ruger vs charter arms

[thumbcocker]

I'm looking for a small revolver for concealed carry. Charter arms claims their pug is the lightest and smallest revolver made in 357. I'm also looking at a ruger gp-100. Which do you guys think would be the better gun?

[safetysheriff]

Ruger in SP-101 for its weight, as opposed to the heavier GP-100.    the SP-101 in .327 Fed' carries 6 shots; but in .357 mag' it only carries 5.   for me, it'd be the Ruger any day over the Charter because you're talking about protection.   whether from criminals or animals (pretty much the same really), when it comes to saving my hide, i say buy the best!

ss'   

[thumbcocker]

I looked at the sp 101 on ruger's web site. That looks like the one. Thanks for the info.

[Win 73]

No way does a Charter compare to a Ruger.

[Old Griz]

You'll never regret buying the SP101. It's a terrific gun.

[fourthharley]

{Charter arms claims their pug is the lightest and smallest revolver made in 357} And that may be true<BUT>Do you really want the lightest and smallest revolver made in 357?? If you plan on shoot-tin It, I can tell you, You won't like it! With 357 or 38+p It will want to take your arm off !! I made a 50 mile round trip to my local dealer Thinkin I wanted a Pug. Brand New $300.00 OTD. He also had a 1985 Ruger Speed Six for $285.00 OTD Now to my way of thinkin $300.00 OTD for the Pug Not Bad, But once I get on the other side of the door It's worth $250.00 My Ruger on the other hand $285.00 OTD will still be worth that  10 years down the road!! And I love IT!!

[454Puma]

I agree with the rest-get an SP101 and be happy! You'll never wear it out-maybe your grand son will but you will not!

[Lloyd Smale]

Niether. pick up j frame smith and youll have the best of both worlds. There lighter then the ruger and a much better quality gun then a charter.

[454Puma]

Lloyd Smale
   I have to disagree- J Frame S&W is not going to out last a Ruger no way shape or form! They cost $200-300 more and for what a good trigger? That doesn't justify paying that much more! Dollar for dollar the SP101 is a better firearm! 

[Lloyd Smale]

I buy a 2 inch gun for concealed carry. It isnt a gun that is going to have 20000 rounds shot through it so whether the ruger will outlast it is trivial to me. The smith is much lighter and even physicaly smaller and that makes it a much better choise for ccw carry especialy if a guy wants to use a pocket holster. They also have a much better DA trigger pull as you stated. Some of the sps ive owned had such a heavy trigger pull that i doubt a women could pull one well enough to even hit something up close.  Sure its easy to smothen them out but not everyone can do it and it cost money to have someone else do it and if you tack on the 100 bucks or more that it will cost your not far from the differnce in price between the two. The smith is also available in titanium and thats the way id go. Ive carried alloy j frames and there so light that a guy cant even tell hes got a gun in his pocket. Another thing smiths have going for them is you can buy them da only and without a hammer and that makes them even better as a pocket gun. So what does the sp have over a smith. There built like a tank and are no doubt stronger and cost less. What does a smith have over a ruger. There lighter (much lighter in the case of an alloy gun) Much better da trigger pull. There more compact and come in many more variations that allow for a guy to buy a gun off the shelf that a no compromise ccw gun. I dont personaly know of anyone that has shot a sp enough that if he would have had a smith he would  would have wore it out. Maybe one of the 4 inch adj. sight sps but not a 2 inch gun.

[Old Griz]

The SP101 and S&W J-frame is comparing apples and oranges. The SP101 is a great, compact .357 mag. carry gun, best carried in a holster. It's too heavy for most pockets. The Airweight Smiths in .38 are fine pocket pistols, but are not in the same power league as the Ruger. S&W beefed up the J-frame to compete with the SP101, but it really didn't make it. It's horrible to shoot with .357 loads. The smallest S&W that's a good shooter with .357 loads is the K-frame. If you want a small compact .357 go with the Ruger.

[Old Fart]

Ruger vs a Charter Arms is a pretty simple choice?   Ruger.

Ruger vs Smith?    Ford or Chevy.......no good answer.

[Graybeard]

I am always amazed at these type conversations. Every time we start talking of S&W snub nose revolvers whether .38 or .357 folks start talking about the horrible recoil of them and how bad they are to shoot. But then often the same folks talk glowingly of how pleasant it is to shoot their .454 Casulls, .460 S&W, .475 Linebaugh and .500 S&Ws.

Sorry folks this just makes no sense to me.

I admit that a S&W especially an airweight with stock wood grips can sting the hand but take an arm off? Gimme a break. My S&W 60 3" adjustable sight revolver wears CTC laser grips and is very mild to shoot with the most powerful .357 Magnum loads I can put together. I use it with stuff that USED to be within SAAMI limits in the old original round but is no more and do not see it as bad at all in fact it's fairly mild even with hot 180s much less the lighter 125s, 140s and 158s I shoot more often in it. While it's an accurate revolver with the irons I can outshoot the irons with the laser all the time.

My Taurus Tracker Ti Model 627 (I think) was even lighter than the S&W 60 but was ported and no matter what I shot in it those rubber ribber grips just soaked it right up and was even milder than the 60 altho much lighter.

I just can't understand the concern over recoil in these guns when so many seem to be able to handle the big boys with no problem.

