Click pictures for a larger version.

Match Champion wears an excellent set of wood grips.

Tyler Gun Works re-marked barrel lug for 10mm Magnum.

Tyler Gun Works case-colored the stainless hammer & trigger.

Cylinder release.

A couple of months ago, I reviewed a pair of revolvers from Ruger that are chambered for the 10mm Auto cartridge. Both great revolvers, the Blackhawk and Super Redhawk performed wonderfully, exhibiting excellent accuracy and reliability. However, like many others, I was hoping for a Ruger GP-100 revolver chambered for the 10mm Auto cartridge. The 10mm cartridge makes sense in a revolver. It has power, accuracy, and the ability to use moon clips for faster reloading. Now, Ruger has introduced such a revolver, and they didn’t just do so on a standard GP-100, they introduced the 10mm GP on the excellent Match Champion version. I reviewed the 357 Magnum Match Champion over four years ago, and the same great features carry over to the 10mm version. The statements on the Match Champion from the original review still hold true:

“The GP-100 double-action 357 Magnum revolver has been in production for twenty-eight years now. I remember back when it was first introduced, Ruger announced that they were replacing the Security-Six with this stronger GP-100 design. I was disappointed, as the Security-Six was an excellent sixgun. It was stronger than the S&W K-frame, which as about the same size, very accurate, and as durable as an anvil. The GP-100 had a hard act to follow, and compared to most of the GP-100 line of revolvers, I still prefer the old Security-Six.  The reason for this is that the GP-100, in its most-common form, is heavier than the Security-Six, with most GP revolvers encountered wearing a full-lug barrel. The Six series guns had just enough underlug to enclose the ejector rod, and it quit right there.

However, with this new Match Champion GP-100, Ruger got it right. Just right. The barrel wears a half-lug; just enough to enclose the ejector rod. Also, the sides of the barrel are machined flat, further reducing the weight of the barrel on this GP-100. The front of the cylinder is radiused, making the revolver just a bit easier to slide into a holster. The Match Champion has the best trigger pull that I have ever felt on a GP-100 sixgun. The double-action pull is butter-smooth, and the single-action pull is very crisp. The grip is a Hogue unit made from some type of hardwood, and the stippling provides a secure grip, without being abrasive to the hand. This is one of the most comfortable-to-fire 357 Magnum revolvers that I have ever held in my hands.”

The detailed specifications of the new 10mm Match Champion revolver are listed in the chart below. All linear measurements are in inches, and the weight is listed in ounces. The trigger pulls are listed in pounds of resistance. SA is the single-action trigger pull. DA is the double-action trigger pull. Height includes the sights.

I like the weight, feel, accuracy, and power of the new GP-100 10mm Match Champion revolver, but I have been interested in having a sixgun chambered for the 10mm Magnum cartridge for a long time. The Match Champion seemed like the perfect candidate for such a conversion, I sent it off to Tyler Gun Works in Texas to have the chambers lengthened to 10mm Magnum specifications. The 10mm Magnum is a stretched 10mm Auto case. It is longer, but all other dimensions are the same. The 10mm Magnum case is nominally .258 inch longer than the 10mm Auto case, which gives approximately one-quarter inch more room for powder! More powder equals more speed, and the 10mm Magnum can best the 10mm Auto velocities by between 150 to 300 feet-per-second (FPS), depending upon the bullet chosen. The longer case will also accommodate heavier bullets, if that is the preference. Using the moon clips provided with the GP-100, the revolver can now fire 40 Smith & Wesson, 10mm Auto, and 10mm Magnum ammunition. New empty brass is available from Starline to load the ammo, but the 10mm Magnum is no longer a handload-only proposition, as Double Tap Ammunition has factory-loaded ammo available.

While the sixgun was in Bobby Tyler’s hands, he case-colored the hammer and trigger, which looks great. Bobby specializes in case-coloring firearms and does all the original case-coloring for Henry Repeating Arms, Magnum Research, Republic Forge, and others. Bobby doesn’t listen too well, and when everyone in the gun industry was telling him that you can’t case-color stainless steel, he went ahead and did it anyway. The case-colored stainless hammer and trigger add a touch of class to this dandy Ruger sixgun. Bobby also re-marked the barrel underlug properly for the 10mm Magnum cartridge. He does things right.

