Some guns look great in the glass case at the gun shop. They’re polished to a mirror finish, and they’re practically begging to be admired.
And then there are guns like the Ruger GP100, which doesn’t really care about impressing you at all. That’s because it’s too busy being the kind of revolver that you can carry into the wilderness for weeks at a time without a single worry. It’s the sidearm that just plain works, and that’s true regardless of whether you’re facing down a black bear on a mountain trail or knocking over steel plates at the range on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
This revolver is a chunk of steel and it really has a robust personality. It feels solid in the hand, and not in that “heavy for the sake of heavy” way, but in a “this thing could probably survive a nuclear winter” kind of way.
You can drop it on rocks, drag it through snow, or let it bounce around the floorboards of your truck, and it’ll just shrug it off. This isn’t the revolver you polish and display. It’s the revolver you trust when you’re miles from the nearest cell signal and there’s fresh cougar tracks on the trail.
The Ruger GP100 is the most durable .357 Magnum revolver that the market currently has to offer. Ruger specifically designed it to be capable of firing an unlimited amount of .357 Mag rounds without issue.
My GP100 has been hauled deep into the backcountry of the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, riding in a Triple K leather holster on a sturdy gun belt (with a K-bar knife on the opposite side).
A GP100 on your hip in a setup like that is pure confidence. You’re not thinking “I hope this works”…because you already know it will.
Why Did Ruger Make the GP100?
The GP100 didn’t appear out of thin air. Its lineage goes back to the Ruger Security Six, which was a revolver that earned a reputation in the 1970s and early 80s as a rock-solid service gun for police and outdoorsmen alike.
The Security Six was already tough, but Ruger wanted something that could handle an endless diet of hot magnums without ever loosening up like could often happen on a Colt or a Smith & Wesson.
In 1985, the GP100 hit the market. It kept the Security Six’s rugged reputation and turned the dial up to eleven. The GP100’s frame is solid. There are no side plates since there’s just one big block of steel for maximum strength. It uses a triple-locking cylinder that latches at the front, rear, and the bottom, which keeps it aligned no matter how hot the load or how fast you run it.
Ruger also made the grip frame modular, so you can swap grips without having to mess with the internal parts. That means you can go from a compact rubber grip for concealed carry to a big wood target grip for hunting without a gunsmith. The action is also super easy to work on, and disassembly requires no special tools.
Over the decades, the GP100 has been offered in every flavor you can imagine: blued or stainless, fixed or adjustable sights, snubnose 3-inch models, full-size 4.2-inch guns, and long 6-inch hunting setups like I’ve got. Every one of them has the same overbuilt DNA.
The Beauty of the .357 Magnum
A .357 Magnum revolver is one of the most useful handguns you can own, period. There’s a reason it’s been a favorite for hunters and lawmen and anyone who spends serious time outdoors.
When loaded with .38 Special ammo (the fact that a .357 revolver can also chamber and shoot .38 by itself makes it versatile). the GP100 turns into a low-recoil and easy-to-shoot trainer that even a first-timer can handle. It’s perfect for teaching a new shooter or running drill or just spending an afternoon knocking over soda cans without wearing yourself out.
Load it with .357 Magnums and you’ve got an entirely different animal. Now you’re holding a one-shot man stopper with enough punch to handle predators in North America. Black bears, mountain lions, feral hogs, wolves…all of them have fallen to well-placed .357 Magnum rounds. And the GP100 will digest those full-power magnums all day without complaint.
That’s precisely where this revolver’s stout build really shines. It’s not a gun you have to “baby” with light loads.
That versatility is worth its weight in gold if you’re serious about preparedness. In a survival situation, you might not get your favorite ammo every time. Being able to run both .38 and .357 gives you twice the odds of finding something you can load and fire.
Ruger Kept It Simple
The GP100 is refreshingly free of gimmicks. There’s no internal safety lock to jam up at the worst time (unlike Smith & Wesson or Taurus). There are also no flimsy MIM parts hiding inside. Ruger built this thing like a working man’s tool. That’s why it’s straightforward, overbuilt, and designed to keep running for decades. The action is smooth and the timing is rock-solid, and the cylinder locks up like a bank vault.
My GP100 holds 6 rounds, but 7-round cylinder versions exist as well. Note the rubber grips with the wooden inserts that have the Ruger logo on them. It’s super comfortable to shoot!