[gwhilikerz]

Graybeard I think a lot of it comes from the magazine articles. We all read where it says that a lightweight snubby is hard to shoot because of recoil, short sighting radius, and loud report. That is repeated so many times everyone takes it as the gospel. A short range session will debunk all that.

[Rangr44]

I once bought BOTH a Ruger AND a Smith, both .357 snubbies - because I couldn't make up my mind between them.

As soon as I shot them a bit, my mind got made up for me - I sold the Ruger as soon as I could !

The Smith has a lot less felt recoil, AND a much smoother action to boot.

The only Charter that even came a little close, is/was an old model .44 Bulldog (yeah, I owned one of them, too).
If I had the choice of commercially available, high-performance factory ammo, all those years ago, that I/we do now - I'd still have the .44 Bulldog as a CCW.

Look around for a good, used S&W Airweight or Ti.


.

[kevthebassman]

I think if you take into consideration the kind of shooting you're likely to be doing with a snubnose .38, I think getting hung up on brand name is a tad silly.  Shoot what pleases you.  My mother gave me a Charter Arms undercover .38 and the original box of 158 grain LRN Remington Kleen-Bore ammunition that she bought with it.  After putting a few hundred rounds through it over the years, I really just love the thing.  It's small, light, and more accurate than I can shoot.

I've shot Smiths, and they are nice.  If I had the scratch I'd buy one, but there's a lot of things I'd buy if I had the scratch.  I don't feel under-gunned with my little Charter.

[Old Fart]

  I don't feel under-gunned with my little Charter.

And you certainly aren't.   

It's the same bullet coming out of the end of it as a more expensive firearm.

The first consideration is the caliber adequate.

OF

[Drilling Man]

Graybeard I think a lot of it comes from the magazine articles. We all read where it says that a lightweight snubby is hard to shoot because of recoil, short sighting radius, and loud report. That is repeated so many times everyone takes it as the gospel. A short range session will debunk all that.

  From what i read on these forums, that's makes up 99% of all the answers posted...  Someone repeating what they read on line or in a magazine.

  I own Charter, Ruger and Smiths...  Make mine the S&W please!

  DM

[Flash]

No way does a Charter compare to a Ruger.

  Like a Yugo compares to an Acura

[bluecow]

had an sp101 when it frist hit the market. couldn't hit the ground if i droped the gun.  it was me not the gun traded it with a friend for a canoe he loved it.  at the same time i had a bulldog 44 spl. i could shot that  vary well thankyou.  still no question the sp101 is the better gun.

[Devy55]

Between the two, Ruger is the better gun.

If you want small, then I'd go S&W or Taurus in .357.

[454Puma]

 Lloyd Smale
 Thats the point I plan on shooting my carry gun alot!! Thats not an option with the J frame. Shoot alot of 357 mags through them and they will wear out thats a gven! Not so with the SP101 -I have never heard or seen one shot out! I'm a Ruger guy 100% and I shoot the hell out of my guns!

[watkibe]

RE: Smith vs Ruger
I owned a S&W Bodyguard in 38 Special. It was light, had a shrouded hammer so it slid in and out of pockets easily, and the trigger was very nice. I shot it very little, and avoided +P ammo like the manual said to. It seemed really refined, but fragile. I eventually sold it.
I went shooting with a friend who bragged on his Model 29. The trigger was great, it hit where I pointed it every time, and it was just heavy enough to tame the recoil of the moderate target loads we were using. After we had gone through about a box of ammo, the gun tied up. My friend looked his gun over and muttered " I'm gonna have to tighten those dang screws again".

I have also owned Charter Arms, High Standard, Rossi, and Jennings handguns.

Now that I'm definitely older and hopefully wiser, I only own RUGERS ! I carry my SP101 all the time in either a holster or a fanny pack, which is not quite as convenient as keeping it in a pocket. But when I pull it out, it will be to save my life, and I know it will work. Every time.

[Drilling Man]

RE: Smith vs Ruger
I owned a S&W Bodyguard in 38 Special. It was light, had a shrouded hammer so it slid in and out of pockets easily, and the trigger was very nice. I shot it very little, and avoided +P ammo like the manual said to. It seemed really refined, but fragile. I eventually sold it.
I went shooting with a friend who bragged on his Model 29. The trigger was great, it hit where I pointed it every time, and it was just heavy enough to tame the recoil of the moderate target loads we were using. After we had gone through about a box of ammo, the gun tied up. My friend looked his gun over and muttered " I'm gonna have to tighten those dang screws again".

I have also owned Charter Arms, High Standard, Rossi, and Jennings handguns.

Now that I'm definitely older and hopefully wiser, I only own RUGERS ! I carry my SP101 all the time in either a holster or a fanny pack, which is not quite as convenient as keeping it in a pocket. But when I pull it out, it will be to save my life, and I know it will work. Every time.

  I must be even older, and got even wiser than you, as i was once a Ruger person, (and about everything else) but went to Smiths, and i'm not going back.

  I've seen super blk hawks fall aprt on the range, i've seen Rugers fail, and funniest of all, was a blk hawk 357 i sold NEW in the box.  The customer came back mad as he!!, telling me i gave him the wrong ammo!  I knew i didn't, so i tried chambering a round, and the cyl. wasn't even chambered down far enough to even accept 38 spls...  So much for Ruger checking or test fireing "every" revolver BEFORE it leaves their hands...

  DM