I’m thinking about purchasing this for concealed purposes. Anyone have any positives/negatives about this revolver?

I have a two inch version I carry with some regularity.  I load it with plus p 38s.  Magnums are a bit much.

I put a fiber optic front sight on mine, I've become quite a fan of those in recent years.

Solid pistol, I like mine a lot.

I have the 3”. Solid gun, DA needs a little fluff and buff.  Of course any decent heavy loads will get your attention.

Wife hates it with all but light .38s, but she’s a pussy.

I have a 2" model and it shoots perfectly. I usually keep it loaded with +p 38 loads as others have said, 357 out of a small gun/barrel, can really take it's toll on you and especially with follow up shots.

I have an sp101 3 inch barrel. I shoot 158 grain rounds, no problems. Very good pistol.

3" here as well, decent gun, heavy for a 5 shot but that helps with full boogie .357s.....which incidentally are still not fun to shoot out of it.
Hogue grips help with that, but not enough to make it a range toy with heavy loads.

Built like a tank.
Heavy like a tank.
Lot's of flash and bang with .357s, pleasant with .38s.

2.25 inch here. Little heavy but solid gun. Shoots well. Put a hogue monogrip on it for better feel/controll. Handfull of whoopass if anybody was on the receiving end! Carry mine bout half the time glock 27 other time.

Got the 2" in 9x19mm, wish they made the 9 in 3".  Looking forward to shooting it, should be fun.

If you want a 3", take a hard look at the King Cobra.  Love mine for the size and handling and I get one more round.

I love mine, the Pachmayr Compac Grips are what I prefer, did a Wolf spring kit and that helped.  It is quite tolerable for me with the mid range 125gr .357 loads, specifically the Golden Saber and the Gold Dot short barrel.  Both are clocking over 1200 fps for me in that 3" tube last time I chrono'ed.   I don't enjoy it with full power 357 loads.  Built like a tank for sure.

I have a JMCK IWB holster that works great (like all his stuff) but mostly it goes out the door in a Galco Underwraps bellyband when it gets carried.

I hate that I traded mine

Had a 2.25" that I sold. Missed it and bought the 3" version, but later sold that to my Dad for some reason. Now I kinda want another one.

The 3" Ruger LCRx might be worth considering. 21 vs 27oz, along with better sights:

Sold mine to buy a 4" GP100.  It's a solid little gun and will certainly get your attention with mag loads.  Great little pleasant to shoot .38.  Not a fun .357.  I wanted a .357 which is why I moved to the bigger model.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will definitely take them into consideration.

I'm in agreement with most of the comments above, with an exception or two.

The 3" barrel is much more ballistically efficient with .357 Magnum than the 2" barrel and yet the 3" feels no different in IWB carry.

.357 Magnum loads are fierce, even with Hogue grips, but the load also matters.  Most .357 Mag ammo is loaded with heavy charges of slow burning colloidal ball powders (the commercial equivalent of canister grade reloading powders like Win 296 / H110).  The problem in a small, short barrel .357 Magnum is that the 20-22 grain mass of the powder charge exits the barrel at about 3 times the muzzle velocity of the bullet and imparts a great deal of additional recoil for little or no gain in bullet velocity in a short barrel.  In a 3" barrel, a 125 gr bullet propelled by 9 grains of Unique (a medium burn rate pistol powder) will be within 25-30 fps of the velocity of a 125 grain bullet propelled by 22 grains of Win 296 - but the Win 296 load will have a lot more recoil in a 27 oz revolver:

125 gr bullet at 1200 fps over 9 grains of Unique:

Recoil Velocity:16.9 ft/s
Recoil Energy:7.4 ft•lbs
Recoil Impulse:0.9 lb•s

125 gr bullet at 1300 fps over 22 grains of Win 296:

Recoil Velocity:22.6 ft/s
Recoil Energy:13.3 ft•lbs
Recoil Impulse:1.2 lb•s

And just to disabuse you of the notion the greater recoil is due to the extra 50 fps:

125 gr bullet at 1250 fps over 22 grains of Win 296:

Recoil Velocity:22.1 ft/s
Recoil Energy:12.7 ft•lbs
Recoil Impulse:1.2 lb•s

In short, a traditional slow burning powder load optimized for 4"-6" barrels will have 33% more recoil velocity, 80% more recoil energy, and 33% more recoil impulse than the faster burning short barrel optimized load, with only minimal gains in velocity. So choose your .357 Magnum load wisely, and you'll be much happier with .357 Magnum in an SP101.   With a Hogue grip installed a decent medium burning powder load is very manageable in the SP101.

The medium burn rate short barrel optimized load also be far more effective than a .38 +P load that will be around 125-150 fps slower in the same 125 gr bullet weight.  That might not seem like a lot, but it's enough of a loss in velocity that it takes it below the 1150-1200 fps threshold where most .38/.357 Magnum JHPs stop expanding reliably.

I do disagree with the suggestion that the lighter LCR is a better choice.  I don't have an LCR but I do have both 2.125" and 3" S&W Model 60s.  They are 5.5 oz lighter than their heavier built SP 101 counterparts. With the same style Hogue grips installed, the recoil is much more significant with them due to the reduced weight.

Let's look at the same load (125 gr bullet at 1200 fps over 9 grains of Unique) in both the 27 and 20 oz revolvers:

20 oz LCR:

Recoil Velocity:22.7 ft/s
Recoil Energy:10.0 ft•lbs
Recoil Impulse:0.9 lb•s

27 oz SP101:

Recoil Velocity:16.9 ft/s
Recoil Energy:7.4 ft•lbs
Recoil Impulse:0.9 lb•s

The recoil impulse is the same (same mass leaving the barrel at the same velocity) but the lighter revolver weight shows up negatively with 34% more recoil velocity and 35% more recoil energy.

