Getting my first wheelgun.

[rollmyown]

I'm getting my first wheelgun. It's a very lightly used Ruger Security Six 6" in blue in .357 Mag.
I'm getting it at a pretty good price and am happy with the blurb I've read. I've still got a week until my permit comes through.
I have 1 mould for .357, a 125 gn Lee RF and the 360640 140 gn plain base group buy coming from Mihec.

I think I'll be ordering some Lee carbide dies.
Should I be looking at a keith or wadcutter boolit? If so what do you think works. NOE has a couple of wadcutters in (if my memory serves) 100gn and 160 gn. Any disadvantage to the lighter one?

Are the safariland speed loaders any good?

Comments? Suggestions?

[Gibson]

Only a comment on the "hog leg six shooter". It is a fine revolver.

Congratulations.

[Dan Cash]

I don't use speed loaders for daily use but have used the HKS speed loader a bit in competition. They seem to be a bit more reliable/less prone to unexpectedly release ammo and do release when they are supposed to. The Safariland loaders are well made but did not work for me.

[km101]

First off, I think you will like the Ruger. It is a good dependable gun. As for the wadcutters, I have not had much success with the lighter wadcutters. I have not had the accuracy from the lighter bullets. Just my experience. Anything in the 140 - 160 grn weight has worked well. I also prefer the HKS speedloaders over the Safariland. The HKS have a more positive release and will not drop a round prematurely. I carried them on duty and used them in competition for years and always liked them.

[Combat Diver]

Congrats on a fine revolver that will out last you. As far as the bullets, never used lighter then 110 gr in a .38/.357 so no comment. Prefer 146 gr and higher when casting for that caliber. I prefer the HKS over the Safariland do to the fact I also shoot other calibers that Safariland doesn't make ie .22 WMR, .38 5 shot, .41 Mag, .44 5/6 shot etc, this way I keep training the same.

CD

[bob208]

i have two security-six rugers. the 4" stainless has been my most reliable friend for over 30 years. the other is a 6" blue. they both fit my hand with the stock grips. i use 150 gr or heaver bullets. they both like the 358429.

[rollmyown]

What do you size your boolits to? I might try to get some loading done before I pick it up.

Thanks for the posts sofar :-)

[RKJ]

I've got HKS Speed loaders for a S&W 44 and Safariland for my .357's and find I much prefer the HKS. Maybe it's just me but I can't get the Safariland ones to lock on to the cases without a whole lot of trouble. I just tried the LEE 105 SWC and really like it. I've got to do some more testing but I'm sold on it. (I used 5.0 HP38 but it seemed too mild, I got a lot of soot on the case so am going to go a little hotter)

[Idaho Mule]

I too have an old Security Six. It is a very fine gun. I load the RCBS 150 SWC in mine most of the time, pushed with 2400 powder. I recently got an RCBS 158 CM mold but have not tried that boolit in my revolver yet. Mine is pretty tight and I have to size boolits to .357 for best results. You will enjoy that handgun plenty, I am sure. Oh, mine is also 6", blue (well worn). JW

[rintinglen]

I much prefer the Safariland loaders to the HKS. When under pressure, it is easier to just push the loader against the cylinder than it is to turn a knob. That said, I envy you. I have been looking for a Ruger Speed Six or Security Six snubby for some time now. "Them's as ain't gots 'em, wants 'em, and them's as has 'em won't sell 'em."
I like them much better than the GP-100. The GP is overbuilt for my purposes, and consequently too heavy. Enjoy your new gun!

[cbrick]

Don't know nuttin about speed loaders but I just looked at my molds in 35 Caliber.

1 mold> 150 gr (very little used)
1 mold> 160 gr (very little used)
3 molds> 180 gr, 1 of them heavily used
3 molds> 200 gr, 1 of them heavily used
1 mold> 250 gr (rifle, doesn't count in this thread)

I think I'll add my voice to the heavier bullet crowd. :mrgreen:

Rick

[rollmyown]

Should I be looking for a GC mould or will a PB be OK?

I probably won't run this hot, most likely warm :-)

Do I need to be concerned re leading like the 9mm? I'm looking at Swedes 180 grainer. (WFN)

What model HKS loader do I need?

[MtGun44]

Excellent gun, I have had a 6" stainless SS for years. Accurate, too.

NO need for GCs in .357 or .38 Spl, IME. PB is great. Try Lyman 358429 for
.38 Spl and maybe for .357 Mag, not absolutely sure if it fits, memory says I
tested it once and it was tight but worked. 358477 and RCBS 38-150-SWC
(used to be 38-150-K) are nearly identical and both superb in both cartridges,
any velocity you want if fitted and lubed properly. I load a majority with 477
nowdays - have three 4 cavity molds!

Bill

[rollmyown]

Looks like Swede has some 360477's in plain base. I might give one a go.

[cbrick]

Getting my first wheelgun,

I forgot to say in my previous post . . .

Good choice, real guns have cylinders! :mrgreen:

Rick

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I carried the Ruger Security Six on duty as a peace officer for almost a decade, it was my first choice and I chose it over the Smith and the Colt. Used HKS speedloaders and took many first place trophies and plaques’ home with it. Used that gun to arrest many bad guns and defend myself against malefactors wielding their own guns meaning to do me harm.
When loading with a speedloaders, dump the empties and put your arms together at your elbows, this helps line up the cartridges with the chambers for a quicker loading.

