigger jobs and shim jobs which take a lot of grit and roughness out of the trigger pull, especially double action.

Unfortunately, the Iowegan picture guides are no longer on the web. I think I downloaded it once, on an old laptop, I'll see if I can find it. A link is below to the full text.

The nice thing about the SP101's and GP100's are the double and single action trigger mechanisms are (nearly) identical, so smoothing and shimming the needed parts applies to both.

This is a partial Iowegan guide, specific to the GP100 but applicable to your SP101. This will walk you through all surfaces to be inspected and polished. I am not aggressive in my polishing, and recommend you accustom yourself with stoning and polishing on some spare/scrap metal before doing your first polishing on the Ruger.

https://gunner777.wordpress.com/2008/08/24/ruger-gp100sp101book-of-knowledge/

My opinion is that these are the best shims in the business, and I've never had a single problem with them

https://www.triggershims.com/ruger_double_action.php

Also, you can find tons of Ruger specific posts and helpful people over at https://www.rugerforum.net/ (though Calguns is of course the superior forum, no question

Good luck!

[M76]

the GP100 7-round .357 would be nice to have for HD...