First time out with New/Used SP101 3"

[amd6547]

I picked up this 3" SP101 recently in a trade for a Sig P6.
Got it out to the range at my rifle club Sunday morning, a beautiful fall day with bright sunlight on the changing leaves.
I brought Blazer 158gn JHP and American Eagle 158gn Soft Point 357 magnum.
The Blazer didn't group real well at 25yds, it shot OK and would probably be fine for SD use. The American Eagle shot very well.
My SP101 shoots a little low and left, so the target pictured below was shot at 25yds with the front sight in the upper right of the sheet, near the barcode. The four round group shows pretty good accuracy, I think.
All in all, a great revolver...it carries easily IWB, and is my new favorite CCW/HD/woods handgun. Recoil is not bad at all with the magnum ammo...even with a couple rounds of Remington Core-lokt 165gn JHP full power magnum ammo I fired.

 

[bestseller92]

Great, great gun -- I have one just like it. I use 125 grain Magnum JHPs as a defense load in it.

 

[amd6547]

Yeah, next paycheck, I am going to order some DoubleTap 125gn 357 ammo. I have had great success with their ammo in other calibers. I also like the Winchester silvertip 145gn load, which is what it is loaded with right now.

 

[cdpsrjc]

Do the speed strips spacing work with the SP101? I know it only has 5, but wondering about the spacing.

 

[bestseller92]

I believe that with the .357, the velocity is great enough that you don't need a high tech bullet for it to be effective with 125 grain JHPs. I use Remington and Federal "regular" JHP loads and have complete confidence in them.

As a side note, I got a new IWB holster for my SP101 recently, a Don Hume H715M No. 52-3 1/16, which I like a lot so far.

 

[amd6547]

DoubleTap is not a "high tech" magic bullet...it is a a good quality bullet loaded to high performance using low-flash powder...and selling for $36.95/50rds.
http://www.doubletapammo.com/php/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_27&products_id=48
Speed strips work great with the SP101.

 

[soloban]

I've got the same gun. Night and day difference over the Taurus 941 .22Mag revolver I used to own quality-wise.

At the range I shoot:

.38 Special 125 Gr. Hornady XTPs over 4.2 Gr. of IMR 700X. Very light recoil, very clean.

For the zombies I keep .357 Mag 158 Gr Hornady XTPs loaded up with a full speed loader on standby.

 

[frankiestoys]

Went to the range Sunday with mine fired some Blazer 158gr out of mine.Traded a 642 for this one, glad i did ! 15 yards

 

[bestseller92]

I got my last box of Federal 125 grain mags at a yard sale for $7.