I can tell you from my experience with the Model 60 and SP101 that, provided you use a proper belt and holster, you'll never notice the additional 7 oz in all day carry. But you will notice the weight difference everytime you shoot it.  That realistically makes the LCR a .38+P proposition for most shooters.

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With all that in mind, you can also move up to a 36 oz 3" Model 66 or 38 oz 3" Model 686+ and have a revolver that is actually comfortable to shoot with .357 Magnum.  The 696+ is my preferred revolver for concealed IWB carry with a .357 Magnum.  Most shooters with a little practice can shoot them very well and still conceal them well.

For a belt gun i am definitely a fan of stepping up to a k or l frame. Ive never tried carrying a l frame but would definitely be interested in a step up to 7 rounde if it wasnt to bad.

The 2.75" k frame the most comfortable full sized gun ive carried and still shootable with magnums.

The suggestion for something larger has merit.  I carry a three inch K frame and a 2 3/4 GP100 from time to time.  With the proper holster and belt they're really not bad at all.

Wife has one.

Solid pistol. I’d recommend the trigger spring kit, .357 loads let you know you’re shouting it, .38’s feel like .22.

Hogue grips if you have average-big hands.

I proudly own a Ruger SP-101 but with a 2.25" barrel. Robust, reliable, but heavy that gives you the option to fire full house .357 defensive loads to .38spl target. Full house 158gr loads are attention grappers where as .38spl are extremely mild. Proudly carry mainly in winter months in a Garrett OWB holster while bow hunting. Great little powerhouse revolver.

Anyone know of a hammer shroud available for the 101, like the old Biachi grips or the bolt on Colt hammer shrouds?

love mine, loaded with 158 38special hollow points for social carry. I often carry it as a secondary when hunting in Pa. then i go to hard cast 158 semiwadcutters in 357. I have been looking at the 38special LCRx in 3 inch to be a tad easier  when carrying for protection. I did load it with some older corbon 200gr hammer head ammo . one round and I promptly unloaded the 4 remaining rounds to be used in a rifle. so not so great with heavy loads. i do not feel under armed when it is on my hip.

I’m liking that Garrett holster!

Good little revolver. I like mine. I wish the SP101 held one more round.

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Never seen one and since the SP doesn't have any screws in the frame mounting one would be a challenge.  Bobbed hammers are fairly common on SPs if you want to go that route.

There's apparently a brand new Ruger SP101 Willey Clap, that features a real set of sights.

That would be the 3" SP101 to get:

I like the W.C. version, as the availability of having a real rear sight can make a difference for some people. The cost is a bit more though. The LCRx is another great revolver. Very comfortable to shoot and carry.

I recently got the 2.25" 9mm SP101. I love it.

That 3" Wiley Clapp 357 looks great!

Have the 2” and 3”. Prefer the balance of the 3”.  Polish the insides and shim it. Easy and fun to do.

I had a 3" SP101 in .357.  It's a decent gun, but I kind of soured on it when I found that it was very nearly as wide as one of my S&W K-frames (which holds six shots).

I could see getting one in .327 Federal Magnum for a sixth shot (and full-power.327 brings some heat), but I'd want it to have an adjustable rear sight.  I've read where the fixed sights don't regulate well to the .327.

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... it can also shoot .38 special loads:

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I like my 3” hefty enough to shoot full .357 comfortably, but small enough to carry anytime. It’s a pussycat with .38s. I added a hogue grip, cleaned up the trigger pull and installed XS big dot front sight.

This is interesting. Not listed on RUGER's website though, nor showing on a quick google either. Shot Show release? Or where did you find the 3" W.C. version?

This looks like a Talo model, Ruger part number 15710

http://www.taloinc.com/new-blog/2020/1/13/1vtvqcpd1m20f9ophlytuh4rzm7m1a

I've had several in both 3" and 2.25". I only own 2x 2.25" now. I like the shorty better. On the rare occasion I carry one, it's stoked with Buffalo Bore low flash short barrel stuff.
I do a clean-up, shim on them.

Ruger makes beautiful revolvers that can handle the heavy loads.

I had one. It is pretty easy with 357 loads The complete rubber grip really soaks up the recoil

I bought a DAO snub and the trigger on it is spectacular. This coming from a Smith fan. I love shooting the little piece. Hefty in a good way, especially with 158.

I have a 2.25 model wit da beams!  I hate it, but it was my moms and she was very good with it.  Stainless and I hate stainless guns.  

I generally love revolvers, but Ruger double action ones just seem un refined to me.

I'm really hoping these show up in stainless, maybe in .327

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What are the details on this gun? I agree a 327 would be sweet.

Lipsey's exclusive, no idea if they're available yet:

https://www.lipseys.com/itemdetail?itemno=RUSP-332X

Have both 2@3”. The 3” balances better for me. I like it bigly.

Packed this one all weekend in an IWB holster.  It's a bit more money than a Ruger, but really like it.   Attached File

Just bought that 327 at Grabagun yesterday for $515. Today it is $601. Yesterday was a good day.

They are big and heavy for their capacity. However they are built like a tank and 357 is not so bad out of one.

The drawback to me is a M66 is the same size with an extra bullet and no more weight.

I stumbled across one of these for cheap (under $400 before taxes) at a LGS that I was thinking of picking up as a CCW/Woods Gun...

Just need hogue grips and a holster! Attached File

I should get my 9x19mm next week!