ExArmy11b

I just added the DAO hammer to the 4" GP100, thanks to a forum member here that I worked a trade with

The 6" has had the DAO hammer for over a year now, both of them have the gold colored trigger latch and hammer springs (unknown maker) that really slick the actions up but don't make the hammer strikes too light.

Some may wonder, why a DAO hammer in a 6" full lug GP but I just like the way it looks, and since I have an XS standard dot front sight on it, I only shoot it DA anyway. It makes for less snag for holster carry, and I plan to use the 4" as a winter carry piece.



I swapped out the Big Dot for a standard XS dot, and couldn't be happier with it. I'll save the Big Dot for a future project, maybe a .327 GP100.

netspec

I like the look of those DAO hammers. Your project looks good!

Salmoneye

Just curious...

Why the large Lett's on the 4" fixed sight?

ExArmy11b

It came with compact Letts, but one day before I went shooting I switched out to a set of Large Letts that came off a used SRH I bought, which I put Hogue woods on.

I love the balance of this gun with the Large Letts, and sometimes you switch grips on a gun several times until one of them is just "it" for that gun......and those Large Letts just work for that particular gun.

I am also a huge fan of the compact Letts, but since I already have an identical gun to the blue 4", a stainless DAO 4" half lug .357 GP, with the compacts, as well as the same gun as the blue .357 but chambered for .38, also with compacts, I figured I would add some variety and "play" with this one.

After I have my gunsmith add an SP101 Meprolight front sight, this gun will finally be "done". It already has a front sight that has been filed very low, and it hits dead on with 130's, and the Meprolight SP101 sight is roughly the same height as the blade that's already on there.

Colt Seavers

Very nice looking guns! Always loved the way ruger's look with bobbed hammers.

Salmoneye

Thanks for the answer...

I too am a fan of the compact Letts...I also have a half-lug 4", but mine is not DA only (KGPF-340)...

Only have the one GP100...I envy your collection...

andybothel

I was going to ask why a DAO hammer on a full size gun, then saw your answer. I agree it makes the gun have a whole new look.

I need to learn how to shoot my GP DA better as I shoot it SA most of the time.

I like the contrast of the stainless hammer on a blue gun. Nice!

ExArmy11b

That 6" GP was my first Ruger (besides the 10/22 I got when I was 14 or so), and one of my first handguns. I bought it when I was home on Christmas leave from the Army. I remember driving to Gander Mt. because I was bored, and I had been reading about how great these Ruger GP-100's were and they were tank tough, etc. I was just at the beginning of my interest in handguns, I had been a rifle shooter for over a decade.

So, Gander Mt. , back when the one near me actually used to have a nice selection of handguns, had both stainless and blue 4" and 6" GP100's in the case. I loved the look of the blue 6" full lug and went with that one........probably because my Dad has a S&W 6" 586, so a 6" blue .357 just looked "right" to me



This was it, shortly after I bought it. Kind of a "baby picture" I didn't even change the front sight yet, and it had a Redhawk blade on it for a while. It's had a lot of different grips on it, but I went back to the exact grips that came on it. It was one of the last of the GP's to ship with Letts, before Ruger went to the Hogues. I think the grips were a big part of what made me want the gun, I just love those wood insert Letts!

It was freezing cold and blustery, and when I got home, the first thing I did was grab a handful of .38's and .357's from my basement and take my brand new GP out to my backyard range. My hands were instantly numb but I squeezed off a few cylinders of .357 and then some .38's. That gun didn't make it more than an hour of being New In Box! It hardly has any rounds on it now, mostly .38's with some .357's here and there.