Ruger Speed Six question

[Char-Gar]

I just bought a SS Ruger Speed Six, but it has not arrived yet. So, no need to try and talk me out of it. My experience with Smith and Wesson and Colt DA sixguns is long and deep, but I have never owned or even fired a Ruger DA sixgun.

Any tips or opinions about this gizmo. It is a 357 Mag though I doubt is will see many, if any, full snort magnum loads. In these my later years, I have come to greatly appreciate a solid base full wadcutter over 10/2400 or 7.5/AA5. They will hold up accuracy as far as I can hit anything with a handgun and are not bad on my arthritic hands.

[rintinglen]

I like my Service Six. They 're much of a sameness with a Model 19. Generally about the same weight, though the late models tended to plump up, and smaller and lighter than the GP-100, Most folks seem to like them a bit better in the hand. The Security Six action tends to be a bit rougher than a Smith, but the off set is that they are tougher. A 6" stainless Model of my acquaintance was still going bang after more than 200,000 rounds, mostly range load 38's, but still, that's a lot of rounds. I was a bit of a Smith snob back in the day, but I have come to know the error of my presumption, especially given the stuff that comes out of S&W these days.223676223677

[Outpost75]

Your +P full charge wadcutters will be great.

In my 2-3/4" Speed Six I load Saeco #348 double-end, bevel- based wadcutter in .357 brass, crimped in the normal crimp groove, with 5 grains of Bullseye. Very accurate and effective field load, 1050 fps in 2-3/4" barrel.

[Tim357]

I've owned several over the years, but currently none reside with me. I need to remedy this. At any rate, a spring replacement set would be a good start. The square stock trigger return springs are heavy enough to use on a small car. Beware the flying plungers and springs in the fire control assembly. They have minds of their own. Other than that, fire away. You'll not wear one out in several lifetimes.

[bob208]

I have a ss security six mase in 76 I bought used in 77 it was my go to gun for over 30 years. then a browning h-p became my carry gun. but the ruger was still my main shooter until I replaced it with a ss security-six. made in the last year of production. the other is retired to night stand duty. I also have a blued 6 inch security-six.

the first has ate around 100,000 358429 with 3.6 gr. red dot in .38spl cases. then a bunch more skeeter loads. it is as tight as the day I bought it.

[RU shooter]

A long time friend I went to the police academy with had a stainless with the short barrel it was a very accurate gun . And had a buttery smooth DA trigger as he shot it a lot .

[oldhenry]

Back in the 80's I had a FFL & Gil Hebard had a special on the SS Speed Sixes. They had 2 3/4" bbl. & Pachmyer (sp?) grips (round butt) for $159.

I bought 3 & gave one to each of my 2 daughters. The 3rd one went to a friend for exactly what I paid for it. I should have bought a 4th. one for myself.

They are easy to smooth-up. I modified the OEM square section trigger return spring: the original has 2 full coils. I un-wound 1 coil & cut it off to original length & configuration. I also slightly beveled & polished both ends @ contact points. My daughters' guns pre-time like a dream.

I started them off with "pansy" loads, but the youngest (married to a Baptist preacher) quickly wanted more power (we shoot IHMSA chickens @ 10-12 yds.......we call it "combat chickens"). She likes to body slam them. She's never satisfied with 5 out of 6. She will not stop until she gets 6 for 6.

The other daughter (retired school teacher now) has progressed to mid powered loads. They don't shoot .357 loads: only .38 spec..

They love those guns.

If I have a chance to buy one, I'll snap it up.

Henry

[Petrol & Powder]

The Six Series DA Rugers were some of the best DA 38/357 revolvers ever made, in my not so humble opinion.

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They have the strength of a S&W L-frame in the size of a S&W K-frame.

My standard load is now 3.5 grains of Bullseye under a SAECO #382.
For wadcutter loads I'm using 3.1 grains of Bullseye under the RCBS 38-148-WC but you could go hotter on that without problems. Both of those are in 38 Special casings.

I don't have the SAECO #348 double ended WC mold that Outpost talks about but I've never heard anything bad about that bullet. It's on my list to acquire.

In the above photos you can see some of the grip options. The Pachmayr Gripper is my preferred grip on the Square butt Service-Six. I have that grip on all of my Square Butt Service-Six guns and on my GP-100's.
I still like the old Tyler T-grip adaptor on the round butt Speed-Six frames.

[rintinglen]

I bought a Tyler grip adapter and it now rides on my service six.