I used Blue Dot exclusively. 2400 leaves a little bit of un-burnt powder granules which can get under the ejector and hang up the cylinder from closing and or turning. Blue Dot burns clean and well in the long tube, but is not good for night shooting due to muzzle flash. I used Herco for night shooting.

I used heaving boolits exclusively, Lyman’s 358429 is still my first choice and I continue to use it. Because of the high velocity, use an alloy which will not fragment. The biggest problem in the .357 is boolit fragmentation and I saw it a lot in the .357 days. Those high speed light jacketed hollow points with soft cores were a sorry combination and gave the .357 a very bad name.

[bobthenailer]

for 95% of my shooting in 357 mag handguns & rifles i use 158 to 180 gr bullets with the SWC or RFN or TC nose profile , i also use 125gr RN bullets with Full moon clips in matches and usually stay away from WC bullets whenever possible , even though i have a 4 cavity mould for them.

[Beerd]

Add a can of Unique powder and some small pistol primers to your list of carbide dies and a NOE 360477 PB mould. Both you and your Ruger will be happy.
..

[odis]

My only experience with casting my own for the 357 is the Lee 6 cavity RNFP 158gr, I load it with 4.5grs red dot for the mild and 14grs 2400 for hot. Both shoot fantastic out of my wifes Trooper MKIII.

[winelover]

What took you so Looooooong? First handgun, should always be a revolver. IMO

Winelover

[Norbrat]

What are you going to use the gun for, Rob?

I'm assuming it will be some kind of competition, as I don't think even in Tassie you are allowed to carry it for self defence or hunt with it!

You are asking about speedloaders, so maybe IPSC? Or Combined Services? If it's combined services, max range is 25m? IPSC maybe 10 - 15m?

I doubt accuracy will be an issue at those kinds of ranges with any bullet you choose.

Std boolit weight for the 357 is around 160 gns. Lower weights will give lighter recoil, maybe useful if you are speed shooting.

I use the Lee 358 TL158-2R, unsized and tumble lubed, with a mild load in 38sp cases in my GP100 and the Rossi lever action to shoot 100m silhouettes. If I do what I should do, they fall down just fine.

I use a CBE 215gn @ about 1250fps for 200m Silhouettes out of the Freedom Arms. This boolit I can load "long" with the FA's long cylinder, but have loaded the same load "short" for a friend to try in his S&W. Have shot these out of the GP100 and recoil is "stout".

The 357 maggie is a versatile calibre, so the choice is vast.

Lee moulds are cheap enough even here in Oz to try a few. Then if you really like a particular boolit and get frustrated with the Lee mould, find a better mould with the same design/weight.

[rollmyown]

Cheers Norbert, Yes all practical applications for pistol use are frowned upon by authorities, so it will be just a club use thing. Mostly I'll be shooting steel plate, and I like a challenge so the heavies sound like the go.

I picked it up yesterday. It was in excellent external condition (almost new) but uncleaned.
It has carbon rings from 38 special being used and a fouled barrel. On cleaning with a bronze brush I found some ominous marks in the first couple of inches of the barrel (and gritty resistance dragging the brush past) . I've cleaned it some more (plenty of Hoppes and up to over 200 strokes with the bronze brush and it's much better. No evidence of rust on any patches, only carbon. I think it might just be stubborn fouling baked and aged on (I hope)

Hopefully the barrel will clean up. If it does it will be a bargain. Neglect is a sad thing.

[FergusonTO35]

You made a fine choice sir!! My own Service Six (same as yours but fixed sights) is a great gun and I would take it over a GP-100 or anything S&W/Colt/Taurus any day. I think Ruger has a gaping hole in their lineup without a true medium frame six shot DA wheelgun.

[Norbrat]

On cleaning with a bronze brush I found some ominous marks in the first couple of inches of the barrel (and gritty resistance dragging the brush past) . I've cleaned it some more (plenty of Hoppes and up to over 200 strokes with the bronze brush and it's much better. No evidence of rust on any patches, only carbon. I think it might just be stubborn fouling baked and aged on (I hope)

Hopefully the barrel will clean up. If it does it will be a bargain. Neglect is a sad thing.

Wow, 200 passes, sure hope you are using a muzzle guide for that cleaning rod, otherwise you are going to have a forcing cone at each end of the barrel!

Try some copper pot scrubber (can we still get that here?) around the brush, like suggested for removing heavy leading.

And if it's had a lot of jacketed bullets through it, soak it with Sweets for 10 minutes at a time, scrub (drop the bronze brush in white spirit to soak afterwards else the bristles will dissolve, or am I trying to teach you how to suck eggs?) and patch. Repeat ad nauseum until the patches stop coming out blue/green.

If it's still a bit rough, try some JB Bore Paste on a patch. If you don't have any of that, I'd use a small amount of car cutting compound.

I suppose firelapping is also an option if it's really bad.

Good luck.

[rollmyown]

Looks good now. I didn't seem to get any copper just carbon and stubborn leading.
I tried to get to the range today, but with no joy. I'll try again in the next few days.
This one has a great feel to it. I think it will become a fave. I won't miss picking up brass!