Trigger job for SP101-worth it?

[TruthTellers]

I'd like to get some input from others here who have had an SP101 that had the stock trigger, tried it, then had a trigger job done. How big of a before/after difference was it? Totally different revolver or was it just a slight improvement?

I've had on my list a Ruger .327 for a long while and I'm looking at moving on it soon with a birthday coming up and internet taxes coming soon.

Had been waiting for the 3 inch LCRx, but that hasn't come yet and it may never, so I'm looking at the 4 inch SP101 instead. I've been avoiding it because of the trigger, I have tried a 4 inch .357 SP in the past and the DA pull was very heavy.

If a trigger job is a remarkable improvement, I'll get the SP101, if not... I'll either have to wait for the 3 inch LCRx or start looking into the GP100's, which I don't want to do because I feel the GP size is too big for a .32 caliber.

[Longhorn1986]

I bought the wife an SP101 in .357 a couple years back. To say the trigger was brutal, especially when compared to my Model 60, would be "charitable". After a bit of trigger work, the revolver came back with an acceptable trigger. Is it as good as any of my S&Ws? No, but for an otherwise very good revolver to be used in combat situations, it is fine. Get the gun and have a good gunsmith smooth it out for you. Even with the lousy trigger, it's still a darn good revolver and less expensive than SW.

[mk70ss]

Drop in Wolf springs work wonders on the SP101

[Dave Chuppa]

My friend has a Three inch SP101 with hammer. I had the 2” Dao. I dry fired 2000 times plus shooting. My friend took his and had a trigger job. I don’t know exactly what they did. To tell you the truth I couldn’t tell a difference. The same with a 642 and my 442. Dry fire and lube makes them so smooth that l can’t tell the difference. Maybe it’s just me but, I would try that first.

[tallball]

My SP101 4.2" 327 that I bought brand-new has a very sucky trigger. I've intended to get a trigger job done "soon" for quite a while, but keep procrastinating.

My buddy got an SP101 3" 357 SP101 brand-new at a gun show a couple of months later. His trigger is quite decent.

Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw. At least it gives me hope that my trigger is not unfixable.

I've been shooting my 32 H&R magnum Single Six instead, and its trigger is NICE... that's probably why I've not been in a hurry to fix my SP101.

[TruthTellers]

Originally Posted by tallball

My SP101 4.2" 327 that I bought brand-new has a very sucky trigger. I've intended to get a trigger job done "soon" for quite a while, but keep procrastinating.

My buddy got an SP101 3" 357 SP101 brand-new at a gun show a couple of months later. His trigger is quite decent.

Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw. At least it gives me hope that my trigger is not unfixable.

I've been shooting my 32 H&R magnum Single Six instead, and its trigger is NICE... that's probably why I've not been in a hurry to fix my SP101.

Yeah, I was the one that pm'd you on the other forum. I made this thread to hear from others on their results with trigger work on their SP's.

Single Actions always have great triggers, but I already have a .32 H&R single action and I want a double action .32 and the .327 is the way to go given its power. The SP is a perfect size, but if the design hinders the trigger... Idk. There's no reason the LCRx can have such a good trigger in such a compact revolver, but the SP can't.

[SonOfScubaDiver]

I replaced the springs in mine, and it made a big difference.

[labnoti]

Springs are always a trade-off.
You can get lighter trigger pull but you have to trade-off strike force or rebound speed
You can get get higher strike force and faster rebound, but you trade-off trigger weight.
The only thing that's "free" with no trade-offs in performance is smoothing rough spots in the action. A good smith can stone the sliding surfaces, but you can probably accomplish a lot of the same by firing about 1000 rounds. If you make those thousand rounds count, you'll have gained the skill to use a heavy trigger well, and it will be smooth by then too. Heavy so it has a strong, reliable primer strike and a fast reset, and smooth is my ideal.