I fired the Ruger GP-100 Match Champion revolver using 40 S&W, 10mm Auto, and 10mm Magnum ammunition. At this time, Double Tap Ammunition is the only source to my knowledge of factory 10mm Magnum ammo, and the load I had available uses a 135 grain Jacketed Hollowpoint (JHP) bullet. They also offer hard cast bullet loads with 200 and 230 grain bullet weights, but I had none of those available to me. I loaded some 180 grain hard cast bullets into fired cases using Hodgdon H110 and Winchester Auto Comp powders. I had no load data at all for loading the 10mm Magnum cartridge, so the powder charge weights will not be listed. Auto Comp powder looks very promising, and hopefully, Hodgdon Powder Company will soon do some load development for this cartridge. I was able to safely push the 180 grain bullets in excess of 1350 FPS from the Ruger’s 4.2-inch barrel using Auto Comp powder. With H110, I ran out of powder space before I reached the revolver’s potential.

All velocity readings were taken at an elevation of 541 feet above sea level, with humidity in the 82 percent range. Velocity readings were taken twelve feet from the muzzle. Velocities are listed in feet-per-second. Bullet weights are listed in grains. JHP is a jacketed hollowpoint bullet. HC is a hard-cast lead bullet. FMJ is a full metal jacket bullet. TAC-XP is a homogenous copper hollowpoint bullet.

Accuracy tests were done hand-held over a Target Shooting, Inc Pistol Rest. Five-shot groups were fired at a distance of twenty-five yards. Accuracy was outstanding. No load tested grouped larger than two inches, and many were just over one inch, center-to-center. I could discern no measurable accuracy difference between the 10mm Auto and the 10mm Magnum ammunition, but generally, the 40 S&W ammo did not group hardly as well. The Ruger Match Champion 10mm comes supplied with three moon clips, and they were used for all accuracy testing.

At first, reliability was one hundred percent, with all three types of ammunition tested. There were no failures of any kind, and extraction only got slightly sticky with a couple of different 10mm Auto loads. Later, after lots of rounds through this sixgun, the moon clips were becoming distorted and very loose on the cartridges. At that point, I started to get an occasional failure-to-fire. Having no new moon clips, I had to make do with the three supplied with the revolver, and the more use they got, the looser they got, and misfires increased. I tightened up the clips a bit, and that helped, but did not completely solve the problem. I think that new moon clips will return the Ruger back to one hundred percent reliability. Moon clips do wear out, especially with a lot of use, but they are inexpensive to replace. I intend to try some thicker moon clips from T K Custom in the future.

I carried the Match Champion sixgun in both the strong-side and cross-draw positions, using the same Simply Rugged Sourdough Pancake holster that I use for the 357 Magnum version of this same revolver. The Sourdough Pancake carries the revolver securely, and protects it well from obstacles in the woods and field. It is also a very good choice for a comfortable, secure concealed-carry holster.

The 10mm GP-100 Match Champion is sized just right for either hunting or personal defense. It is strong, reliable, powerful, and easy-to-shoot. It carries well on the hip for hunting, and is compact enough to conceal. Like all Ruger firearms, the Match Champion is built in the USA. The enhancements by Tyler Gun Works makes a great sixgun even better. There are lots of full-power 10mm Auto loads on the market, and having this revolver rechambered to also use 10mm Magnum ammo is just more of a good thing. I would love to see Ruger chamber this, the Blackhawk, and the Super Redhawk for the 10mm Magnum cartridge. Hopefully someday soon. Until then, the 10mm Auto cartridge, as loaded by Buffalo Bore and Double Tap carry ample power for most hunting and fighting tasks, but if you just have to have maximum power, buy this Ruger and then give Bobby Tyler a call. 

Check out the extensive line of Ruger firearms and accessories online at www.ruger.com.

For the location of a Ruger dealer near you, click on the DEALER FINDER at www.lipseys.com.

To order the GP-100 online, click on the Gun Genie at www.galleryofguns.com.

To order premium quality 40 S&W and 10mm Auto ammunition online, go to www.buffalobore.com,  www.luckygunner.com, www.doubletapammo.com, and www.midsouthshooterssupply.com.

To order 10mm Magnum ammo, go to www.doubletapammo.com.

Winchester powders: www.wwpowder.com.

Check out the extensive line of quality gunleather at www.simplyrugged.com.

For custom gun work and beautiful finishing, engraved limited-edition firearms, and beautiful custom tomahawks, go to www.tylergunworks.com.

Jeff Quinn

Click pictures for a larger version.

Match Champion ships with three moon clips for quick loading / unloading.

Case comparison (left to right): 40 S&W, 10mm Auto, 10mm Magnum.

Winchester Auto Comp powder was a top performer in handloaded ammunition.

Twenty-five yard accuracy was impressive.

Simply Rugged Sourdough Pancake holster.