By Tank Hoover

Jason Cloessner from Lipsey’s (a big Ruger distributor) is clobbering my bank account! I’ll bet he’s affecting yours too, huh? Don’t let his friendly grin fool you! He’s been tempting us for years by answering the call from guys like you and me! The problem? He’s too good at what he does! He’s keeping me digging myself deeper into the proverbial gun-hole. But what a hole it is!

Being the VP in charge of product design for Lipsey’s, Jason is responsible for the famous “Lipsey’s Exclusives” we all drool over. This last time he really “done” it to us with a tempting trio of classic built Ruger GP100 DA shooters. He designed some new stylish stocks I call baby Ropers — after Herrett’s Roper stocks Skeeter Skelton was so fond of — along with a Skeet-pleasing 5″ half-lug barrel. Yowsers!

He chambered these beautifully built shooter’s in not one, but three suitable calibers no self-proclaimed sixgunner could deny themself. I told you Jason was slick! The calibers are a 7-shot .327 Federal, a 6-shot .357 Magnum and lastly, a 5-shot .44 Special. This tangible trio could well be the handgunners Holy Grail of a Triple Crown!

A 7-shot sixgun? You bet! Fun to shoot and accurate, it’s sure to “spike” a bit of interest among young and old alike!

Stylish stocks set this revolver apart from all other Rugers. The blued steel, half-lug 5″ barrel is sure to become a true classic.

7-Shooter?

We will concentrate on the seven shot .327 Federal. A few years back, I fell for the 7-shot Ruger Single-Seven designed by you know who. Yep, he got me there too! The straight-walled, rimmed case is a natural for those who shoot a lot, as carbide dies can be used for handloads and the smaller case capacity is easy on powder consumption while still developing impressive velocities of around 1,500 fps, with excellent accuracy and performance.

The GP100 was no disappointment. My sample had one of the best double action pulls from a factory gun I’ve felt in a very long time. Accuracy was also very good. It was nothing to shoot 5-shot 25-yard groups between 1-1.5″ with cast bullet, powder coated handloads. Factory ammo was the same.

Being an odd-duck, I enjoy shooting double-action revolvers the way they are intended. Hell, with its inherent smoothness and trigger pull, this gun taunts you to shoot double-action!

Seven beans in the wheel, white outline adjustable rear sight and brass bed front sight make for a nice sight picture.

The fluted cylinder and other goodies makes for a good-looking revolver.

Specs

The Ruger GP100 in .327 Federal is made of blued steel with a 5″ half-lug barrel and fluted cylinder, providing a stylish, lightweight, powerful small bore gun. This DA trigger is also one of the smoothest I’ve ever felt from a factory gun. Bravo Ruger! The single-action pull is sharp and crisp too.

The gun is 10.5″ long and weighs 39 ounces so isn’t a lightweight. The smaller bore means more metal there. The transfer bar safety allows for the safe carry of seven loaded cartridges. The Smooth walnut stocks feel wonderful in the hand, making one flashback to the good old days of yesteryear as you wrap your trembling fingers around these smooth walnut wonderments. Mr. Cloessner obviously boned up on his Skeeter schooling for this one, as our ol’ amigo would certainly be pleased with this gun.

This shooter has adjustable rear sights and a dovetailed gold bead front sight providing a splendid sight picture.

The gun is also capable of shooting .32 H&R, .32 S&W long and .32 S&W short, giving it uncanny versatility. Lastly, we are all lucky loons to have Jason Cloessner looking out for us. We have his ear — he listens to what we want.

He kinda reminds me of ol’ Bill Ruger himself when I asked him if he collected Ruger’s? Jason laughed, “Collect? I sell as many as I can, Tank!”
For that, we can all be truly grateful!

Notice the blued stock screw? No attention to detail is too small for such a classic gun!

The Ruger GP100 has an MSRP of $869. For further information, go to: https://americanhandgunner.com/company/ruger-firearms/

Be sure to check out Tank’s write-ups in American Handgunner Magazine on this gun and the Ruger Blackhawk 10mm/.40 S&W, also a Lipsey’s exclusive, in the near future.

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