[indie_rocker]

You can always install a lighter hammer spring and keep the rebound spring stock. I have a 2.25" SP in 357 with a spring kit by ISMI and it made a noticeable difference. Never encountered a light strike or problems with the trigger sticking or being slow to reset.

Firing, dry or at the range will naturally smooth the internals out. I also have a Security Six that has had many, many rounds through it. The trigger is very smooth.

[TruthTellers]

When I got the Redhawk, I dry fired it a bunch on snap caps. Early on it was gritty and stiff, but after a few hundred pulls it got better. The only issue with it now is that mechanical feel and sound is still there when pulling in DA, something I don't feel/hear in the older S&W's.

Too bad none of the older Smith's are in .327 Magnum or .45 Colt/.45 ACP.

Well, I don't have too many other options right now when it comes to .327. Unless Ruger pulls a rabbit out of the hat and announces 3 inch LCRx .327's, I'll have to take some time and think about whether or not I feel a 6 inch GP or 4 inch SP is better for me.

[Big Dave]

I like to shoot double action and enjoy precision/ accuracy so trigger job is mandatory for me. If you decide to do it go to a smith that is known to do good triggers.

[OldTimingMan]

If you shoot double action at all, you should respring it. My Wiley 101 came with a heavy double pull, smooth but heavy. My smith reprung it and cleaned up a few burrs for 50$. much better, that's the good news. The bad is my front sight came loose and I sent it back to Ruger. They fixed the sight and returned the gun to stock springs! They were kind enough to put the Wolf springs in a little zip lock and send them back with the gun. Soooo another 35$ and my 101 is back to good, which is at least the equal of my Performance Center 642 Smith....good luck

[Don P]

I did a trigger job on my Match Champion replacing springs and polishing surfaces and have a double action trigger pull of 7.2 lbs. This will light off factory ammo without issue, as well as my reloads

[Nanuk]

Even with the lousy trigger, it's still a darn good revolver and less expensive than SW.

The extra money spent on a S&W is money well spent.

[ThomasT]

I bought an SP-101 off GB used and the former owner had "worked" on the springs by cutting off coils. This gun had a really bad double action pull. So I ordered a Wolfe spring kit and went to work. There is a tutorial online about doing a trigger job on these guns. But thet are very simple to work on without it.

So after replacing the springs and polishing recommended parts the gun still had a bad trigger. After taking it apart about 10 different times I spotted something I hadn't noticed before.

Right on top of the trigger group where it fits in the frame there was what looked like a rub mark. The hammer is just above the trigger group. So looking at the hammer I saw a rub mark on it. So just a tiny amount of file work on the bottom of the hammer and no more drag in double action. The bottom of the trigger is not smoothed up at the factory.

Now the trigger was just fantastic. All the polishing paid off and now I have a trigger that has to be felt to be believed. The hammer rubbing was just a fluke. But it did have a big affect on the trigger pull. Just to mention but i left in the factory trigger return spring. I like a snappy trigger return. The Wolfe spring felt sluggish.

So yes a trigger job is worth doing on these guns. I can lay a penny on top of my barrel and pull the trigger 18-20 times before it falls off.

[kenny53]

I put a Wolff 10# trigger left everything else alone. Works very well.

[gnystrom]

A spring set will produce a wonderful trigger.

[Doyle]

I put a set in mine and also took a stone to the mating surfaces just to make sure there weren't any burrs and it came out nicer. Not nearly what you'd get with a fine S&W but nice enough for my needs (seeing as I bought it as a "woods" gun).

[Safestuffer]

Strange. My sp-101 .357 Has a great trigger, better in DA than most of my s&w's. All stock, dry fired a few thousand times. It wasn't bad when new, but has only gotten better. I also can balance a nickel on the barrel and dry fire it multiple times without losing the nickel.

[TruthTellers]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Since Ruger brought back the GP100 in .327 Magnum, it's not out of consideration. Over the years when the SP101 vs GP100 trigger topic comes up a lot of people have positive things to say about the GP100's trigger over the SP101.