[contender1]

As you can tell,,, almost without fail,,, all the above posts sing the praises of the Ruger "Six" series of DA revolvers.
Due to the differences in action design,,, many say the Ruger isn't as smooth as a S&W. But at the same time,,, most humbly agree that the Ruger is a much tougher design.
When Bill Ruger built the DA's,, he was trying to compete with S&W,,, and as such,,, the costs to make & sell them was a bit higher than he wanted, as he had to price them to be competitive. He often groused about that,,, until finally the engineers were able to design the GP series,, in a manner to make it more cost effective, and to make money for the Ruger company.
That's the only reason they dropped the Six series in favor of the GP series.
The GP series is STILL an excellent design but many lament the loss of the Six series.
I own several Six series DA's and some of the GP series, as well as the SP series. NONE have ever given me any issues. In fact,,, I just added the GP Match Champion to be used in competition. Many say a S&W has a smoother & faster lockwork. Most of us can not operate it fast enough to realize the speed difference. But the feel,,, can & will smooth up the longer you use it.
I'm sure you will see & feel the differences,, but you will appreciate that Speed-Six as well.

[Petrol & Powder]

William Ruger may have occasionally said he lost money on the Six series but I serious doubt that he actually lost money. The DA Six series guns were in production for 16 years with a total production of approximately 1.5 million units; Ruger was too good of a businessman to lose money that long and on that scale. I strongly suspect he didn't make as much money as he would have liked on the Six series. We can't ask him and I'm not sure that's a question he would answer even if he was alive.
Ruger did compete with S&W for law enforcement sales and often won contracts by undercutting S&W's prices. He may have taken a loss on a contract here and there to win a bid but over that 16 year span Ruger made far more money than he lost.

I do think the GP-100 and SP101 may be more efficient to produce and they certainly are fine guns. There may be a larger profit margin in the GP and SP lines than there was in the Six series but there's no evidence that the Six series was unprofitable.

There was a little bit of overlap between the DA Six series and the GP-100 (1986 to 1988). I think one of the major reasons the Six series was discontinued in 1988 was that William Ruger had absolutely NO intention of competing with himself.

Another possible issue that is worthy of some consideration deals with the historical context of the time.
S&W addressed the shortcomings of the magnum K-frames with the introduction of the L-frames in 1981. I suspect the GP-100 was already in development in 1981 but the introduction of the L-frame Smiths certainly would have influenced someone as competitive as Bill Ruger.
The GP-100 shares the same speedloaders as an L-frame and generally fits in the same holsters as the L-frame. If you were looking to take market share away from the S&W L-frames - the GP-100 is clearly a candidate for that fight. Unfortunately the era of the revolver in American law enforcement was in its twilight in the mid 1980's.

[Texas by God]

I consider the GP and the SP to be heavy pigs compared to the Security, Speed and Service Six series. But that's just me. The .44 Special GP100 is a step in the right direction, though.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Petrol & Powder]

I really wish Ruger would put the GP-100 on a diet. The first place to start would be to get rid of that full underlug heavy barrel. (the Match Campion is a step in the right direction)
Full underlugs are great on the firing range but a PITA when carrying the gun.

But the GP-100 is a strong gun and roughly the same size as a S&W L-frame.

On paper, the Security/Service/Speed Six's aren't that much lighter than the average configuration of the GP-100 but they sure feel trimmer.

[arlon]

Found a cheap speed six a few weeks ago. First for me. As a Smith accumulator, it was not my normal kind of purchase but this one just fit good in hand and I was looking for a short barrel utility (tool) revolver. The Speed Six seems like it will fill the bill perfectly. It's stainless, handy, old enough to be interesting (Bicentennial edition), nice trigger and cheap. What's not to like. Now i just need to go shoot it.

[Char-Gar]

Here is my Speed Six which is on the way. It wears Elk Stag grips and comes with original wood grips and some Pachy rubber grips, plus a Bianchi holster.

[Petrol & Powder]

That's a beautiful gun Char-Gar.

The scalloped cut on the right recoil shield shows that it's a later production model. From memory, that change was sometime in the early 1980's.

[cwlongshot]

Looks mighty fine!!

I have had mine since the late 1980's too. Its a favorite for sure. I had a 9MM too... foolishly sold it.

I converted the 357 to a DAO. Completely removing the hammer and SA Notch on the hammer. It shoots Winchester 145g Silvertips into 4-5" @ 100 yards!

Won more than a few friendly bets shooting golf balls at 50+ yards when I was daily carrying it too!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/Temp%20stuff/sporting%20pics/My%20Heaters/73DF711B-658C-4FE7-B6E6-34158E9B91E1_zpsr9uroao0.jpg

CW

[Petrol & Powder]

I think you mean DAO ?

