NCMountains, I know how you feel about the way the GP looks. SEVERAL years ago, when I was going for all the training I had to take to be a firearms instructor at the PD I work for, I decided to buy a 4" service revolver for the revolver instructor class instead of just borrowing one from one of the guys at the PD. Now, keep in mind, this was the early '90's, before I had a computer or had surfed the 'net. Indeed, most of the websites we all know and love weren't even around them. I looked in all the gun rags and decided that I didn't like the cast construction of Ruger guns. I decided to get something different and get a Colt King Cobra in stainless.
The KC worked out well for the class but, when I started shooting it recreationally, the barrel started coming unscrewed. Off to Colt it went and, when it came back, I started shooting it again and the barrel started unscrewing again. Sent it back to Colt yet again, then sold it when I got it back. Except for my S&W M649, I was without a revolver for quite a few years.
When I decided to get another service-sized .357 a few years ago, I went with the GP. I had been reading a lot on the 'net about revolvers and found that, aside from complaints about the size, weight and sometimes the overall fitting of Ruger guns, the GP had the fewest complaints of any currently made .357 revolver. Big, yes; somewhat beefy, yes; but it is hell-for-stout and should last me for the rest of my life. In fact, I did the IBOK "fluff and buff" on the innards of my GP and slicked it up. The trigger, while still a little heavy, is now a lot smoother than any revolver I've ever shot, including some of the vaunted "pinned and recessed" older S&Ws. I'm VERY satisfied with my GP and it's one of the last guns I'll part with. Funny how your perceptions change, isn't it?
Bub