Any particular reason the GP's trigger is more well received? Is it just a simple thing with the grip being more ergonomic that the trigger pull feels smother and lighter?

[T. O'Heir]

A few hundred pulls is worn parts not a trigger job. The grip has nothing whatever to do with how the trigger works.
All factory triggers require work due to frivolous law suits. You really have to shoot a revolver with a really good trigger to immediately get why trigger jobs are necessary. And worth every cent.
"...they are very simple to work on..." Yep. Nice SS parts that polish easily with no special tools required either. Easy to disassemble and reassemble as well.

[straightshooterjake]

Originally Posted by TruthTellers

I'd like to get some input from others here who have had an SP101 that had the stock trigger, tried it, then had a trigger job done. How big of a before/after difference was it? Totally different revolver or was it just a slight improvement?

The real answer to this question is "it depends." I have shot a bunch of different SP101 revolvers that were manufactured over a period of several decades, and I have found them to have greatly varied double action trigger pulls. I don't think they were especially better in a certain era, I think there is just a wide variance of factory tolerance in Ruger double action revolvers. I don't mean this statement as a criticism of Ruger, all of the revolvers were functional, so the differences were all acceptable.

With that said, the important part is that some SP101 revolvers have quite decent double action triggers. A good SP101 can be as good or better than a stock S&W. When I handle an SP101 with a mediocre trigger, I feel confident that gunsmith could easily make it a least as good as the best stock SP101, and that would be quite acceptable. And really, with careful stoning, it should end up better than the best SP101, because no factory gun can match what careful hand tuning can achieve.

So overall, if I wanted an SP101, I would try to handle a few, pick the best one, and then let someone who knows what they are doing make it even better. It will end up pretty good.

[TruthTellers]

Originally Posted by straightshooterjake

The real answer to this question is "it depends." I have shot a bunch of different SP101 revolvers that were manufactured over a period of several decades, and I have found them to have greatly varied double action trigger pulls. I don't think they were especially better in a certain era, I think there is just a wide variance of factory tolerance in Ruger double action revolvers. I don't mean this statement as a criticism of Ruger, all of the revolvers were functional, so the differences were all acceptable.

With that said, the important part is that some SP101 revolvers have quite decent double action triggers. A good SP101 can be as good or better than a stock S&W. When I handle an SP101 with a mediocre trigger, I feel confident that gunsmith could easily make it a least as good as the best stock SP101, and that would be quite acceptable. And really, with careful stoning, it should end up better than the best SP101, because no factory gun can match what careful hand tuning can achieve.

So overall, if I wanted an SP101, I would try to handle a few, pick the best one, and then let someone who knows what they are doing make it even better. It will end up pretty good.

You know, everybody says this and I agree with it, the issue for me is no gun store near me carries a .327 revolver; I have to have to order it thru them or online, online being a lot cheaper.

Were I looking for a .357, I'd be spending every weekend of the month going to different gun stores, gun shows, etc. looking at revolvers, doing exactly this. I pretty much stuck with a factory new Sp101 and I'll get what I get. That's why my focus is on what improvements a trigger job will do for an average SP101.

[straightshooterjake]

I maybe should have left that last part out. The point I wanted to make was that a good gunsmith will make any SP101 better than the best stock SP101. And the best stock SP101 revolvers are really pretty good, so a well tuned one will be more than satisfactory. So the real question is, do you have a gunsmith who will do a quality job?

[TruthTellers]

Originally Posted by straightshooterjake

I maybe should have left that last part out. The point I wanted to make was that a good gunsmith will make any SP101 better than the best stock SP101. And the best stock SP101 revolvers are really pretty good, so a well tuned one will be more than satisfactory. So the real question is, do you have a gunsmith who will do a quality job?

My uncle has done all his Smiths and they're phenomenal. He's encouraged me to do my own.

That question depends on where/when I am. I'm not in a rush to have the work done, I just want to know if when they get done by someone who's good if the difference is substantial.