[cwlongshot]

haha YUP..

[starnbar]

They are fine revolvers mine has gone through a couple of buckets of cast 148 bbwc and 158 gr keith and it shoots like a house a fire.

[Jtarm]

A model 19 with a modern design, much greater durability, but a trigger that can never quite match an S&W.

[cajun shooter]

I attended several Armorers schools while being the Firearms Instructor for the EBR Sheriff's Office and helping with the BRPD as we shared a range. I went to 4-5 S&W schools, Ruger, Sig, Glock, Ithaca, Remington 870. I shot Our Police matches and saw a few shooters with Rugers but the problem with Ruger is and was it's lock time. Now before you Ruger fans start building a bonfire under my feet, please allow me to continue.
When we attended these schools, each student would assemble 6 guns from scratch just like the hired personal did. They would engrave a La. on the inside of the guns after we completed them so they could trace which student built that gun. The Ruger school had us assemble Security-Six revolvers and we started with frames straight from the forge. We had to clean the sand from them before starting. I will not bore you with all the details of the school but precede to the last day.
Our instructor went and reached into the box of built Rugers and picked one at random and instructed us to go outside to the shooting range. He then instructed a student to stand on the bleacher seats and drop the revolver with the hammer cocked onto the concrete floor. We all knew that this gun would never work again but he did not stop there, he had us throw the revolver downrange as far as we could on the sidewalks. This went on for about 20 minutes as everyone wanted to get in on the fun. In between throws, the gun was loaded and it would fire all 6 357 mag factory loads without fail. I will say that each one of us were in complete disbelief as to what we were seeing and experenceing. This was one of those things that you tell people, you had to be there.
The instructor had each of us take a dollar bill and write our name on it, he then put them all in a box and had one of the students draw one out. The winner was the armorer for the Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries and he was given the gun. I offered him $250 for it and he turned me down. The gun had deep gouges and scratches from end to end, but still worked like a champ!! To this day I know that the Ruger Security-Six is the strongest revolver made.
I saw a shooting competitor drop a Colt Python at a match and it locked up so tight that we could not unload it until the cylinder was removed. I don't know if the Ruger Armorer Instructors still do this, maybe not as the classes are now teaching semi-autos. Take Care, David

[Outpost75]

I can vouch for Cajun Shooter's story. I witnessed the same performed by Mike Moore on the Service Six, and a similar test on the folding stock DOS model AC556K SMG.

When attending the AC556 class the instructor Dave Flint dropped a loose bullet into the throat of the chamber and lodged it far enough forward that a proof load could be chambered and the bolt locked behind it. The gun was placed in the proof box and fired remotely. While the case dropped the primer and blew the extractor out, in tearing down the gun it was visually inspected, then xyglo and magnetic particle inspected, using the wet method with circular continuous magnetization, the bolt was not cracked, the lug seats were OK, the barrel had a slight ring bulge, but was otherwise OK.

The gun was reassembled. Headspace with the original bolt reassembled with new firing pin, extractor, ejector was OK.
Dave then took the reassembled gun back into the range, placed it on the test stand and remotely fired a 30-round magazine semi-auto, another 30-round magazine firing 3-shot bursts, and a third firing all 30 rounds in one continuous burst with no malfunctions.

I was duly impressed.

[Petrol & Powder]

The greatest asset of a Ruger Six-series is its strength.

[salvadore]

Checked one out in the 70s...I think it was in the 70s. I didn't care for the way it handled or the crummy trigger, but your grips sure are purty.....Guess that Wasn't a helpful tip. Hope you like it better than I did.

[bob208]

back in the day we would disassemble check for burrs. the use fine valve grinding compound and shoot about 500 rounds. take apart clean oil and be happy. at that time there were no speed loaders listed for the sixes. found out the ones for the colt o-p worked just fine.

[Blackwater]

Cajun Shooter's post is a great one on the SS. Jtarm's post is also accurate as well. I got mine a while back, a .357 std. 4" Sec Six. The trigger action of the Rugers are NOT anywhere near as smooth as a S&W's, nor the Colts I've tried. However, after having it worked over by a good smith (trigger job), it's imminently shootable, and I like it. I will never part with it voluntarily. I love the strength factor, since my experience with .357's is that they often work at max. to very near max. pressures. Kind'a hard on the ears, but I always wear muffs these days, so that's not a problem, really. Got a bunch of Safariland speed loaders for it, and have yet to slightly chamfer the chamber entryways, but intend to do so.