The grips are also super easy to swap, so you can set it up for your hand size or shooting style. The sights are practical and visible, with adjustable rears and a replaceable front blade on most models, so you can fine-tune your zero or swap to a fiber-optic if your eyes want a little extra help.
The GP100 is all functional, and nothing frivolous. It’s a good gun to keep in the home.
It’s Like The The Toyota 4Runner of Handguns
A GP100 is the revolver version of a Toyota 4Runner. Maybe it’s not the fastest and flashiest thing on the road, but it will get you anywhere you need to go and back again. You don’t have to treat it delicately. Rain, snow, sand, dust, and mud, it all doesn’t matter. You can bang it off a tree trunk, fish it out of a creek, and it’ll still fire. That’s not marketing hype. That’s just the way these guns are made!
If you spend real time in the backcountry, you know your gear takes abuse. That’s why the GP100 feels so at home in a leather Triple K rig, riding alongside a K-Bar and a belt full of spare cartridges. It’s a setup that’s ready for anything for me when I’m out in the wild, whether “anything” is a trophy mule deer stepping into view or something with a lot more teeth than you’d like!
Why It’s a SHTF Dream Gun
If the power goes out for good tomorrow, and if you’re gonna be old-school and carry a six-gun, the GP100 is exactly the kind of revolver you want on your hip.
With .357 Magnum loads, you’ve got enough power to stop a threat with authority. With .38s, you’ve got something small-game friendly and easy to shoot all day long. And if ammunition is sparse for one of the calibers, you have the other caliber to turn to.
Paired with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol with a high magazine count (I’d go with the Beretta 92, but that’s just me) and just like that you’d have a one-two punch that’s almost impossible to beat for a bug-out loadout. The GP100 gives you inherent reliability, Magnum-level stopping power, and ammo flexibility. A 9mm like the Beretta 92 will give you higher capacity and one of the most common pistol calibers in the world.
Between the two, you’ll be prepared for everything from putting meat in the pot to defending yourself from serious trouble!
The SP101: The Little Brother With a Big Punch
If you like the GP100’s toughness but want something smaller and lighter, Ruger’s SP101 is the way to go. It’s a five-shot .357 that’s built like a miniature GP100 (all stainless steel, no shortcuts, and designed to handle a steady diet of magnum loads). It’s easier to carry concealed and makes a great backup to the GP100 in a chest rig or shoulder holster.
The Backcountry Test
This revolver isn’t just talked about. It’s proven! I’ve carried the GP100 deep into the high country of Idaho with snow underfoot and the wind cutting through the timber, and it always feels right at home. In my leather holster, it rides comfortably all day, with the weight balanced by the shells on the gun belt and the K-Bar riding opposite.
I’ve carried the Ruger GP100 deep into the woods and mountains of Idaho as a sidearm on countless hunting trips over the years, and it’s never failed me.
With .38s, it’s the revolver that everyone in camp can shoot, even folks who don’t like recoil. It’s perfect for knocking over pinecones or tin cans during downtime. With .357 Magnums, it’s insurance against anything that might come sniffing around the meat pole at night. In bear country, it’s peace of mind, and in mountain lion country, it’s a good reason to walk with a little more confidence.
The GP100 has been on hunts where the weather went from sunny to snow in a matter of hours. It’s been soaked, nearly frozen, and knocked around, and the only thing that it’s ever needed was a quick wipe-down before bed. That’s the kind of trust you can’t buy with marketing. You literally earn it in the field.
Your GP100 Will Still Be Here When You’re Gone
When everything else is gone, when the plastic pistols have cracked frames and the pretty blued revolvers are too loose to trust, the GP100 will still be here.
The steel will be worn smooth from years of carry, and the grips will be polished from use, but it’ll still lock up tight and hit where you point it.
That’s what makes it special. It’s not just about surviving a weekend in the woods or a season of hunting. It’s about having a revolver that will be with you for decades (literally), and that will be there for the people you pass it on to, and that will still be ready for work long after you’ve gone.
The GP100 is like the revolver equivalent of that one old dog that’s been with you through thick and thin.
Loyal. Reliable. Always ready.
And like that old dog, once you’ve got it, you can’t imagine life without it.