I love all the Bill Ruger designs, from the SA handguns to the autos. The Sec Six, seems to me to be the ideal weight for a 4" .357. The replacement GP-100 just doesn't balance or handle like the old Sec Six, and I much prefer the Sec Six. I think you'll like it if you get a trigger job on it. It can be made pretty smooth and light without compromising ignition, but it'll never be the equal of a good S&W. But it's "good enough to ride the river with." Any day!

[AnthonyB]

My best tip? Sell it to me!
Tony

[Petrol & Powder]

Char-Gar - You posted a picture of your new Speed-Six. Did it show up yet?
Have you shot it? What do you think?

Inquiring minds want to know !

[Char-Gar]

Char-Gar - You posted a picture of your new Speed-Six. Did it show up yet?
Have you shot it? What do you think?

Inquiring minds want to know !

I picked it up yesterday from my dealer, who also has a range. I put 50 rounds through it and it shot well. I found I could bind up the cylinder in fast double action shooting. I recall that Jerry Miculek didn't have much use for the Ruger 6's for this reason. They slowed his time way down. I will have to slow down and get used to this new action.

I was shooting 150 WC over 7.5/AA5 for a smidge over 1,000 fps.

[Petrol & Powder]

They're great guns.

A little work on that action (a little judicious polishing, trigger shims, etc.) and that Speed-Six will run like a Swiss Watch.

Yea, I know, A S&W doesn't need that but it's the price we pay for that Ruger strength.

There are methods to clean up that action that will improve the trigger reset and the overall DA pull.

[Duckiller]

After I got out of the Army I bought a Security Six because I didn't want to spend the money on a Smith or Colt. I have since acquired a 27 and a Python. My older son would go through LARG quantities of 148 gr wadcutters over 2.7 gr of 700X. I needed oversized Herret grips, Daughter uses as issued Ruger grips. Had a trigger job to smooth it out and replace sights with white out line. It has always worked great.

[fastdadio]

Bumpin up an old thread. I have a mint 3" stainless, Speed Six, Postal Inspectors model. Been sitting in the safe for years. I decided it was time to get it out and put it to work. The first problem I noticed was that my loads that I shoot in my S&W, Mod 19 won't chamber. They're too fat. Same loads drop right in and work fine in the Smith. I ran a few loaded rounds up into my Lee .357 cast boolit sizing die until just a slight resistance was felt, and then they work just fine. Is this model known to have tight cylinders? Or are my Smith cylinders loose? My boolit is the Lee 140 gr. swc, powder coated and mic at .3595.
Is it ok to give this pistol a steady diet of 17 grs. W296 under this 140 gr. pill? That is a starting load according to the books. It shoots this load to 2" groups at 18 ft and I'd like to stick with it.
Love you guys. (In a manly sort of way)

[Outpost75]

Your S&W is likely sloppy, as is their usual custom.

[Jtarm]

I agree, the GP needs a diet.

The 10mm is a stroke of genius, IMO, although Clements is the genius.

A Ti cylinder would do the trick and give a better DA pull.

Oh, so as not to be accused of thread drift:-)

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180905/f785c44562dc60f4b2246dbcd90d23b5.jpg

[Sig556r]

Got one last year for 3 benjies...built like a tank, soft shooting light .357s for my 12-year old
288440
288442

[johniv]

Have two. 3” postal gun, and 4” blue. I have shot the 3” gun a lot. The trigger action is great, I don’t know if it has been worked on by an armorer, or just shot a lot. The 4” gun has not seen much use, but the trigger is fine as is. Maybe I’m just unsophisticated.

[fixit]

One of my great regrets is selling my stainless security six with a 6" barrel. I was young and stupid and thought I wanted a different gun. I broke even on a revolver that didn't have 200 rounds through it. Oh well, live and learn!

[JCM45]

I shot 100 rounds through my stainless 4" Security Six today, as a matter of fact. Original owner. Bought it new in 1980. Will never sell it.

[FergusonTO35]

I really wish Ruger would put the GP-100 on a diet. The first place to start would be to get rid of that full underlug heavy barrel. (the Match Campion is a step in the right direction)
Full underlugs are great on the firing range but a PITA when carrying the gun.

But the GP-100 is a strong gun and roughly the same size as a S&W L-frame.

On paper, the Security/Service/Speed Six's aren't that much lighter than the average configuration of the GP-100 but they sure feel trimmer.

This 100%. Unless you are shooting full power .357's the Sixes are superior to the GP in every way. Ruger could really trim alot of needless bulk from the GP without losing strength. Same for the SP-101.

[Dale53]

I had a Ruger Security Six 4" barrel. It had a less than perfect trigger and I could not shoot it to my satisfaction. I had a trigger job done. Off the bench it shot well, carried well but I just could NOT shoot it like I wanted to. I happened to be at the Indianapolis 500 gun show and one of the distributors had a number of the new 686 Model CS-1's. The price was right and I fell in love with it at first sight. I took it home, went to the range and was shooting full magnum loads like a laser at 25 yards. A good friend and co-worker offered me a decent price for the Ruger Security Six and I sold it to him. He loved it. I continued to shoot the 686 extremely well and still have it. It is one of my all time favorite revolvers!

FWIW
Dale53

[Uncle Grinch]

I picked up a .357 Mag Service-Six in the mid 90’s in stainless with a 4 inch barrel. I believe it was an import from Century Arms due to the CAI stamp . It’s a sweet rugged shooter and is my house gun. It’s always close.

https://i.postimg.cc/DwnWcvwq/70-F8-CA51-F05-F-4-D70-8-F87-4-C7-F781-DB992.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[Jtarm]

Ship it off for an action job as soon as you get it.

IDK who does them well, but if you’re accustomed to S&W triggers, a six series will feel like garbage.

I’ve owned several and really wanted to like them, but that DA trigger was a deal-breaker for me.

IDK if they can ever equal an S&W trigger due to the coil vs leaf mainspring.

I’ve been thinking of giving it one last shot with a 160-or later gun, but an action job will be a must. S&Ws are easy enough to smooth myself.

[Mk42gunner]

Its been a while since I did an action job on a Ruger Six series revolver, but as I recall it wasn't all that difficult to get a smooth easy to shoot job done. Mainly using crocus sloth to smooth pins and bearing surfaces, IIRC.

Did it equal a modern (Post WWII) S&W? Maybe, maybe not; but to hear our forefathers talk the modern S&W didn't equal a pre-war S&W either.

Guess what, a V-spring type DA Colt properly polished will make a S&W seem like dragging a box over rocks.

Its all in what you get used to. And a Ruger is a lot tougher than a S&W, as a S&W seems to be tougher than the older designed Colts.

Robert

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I owned two Ruger SS, one with the heavy barrel. I took my first one apart and polished every part that came in contact with another part. When I got finished I had a very smooth double action pistol. Sadly I don't have either of them now. I thought I could buy another but Ruger saw fit to drop it from their line and replace it with that boat anchor they call the GP100, I think.

[Mk42gunner]

They are still out there, it just takes a bit of luck finding the specific model you want at a decent price.

Strangely, I just this afternoon compared the DA trigger on my tuned by me GP-100 from the early 2000's to my first year Security Six. Both 4" blued guns. The bone stock Security Six has a better trigger.

I need to get busy and smooth it out just a little bit, and shot it a lot.

Robert

[Dale53]

I would like to add one bit of information, so that there is no mistake. My two "brands" of revolvers are S&W and Ruger. I have a number of examples. I am primarily a "shooter", not a collector. In the past, I used many different revolvers "in the field" as well as "on the range". I knew when I bought a Smith, that they came with near perfect triggers. They could easily be improved with a few minor bits (springs, etc.). However, most Smith's can be a "little tender" when using heavy loads. As an example, the Model 29's will not take sustained heavy loads like a Ruger large frame Blackhawk or a Redhawk. So, I just loaded Smith's a wee bit lighter and soldiered on. I did not shoot my Model 19's with loads that proved to be gun damaging. I went to the Model 686, instead.

I, also learned, MANY years ago, that nearly every Ruger, including the excellent .22 Target autos, REQUIRED, a trigger job. When we got new members into our local gun club, and learned that most working men (like me) didn't have unlimited funds, I would recommend the Ruger Target .22's. I told them, "Before you even fire a shot, take your new Ruger to our local Gunsmith, and have the trigger replaced with a trigger job. Our local gunsmith was a retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant who was on the Marine Advanced Marksmanship program and did McMillan's guns. He was EXTREMELY reasonable in price as well as EXTREMELY good! We were blessed. That advice was often taken and the new shooter often rapidly became an accomplished NRA Bullseye shooter.

I loved the Ruger Single Actions as well. I just planned on doing a trigger job immediately, and later learned to measure the cylinder throats and act accordingly. When those items were done, the Rugers became wondrous revolvers, too.

However, I also learned, that "I" had work to do, also. Much dry firing, much range time, and a LOT of reloading and bullet casting to allow me to do so, financially.

So, back to the topic in hand. It can be helpful to hear the "back story", so you can see what drives certain critical decisions.

Dale53